The Veg Plot.

[garynortheast]

There were a few people here posting last year about their veg gardening efforts. It's about that time again, so let's see what progress folks make with their veg plots this year.

One of my daughters and I are getting busy with our veg gardening now. I got two of my three terraced beds back into production last year after an eight year layoff. We're busy getting the third bed back up and running again, and preparing a large fourth bed. Lot of work to do yet but progress is being made.

I've just placed our seed order with Garden Organic and on Saturday a group of us went to a potato day organised by Shropshire Organic Growers. We were expecting a fairly small, low key event. We were pretty astonished to find the carpark rammed and several hundred people in the hall. Excellent event, we bought our seed potatoes there. We're doing tyre towers this year as an experiment. It takes up less space growing spuds vertically rather than horizontally, so we'll see how we get on.

We're also hoping to put up a polytunnel this year, and we're going to remove two unproductive pear trees and make the area a soft fruit bed. Progress should accelerate once I have the money needed to by the timber to repair existing beds and build new ones.

Pictures to follow once I get the chance.

Anyone else starting yet?

[Adam Ef]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

...It takes up less space growing spuds vertically rather than horizontally, so we'll see how we get on.

Also makes it a lot easier to "dig" them up.


I was just thinking the other day that I always leave it too late to get seeds planted etc and this year I'd start early. Then I forgot again so this thread is a good reminder. Subscribing to help remind myself to get on with it.

[Sir Trev]

Went out on Saturday afternoon and got my seed potatoes, onion sets and all my packet seeds, so I've made a start. Spuds are in the dining room in egg box trays chitting and the onions are out of their retail poly bag so they don't sweat to death. Just need to find time to get out and empty the compost bin onto the raised beds and give them a rough dig over. Oh, and clear out the greenhouse and wash it down with disinfectant as it's not been done for a couple of years.

[garynortheast]

It's that time of the year again. Sioned and I are starting seeds off now. We're sowing quite a bit of stuff indoors in plug trays and toilet roll tubes to get things off to an early start.

Garlic chives, cucumbers, two different types of courgette, (Golden Zucchini and Zucchini), and giant sunflowers.


Seed sowing by garynortheast

Tomatoes and cucumbers in the plug tray, broad beans and leeks in the toilet roll tubes.


Seed sowing by garynortheast

More leeks.


Seed sowing by garynortheast

Sioned sowing leeks.


Seed sowing by garynortheast

[Sir Trev]

You're a bit further ahead than me Gary. I normally get tomato plants from a nursery nearby but the last couple of times it has been obvious that they don't take much care with the labels as two plants allegedly the same give very different fruits... Have gone for a packet of seeds this year and will probably set those off in another week or so. If the soil has drained enough after the deluge of the last three weeks I'll dig the raised beds over tomorrow ready for the first of the planting/sowing - the parsnip seeds and early spuds will go in sometime in March depending on the weather.

[Adam Ef]

I've never had much luck with leeks and cucumbers.
Struggled with peppers too until last year then managed to grow some small orange peppers. Chopped them up and put them in a salad only to find out I'd grown small orange habanero chillies. That was a fun evening!


Hoping to get some sugar snap peas and courgettes planted in pots inside this week. Possibly some runner beans too as I really like the flowers on them.

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

You're a bit further ahead than me Gary. I normally get tomato plants from a nursery nearby but the last couple of times it has been obvious that they don't take much care with the labels as two plants allegedly the same give very different fruits... Have gone for a packet of seeds this year and will probably set those off in another week or so. If the soil has drained enough after the deluge of the last three weeks I'll dig the raised beds over tomorrow ready for the first of the planting/sowing - the parsnip seeds and early spuds will go in sometime in March depending on the weather.

We’ve still got a hell of a lot of work to do on the beds yet Trev. I’m just about to order all the larch boards we need to repair existing beds and build a large new one. Except for the new bed, we’ll be doing very little digging. We’re going to weed what needs weeding and the cover the beds in we’ll rotted horse muck and bark clippings. We’re going to plant our veg through that once the soil has warmed up enough in a few weeks, which will give the worms time to incorporate the mulch into the beds.


This is the first time I’ve grown tomatoes from seed but a friend grew all hers from seed last year and they were very successful.

Originally Posted by Adam Ef

I've never had much luck with leeks and cucumbers.

There’s no such thing as too much well rotted muck when it comes to cucumbers, and leeks are happiest in a good firm soil with plenty of muck mixed in.

Originally Posted by Adam Ef

Struggled with peppers too until last year then managed to grow some small orange peppers. Chopped them up and put them in a salad only to find out I'd grown small orange habanero chillies. That was a fun evening!

Now that made me laugh out loud Adam, sorry!

Originally Posted by Adam Ef

Hoping to get some sugar snap peas and courgettes planted in pots inside this week. Possibly some runner beans too as I really like the flowers on them.

We’ll pot on all the stuff in the plug trays once they’ve got going properly, then they’ll go out into the beds as soon as the last frosts have finished. The stuff in the toilet roll tubes will go straight in the ground, again once it’s warm enough.

[Sir Trev]

Adam - cucumbers and peppers like to have just the right heat and humidity so can be tricky to grow depending on the variety. I had a go for several years but found the results poor but it was nice to try. Had poor results with leeks too out in the garden which is odd as onions grow very well in my soil. Hopefully you'll have better luck with the peas, beans and courgettes as they're all very easy to grow.

[Adam Ef]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

...peas, beans and courgettes as they're all very easy to grow.

That's why I grow them as they mostly just grow themselves and we get to watch the progress.

[garynortheast]

Had a good day on the veg plot in the sunshine today.

Sioned and I were out there from late morning. We've sourced lots more well rotted horse poo, so we got a good layer of it onto the two lower beds where we hadn't already mucked. Left an area without though as the carrots are going in there and too much muck makes them fork. I just need to go and get a few bags of bark chippings tomorrow morning to mulch the bits we haven't yet done.
These two beds are ready for planting now.


Two lower beds ready for planting by garynortheast

The larch boards I need were delivered earlier this week. These are going to be used to repair the top bed and build a long new bed. I'm just waiting for the timber for the posts to be delivered now


Larch boards for the new bed and repairs to the top bed by garynortheast

This is how the top bed looks at the moment. Sioned and I have started digging out the weeds, but we can't do too much until the new boards are in place otherwise the whole bed will collapse.


Top bed - work in progress by garynortheast

Sioned at work digging the edges of the new bed.


Sioned digging the new bed by garynortheast

I'm going to grow the potatoes in tyre towers to save space, so this afternoon I sorted out where they were going. I have access to a large mound of old tyres: I have half of what I need but I need to go and get the rest this coming week.


Start of the potato towers by garynortheast

We had the last of the kale today, before pulling out the old plants and consigning them to the compost bin. This is Sioned's friend Eli harvesting the kale for us.


Eli harvesting the last of the Kale by garynortheast