Hi all,

Ok, so after abandoning the garden last year I am determined to
impress my husband with my, as yet, unknown gardening skills! I live
in the south of uk and the containers will be quite sheltered. I
understand the more sun the better, and to use potting compost (John
Innes no. 3) instead of soil.

Ive looked in loads of books but none seem to answer my questions
specifically - I need a step by step idiots guide!

I have bought the following seeds/ bulbs and now have a million
questions...apart from the generic " what do I do with them and when?!
(which is really what I need to know).

Ive bought seeds - carrots, dwarf/bush bean and peas (these seeds all
say to sow from late March, apart from carrots being May)
bulbs etc - garlic and onions (just say plant in early
Spring)

1. For best results do I need to start these off inside, in little
individual tiny pots, prior to planting out; or can I plant out
straight away?

2. When would you ideally do this? I had thought of starting onions
and garlic but DIY store man told me to wait awhile till weather much
better (!?who knows when that is)

2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

3. Can I plant garlic and onions in same container?

4. Dont laugh, but apart from planting in potting compost container,
do I add any soil?

5. I have liquid tomato food...would this be ok to use on all the
above?

6. Also, I read somewhere to keep extra unused seeds for next year in
the fridge. Sounds bizarre....or is it true?

7. Any tips or general advice to help would be much appreciated!

Many thanks in advance!
Rebecca

In message
,
Rebecca writes

6. Also, I read somewhere to keep extra unused seeds for next year in
the fridge. Sounds bizarre....or is it true?


Yes. The majority of seeds - non-recalcitrant seeds - retain the ability
to germinate longer if kept chilled. (If I understand correctly seed
banks store seeds frozen.) But store the seeds in an airtight container
to keep them dry - letting them get damp is not a good idea.

(I'd have my doubts as to whether freezing pea and bean seeds was a safe
practice.)
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
http://lavateraguy.blogspot.com http://www.malvaceae.info

In article ,
says...
In message
,
Rebecca writes

6. Also, I read somewhere to keep extra unused seeds for next year in
the fridge. Sounds bizarre....or is it true?


Yes. The majority of seeds - non-recalcitrant seeds - retain the ability
to germinate longer if kept chilled. (If I understand correctly seed
banks store seeds frozen.) But store the seeds in an airtight container
to keep them dry - letting them get damp is not a good idea.

(I'd have my doubts as to whether freezing pea and bean seeds was a safe
practice.)

I think when freezing seeds its a question of how you freeze them and
that for us without the correct kit it would not be a good idea, a fridge
is ok but so is a cool dark place
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

In article
,
Rebecca wrote:

Hi all,

Ok, so after abandoning the garden last year I am determined to
impress my husband with my, as yet, unknown gardening skills! I live
in the south of uk and the containers will be quite sheltered. I
understand the more sun the better, and to use potting compost (John
Innes no. 3) instead of soil.

Ive looked in loads of books but none seem to answer my questions
specifically - I need a step by step idiots guide!

I have bought the following seeds/ bulbs and now have a million
questions...apart from the generic " what do I do with them and when?!
(which is really what I need to know).

Ive bought seeds - carrots, dwarf/bush bean and peas (these seeds all
say to sow from late March, apart from carrots being May)
bulbs etc - garlic and onions (just say plant in early
Spring)

Google: How to grow ____ , and soil temperature for germination for ___ .
Each plant is it's own little universe having it's own set of needs. You
can blunder into gardening, and eventually you will figure it out or you
can make an effort now and learn more quickly.

1. For best results do I need to start these off inside, in little
individual tiny pots, prior to planting out; or can I plant out
straight away?

2. When would you ideally do this? I had thought of starting onions
and garlic but DIY store man told me to wait awhile till weather much
better (!?who knows when that is)

2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

3. Can I plant garlic and onions in same container?
Yes. See companion plants.

4. Dont laugh, but apart from planting in potting compost container,
do I add any soil?
Good gardening soil is 30% - 40 % sand, 30% - 40 % silt, and 20% - 30 %
clay. You'll need manure or fish emulsion, rock phosphate, and potassium
(wood ashes). Then mix in as much compost as you can. A soil analysis
would be good but most of us eye-ball it.

5. I have liquid tomato food...would this be ok to use on all the
above?
Read "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. Chemical fertilizers will
attract insects to your plants but you might try it in pots. Chemical
fertilizers are bad for the ground and micro-organisms. I'd recommend
manure or fish emulsion. Look for "Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's
Guide to the Soil Food Web" by Lowenfels and Lewis.

