Grow Your Own

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It can be hard work picking it all. Many of my mandarins go to waste when I just cant get in there to pick them all, and many are pretty small because im useless at culling some early on too. Not all are usable for anything that I can be bothered doing. Fruit just rots at the food relief because they have no cold storage areas.

I took some limes to my congregation today. I could have taken more... I forgot to get them out of the car until half the people had left! There are still some in my car, I might take to the pub later. More on the tree but it needs some good rain. I need to try the pears again soon. Some are huge but underripe stil. Much less than usual. Grape harvest is still going on at the wineries! Its been a super late season.
 
nightshade
nightshade
Yeah but they dont pick any at all
I'm debating on growing pumpkins, but not sure if I have enough time to start them this year, @Hunga Munga what do you think, can I still start seeds for a crop?
I'm going to do a row of parsnip seeds soon, straight into the ground as well.

This year is definitely my experiment year, see works and what doesn't and build on it next year
 
Still well early for Squash plants . You can't really transplant outside until after the last frost . I'm guessing that's into May for you ? For me ,it's late May/early June . You have plenty of time .

Also pumpkins like a bit of cold weather late on to harden the skins and make them store well . So they're not as 'tender' to frost come September/October as some 'summer squash' plants. You've got wiggle room on the backend . 🙂
 
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nightshade
nightshade
Great, I'll sow seeds next week then
I don't think I'll be doing much this year , I had that gigantic tree fall on me in december . In a separate incident 😉, my woodstore (an old van) has shaken itself to pieces . So my spring and early summer freetime is already accounted for .

So I've got to clear a road to get a tractor in , scrap a caravan , cut up a van , tow them out the way, put a new caravan in , build a woodshed ....with no real budget to speak of 😀 .
 
I've mentioned before , growing squash is one of my favorite joys in gardening . It's not just the crop ,the plants can be quite stunning . They eat up space .Grow a few types and you get this 'fractal jungle' vibe , order and chaos in the same space . My favourites of the weirduns are spaghetti and acorn . The Acorn don't get much love in the UK but I found it a delicious summer table veg .

Never mastered the pumpkin with my late,short ,wet season . Grown plenty but never had them ripe and ready for sale/giftys for Halloween . That's the sweet spot . Realistically , most people don't have the space or setup anymore to store a dozen pumpkins and a ton of roots through winter . I'd want to try for one or two stored for Christmas , a couple for immediate eating . Not a huge fan of pumpkin flesh but some homegrown veg at Christmas/holiday season is something I like to do .
 
nightshade said:
I figured I'd spin off the Cost of living thread with a grow your own one.

I know @Hunga Munga and @Octavia already grow some veg, does anyone else? I've now got my allotment so I'll be starting properly in the spring. @Vamp Tramp has it on her bucket list as well, so hopefully a few of us will get into growing our own food.
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I am thinking about starting a garden this spring! Any pointers? I can't keep ANYTHING alive.
 
I've got a space between the rhubarb and the compost bin where I think I can do pumpkins and squash, so I'll get the seeds started off next week and hopefully they will germinate and I can plant them out around May time.

@JustCallMeDarla it depends on what you want to grow and what space you have. I've done most of my soft fruits in pots so they don't grow too big, but if you really like raspberries and have the space they're good for covering ground. It'll depend on your weather too, to what you can grow.
 
My cauliflower seedlings survived the day alone with my cat! They're in need of thinning out really, but still so fragile sp hoping to leave them for another week or two so they'll grow bigger then thin them out and repot them, but it's keeping them safe yet not in a dark cupboard! So they're in the corner of my windowsill surrounded by lego and there's a hat over them, not directly over, between the covered seeds and the wall, so plenty of light but safer!

I've had a look at my seed packets, I'm going to do sunflowers, beetroot, parsnips, sweetcorn, and maybe cucamelon next month, depending on how my current seeds go. Sunflowers, beetroot and parsnips will be directly sown, but the sweetcorn and cucamelon will go into the window if my current seeds are big enough to move out of the trays.
 
Somehow I have misplaced my packets of beetroot, parsnips and sunflower seeds! I had them together and all 3 have vanished!
I've also put a request out to my dad for free tyres, to make a planter, he knows a guy that works in a garage and will have some available for me. It's to go in the corner of my plot near where cars go, so if they cut the corner too tight they'll hit the tyres and not my plot. I'll fill it with some of the to be found sunflower seeds.
 
