Topic: What are people planting now?

[twinkletoes]

Nothing at the moment - but pulling out plenty of weeds!
twinkletoes

[Barnowl]

French beans (Dwarf and Climbing) will be leaving the comfort of their root trainers for the plot later this week (Yes, I'm an optimist  :) )

[Maidenheadtaff]

Are these all from seed ?

With all this rain we are getting and the cold weather at night (last night even down here it was a bit chilly) are these seeds going to germinate or should we be looking to plant small plants.Most of the gaden centres seem to have finished their veg season

[Barnowl]

Mine are seedlings - sown into the root trainers a couple of weeks ago. I suppose one of the really quick dwarf french (e..g 'Ferrari') could possibly be sown now if you're in the south.

[saddad]

Spring cabbage, greyhound... carrots Autumn King.... chinese Leaves/Cabbage... Winter Radish... and tomorrow overwinter lettuce like Stoke and Bronze arrow..
 ;D

[kt.]

I have ordered seeds to sow next week.  Will be sowing Deakin F1 cauliflowers,  winter lettuce,  over wintering spring onions,  autumn king2 carrots,  spring cabbage and radish.

[oubykh]

i was in a similar position when after 2 1/2 years on a waiting list my son was born and a month later i was offered a plot - i felt i couldn't turn it down and i knew i would be waiting much longer for the next vacancy.

In a way the awful summer weather we have had over the last 1 1/2 years since i got the plot has been a bit of weird turn - even if i had had the time to go there it has been always raining so i couldn't go anyway!! ;D

[Kingfisher]

I grew Potatoes at the beginning of the year, before I got my lottie, put them in to rubble baggs I hade about 15 of them spotted arround my garden they where brill and tasted realy good, I am thinking of not doing them on lottie next year and keep planting them into bags.

[thifasmom]

I grew Potatoes at the beginning of the year, before I got my lottie, put them in to rubble bags I Had about 15 of them spotted around my garden they where brill and tasted really good, I am thinking of not doing them on lottie next year and keep planting them into bags.

since it appears you have had success with growing potatoes in containers, all be it large ones could you help me with a problem. i have been doing this for at least three years now but with very little to show for it. my harvests are small, last year my neighbour suggested i fertilise them as they may not be getting enough nutrients, so this year i added organic potato fertiliser as to manufactures instructions, but i think i didn't keep up with the watering as i have done in previous years. the soil was really dry at the bottom of the barrel. so could you divulge your secrets for successful potato growing in containers. i would prefer to keep them in containers and out of my beds as for rotating reasons cause i grow all my tomatoes outdoors and don't want two beds a year to be affected with blight when or if it strikes.

[star]

My crop in bins were poor too this year (my first time) I failed miserably with the watering, which was the problem. Too dry....not good. Too wet...also not good. Mine were too dry :'(

[Barnowl]

You do have to keep the soil at least moist. Put something moisture retaining in the bottom of the bag e.g. composted manure or growbag compost. Multi compost won't provide enough nutrient so once the haulms appear add a light amount of liquid feed when you water, or a normal dose once a week.

RHS advice here: http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0506/potatoespots.asp

[blythvalley]

I've just put in some seed pots from Ebay, 10 in all.  A complete experiment so I hope some of them grow and don't rot.  Also still putting in lettuces and radishes to keep us going through September.  I put in some purple carrots a few weeks ago which can be harvested up to December.  I'm hoping for a home grown Christmas dinner!

[caroline7758]

I'm fed up because I ordered some seeds from T&M on their free p&p offer over a week ago, planning to get them in this weekend, and now the site is saying no seeds will be posted until 26th Aug. >:(

[calendula]

I would add some of the late chicories to the list - winter hardy, in fact the cold weather highlights the colours more  :)

[tonybloke]

I've got some more runner beans just coming through, if no crop then at least they are a green manure! ;)

[artichoke]

About gardening on clay:

I am helping my daughter with her Greenwich allotment, London clay, hard as concrete until recently with all the rain.

Eventually I drove there with heaps of bags of commercially produced "farmyard manure" and "compost" and smothered the few beds we had painfully dug out with both. Planted various things in holes after some haphazard "forking in".

Went back yesterday after a month away and was very jealous at her tomatoes and spinach. Runner beans a bit spindly but I think that is because of tree shadows (we'll put spinach and other shade tolerant things there next year).

The message is that if you can afford it, spread as much as possible of these things over small beds, and gradually expand them over a year or two.