Vegetables 2018

laoch na mona

What are people growing this year, has the weather set you back much?

I started later than usual this year due to the weather

I have tomatoes, peppers, and courgette seeds started in trays

I got my beds dug over Easter but they are a little wet so only peas and broad beans are planted

Zzippy

laoch na mona wrote: »

What are people growing this year, has the weather set you back much?

I started later than usual this year due to the weather

I have tomatoes, peppers, and courgette seeds started in trays

I got my beds dug over Easter but they are a little wet so only peas and broad beans are planted

Haven't done anything outside yet, ground too wet. Inside I have sugarsnaps growing in the tunnel, and strawberries already flowering. Some lettuce and radish starting to grow more now. My tomatoes and a few chillies are indoors under light, looking a bit leggy even though they've mostly been potted on and buried deeper. The sooner it warms up properly and I can get them into the tunnel the better. Planning to do peas and early potatoes outdoors if I can get the beds dug soon.

Living Off The Splash

I have two raised beds of potatoes. One from the supermarket sack of potatoes and one Homeguard seed potato. I always get a good return from my supermarket potatoes.

Three other beds dug and ready to be planted. Four beds not even cleared at this stage. I feel like I am falling behind and should be out sowing but I know that everything will catch up as soon as the weather turns a bit better.

My compost is disappointing this year. Didn't seem to break down great.

RebelButtMunch

Living Off The Splash wrote: »

I have two raised beds of potatoes. One from the supermarket sack of potatoes and one Homeguard seed potato. I always get a good return from my supermarket potatoes.

Three other beds dug and ready to be planted. Four beds not even cleared at this stage. I feel like I am falling behind and should be out sowing but I know that everything will catch up as soon as the weather turns a bit better.

My compost is disappointing this year. Didn't seem to break down great.

Same here regarding the supermarket spuds. I have a batch of new potatoes down since the last hard frost.
I have my garlic in since last Autumn, so hopefully the cold spell will generate large cloves.

I put in some Jerusalem artichoke a couple of weeks ago.

Still to do, I have some asparagus that I want to put down and possibly some horse raddish.

rolion

I have lots of lovely greenie plants that are just waiting to go outside,in a proper soil.
I have 2 types of tomatoes,2 types of cucumbers,beetroots,beens,courgette,onion,raddish.
Inside the GH,i have seeded already dill,coriander,spinach,basil,salad and the usual strawberry.

Weather,badly cold and i wasn't risking the new plants.
Last night ,temperature inside the GH dropped to under 5ish..i hope is the last of it this season.

Very happy that this year,due to longer cold, my trees haven't opened the new blossom and they are still protected against any frost.Anyway,due to the warm air delaye,not sure bout the flowers and fruits, i guess they're compromissed as a timeline..

magicbastarder

garlic is doing OK; rhubarb got a little scorched in the recent cold weather but seems to be doing OK. got some peas sown at the weekend, hope to get some more sown this weekend.

TheBody

I’ve maris pipers and onions set two weeks. If I get a chance this weekend, I’ll sow lettuce and scallions.

I get a fierce kick out of growing my own veg.

lordgoat

Moved into a new house with a big garden and am now figuring out what gifts have been left behind in the beds for me.

Seemed to have potatoes randomly in half of them (like half a bed here and another half in a different bed) Tulips and blue bells and primrose randomly appearing in some beds oh and spring onion randomly dotted everywhere.

I do have 4 really good rhubarb plants.

Going to put down spuds tomorrow, and then carrot seeds and onions/leeks together in one bed.

Courgette beets and cucumber in another and then sunflowers and a few other bits and pieces. Oh and tomatoes and chillis in a green house.

Back out to it now!

We've been busy bees the last while but It feels like I'm behind too with what is in the ground but I have:

Colleen first earlies and Maris Piper main in since last Saturday.

I put my onions, red and white, and shallots sets in yesterday.

I've broad beans in for the past 2 weeks and added some French beans with them.

I've peas in the ground since yesterday but I also have some started indoors.

I've been tapping away at the purple sprouting broccoli that we planted last year. It's quite tasty but takes up a lot of space that I kind of need now.