6. Also, I read somewhere to keep extra unused seeds for next year in
the fridge. Sounds bizarre....or is it true?

7. Any tips or general advice to help would be much appreciated!
Stay in touch.

Many thanks in advance!
Rebecca
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/

"Rebecca" wrote
Ok, so after abandoning the garden last year I am determined to
impress my husband with my, as yet, unknown gardening skills! I live
in the south of uk and the containers will be quite sheltered. I
understand the more sun the better, and to use potting compost (John
Innes no. 3) instead of soil.

Ive looked in loads of books but none seem to answer my questions
specifically - I need a step by step idiots guide!

I have bought the following seeds/ bulbs and now have a million
questions...apart from the generic " what do I do with them and when?!
(which is really what I need to know).

Ive bought seeds - carrots, dwarf/bush bean and peas (these seeds all
say to sow from late March, apart from carrots being May)
bulbs etc - garlic and onions (just say plant in early
Spring)

Garlic can be planted outside now but it would have been much better planted
in Sept, early October. It's as tough as old boots and will come through a
winter growing well and you get a much much better crop from autumn planted
cloves.

For best results do I need to start these off inside, in little
individual tiny pots, prior to planting out; or can I plant out
straight away?

Carrots, Beans and Peas can wait and be planted in situ idc or you could
plant the Beans and Peas in pots but not yet. I repeat..not yet.


2. When would you ideally do this? I had thought of starting onions
and garlic but DIY store man told me to wait awhile till weather much
better (!?who knows when that is)

If he is still telling clients to plant Garlic in the spring he's not much
good! Plant your garlic asap and you will get a crop, only small heads
though, the onion sets should be planted before the end of the month.


2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

Yes.

3. Can I plant garlic and onions in same container?

Yes. But the more room you give them the bigger they will grow, we always
plant 9 inches apart with 1 foot between rows, not the silly spacing they
say on the packets which means hand weeding on your knees. In containers you
will need close spacing but remember onions hate being crowded by anything
so ensure they are getting as much sun as possible and don't let any other
plants or weeds grow over or around them.

4. Dont laugh, but apart from planting in potting compost container,
do I add any soil?

John Innes is a soil based compost, so no.

5. I have liquid tomato food...would this be ok to use on all the
above?

No. Good for Tomatoes and making flowers flower.

6. Also, I read somewhere to keep extra unused seeds for next year in
the fridge. Sounds bizarre....or is it true?

We store seed in the under stairs cupboard where it is very cool and dark
and dry. They could get damp in the fridge through condensation.

7. Any tips or general advice to help would be much appreciated!

Where do you want me to start... :-)


--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

In message , Bob Hobden
writes
Ive bought seeds - carrots, dwarf/bush bean and peas (these seeds all
say to sow from late March, apart from carrots being May)
bulbs etc - garlic and onions (just say plant in early
Spring)

Garlic can be planted outside now but it would have been much better
planted in Sept, early October. It's as tough as old boots and will
come through a winter growing well and you get a much much better crop
from autumn planted cloves.

When you buy garlic in the shops the instructions on the packets say
plant in February or thereabouts. (But you can't plant them in the
autumn because they're not sold them.)

So last year I did as instructed, and they didn't do very well - though
a wet allotment and last summer's weather probably didn't help them*. I
didn't get round to replanting them last autumn (round the allotment the
wisdom seems to be November) (but some of a batch that I thought had
failed completely have come up again this year), so again I've planted
them in February.

So my question is, how late can you plant garlic, i.e. will you get away
with planting in December and January?

* A planting of shallots was killed off by flooding, as were too many
other plants.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
http://lavateraguy.blogspot.com http://www.malvaceae.info

"Stewart Robert Hinsley" wrote ...
after Bob Hobden
wrote

Garlic can be planted outside now but it would have been much better
planted in Sept, early October. It's as tough as old boots and will come
through a winter growing well and you get a much much better crop from
autumn planted cloves.

When you buy garlic in the shops the instructions on the packets say plant
in February or thereabouts. (But you can't plant them in the autumn
because they're not sold them.)

So last year I did as instructed, and they didn't do very well - though a
wet allotment and last summer's weather probably didn't help them*. I
didn't get round to replanting them last autumn (round the allotment the
wisdom seems to be November) (but some of a batch that I thought had
failed completely have come up again this year), so again I've planted
them in February.

So my question is, how late can you plant garlic, i.e. will you get away
with planting in December and January?

* A planting of shallots was killed off by flooding, as were too many
other plants.

