Novice gardener

[jokey]

Hi everyone

this is my first year and i'm quite chuffed how its going so far i've had loads of different lettuce, radish, spring onion, strawberrys, carrots, beetroot and broadbeans.  my toms, peppers, chillis and runner beans are coming along nicely. i only have a small greenhouse and plot in my garden but its amazing how much you can fit into a hectic garden of veg and flowers.

i have been lurking on this site for the past couple of months and find it so so helpful.

i have a couple of questions if anyone can help, firstly my broccolli is massive but can't see anything happening (am i been impatient), i have 4 sweetcorn in a large container but only three have shot up and the middle (is it a flower) is coming though, the other is tiny, have i crowded them to much and i got my first cauli heart yesterday only to find a great big caterpiller sat on it munching away, its a bit eaten but will it be ok once it grows, if it grows?

great site

jo

[jokey]

[banshee]

Hi Jo

Welcome to A4A   ;D

Like you, I only have my garden to grow things in and a couple of greenhouses. I too think it's pretty amazing just how much you can fit in a garden especially if you utilise pots and hangers too.

As for our questions, I will leave the answers to siome one with more experience that I - I'm just starting out myself - only in the 2nd year really but have grown bits and bobs over the years.

Hope you enjoy the forums as much as the rest of us seem to do.   ;D

[landimad]

Hi,
Welcome to A4A, the only advise I can offer is to cover your brassicas with some fleece to keep the bugs off. This will give them a good chance of growing away to a good size.
Check out my gallery to see what I have done to the back garden as the lotti went to the developers a few years ago.
Still I can have a go with another if it comes up in the future.
Just keep at it and the urge to try other things will keep you in the spirit of this site GROW FOR ENJOYMENT NOT NECESSITY.

[manicscousers]

Hiya, joker, glad you stopped lurking  ;D
broccoli always seem to have huge leaves but, if you're patient, it should give you a lovely head soon, what sort is it?
sweetcorn, how big is the container,
yes, the top 'flower' is the male with the pollen on, the side shoots will get silk-like things on, these are the female, they need the pollen to drop on and fertilise, we shake the tops of the corn,every time we walk past, when the top is right up. sounds like you have had lots of good produce from your plot, congratulations  :)

[small]

Hi, and welcome to the world of the vegetables! Once you have found one caterpillar there will certainly be more, so check all your brassicas at least daily, and don't be squeamish about killing. Check under leaves for the clusters of eggs and squish them too. You don't want to be disheartened by caulies full of caterpillar poo!  Sounds like you've made a brilliant start, well done.

[jokey]

thanks all, i appreciate all your help

i feel like the garden has become a full time but enjoyable job, don't know how i manage to go to work as well.

Manicscousers i'm not sure which broccolli it is as i got mixed up with my seeds, suppose i just have to watch and wait.  Sweetcorn pot about 30 inch diameter and thanks for the pollination tip, i will start shaking as they come up.

this is the best forum on the net, what a creep

jo

[jokey]

thank small

only discovered the caperpiller eggs a few weeks ago and have since been checking leaf and squishing eggs and caterpillers, hopefully its only the one that got away

[saddad]

Hi Jo, welcome to A4A...  :)

[manicscousers]

I was just thinking, either calabrese( the stuff they sell in supermarkets as broccoli) or purple/white sprouting which isn't ready until spring  :)

[jokey]

manicscousers ive just found the two seed packets that it could be, rudolph or early purple sprouting, any idea how i can tell which it is

jo

[manicscousers]

looking on the internet search, they're both sprouting varieties, so spring it is  ;D

[jokey]

thanks manicscousres