"will" wrote in message
om...
"shannie" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Im very chuffed with how our veggie plot has gone over the past couple
of
months, a lot of thanks due here to everyone who answered and is still
answering my daft questions. Shan

Well done Shannie,
Thank you *blush* and to everyone who had a look and gave similar praise and
encouragement

I've been following your progress with interest
since you first posted, as I was embarking on a very similar project
. It is also my first year as a veg gardener, so
it's all new to me.

At the moment we have 4 varieties of potatoes doing well, onions,
shallots, leeks, garlic, mixed leaves lettuce, beetroot, cauliflower,
broccoli, carrots, runner beans, tomatoes, asparagus and peppers. On
the fruit side we have strawberries and gooseberries, and we've
planted two pear trees and a cherry. It's great to watch them all
grow.
Isin't it just the best feeling!!

The only failures are spring onions and the rhubarb, which just
didn't appear, for some reason. I think I might have planted the
rhubarb too deep.
My spring onions are just not happening for me either, my rhubarb still
looks the same as it was when it went in,in april, not dead tho, so still
hopeful :-\

Apart from that, nearly everything is doing well, though I still can't
decide if what might be carrots are just weeds!
Oh boy do I know that feeling!

And that sums it up really. This year is really a learning process.
Next year things will be done a bit differently. Which sounds like the
start of a new thread. It's a bit early in the year perhaps, but what
would people do differently next year after their experiences this
year?

Me?

1) Plant far fewer potatoes. I wanted some earlies, second earlies and
maincrops but could only find them in large bags, so have ended up
with about 150 potato plants. Next year I must find smaller bags, or
find someone to share them with.

I have seven rows but haven't a clue about earthing them up, Im doing it
with grass as advised but how much and when and whether to leave them grow
or keep earthing them up, they're very long and leggy so I did it again,
whether or n ot it's right I havent a clue. They're supposed to be so easy,
but I just can't get a handle on em at all!

2) Have a better plan, and do more successional planting. Probably the
most elementary error after quantity. I have made a second sowing of
lettuce and spinach, but apart from that, I've planted too much of
everything at the same time, so they are all maturing at the same
time. Next year I have to plan it better so that I'm sowing/planting
much smaller quantities but over a longer period of time.

Agreed, agreed, agreed!!! Got carried away with all the seeds and a vague
memory of 'waste not want not' now I have winter cabbage seeds to sow, swede
and 50 sprout plants (grown from seed) and nowhere to put em!! If there's
anyone from midland Ireland reading and they want brussell sprout plants
free give me a shout

3) Prepare the ground better before I start. This year we created the
beds in March - it was a neglected lawn before that - and started
planting pretty much straight away. The veg has done well, but next
year it would be good to have more time to improve the soil
beforehand.
Yup, me too. Got some farmyard manure 'maturing' in a compost box, all ready
for next year. The advise and archive material here on nettle manure
(horribly smelly..ugh!!) saved my life and plot this year

4) Try some different techniques, in particular the no-dig method for
potatoes, and some more containers.
I've recently gotten a glass house, so things will be different next year
for me also, got to work out quantities and timing better tho.

5) Have some kind of pond in place for next year. We've not had a slug
problem so far. I can only imagine that this is because there is no
history of veg or other plants in that area, and so they don't yet
know they are there! Next year I imagine they'll be wiser, so we want
to encourage frogs and other slug-lovers to the area.
The hole's dug, just waiting for himself to sort that one

Like you, I'm very grateful for the advice and encouragement I've had
from the older and wiser hands on this list. I've not posted a lot
because I've found a lot of the answers I need from searching back
through the archives.

Thanks everyone!

ditto!

Geeze Will you saved me a lot of typing, you could be me, or is it I could
be you?...lol......Im sure some of the old hands sometimes tutt tutt at my
posts but hopefully listening to us 'infant' gardeners will bring back
memories of how it felt " that first season".....such a nice feeling too!

Shan



Will