The message
from Tim Nicholson contains these words:

Hi all

Been a lurker here for a while on and off, but I now need some 'local'
assistance from you good people. In a previous life we lived in sunny
Oxfordshire, and could grow just about anything we liked outside as we
seemed to have a never ending growing season. We now live in Ayrshire,
and the climate's proving ever so slightly different.

Which bit of Ayrshire? Coastal fringe is milder than inland.

I'm not sure about what'll survive
outdoors here, hence the call for help. I have tomatoes (cherry and
plum), courgettes, melons, cucumber, chillies, sweet red peppers,
cayenne, garlic all looking ok in the greenhouse at the mo, and will
be planting root veg directly outside as soon as I can. (as mentioned
in another thread, SWMBO has some potatoes in car tyres on the go too)

I have a south facing, pebbledash wall about 14 ft long that I could
put vine wires on to train the toms etc, will they be ok? and what
else might grow well beside them?

Chillies peppers and melons are strictly for the GH.
Garlic is hardy and will be fine outide. Courgettes need to be hardened
off, and planted outside after the last frost date. If you are well
inland, I wouldn't plant them out till June 5th.

Outdoor tomatoes are a bit of a gamble in Scotland, see last frost
date. In a sunny garden, in a warm area, in a good summer, you might
succeed. I recommend you divide your plants and grow half outside and
half in the GH.

Even in summer, you'll find west Scotland considerably windier than
darnsarth, and the prevailing wind is SW..bear that in mind for your
wall-cordons.


Janet (Isle of Arran; snow on Goatfell last night).