I have two more pumpkins growing 😀 this time I will leave them on the vine until it dies off. They both chose good spots, one is sitting on the gravel path and the other on a hunk of wood, so rot is less likely. They are still small but may just make it to size.

Pears are still late but I have been picking one to eat most days and they are edible, although crunchy haha.

Now is the time to plant the kale here. Two of those little baby bodies are still fighting for life. I need better soil and the compost pile wasnt wet enough over summer to make it for me.
 
https://imgur.com/a/D0a7mTd

Great morning at the allotment today, lots of weeding done a never ending battle. Found and then sown beetroot and sunflower seeds. Put a path down with the remainder of the paving slabs. Checked on the garlic I planted and that's starting to grow.
Next up is the indoor seeds, pumpkins and courgettes.
 
Most of my seeds are now sown, well first batches of most. I've got a few direct sowing ones to do once the weather gets better, but most of the indoor ones are done.
My plan is to cover over one section of the allotment ready for when the seedlings are ready to transplant, just need to get ahold of some bricks or something to weigh down the covering.
The rest of the leeks have to come up soon, the previous guy doesn't seem to be taking up what has grown, so I'll make a batch of leek and potato soup next week. I removed the dying and seeding kale today, which again he didn't seem to want.
I don't get it I told him to take everything he grew, and he's left the majority of it, yet has moved to a bigger plot.
I bought a kettle today, found it in the charity shop and can use it on my camping stove, so once I've got a shed I'll be able to have hot drinks up there.
 
I gotta get back to watering. Its cool but dry and that is always deceptive!

I might just buy a bag of veggie soil today. My compost was too dry over summer to compost itself so if i want winter stuff i should buy better soil. I duno if i can be bothered fighting off snails...

Another pumpkin vine has appeared. I always plant my seeds from store brought pumpkins so im not surprised when they randomly pop up, but its unlikely this one will flower. I am really hoping I get some celery from the celery butt i planted and let go to seed. Fingers crossed.
 
November said:
. I always plant my seeds from store brought pumpkins
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My plan is to save the seeds from any that grow this year, do you just clean them off and save them, thinking it'll be the wrong time to start growing them straight away so I'll have to keep a tub spare to collect and record what they are!
 
nightshade said:
My plan is to save the seeds from any that grow this year, do you just clean them off and save them, thinking it'll be the wrong time to start growing them straight away so I'll have to keep a tub spare to collect and record what they are!
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I just plant my pumpkin seeds out straight away regardless of time of year now. I have tried to clean and keep them and it never works. They either rot or get lost. If I "store" them in the soil they either come up or they dont 🤣 not like I paid anything extra for them, they can be soil food. Its hit and miss if they'll get pollinated anyway. I have started them a few times indoors but then I forget about them and fail to harden them and they also end up as soil food.

Some seeds like dill and parsley are easy to store in a jar. I kept some broadbeans from last year but summer killed them, dried them right out. So I am not gona bother with storing seeds again. They can just go straight back in (or in another garden bed). If I need new seeds I will buy them, they are so cheap its not worth the muck around. I dont grow anything exotic or expensive. My garden is very haphazard while I try to build the soil.
 
A friend is giving me two planter bags, so just thinking about what I can put in them. I'm thinking carrots in the one, as I have plenty of seeds but not sure about the other. Might try to chit a potato or sweet potato and put that in.
 
If I remember right , squash cross like crazy , so the seeds you store may not be the plants you bought . I always plant fresh seed . I reckon ,in the British climate you only get one shot outside . Use your best bullet . Home produced seeds are good for eating though .

Same same for potatoes really . Buy the blight free seed potato . One bit of blight and every tomato and potato plant on the allotment site could die overnight .
 
November
November
Yeah there are laws about planting potatoes here. Not worth the digging effort either when they are cheap haha
Sack growing is good for spuds ,and tyres . You can even get these bespoke barrels that do it . The potato is a pioneer crop though . If you've got rough land to bring into good condition , the potato does half the job for you . In the end I grew them more for that than the crop .
 
My thinking is more to not spend more money on it! So I'll probably use them for what I have, either seeds, like carrots or put some plants that I've ordered into them.
 
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