Fruit and veg growing, how’s it going this year?

Already had a crop of the mixed salad leaves and have today set some more seeds. The Tumbler tomato that was on my kitchen windowsill was becoming far too big and was already setting flowers, so that's planted up and hanging in the greenhouse until the danger of frosts has passed. The other 2 tomatoes are already in growbags in the greenhouse. The yellow bell pepper was only put into the greenhouse a couple of days ago and looks as though its doubled its size already. Considering that the greenhouse was just a supermarket cheapie for around £40 or so; it's been very sucessful.
For the first time, I've grown first early potatoes in sacks and they've been earthed up a couple of times already and have varying amounts of foliage; I reckon they'll be ready for lifting early June.
I have to get a fruit net to sling over the blackcurrant bush; I'm determined that the birds aren't having them all again this year.

Oh MissA I do hope that as the weather improves your health does too. ?

I wonder, do you have any community growing projects nearby? Many towns and villages now have community gardens and orchards where local people can enjoy the fruits (literally) of other people’s labours.

I don't think I'm going to be able to grow anything this year.
I don't feel well enough for even a couple of pots on the window ledge.

jaxjacky, I gave up on garlic where I now live. It is either mice or sloworms. I used to get a beautiful crop at the last home

I have been checking last frost dates, my tomatoes have been in and out of the house on every day above 9 degrees and the flowers are forming. They are outdoor tomatoes. a few will go into grobags in halos and a few in the soil. Doh, last year I resolved not to grow so many but I can`t help it. I have subbed a blight resistant cherry with sungold which I will be eating earlier. I love that they grow into such sturdy plants from a tiny seed

ok so from today they will be out all the time with me keeping a watchful eye on temperatures and they will go out permanently with feet in soil, in three weeks. As always I cut the tops off when they have 4 sprays, that is enough for outdoors

Ethel, that is an awful rat problem, trouble is the wee as they dribble wee everywhere. I don`t know if this is sufficient but I would say yes, I use veggiewash for all my fruit and veg, I mean we cannot stop birds pooping either.

I am proud of my potatoes, I made sure to give the bed a good dose of hm compost plus potato fertiliser. The canopy is very glossy, dense and green. The shallots are also starting to separate, early june at this rate. All I need do is separate once the leaves tell me, then I lay out on my wire shelving racks in the garage, after that I tie in bunches for drying to finish and just tie on the edges of the shelves. I find them very much more reliable than onions, which can bolt easier. I have never had a bolting shallot

I have found a space that will thankfully do fine for my one courgette. I wish I had room for butternut squash but I have to cut my cloth accordingly. I think I may well put that courgette out in 2 weeks, on a small mound with a moat around it, for water. I have some cloches with vents

we ate our first lettuce yesterday

I have a few things coming on in the small Polytunnel, but we will get frosts here until mid May, as usual. So planting out will begin after that, our vegetable garden faces North, so no point in starting any earlier.

Oh dear still too cold in Newcastle area. My cherry tree has lots blossom so hopefully will get a good crop. Another problem is that we have had rats the council put down stuff but I’m concerned they may be back at nights and pee on my herbs. I normally grow potatoes in buckets and strawberries. This year I’m worried that the rats will be polluting them too.

One of my favourite words furtle karmalady, just realised reading this thread I should be watering blueberries from the water butt, rookie mistake, now corrected. Mice have eaten my French beans planted in pots, I’ll try again indoors.

re plants in pots. I almost always use a moisture meter, it is not good for plants to have soggy roots.

Whiff I have 72 of those pretty little strawberry plants, I started with 3 toscana, they survive outside well in winter and drought. Next spring I had 4 or 5 plants from each original toscana. I now have a mix of 3 varieties. Each spring I take them out and divide, I keep some compost and add a bit more new compost. They are now all absolutely covered in flowers and will fruit almost into winter. Strawberries do not like soggy roots. They are very tough plants and survive well in hard frosts. I may well try my spares as ground cover next year, might or might not work

I do try and renew my pot soil instead of getting rid. I use charge, which is worm frass (poo) and this year, in two deeper troughs, I used cardboard and half made rough compost from my compost bins. Up to half way, when it had sunk down after a few weeks, I topped up with john innes 1 and 2. Lettuces in one right now, also in another later, with begonias stuffed in, end of may. Lettuces do not like baking hot sun

I put a couple of short rows of seed down yeterday, fordhook giant and perpetual spinach, just waiting for a bit of rain today

