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Gardens and stuff

Baleforce said:
my sunflowers and parsley are coming on nicely, no luck with my chilis so far, those seeds has been knocking around for a while though
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start them off indoors they really do need some warmth. We managed to get three fruits from a plant we grew from seed last year and they were fantastic. It only worked as it was in the kitchen with good sunlight all summer
 
johnola said:
start them off indoors they really do need some warmth. We managed to get three fruits from a plant we grew from seed last year and they were fantastic. It only worked as it was in the kitchen with good sunlight all summer
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Yeah, all indoors, windowsill by day, covered away from window by night, right next to the parsley which is doing grand.
 
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Baleforce said:
Yeah, all indoors, windowsill by day, covered away from window by night, right next to the parsley which is doing grand.
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I’ve got no other tips BF - just hope they work. I’ve had quite a high strike rate with seeds from mr fothergill if you need to re-sow. It’s all about giving chillies plenty of time to flower and then they grow and ripen fairly quickly.

I rate home grown chillies very high amongst home grown crops - perhaps on a par with tomatoes.
 
johnola said:
I’ve got no other tips BF - just hope they work. I’ve had quite a high strike rate with seeds from mr fothergill if you need to re-sow. It’s all about giving chillies plenty of time to flower and then they grow and ripen fairly quickly.

I rate home grown chillies very high amongst home grown crops - perhaps on a par with tomatoes.
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Can’t beat the aroma and flavour of freshly picked scotch bonnet peppers IMHO but only got a handful last year.

Have a little greenhouse in back garden but see that there’s sub zero night temperatures forecast next week, so will be keeping seedlings inside for the time being.

I can always cheat and buy a plant from local garden centre in early summer if all else fails!
 
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SteveAWOL said:
Can’t beat the aroma and flavour of freshly picked scotch bonnet peppers IMHO but only got a handful last year.

Have a little greenhouse in back garden but see that there’s sub zero night temperatures forecast next week, so will be keeping seedlings inside for the time being.

I can always cheat and buy a plant from local garden centre in early summer if all else fails!
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Yes Steve good heads up. I think we’ll bring stuff from the greenhouse into the house for a few days next week.
 
SteveAWOL said:
Can’t beat the aroma and flavour of freshly picked scotch bonnet peppers IMHO but only got a handful last year.

Have a little greenhouse in back garden but see that there’s sub zero night temperatures forecast next week, so will be keeping seedlings inside for the time being.

I can always cheat and buy a plant from local garden centre in early summer if all else fails!
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These late season winter blasts are always a pain in the arse. The apple tree looks like it's ready to blossom anytime now. The cherry tree already is, so we'll have to get a fleece over it if temps plummet, which, as you say, are forecast to do. (Even at the coast here). Biting north easterlies as well.:(
 
Did my raised bed but my word oak sleepers are heavy. I had to get my wife to help me carry them round to the back garden ffs.

Was more like making my own grave than gardening. Or some sort of Easter penance.

They must weigh 3x the pine ones.
 
johnola said:
I’ve got no other tips BF - just hope they work. I’ve had quite a high strike rate with seeds from mr fothergill if you need to re-sow. It’s all about giving chillies plenty of time to flower and then they grow and ripen fairly quickly.

I rate home grown chillies very high amongst home grown crops - perhaps on a par with tomatoes.
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They're great companion plants. Hot peppers help keep away critters looking to nibble on tastier stuff like tomatoes.

Earlier this winter I was treated to french fries and fritters made from purple potatoes. Very nice texture and super nutritious. But bloody expensive. Solution? Grow my own in a potato box.

I bought a bunch of smaller sized purple spuds and pushed three toothpicks around the sides of each one to support the potato in a small jar of water. The picks allow about half the spud to immerse in the water, the other half to sit clear up above. You want the pointy end up, blunt end down. Within a few days, small root-like structures will emerge below the water and start to grow. Be sure to change the water every 2-3 days. These are your seed potatoes. Once planted in soil, they will grow a potato plant that will produce many more potatoes.

The planting box to grow them in is very basic. Drive four 2x2 inch stakes in the corners of a 3x3 foot square over well drained soil in an area that gets at least 4-5 hours of direct sun, preferably in the morning. Attach two rows of 1x6 inch x 3 foot boards. Cedar is ideal for this, with it's natural protection from rotting. Never used pressure treated wood. Fill the box with loamy soil to the topmost layer.

As the weather warms past any possible frost, take the root-bearing potatoes from the jars of water and plant them in the potato box, at least eight inches apart. As the plants take root and grow in height, add a new row of 1x6"x3' boards to the box and fill with fresh soil until just the plant's leaves are showing. It will continue to grow upward and develop new roots from which the spuds will develop. By the end of the summer, the box should be 3 to 4 feet, or more, in height. Within the box, purple potatoes are growing and should be ready for harvesting from early fall to first frost.

Just unscrew the bottom row and reach into the soil to find the largest potatoes down at the bottom. In a good season with warm weather and regular watering, it's not unusual to get more than 50 pounds of affordable purple potatoes from this box. Keep them cool and dry in a box and they'll store nicely for months to come.
 
johnola said:
+ Might have room for some cannabis who knows if it might self seed amongst all that lot lol.
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We grew two lovely plants last year. One sativa (Green Crack), one indica (Hindu Kush). Both turned out very well. Much prefer the former most days. They were grown from cloned cuttings that were guaranteed to be female plants. And they were. We chatted with neighbours who were gardeners and, as best we could tell, no one was growing cannibis.

Which made it a bit of a shock when we discovered a very modest amount of seeds in the buds we harvested from our two girls. How did they get fertilized? We'll never know. Most of the plants' buds were seed free but a few buds lower down on each stem were showing seeds.

We're excited to see what they'll produce this year. Their genetic information should let new plants grown from them acclimatize quickly to soil and light conditions in our back yard.
 
So... gardening experts on here... when is it safe (south east, essex-close-to-london) to get stuff planted/moved outside?
 
Still getting frosts here on the north downs. Had one in June up here last year. Killer.

Just gotta get on with to make the most of the long daylight hours and will do what I can if it a frost threatens.
 
Glenda's Legs said:
We were still having frosts here 3 weeks ago.
Think I'll start planting out next weekend. I've just realised I have 36 tomato plants, amongst other things. I may have gone a bit mad with the seed-sowing!
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At least your playing the averages
We have planted our tomatoes in an area we don’t think is gonna get enough sun
 
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