Garlic looks to be doing fine.

Inside I have started;
Tomato plants are doing well but starting to go a little leggy but I didn't lose any.

Courgette plants are started and doing well as are the cucumber.

None of my red pepper seed took off and they were in the propagator the past few weeks.

Beetroot seed was potted up yesterday as was more broad and french beans for transplanting later.
Kale and cabbage has been sowed in pots.

I've started a couple of water melon as a trial this year. We've a new polytunnel on the way so going to stick them and hope for the best. No idea how they'll do.

In the fruit cages
Strawberries beds we're cleaned up and I pruned off dead leaves. They are doing well.
The raspberries are just coming into leaf and other variety is just coming through the ground.
Blueberries have their buds as do the gooseberry and currants.

I put some Honey Berry plants in at the end of last year and they have some flowers! Be interested to see how these do.

The winter months I was very busy. We did alot of pruning of apple and pear and other trees and shrubs around the place. Some were in bad need of it.
We built a second fruit cage.
We built 2 new beds. One 16x8 and the other 16x4.
Have recently been prepping area for polytunnel. Really looking forward to the addition of this to our garden and am planning on new potatoes for Christmas day!!!

Still to do
Plant cabbage, carrots, lettuces, basil, corriander, radish, chilli and probably a few more!

Zzippy

Love to see some photos folks. Getting some good ideas from ye!

Tomato seedlings under light - they were getting quite leggy so I've increased the time under light to 14 hours/day and put some tinfoil around them to reflect light back, they seem to be getting slightly bushier and definitely not growing in one direction anymore, the reflected light is a big help. I'd say 3 weeks and they'll be going into the tunnel, we should be finished with frosts by then here.

miezekatze

I haven't done much yet. I have a little cold frame and I have lettuce in that and a few carrots and radishes. I put courgettes and kale in seed trays last weekend. That's about it, the weather just hasn't been good enough. I might put down some (supermarket) potatoes down today, and maybe get some seed potatoes too next weekend or so.

_Brian

Planted veg seed for first time ever last weekend.

Graces7

This m first year here going to be dot and carry one style.
There is no garden as such, so am being ingenious ..

I cannot dig.. and have the top end of a neglected field, 3 cats and a do g and hares. No fencing etc

So.. I will heel in supermarket potatoes.. cover with seaweed, which we have in huge abundance here, then stick a branch of gorse atop each one.

Worked well when I had mice invading a tunnel and the **** were eating seed peas and beans leaving neat rows of holes..

Peas are going to be mingled with sweet peas and grow over wild roses . That is as far as I have got this year.

Graces7

_Brian wrote: »

Planted veg seed for first time ever last weekend.

You have a wonderful time ahead of you..

bluestone

One bed of orlas & homeguard potatoes planted 2 weeks ago along with another of onions. Garlic planted since December & going well. Planted leeks a month ago but nothing showing yet. think I might have been too eager so will sow another two rows at the wkend. half of my peas & some shallots went in 2 weeks ago. will do the rest of the peas at the end of the month. some carrots to sow also this wkend. have lettuce, sunflowers & sweepea starting to sprout on the window sill. need to get the hanging baskets going also.

_Brian

Graces7 wrote: »

You have a wonderful time ahead of you..

Thanks.
Did it with my 8yo daughter. She’s been watching them tight since. Some sunflower seeds we planted at the same time are up so she’s very excited.

Graces7

_Brian wrote: »

Thanks.
Did it with my 8yo daughter. She’s been watching them tight since. Some sunflower seeds we planted at the same time are up so she’s very excited.

Wonderful. I once had a sunflower each side of my door, Fed the seeds to my chickens.. Hey maybe try that here; thanks

laoch na mona

got some beetroot and carrot seeds planted at the weekend I also bought some strawberry plants

smacl

magicbastarder wrote: »

garlic is doing OK; rhubarb got a little scorched in the recent cold weather but seems to be doing OK. got some peas sown at the weekend, hope to get some more sown this weekend.

Rhubarb doing well now here after the cold period. Got a few tomato plants in the greenhouse and plan on planting some seeds over the week, also for the greenhouse. Usual mix of courgettes, chillies, peas and cucumber for me.

