Hello everyone, I am new to the forum.
I have a small patch of land that I want to grow on, I have been browsing all the relevant sites to get in the supplies I need to combat the weather, but I am now a bit overwhelmed, it seems there are a great many things that will affect the plants adversely.
I plan to grow - tomatoes, onions, lettuce, herbs, carrots, cabbages, potatoes, courgettes and whatever else stands a chance of thriving in the Welsh weather. Can anyone de-complicate things for me, if this is possible, and tell me what disease/fungus/infestation I can expect. Some plants will go into raised beds, others in pots.
Does growing in a green house come with many problems with the humid weather.
I lost all my tomatoes and herbs last year, the tomatoes rotted before they ripened and the sheep ate the herbs. I at least have sturdy fencing in place now.
Any help so that I can prepare my defences would be great, thanks in advance to anyone who can assist me.
Susan
Welcome to A4A susan.
I'll leave any answer to more experienced growers. I am in my second year and do not really have a wealth of experience or knowledge.
Hope you find some answers.
If you have not ordered your seed yet I can reccomend www.moreveg.co.uk only because I have used them (not affiliated in any way) and they are very cheap.
You can have a look at the wiki at the top that has lots of useful information. :)
Welcome by the way. :)
You will not get away without some losses that's the name of the game!
I worked out last year each tomato cost me £2.75, one was the size of a pea, the rest all wen mouldy and fell off, some had black spots and don't get me started on the onions.
I see we share the same life goals, good luck with them
The following book may help you understand some of your veg problems such as the black spot on the tomato. Otherwise a standard veg gardening book will help with plant likes and dislikes.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegetable-Herb-Expert-Dr-Hessayon/dp/0903505460
hi susan and welcome. all i can offer in way of advice on your tomato problem is keep well watered and the greenhouse well ventilated.
Hi Whitebeam..and welcome ;D
Ok..fencing to keep sheep away..you've already done the first step to success!
I don't want to sound negative..but there is 'millions' of things that could attack your crops so I would not worry about diseases in advance ;)
If you've done your preparation for the soil and trying to keep worst pest away that is more and less best you can do..and if you are able to remember to keep your plants fed and watered..some success will follow. As for weather..well that is something that is out our hands..unless you start growing under covers.
All those crops you mentioned are perfectly growable almost anywhere in Britain so you are ok.
Tomato blight is something that will attack outdoor tomatoes..there is no getting away from that..but if you insist trying tomatoes outdoors, try some blight resistant/tolerant varieties and maybe small container type that normally manage to crop early before blight season start ;) If you are growing in GH..good ventilation is important..opening and closing doors and windows to regulate temperature and humidity. Don't leave watering too late in a day as too much moisture and closed vents during night would cause damp and fungal attacks indoors ;) I've tried to give all round answer..but don't be shy to ask if you are not clear of something ;)
First of all welcome to A4ALL don,t look for answers, enjoy yourself how to grow most things are on the back of the packet of seed you will buy. Everyone has up,s and downs, This time of year most things can be planted take your time no good spending a fortune , and just rushing into everything start small aim high over the coming seasons. Help is at hand for everyone we all need a helping hand at times. Lots of luck to you and your family. :) :)
Tomato blight is so variable. I have had it twice in four years but one year it was quite late and I still got tomatoes. I grow mine outdoors. Just don't water the actual plant, only the soil, plant quite far apart so they are well aired, and pulverise with Bordeaux mixture up till the fruit formation.
In Wales you will have lots of success with cooler weather crops, like peas, beans, potatoes (hurry up with them!) salad veg, cabbages, carrots etc.
have fun and welcome to A4A!
Apart from potatoes and tomatoes, which are susceptible to blight, your crops are unlikely to get any serious disease as long as you rotate them. There are a couple of other things to watch out for, but it sounds as though your patch of land may not have been used for veg before. It's usually allotment sites where disease becomes endemic.
I suggest you get sowing, and start a thread here any time you get a problem. Watch out for pigeons; I cant start peas in the open ground unless they're covered, and brassicas have to be netted.
I think the others are right - no sense worrying about diseases in advance. If you were to list all the diseases humans get, you'd think it wasn't worthwhile trying to be one ;D, but we just have to get on with it, and it's the same for veg.
Try early potatoes, which will be eaten before blight strikes, and early tomatoes like tigerella. The other things you suggest sound normally problem-free. So give them all a go, maybe you just had bad luck last time.
If you get problems, tackles them as they arise. We'll see if we can help. If you need courgette, bean or lettuce seed, I could help. Pm me.
Good luck!
Thank You everyone, I have read a lot and probably became a little paranoid, everything is out to get my poor littlies, a sense of normality has been resumed. Good advice from you all and I will be back on line if I run into anything scary.
I think I may start a bit smaller as suggested, see how it goes, without the sheep getting in at least the herbs have a chance,
:)
What part of Wales are you in Susan? Welcome to the site by the way. ;D
Hello, Sorry for the late reply, the flu got me.
I am on the South West coast, usually a very wet area and not much summer time over the last few years either, so it has it's own particular problems, I apparently had 'Onion White Rot' and am told there is nothing I can do about this as there is no prevention or cure, a shame if this is so as I do want to grow some onions this year, also shallots and leeks, although I suppose they are subject to similar problems?
Any help or magic cure?
Thank you for replying and welcoming me,
Susan
first make sure your plot is rabbit proof! I'd then buy a simple gardening book like Hessayon's The Vegetable Expert. Then just enjoy learning slowly. I don't grow tomatoes myself as I find they need too much looking after. Potatoes and onions are a good staple because they don't seem to care about the weather and very little eats them. Also broad beans, runner beans and peas. Get your ground in good condition too, over time.
Give the onions and garlic a miss for the moment, and plant leeks. They don't seem to suffer so badly from white rot. If you get any other problems, take photos and post them here, or link to wherever you put them.
There is a possible organic control of white rot, which I am trialling this year. For details of the method, see this page :- http://www.growyourown.info/page173.html
Hi Susan and welcome!
I think the report by realfood has some interesting merit & was discussed last year.
Prior to the garlic treatment, after losing 40% of my crop last year, I sprayed with Jeyes fluid as an extra precaution.
I will have to wait to see if any positive results occur when the rotation comes around again.
Good luck with your endeavours, I wish for some of your rain here - it's getting desperate now!
Thank You, it is raining here today but as you say much needed. I hope some passes over your way.
I will watch these trials with interest.
I really do want to grow onion at some point.
What part of Wales are you from?
I`m from the top of the Rhymney Valley
I`d recommend Dr D G Hessayon - The Vegetable Expert
Any tips about growing in the Valleys just pm me only too glad to help a fellow grower
I started with the Veg expert as well. However they do not seem to have updated the recommended varieties so when you go looking for seeds they are not in the shops.
I would not get too hung up on the pests etc, every year some things do well and some things die. If things are well fed, watered and generally happy most of them will thrive.
.
no need to worry about spraying for tomato blight since only real preventing is not legal for small scale growers.