Personally if I couldn't plant it in the autumn I wouldn't bother, when I've
tried it in the past it just ends in very small cloves...not worth the
bother imo. Autumn planted gets as big as anything in the shops.
The seed companies send out garlic for autumn planting and I know of some
GCs that stock it in the autumn too. If yours doesn't then complain and keep
complaining until they wake up, or shop elsewhere. Of course you could
always plant your own again or just greengrocer bought garlic, anything is
better than waiting until the spring.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

On Mar 10, 1:18*pm, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:
In message , Bob Hobden
writes

Ive bought seeds - carrots, dwarf/bush bean and peas (these seeds all
say to sow from late March, apart from carrots being May)
* * * * * * * *bulbs etc - garlic and onions (just say plant in early
Spring)

Garlic can be planted outside now but it would have been much better
planted in Sept, early October. It's as tough as old boots and will
come through a winter growing well and you get a much much better crop
from autumn planted cloves.

When you buy garlic in the shops the instructions on the packets say
plant in February or thereabouts. (But you can't plant them in the
autumn because they're not sold them.)

So last year I did as instructed, and they didn't do very well - though
a wet allotment and last summer's weather probably didn't help them*. I
didn't get round to replanting them last autumn (round the allotment the
wisdom seems to be November) (but some of a batch that I thought had
failed completely have come up again this year), so again I've planted
them in February.

So my question is, how late can you plant garlic, i.e. will you get away
with planting in December and January?

* A planting of shallots was killed off by flooding, as were too many
other plants.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsleyhttp://lavateraguy.blogspot.com* * * *http://www.malvaceae.in

It depends on whether you're planting hard neck or soft neck garlic
(the type you usually see in the stores). Hard neck garlic is usually
planted in the fall in cold weather climates. This allows root
development before growth actually occurs. When you plant in spring,
it tends to put all its effort into greens, not the bulb. Soft neck
garlic is usually planted in December-February in warmer climates like
the UK or the southern States, with which I have no experience, but I
think it is likely a faster growing garlic.

I've read the ideal sprouting temperature of garlic is about 4 degrees
C, btw which is the temperature of your average refrigerator and my
experience seems to indicate this is true. So you can store your other
seeds in the fridge (not the freezer) but don't use it for garlic or
onions.
Dora

In article 87099bff-28f8-4e2b-8610-cdc731f73502
@h25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com, says...

2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

My first gardening year, I planted my peas and beans in 6" deep troughs.
I got a pretty good pea harvest but the slugs ate all my beans. They ate
all my beans last year too and this year I'm going to buy nematodes, and
grow climbing beans instead. Peas don't seem to need deep roots. I added
my stakes as the peas came up, rather than straight away, and did okay.

You can grow climbing French beans and runner beans in tubs - you'll
need some long canes but the flowers are pretty. I'm planning on having
a tub of each by the front door and a tub or two of each in the back
garden. If I get lots of beans I won't mind if people nick 'em, and if I
don't, there won't be any to steal!

In article ,
Amethyst Deceiver wrote:

In article 87099bff-28f8-4e2b-8610-cdc731f73502
@h25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com, says...

2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

My first gardening year, I planted my peas and beans in 6" deep troughs.
I got a pretty good pea harvest but the slugs ate all my beans. They ate
all my beans last year too and this year I'm going to buy nematodes, and
grow climbing beans instead. Peas don't seem to need deep roots. I added
my stakes as the peas came up, rather than straight away, and did okay.

You can grow climbing French beans and runner beans in tubs - you'll
need some long canes but the flowers are pretty. I'm planning on having
a tub of each by the front door and a tub or two of each in the back
garden. If I get lots of beans I won't mind if people nick 'em, and if I
don't, there won't be any to steal!

USE IRON PHOSPHATE BAIT
1 Choose a bait product carefully.
Baits containing methiocarb kill
earthworms and beneficial insects.

2 Baits containing iron phosphate
(such as Sluggo?, Escar-Go?, or
Worry Free?) are safer for children
and pets than baits containing
metaldehyde. Nevertheless, always
keep this and all other pesticides out
of the reach of children and pets.

3 After eating iron phosphate, snails
and slugs stop feeding and die within
3 to 6 days. They often crawl into
secluded places, so you may not see
dead bodies.

4 Reapply iron phosphate baits every
2 weeks.

Iron phosphate has taken care of 95% of my slug and snail problems.
Let us know how the nematodes work out.
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
Amethyst Deceiver wrote:

In article 87099bff-28f8-4e2b-8610-cdc731f73502
@h25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com, says...

2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

My first gardening year, I planted my peas and beans in 6" deep troughs.
I got a pretty good pea harvest but the slugs ate all my beans. They ate
all my beans last year too and this year I'm going to buy nematodes, and
grow climbing beans instead. Peas don't seem to need deep roots. I added
my stakes as the peas came up, rather than straight away, and did okay.