GuitarTown

Most things are going well for me this year (tomato, pepper, courgette, chili, lettuce, carrots, scallions and berries). One of the tomato plants isn't doing too well though, this happened before being transplanted into the bigger pot a few weeks ago and its still growing, and a second one is slightly curling on some leaves too. Any advice on this would be a great help! [Close up pics attached]

laoch na mona

a quick update

carrots peas beetroot onions and beans all doing well

courgettes are slow but getting going now

okedoke

I found a lot of seeds never germinated. Planted beans/peas/parsnips/beetroot after the cold spell ended (4/5 weeks ago) and germination % was terrible compared to previous years. Maybe the ground was still too cold (it didnt feel too cold when planting though).

Any one else find the same?

strandroad

okedoke wrote: »

I found a lot of seeds never germinated. Planted beans/peas/parsnips/beetroot after the cold spell ended (4/5 weeks ago) and germination % was terrible compared to previous years. Maybe the ground was still too cold (it didnt feel too cold when planting though).

Any one else find the same?

My spring onions and chives never showed up. I tried sowing chives again but no joy. It was last year's seeds though so I ordered fresh and will try again.

RebelButtMunch

strandroad wrote: »

My spring onions and chives never showed up. I tried sowing chives again but no joy. It was last year's seeds though so I ordered fresh and will try again.

Are you in Dublin? I've a good few chive's growing from last years seeds around my big chive plant if you want them.

jamesd

Got a tunnel last month, 20ft * 14ft.
Made out own raised beds and got a few tons of top soils, compost and manure into them and last week planted.
Tomatoes, strawberries, cauliflower, lettuce, leaks, peppers, carrots , onions and salad bits then into small pots to start them off .

miezekatze

okedoke wrote: »

I found a lot of seeds never germinated. Planted beans/peas/parsnips/beetroot after the cold spell ended (4/5 weeks ago) and germination % was terrible compared to previous years. Maybe the ground was still too cold (it didnt feel too cold when planting though).

Any one else find the same?

Same for me, good to know I'm not the only one!

I'm trying leek, cabbage and cauliflower for the first time this year. Cauli is doing well, but a lot of the other seedlings were eaten by slugs gonna eat my first head of butterhead lettuce for dins today, and I had some nice radishes too.

Supercell

Ate our first PakChoi yesterday (sown and grown outside), tomatoes and courgettes moved from the greenhouse outside last weekend, love this time of year.

strandroad

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

Are you in Dublin? I've a good few chive's growing from last years seeds around my big chive plant if you want them.

Thank you but I just tried sowing them again! I had great success with other greens this year so I remain hopeful...

Zzippy

Supercell wrote: »

Ate our first PakChoi yesterday (sown and grown outside), tomatoes and courgettes moved from the greenhouse outside last weekend, love this time of year.

How do you find the tomatoes do outdoors? Presumably you have a nice sheltered sunny site. Are you using hardy varieties?

Supercell

Zzippy wrote: »

How do you find the tomatoes do outdoors? Presumably you have a nice sheltered sunny site. Are you using hardy varieties?

I've been very successful with Latah and Sungold over the last few years as well as some Gardeners Delight. Both Latah and Sungold in particular seem to have good blight resistance. Last year i tried other varieties i got on Ali Express (wanting to be all exotic!) and they all got blight eventually so this year its back to the old reliables.
The trick i find is to start late and not plant out until as late as possible. Early May can still have pretty cold nights but by now we are well past last frost date here and so should be pretty safe, a bit of cold really sets them back, I sowed my seeds in early April in an unheated greenhouse.
I'm less than a mile from the sea here and reasonably sunny (being in the lee of the Wicklow mountains definitely helps).

BlackandGreen

First time grower here. I've planted onions, lettuce, parsnip and cabbage. So far so good. Onions seem to be flying up. But I'm having an issue with one of my cabbages. It appears to have fallen flat. The bed itself is protected with a net so I don't think a bird or cat was at it.

Did I plant them too shallow? Also I've been watering them every morning when it's not raining. Am I maybe drowning them? Or could it be a pest problem?

Picture attached