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Calling SMB veg growers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 5265
  • Start date Start date

Butcher's Coat said:
I agree.
New onion sets required.
About £2.50 or so for a string bag of them in Wilkos.
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Cheers both. I suspected that was the case. Pulling them out makes it easier planning for new stuff rather than trying to work around them. I did buy some red onion sets. My local garden centre didn't have any white, so I'm trying them from seed for the first time. I do leeks from seeds and they always do pretty well.

On the leek front, I did have some last year in one bed that didn't do much. Finished the season with them pretty much like pencils. They have swelled in the last month but will do doubt bolt soon too. I think I'm going to be having leeks and green onions with everything for a few weeks!
Wilfy said:
I’ve got the main frame together on the new greenhouse. Get some more done tomorrow.

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Nice. Is that 6x12, looks big? Always worrying when they are like that, mine was really wobbly but soon went rigid when I got some glazing in.
 
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Peas have sprouted lovely. Already hit the lights, so they've been moved elsewhere.
Tomatoes popped up again too.

No sign of spring onion or lettuce though.
 
DaveH said:
Cheers both. I suspected that was the case. Pulling them out makes it easier planning for new stuff rather than trying to work around them. I did buy some red onion sets. My local garden centre didn't have any white, so I'm trying them from seed for the first time. I do leeks from seeds and they always do pretty well.

On the leek front, I did have some last year in one bed that didn't do much. Finished the season with them pretty much like pencils. They have swelled in the last month but will do doubt bolt soon too. I think I'm going to be having leeks and green onions with everything for a few weeks!

Nice. Is that 6x12, looks big? Always worrying when they are like that, mine was really wobbly but soon went rigid when I got some glazing in.
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6x10. It’s not actually too bad rigidity wise but I’ll be happy when it’s in place and fully glazed.
 
DaveH said:
A good day today. Cleaned all the old dead stuff out my greenhouse and got the first few trays of seeds started. Hopefully get a load more away tomorrow. By the calendar it feels late to be starting, but it was snowing 2 weeks ago.

I had a load of onions that never really did anything last year. Grown from sets they grew a little and died back in the heat wave. Now they have sprouted again they are like giant spring onions rather than looking like they will form a bulb. Is it worth leaving them? Are they likely to form proper onions or am I better digging them up now? While they are still new fleshy stems, they will be great in soup or stir frys.
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Might be interesting to keep one or two as they will almost certainly produce flowers, which in turn will give seed. Keep the flowers long enough and the seed will often start to germinate on the flower head. Harvesting them at that point (November ish) and planting them can lead to extra large onions next year.
 
Wilfy said:
I’ve got the main frame together on the new greenhouse. Get some more done tomorrow.

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That looks like the perfect size for my Mam’s garden. She’s been after a replacement for a while and I fancy treating her. Do you mind me asking where I can get one like that?
 
Booey said:
That looks like the perfect size for my Mam’s garden. She’s been after a replacement for a while and I fancy treating her. Do you mind me asking where I can get one like that?
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Don't know where that one came from, but by the look of the frame and corner joints, it's similar, if not the same as mine marra. Got mine from B&Q. Had it over 12 years now and still ok.
View media item 9992Mines 6x8 not 6x10 though.
 
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Booey said:
That looks like the perfect size for my Mam’s garden. She’s been after a replacement for a while and I fancy treating her. Do you mind me asking where I can get one like that?
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Yeah it’s the Halls Popular 6x10 - we got it from garden site and it was £652 including a free base and the toughened glass option which added a chunk
 
phil said:
Might be interesting to keep one or two as they will almost certainly produce flowers, which in turn will give seed. Keep the flowers long enough and the seed will often start to germinate on the flower head. Harvesting them at that point (November ish) and planting them can lead to extra large onions next year.
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Cheers, might give that a go
Nookie Bear said:
Yeah it’s the Halls Popular 6x10 - we got it from garden site and it was £652 including a free base and the toughened glass option which added a chunk
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It is worth going for the toughened glass. I think mine is 6x8 and I went for a Gardman one with polycarbonate. I've had it at least 10 years and I think it was about £380. Over the years I must have spent another £150 replacing poly panels and another £40-50 buying clear silicone to try and hold the panels in tighter. If I ever replace it, I'm going to go for glass.
 
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DaveH said:
Cheers, might give that a go

It is worth going for the toughened glass. I think mine is 6x8 and I went for a Gardman one with polycarbonate. I've had it at least 10 years and I think it was about £380. Over the years I must have spent another £150 replacing poly panels and another £40-50 buying clear silicone to try and hold the panels in tighter. If I ever replace it, I'm going to go for glass.
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Yeah I have spent a fair few hours over the winter securing panels with tape etc until the wind tore the whole thing apart so the toughened glass was top of the list , fortunately the insurance paid out enough to cover most of the replacement cost as I’d only had the last one a year
 
Nookie Bear said:
Yeah I have spent a fair few hours over the winter securing panels with tape etc until the wind tore the whole thing apart so the toughened glass was top of the list , fortunately the insurance paid out enough to cover most of the replacement cost as I’d only had the last one a year
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Last year was a bad one when one of the storms hit. I had lost one panel and it weakened the whole greenhouse. One strong gust of wind got in and all but one roof panel and a good few side panels went. A few landed in the neighbours garden. It looked like an explosion. Impressive but annoying to fix. Was a late start with my seeds last year.
 
What we got going on now that we're into April ?

I put my first earlies in a week or so ago
Onion sets are showing good early growth after a month or so in the ground
My pea seeds in modules have failed, so I put some straight into the ground this week (boogie)
My cucumber seeds have germinated but been scorched by the heat/sun in the polytunnel, I got one maybe two that'll be ok, so might have to go again if I don't get 3 good plants.
3 varieties of tomatoes seeds germinating (golden sunrise, gardeners delight, red cherry) but at different rates
My brassica seedlings (cauli, cabbage, broccoli, sprouts) are all doing well in a plastic boxes I'm using as cold frames.
Planted 4 different beetroot varieties out into a bed.
Got some young Japanese (hardy) onions off an allotment neighbour so put them in the ground too for a winter harvest.

Got a ton of seeds/seedlings in the polytunnel but quite a few have suffered with scorching so have covered with horticultural fleece to keep the worst of the direct sun off and see what I have left in a week or so.
 
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