Calling SMB veg growers

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alexander said:
Growing garlic in a greenhouse is new to me. Is there a particular reason for it ? I know they say that if you grow garlic (or Marigold) near soft leafed vegs the risk of getting your vegs run over by bugs is less as the bugs don't much like them. Am interested to hear if they have the same effect on something like tomatoes ? Garlic grows very happily outdoors but they do need a bit of frost for some reason during the cold season to get a nice yield the following Summer. I would have thought a greenhouse wouldn't be much good for them.

I haven't heard either about digging garlic up and moving them. Will you let us know how it goes ?
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Will do.

I've got a raised L shaped bed on one end and around a corner a bit in the greenhouse, that I put some autumn planting onions in a couple of years ago. It give me a canny crop of onions last spring. In with that, I planted some garlic and most of it was ok. But there were a few small crappy bulbs and I think they died back quickly so I didn'[t notice to dig them up. If you leave them in the ground the individual cloves break open a bit and sprout so I've got a few little rings of 10cm shoots growing. So long as the roots are not too tangled, I should be able to break them apart and plant them out various places and I'll spread some out in the greenhouse border.

As well as being good for just eating garlic, it is what you say, it has a beneficial effect. I have a heavy clay soil, which means lots of areas retain moisture and it is great for slugs and snails. They are probably my number 1 pest. I have found companion planting stuff with garlic, onions and leeks really helps that. So, when I get my parsnip seeds in over the next week or so, I'll space out some garlic around them and it should help protect them.

I do use an organic slug poison too. I don't really like doing it but I remember one of my first years growing here I had that really pleasing spell of seeing all the small neat rows of seedlings just appearing, then over the course of two damp evenings the whole veg bed was cleared. Same with some bigger plants like sunflowers. I put some out a few years ago, must have had 20 dotted around the garden and not a single one grew. Within a week, every sunflower was a short munched stem covered in silver slime. I don't think a single thing would grow without some control.

My general rule is seeds or young plants down, with onions or garlic if possible and slug control,then while small cover in fleece or a net tunnel. The combination keeps both slugs and cats away until stuff is established.
 
Got our seedlings growing nicely on the windowsill in preparation of being planted. Doubled our potential this year with a second veg box.

Kale, cabbage, spinach, beetroot, horseradish and rhubarb amongst a few other bits. Can't be arsed with anything that only yields once or twice, much prefer things that you can pick for a lot of the year (not saying that's the right attitude like).

Our cucumbers did fantastic last couple years, looking forward to having more this year too - the difference between homegrown and store bought is staggering. Had more than we could eat and ended up with jars upon jars of pickled ones, still got a few left.
 
All my tomatoes (Moneymaker, Cerise Cherry, Aromatico, Tigerella and Oxheart) have now been pricked out and are now in pots (old recycled Pot Noodle and instant porridge ) and are doing well in my porch. I always start off my tomatoes on St. Valentines day - the love apple ;)
Chilli plants Cayenne and a Spanish variety I got from @Typhoonftm are going well.
Sweet peppers, and lunchbox peppers are also doing well.
I am having one last go at Aubergines - but I think that our growing season & weather up here isn't quite hot enough for them
Along the allotment, I planted out my 1st earlies (Arran Pilot) in grow sacks last week, - my 1st earlies always get planted on St. Paddies day - along with some early carrots (Turon & Nantes 2)
My leeks are doing canny in a big tub in the greenhouse, I shall be putting outside this week in a sheltered area. I puddle them in the ground around the late May/early June time.
I have onions sets (Sturon & Turbo) doing very well in old yoghurt pots in the greenhouse - they will need to go in the ground this week.
Onions seeds (Red Barron & Ailsa Craig) have germinated and are going well.
Early peas (Kelvedon Wonder) are just popping through their trough in the greenhouse.
3 different cabbages ( Durham Early, Greyhound and April Spring) are doing well in there too, as are 3 types of Kale - a curly, nero & a purple.
All year Round cauliflowers are sprouting too.

As for eating wise - I am still getting some Curly Kale, and have had 2 lovely picking of Purple Sprouting Broccoli the last 2 Sundays.
Had the last of the sprouts Sunday gone - they have been fantastic this year - they were "Green Marble".

So this week, I shall get some spring onions and radishes set away.

Another lovely day - and I shall get some digging/weeding done today.
 
PTR said:
overwintered my stunted plants from last year. Want to get them out asap, but still hitting zero on nights at the moment
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I had masses of plants last year and just junked them - stupid mistake. They were super productive and I just did not know you could over winter them.

Grown this lot from seed but if they work well I will treat them as a perennial from now on.
 
Recently I bought what I believe to be the Sarrencia “leucopyphylla” variety of Sarrencia. It could be another that isn’t the “Purpurea” or Purple Pitcher Plant. There is like a hood over the entrance with my new one that isn’t on the Purpurea.

I need to put it in a new potting medium. I’ve always had Sphagnum Moss. But I want to try something else.

I’m also growing Dionea Muscipula or Venus Fly Trap but it took a bad hit - Aphids. Now only two of about 6 individual plants survive. Oh well, I go again.
 
Jon Dough said:
Don't do what I did, stick a pencil in the trap to watch it close, I didn't know it kills them 🙄
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It doesn't kill the entire plant JD. Just that particular trap. They are tough old bassas. They will come back time and time again. But IIRC the traps have lives basically and if it uses up all of it's 'lives' like a character in a Mortal Kombat or other beat em' up game you are playing, it dies.
 
ShieldsBlackCat2015 said:
There has been some debate lately about the combination of 'trigger hairs' a fly or other unfortunate victim must hit to close and how fast it is.
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have a look on bbc catch up. One of richard attenboroughs sunday night shows, done a piece about the venis flytrap and how it tests to see if it is food or just a foreign body. as for compost, "which" magazine tested and found that dalefoot wool compost was the best buy. apparently no need to feed the plant but also the sheeps wool content allows the compost to retain moisture. Plan to use it for tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce bed and hanging basket. wont be able to comment if it is as good as it says until august / september
 
Just planted my leggy coriander out, it'll probably die instantly. But also planted half a dozen seeds too, which will hopefully do better.
 
soapster said:
have a look on bbc catch up. One of richard attenboroughs sunday night shows, done a piece about the venis flytrap and how it tests to see if it is food or just a foreign body. as for compost, "which" magazine tested and found that dalefoot wool compost was the best buy. apparently no need to feed the plant but also the sheeps wool content allows the compost to retain moisture. Plan to use it for tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce bed and hanging basket. wont be able to comment if it is as good as it says until august / september
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I recorded it. The Green Planet. I found it fascinating even as someone who has been doing it for a few years now.

I’ll have to find out about wool compost.

Cheers.
 

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