Gardening advice

[watervole]

Having just planted out the lettuce seedlings which are growing amazingly well and are so far untroubled by slugs, and managed (so far at least) to greatly reduce the aphid problems on the gooseberry (last year we had mega-problems with aphids), and the garden and allotment generally looking pretty good (we'll certainly have some disasters, just don't know what they'll be yet...), I wondered if anyone would like any gardening tips?

Is there some kind of fruit or veg that you'd like to grow and don't have a clue where to start?

Is there something you're already growing that simply goes wrong? (fails to thrive, gets eaten by nasties, etc)

Have you got a lawn that you're contemplating turning into a veg patch, but don't know where to begin?

Ask me, and I'll see what I can do to help.

Comments

[watervole.livejournal.com]

You're starting with the difficult ones there. (but on the other hand, you might get lucky) Carrots, sow in situ and thin out. Caulies, start in a seed tray and plant out a few.

Carrots need very fine soil. Caulies need a firm, compact soil.

I'd start with something simpler. Radishes, lettuces.

You can get some very pretty varieties of lettuce.

Rocket is also extremely easy to grow.

[djelibeybi-meg.livejournal.com]

Brilliant, thanks. I did radishes in my trough two years ago and they were really lovely. Each year, we remove the soil from the troughs and put it under tarpaulin over the winter. This is mainly so that we can oil and store the (quite expensive, wooden) troughs in the shed during the roughest months.

This soil is okay as we add general compost to it each year after sifting out any old roots and twigs using the "griddle" my dad gave me. This gives a very fine soil as it's capable of sifting out gravel. Do you have any advice for killing slug eggs because, no matter how hard we try, the slugs get a good 70% of our plantings each year. Should I begin each year with virgin soil/compost?

The seed packs I've bought have about 3.2 millions of seeds in them. For someone who only wants about three or four feet of crop, what would you recommend?

[watervole.livejournal.com]

The griddle is a good idea. (are you sure it isn't a 'riddle'?)

Too fine isn't good as it may compact. don't be afraid to leave a little rough stuff in - except for carrots which love fine soil.

I found, quite by accident, that the watering with dilute urine seems to discourage the slugs - last year, my slug-eaten celery plants recovered spectacularly. My guess is that the trace elements in it give the plants key nutrients to improve their natural slug defences.

My lettuces - only feet away from the pond - haven't been touched yet. (fingers crossed)

slugs like beer ( or anythng with yeast in it). Put some in a jar and sink the jar so its neck is about a cm above the soil. Add beer. when there are too many dead slugs in it, empty and replace.

REad the packet carefully. also look up on web as packets rarely tell you everything. Make your seed bed LEVEL and SMOOTH. It really does make a difference. Use string to mark a straight line when planting - makes it easier to spot the seedlings when they come up in a straight line!

Water well the day before you sow - don't water after sowing (especially if it's small, fine seed)