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Gardening 2008

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Sounds like too much sunlight/heat.
They may just recover with a watering, but I doubt it.
You still have time to start again, but remember they don't need sunlight untill they get established.
May be worth covering them with some newspaper to keep the direct sunlight off.

Edit: + what GEM said.
Good thing about gardening is lots of differing Ideas.
I've tried some things that work for me. Others have tried different things that work for them.

Good luck with it, fella.
 
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True Blue Jack said:
Mrs TBJ and I made a decision a few weeks ago to start producing some of our food. Now when it comes to gardening we are more Charlie Chaplin than Charlie Dimmock, so, if anyone has any tips on where to start we'd be grateful.

We aren't looking for anything too challenging for our first crop and - this year at least - we are limited to what we can grow in pots on the patio or kitchen windowsill.
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Strawberries are great in pots, you just need to put some meshing over them so that birds do notget them
 
Incredibly my spuds are srpouting through the latest 6 inches of compost I dumped on the...I only did this on friday! So should I earth them again or let a bit of shrubery develop?

Secondly to potatoes require any extra feeding in the style of toms?
 
If you ar using growbags no feeding required yet mate. If you are just using peat or soil a handful of growmore mixed in well won't hurt..

Keep earthing upo tp the top of your tub and then aim for a pyramid effect. Put 4 4ft canes around the edge of your pot so when you can't earth up any more you can run string round the canes then parallel to the top of the pot to keep the haulm upright as it grows. This helps the spuds to flower and stops the foliage collapsing.

About 4 weeks before lifting a good feet with Nitrochalk helps to bulk up the crop
 
gemarriott said:
If you ar using growbags no feeding required yet mate. If you are just using peat or soil a handful of growmore mixed in well won't hurt..

Keep earthing upo tp the top of your tub and then aim for a pyramid effect. Put 4 4ft canes around the edge of your pot so when you can't earth up any more you can run string round the canes then parallel to the top of the pot to keep the haulm upright as it grows. This helps the spuds to flower and stops the foliage collapsing.

About 4 weeks before lifting a good feet with Nitrochalk helps to bulk up the crop
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Gotcha, I think...only in compost...growmore, is that a brand of fert or a generic term?

I'll earth up to the top of the bin and then let the foliage grow, am I interpreting that right?

Lastly they are new pots/first earlies....does this make any difference?
 
Downsizer said:
growmore, is that a brand of fert or a generic term? Lastly they are new pots/first earlies....does this make any difference?
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Growmore is a brand name for a fertiliser type looks a little bit like standard hangar chicken sh1t. Small white pellets about 3/16" Dia available from almost all gardening outlets. First earlies just refers to the approx harvest time i.e. early before main crop or lates for example. For me the names just a guide though depends when you planted them really I reckon 3 to 4 months from planting to digging up. My old fella always used to wait for the flowers to end at least and for big spuds he would even wait for the top growth to start dieing back. Up to you for nice golf ball sized new spuds dig em up early for chips wait a bit longer. Depends on type of course not all spuds make good chips.
 
Tin basher said:
Growmore is a brand name for a fertiliser type looks a little bit like standard hangar chicken sh1t. Small white pellets about 3/16" Dia available from almost all gardening outlets. First earlies just refers to the approx harvest time i.e. early before main crop or lates for example. For me the names just a guide though depends when you planted them really I reckon 3 to 4 months from planting to digging up. My old fella always used to wait for the flowers to end at least and for big spuds he would even wait for the top growth to start dieing back. Up to you for nice golf ball sized new spuds dig em up early for chips wait a bit longer. Depends on type of course not all spuds make good chips.
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There is another better fetilizer for spuds it is expensive called Vitax Q4, if growing for show that's the one to use but growmoe is fine and thats what I use. First earlies as TB says just indicates usual sowing and harvestng times. First earlies usually take 12 weeks to produce decent sputs, maincrop about 16. I tend to pick some earlies while the fowers are still in fll bloom, lates/maincrop I leave in the barrels/tubs til I need
them. They come to no harm left in the compost, cover the tubs after the haulm dies off and keep them dry.

Remember in pots potatoes need keeping moist so don't let them dry out in the sunshine.
 
It's nice to grow your own as I'm doing it but I'm also trying to involve a little financial planning into the deal by not spending more money on growing the veg than I would down ASDA buying it...With people piling on shop bought fertilizer onto a single plant in a pot does this not make it horribly more expensive than just paying 99p for some white spuds down the supermarket?
 
It may, but it's not all about cost (to me anyway), the taste of anything homegrown will p1ss on anything storebought. I'll take a blind taste test anyday.
 
Vim_Fuego said:
It's nice to grow your own as I'm doing it but I'm also trying to involve a little financial planning into the deal by not spending more money on growing the veg than I would down ASDA buying it...With people piling on shop bought fertilizer onto a single plant in a pot does this not make it horribly more expensive than just paying 99p for some white spuds down the supermarket?
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Initially that might seem the case but you have to take into account more than cost. Veg taken straight from the garden via the cooker to the table tastes far better. Potatoesgrown a home are fantastic the difference is enormous. You will be eating food in season and not atificially ripened etc etc

Fertilisers don't cost much, for a fiver yu'll get all the growmore you'll need down at the allotment society. It will very much increase your yield too. I would be very surprised if over all you end up spending more on growing your veg than if you buy them but they will taste far better.
 
Vim_Fuego said:
It's nice to grow your own as I'm doing it but I'm also trying to involve a little financial planning into the deal by not spending more money on growing the veg than I would down ASDA buying it...With people piling on shop bought fertilizer onto a single plant in a pot does this not make it horribly more expensive than just paying 99p for some white spuds down the supermarket?
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As has been said the taste factor alone makes growing your own a good idea. But while the inital cost of setting up to grow your own might seem more expensive it need not be. My spud tub is it's 4th year of use and should last until I am compost, The soil or growbag stuff in the tub will help the quality of your plot if when you have finished growing spuds for the season you dig it all in. It's a free soil booster (you bought it for one job now it can do another)as it will be friable and rich in all the good stuff. The green tops will go in your compost heap and help with next years crops over time. Anyway it's a good chance to get some fresh air and exercise and not walk round the aisles of your local ASDA
 
And here ends the party political broadcast from the Grow Your Own Party:PDT_Xtremez_31:
 
Quick question re the growmore....

Can I use it on my toms as well or will I also need dedicated tomatoe food?
 
Downsizer said:
Quick question re the growmore....

Can I use it on my toms as well or will I also need dedicated tomatoe food?
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No need to feed toms untill the first truss of fruits appear.
Then feed with a tomato feed.
 
Downsizer said:
So I shouldn't use the growmore?
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I would probably say no to growmore as it is a slow release pelleted fertiliser and not specific to toms and the like though it will help almost anything. Whereas Tomato food is usually given in liquid form and is easier for the plants to absorb and has the required specific trace elements that toms need. Go for the type specific stuff such as Tomrite or similar.
 
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I use tomorite as Grumpy says once you first truss of flowers appear and then either follow the instructions on the bottle exactly or do as I do and mix it half strength twice a week instead of weekly. A good alternative is Chempak 4 for tomatoes and peppers and chempack 2 for cucumbers and salad veg.

Growmore is a good all round fertiliser as TB says, spread early in year and on veg plots as a to dressing through the growing season.
 
WTF is wrong with my corgette and cucumbers..everything was going fine until I put them outside during the day for some hardening off over the weekend...now they seem to be shrivelling up and dying?

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