I also sowed some purple sprouting in a small pot, still outside as it will germinate slower, I don`t want them up too quickly, same with more lettuce

My potato haulm is big and very green, so much cover that I am not earthing. I shall cut the tops down for composting in june/july and leave the tubers in as long as possible, I may freeze some but may not need to as the soil will protect the tubers right into winter. Cutting the haulm will preserve against any blight. Before I do any cutting, I will have a furtle, to see how big the tubers are

There is not much more sowing for me now, dwarf beans and carrots will probably do it for this year. Phacelia perhaps, depends if I get an empty bed. I chop that down before covering with weed preventer fabric, for winter

Karmalady thank you. I will follow your advice. They are in 50cm pots and used the correct compost. I have a water butt so been using that water just for them. Luckily it rained yesterday evening and still raining now so my butt should be filling up.

I have a strawberry flower on my Toscana plant. I managed to save 2 over winter in a cold greenhouse. It was an experiment to see if I could.

They are in a large plastic raised planter on legs with a lid. And will stay there all year. I will insulate it in the winter.

I’ve got some of my veg in but I’ve never had any luck with fruit so not bothering anymore.

Here in Cornwall, I have a polytunnel with a propagator with two beds and three raised beds outside. We live in a frost pocket so have to be careful when I plant out some things. Lost all my runner beans one year. One year lost one row to the deer too.

My supersized toms have germinated well then the snails got to them and ate half. Lots of plum toms ready to plant up.
Having my second attempt at sweet corn (minipop) and aubergines. Three varieties of lettuce and beetroot have germinated. Runner, french beans and sugar snap peas are ready to go!

Growing well outside is garlic (including elephant garlic) and shallots. I put out purple sprouting broccoli and cauliflower today. Both did really well last year. Have to keep them netted and still spray with weak washing up liquid to keep caterpillars off.

Strawberries are in the polytunnel and I picked the first one yesterday.

Fruit cage has blackcurrants (which do well year in, year out). Autumn raspberries and tayberries. I keep trying rhubarb but get very little. Don't know why, but fail with gooseberries too Lost three plants now.

I'll try that with my blueberries karmalady. I've got three varieties in pots. Two apple trees and two cherry plum trees - all yet to give me some fruit.

I've dug over a new area and will devote it to cut flowers.

I'd love to grow figs.

Jaxjacky

I pre germinate my parsnips indoors Oldnproud that seems to work better.

That's a good idea. I already do it with my tomato seed, but hadn't thought of doing it with parsnip seeds because of the quantity required. However, as I still have some seed parsnip left, I think I will try that. If nothing else, it should show me if the seed is the problem or other factors.

It's autumn here so not a lot in garden. Capsicums still going, I'll put in some caulis. Summer I do corn, capsicum, tomato, spring onions, passionfruit, Grapes, beans, peas (eat them raw), radish, courgette, strawberries, kumara.

I pre germinate my parsnips indoors Oldnproud that seems to work better.

grannyactivist A mild winter, In our part of the country, while we haven't had a freezing winter with widespread ice and snow, we have had a cold winter with an almost continous bitterly cold wind. I also feel the cold and the wind nearly froze me when I went out to do weed and tidy. I was also on holiday during that lovely warm weather over Easter

My greenhouse crops are doing well. I bought pepper, aubergine, lettuce and cucumber plants about six weeks ago.which I kept on the kitchen window sill and plantedout in the greenhouse 2 weeks ago, when I also planted potatoes and broad beans, but the big planting season starts today.

I have 9 blueberry plants and 6 are very large, in pots, 3 are only a few months old. Re birds and net, no, watch out for the first blackbird and that is the signal for picking to start. I go out every morning and evening and pick the berries as soon as they get large, (it happens suddenly) they do not need to be dark blue. I bring them indoors and put a plate on top. I do this each and every day and always dodge the blackbirds, which give up very quickly., I never net The berries ripen nicely indoors.

Watering is important, only with rain water. If not possible then use a dusting of sulphur powder on the soil. I feed with either water fom my comfrey plants or tomato feed in order to build up the flower buds for next year and help the plants while growing the berries. If in pots then be aware of watering, they need more than direct rain

Once the berries form on my blueberry plants do I need to net them to stop the birds eating them? It's my first year of growing them.

frost last night, I am glad I covered my potatoes and seedlings

If plants get frosted, spray with cold water before the sun gets to them

We grow in containers. Potatoes are doing well, the beans are surviving and I think waiting for the warm weather. Carrots need thinning, a job for tomorrow. Lettuce will be following soon. We don't have the space to grow much but do enjoy what we can grow, enough for our needs in season with rarely anything over as we share excess amongst neighbours. Our small freezer can take very little. The family enjoy our potatoes in season - goodness knows why we grow them really as I don't eat potatoes, far too many for Mr C, just like the harvesting process I think, very satisfying.