You can grow climbing French beans and runner beans in tubs - you'll
need some long canes but the flowers are pretty. I'm planning on having
a tub of each by the front door and a tub or two of each in the back
garden. If I get lots of beans I won't mind if people nick 'em, and if I
don't, there won't be any to steal!

USE IRON PHOSPHATE BAIT
1 Choose a bait product carefully.
Baits containing methiocarb kill
earthworms and beneficial insects.

2 Baits containing iron phosphate
(such as Sluggo?, Escar-Go?, or
Worry Free?) are safer for children
and pets than baits containing
metaldehyde. Nevertheless, always
keep this and all other pesticides out
of the reach of children and pets.

3 After eating iron phosphate, snails
and slugs stop feeding and die within
3 to 6 days. They often crawl into
secluded places, so you may not see
dead bodies.

4 Reapply iron phosphate baits every
2 weeks.

Iron phosphate has taken care of 95% of my slug and snail problems.
Let us know how the nematodes work out.

I forgot to mention that, the admonition, to keep iron phosphate away
from children and pets, aside, it can be used up to the day of harvest.
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/

1. IF sowing early varieties of carrot plant in a pot in warm sheltered spot with a cloche over the seeds ( a transparent plastic pot), for a succession of carrots you could continue sowing a few seeds in different pots every week from mid spring to mid summer.

2. Plant out onion setts over next weeks, make sure soil is well compacted, onions need a good stable base to grow well.

3. Use as big a pot as you’ve got for the onions they need to be at least 6 – 8 inches apart.

Plant strong smelling marigolds (tagetes) to distract carrot fly or put onion plants close to carrots

.....good luck

www.jtgardendesigns.com

a href="http://www.jtgardendesigns.com/"www.jtgardendesigns.com//a

Billy wrote:

USE IRON PHOSPHATE BAIT


I tried this for a fortnight last year on my allotment. Result - everything
continued to be eaten. After a fortnight I reverted to regular slug pellets.
Result - next day I had about 60 exploded slugs scattered around,

I won't be trying Iron Phosphate again this year.

Tom

In article wildbilly-B84ED0.11100811032008@c-61-68-245-
199.per.connect.net.au, says...
In article ,
Amethyst Deceiver wrote:

In article 87099bff-28f8-4e2b-8610-cdc731f73502
@h25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com, says...

2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

My first gardening year, I planted my peas and beans in 6" deep troughs.
I got a pretty good pea harvest but the slugs ate all my beans. They ate
all my beans last year too and this year I'm going to buy nematodes, and
grow climbing beans instead. Peas don't seem to need deep roots. I added
my stakes as the peas came up, rather than straight away, and did okay.

You can grow climbing French beans and runner beans in tubs - you'll
need some long canes but the flowers are pretty. I'm planning on having
a tub of each by the front door and a tub or two of each in the back
garden. If I get lots of beans I won't mind if people nick 'em, and if I
don't, there won't be any to steal!

USE IRON PHOSPHATE BAIT

I tried that last year. To no avail.
--
Linz
Wet Yorks

In article ,
Amethyst Deceiver wrote:

In article wildbilly-B84ED0.11100811032008@c-61-68-245-
199.per.connect.net.au, says...
In article ,
Amethyst Deceiver wrote:

In article 87099bff-28f8-4e2b-8610-cdc731f73502
@h25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com, says...

2. Sounds daft, but am I right in assuming I dont need very deep
containers/ troughs for the peas and dwarf beans? Also, do I need
stakes in whilst seedlings or do I just add as they get bigger?

My first gardening year, I planted my peas and beans in 6" deep troughs.
I got a pretty good pea harvest but the slugs ate all my beans. They ate
all my beans last year too and this year I'm going to buy nematodes, and
grow climbing beans instead. Peas don't seem to need deep roots. I added
my stakes as the peas came up, rather than straight away, and did okay.

You can grow climbing French beans and runner beans in tubs - you'll
need some long canes but the flowers are pretty. I'm planning on having
a tub of each by the front door and a tub or two of each in the back
garden. If I get lots of beans I won't mind if people nick 'em, and if I
don't, there won't be any to steal!

USE IRON PHOSPHATE BAIT

I tried that last year. To no avail.

Very odd. Worked like a charm for me. It is best applied when the ground
is still moist (early spring). I've seen one snail (very small) this
year and no slugs, where once there where large herds of the critters.

Let us know know the nematodes work out for you.
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/