Newbie - advice welcome!

[LauraEmmeline]

Dear all,

My husband and I moved into our first house (after living in a flat) and therefore were very excited about having a garden. 

I planted some courgette plants about 3 months ago and have been astounded by how many I've picked off so far and after searching on the internet for courgette recipes, found this fab site!

My first question is....what could I plant out now?  I am a complete novice when it comes to gardening (so was utterly surprised when I managed to grow even one courgette!) so if there is something that even idiot's can grow, please tell me!  We eat lots of onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chillies so if I could grow any of these, that would be just fantastic.

We have 3 spare 5foot x 3foot areas that we want to plant stuff in.

Next question...how do you stop your cat from pooping in your veggie plot?  I thought they always pooped on other peoples gardens??!

Sorry if I sound like a bit daft asking these questions, but I really haven't got a clue! 

Thank you in advance for any comments / advice you may have!

Laura

[LauraEmmeline]

[tim]

So much written about that - start here??

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,12193.0.html

[LauraEmmeline]

Arrrr, I feel I should have searched more deeply before posting - sorry about that!

Thanks for the link Tim, much appreciated.

[tim]

Trouble is, so many posts have comic headings, rather than "Autumn Planting".

[daisymay]

welcome to the site, don't worry about asking basic questions, we all do it as no one knowws everything!  There is a search function at the top which is useful sometimes. But everyone is friendly and don't seem to mind repeating themselves too often!  :)

To stop cats - fill it with veggies - they only go on bare soil! There is a plant called colleus cannina which is meant to deter them, we have some in our front garden which seems ot have worked, but it is not the right time of year - so look out for it next spring. Another thing to try is chilli powder? or you can get deterrents from the garden centre (can be expensive though!) 

[tim]

Wholly agree with that sentiment - trouble is, one has forgotten all ones offerings once they are in print.

[Mothy]

Hi and welcome to the site!!

Why not plant some Japanes onion sets now, and maybe some garlic cloves in November, both to give you a crop next year?

[Ed^Chigliak]

Order your onion sets and garlic now. It's very easy to grow from sets. Choose an onion variety like 'radar' that overwinters. Follow the planting instructions when they arrive. Usual to plant sometime October - December and protect with netting  otherwise the birds will pull them up.

Seeds I am sowing now are as follows.

*Lettuce - winter density
*Endive - cornet de bordeaux
Chicory - gremolo verde
Spinach - giant winter
Cabbage - winter green
*Cabbage - offenham
Spring onion - hardy variety of white lisbon
Chinese cabbage - tatsoi

* Indicates the ones I grew last year. The lettuce will go under cloches this year as last year it suffered without any protection.

Keeping cats off I use rabbit wire. A 50m roll from an agricultural fencing supplier wasn't too expensive. Cut from the roll at 1m intervals the fencing curls to form hoops that you can place over your plants. Make sure to staple timber battens along the cut edges of the wire fencing to make them safe and manageable. I then use polycarbonate sheet to close off the open ends of the wire cloches held in place using garden canes.

[wardy]

Those wire baskets from the supermarket are good cloches for cabbages etc.  I accidentally put my shopping in my boot still in the basket then forgot to return it   :o :o

[telboy]

Laura,
A most effective cat deterrent is an ultrasonic sound device.
There are a number of suppliers - do a google!

[LauraEmmeline]

Thank you to Wardy, daisymay, Ed Chigliak and Telboy - for your welcome's and advice - I'll definitely look into the suggestions you have made (including the Sainsbury's baskets  :o).  Do you normally buy your seeds online?  

I'm going to get my husband to do some DIY next weekend with some rabbit wire...what about the soil that already has some cat poops in?  None are visable to look at, but know that the terror has been using the spare plots as a litter tray!  Is it ok to plant seeds straight in there?

Sorry for more questions - I really do appreciate you taking the time to reply - you must get this all the time!

Thanks again,

Laura

[Ed^Chigliak]

The plants will be fine but you may accidentally contract toxoplasmosis which is likely to go unnoticed because a healthy person's immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. Contracted during pregnancy it's bad news.

Wear gloves when you garden or do anything outdoors that involves handling soil. Cats, which may pass the Toxoplasma gondii parasite in their feces, often use gardens and sandboxes as litter boxes. Wash your hands well with soap and water after outdoor activities, especially before you eat or prepare any food.

Avoid touch your hands to your mouth after gardening, cleaning a cat's litter box, or touching anything that has come into contact with cat feces.