I’ve found dwarf green beans frozen whole are better than kidney beans for some reason, they keep the flavour better and don’t go that weird greyish colour that frozen kidney beans do. I freeze them whole, and use them in curries, casseroles etc. Carrots and parsnips keep for months if you partially bury them in sand in the garage or shed - I don’t bother because they are so cheap and I don’t think carrots are worth growing for me, as mine never come good, but my grandad always stored his in sand and they tasted fine for months.

I think the next stage is to work out how to keep the harvest over winter. I froze part-boiled (5 minutes) charlotte potatoes last year. They were marvellous for roasting in my air fryer. I freeze all my blueberries, 12 kg last year and I make a compote from strawberries and rhubarb or just strawberries, which I freeze in small pots. I bottled umpteen jars of gooseberries, which I am enjoying right now, I also freeze small pots of gooseberry sauce. Rhubarb and currents also bottle very well. I pick apples carefully and have a dedicated apple storage unit. I will make apple sauce with the blemished fruits

I don`t freeze my green beans, I have done, don`t like them frozen. I made bean pickle once, that could be an option. I did make bottled beans, in brine, one year, did not like them. Tomatoes are easy to preserve, tomato sauce as a base for bolognese, soup etc. Ratatouille with courgettes. Shallots are fantastic, easy to grow, harvest in june and dry very well through summer and keep until february

Carrots wrapped up in a t towel, in a poly bag, will remain crunchy until christmas. I am experimenting similar with beetroot. Leeks sliced, cleaned and frozen

I am waiting for some rain in order to water with slug nematodes. It has to happen soon though

I don`t have much space for veg, just the equvalent of 5 x 1msq beds and I need to rotate or I would grow parsnips. As it is I only have room for 1 sprout plant and 1 purple sprouting plant, obviously will underplant lettuces. I am having trouble, again, to get marktmore cucs to sprout properly, they are so weak to get going without a greenhouse. I have one and want one more and am trying a few more seeds. I have my one courgette, that will have to lurk amongst the flowers and apple trees

Too early for beans yet here in Durham, but autumn sown onion sets are romping away and spring sown sets looking good. (onions are my most successful crop ) Sowed two lots of garlic in separate big tubs, one lot looking fine, the ones in the other tub, nada! I think they rotted.

Some nice healthy looking tomato plants doing well in the cold greenhouse. Leek and beetroot seedlings coming on. Peas sown in guttering in the greenhouse looking ready to plant out. Courgette seeds just coming through. Purple sprouting broccoli ready to prick out.

Debating whether or not to sow cabbage this year as the slugs always seem to get to it before I do...

The plum tree blossom is beginning to fall. No frosts while it was in full bloom so hoping to get some fruit this year. Apple blossom just appearing. Apples were very poor last year so fingers crossed for this year. I've a very old variety, Lord Derby, which is a dual purpose apple that ripens very late. Huge yellow fruit, much nicer than Bramleys...

I won't do much more now, just the beans.

Some potatoes are coming up. Radishes look promising as does spinach. We have had frost here, so a slow start.

My fruit bushes and trees are looking promising.

My tomatoes are doing OK, as are the beetroot (sown in modules this year after slugs/snails devoured them as they put their heads out of the soil last year) and the cucumbers.

My parsnips are a disaster. Only four have appeared in the whole row. The seed was well in date, so not sure what the problem was. I know people used to sow parsnips in February, but I've always been more successful sewing them in April, so I think I've still time to try again with fresh seed.

I might have to get some fresh courgette seeds, too. I only had three seeds left in the packet. I only want two plants anyway, but one hasn't germinated at all, and of the two that did, one couldn't shed its seed from the first leaves, and I accidentally beheaded it trying to remove it. That leaves one. If it thrives, I will make do with the one plant this year.

The rest of my seeds are either still in the packets, or still under the soil, having only recently been sown.

It's a good job I don't grow veg in my front garden - that has been scratched up by a foraging badger this week, on two consecutive nights!