Growing vegetables.

[sunfish]

Does anyone else grow their own veg. to eat with the fish? What've you got? I'm growing early and second early spuds, broad beans, lettuce, spring onions, carrots, outdoor cucumbers and various brassicas, roots and squashes.
I'd like a polytunnel but our allotment scheme is in it's second year and we're still getting the council round the idea of "structures" going up. I think maybe someone should just put one up anyway and see what happens.:naughty

 

[Pav]

I grow my own veg and brew my own beer. Nothing like sitting down at a BBQ and eating a meal you provided. My mate has a couple of chickens now so hopefully can swap fish for eggs.

Veg ;

Spring Onions, Onions, Garlic (all really easy to grow)
Spuds Early, Middle and late.
Runner Beans
Cougettes, Marrows, Pumpkins (all easy to grow)
Sweetcorn (no success yet!)
Cabbages (easy to grow and some almost ready) and Brocoli and Brussels.
Chillies of different types
Tomatoes
Dwarf Beans
Salad, Herbs
Carrots, Swede
Strawberries.

I picked up a greenhouse for free locally (they wanted it removed, so did the work and took it down). Its great for starting stuff off early. A lot of my stuff is in pots and then i move it outside later (like the spring onions which are ready to pick).

Amazingly all the above cost me £3 in seeds and about £15 for all the onions, garlic and spuds. I get my seeds at the end of the year when they are reduced (10p a packet rather than £3!). Only our 3rd year at growing any type of veg but its very rewarding. Just damn the slugs!!

 

[scottie3030]

i got a veg plot up my mum and dads house its my first year. they have a big garden most of which was over grown so ive spent the last 5 months clearing it ive got the spuds, peas,carrots,sweetcorn,rhubarb,spinach, oinons, leeks ,tomatoes,herbs , beans, lettuce and beetroot i think thats it! good tip on the seeds pav will be buying mine the end of this season! i wanted to keep bees aswell but my mum said no :head (she thinks they will fly around stinging everything) i made a hive and everything!

 

[cdavis]

The only vegie I can get to grow is tomatoes, next crop is ripening now. Florida is a lousy place for vegies; the bugs are fierce. However, fruit works well. We have papaya, grapefruit, a few grapes, and best of all, mangos. The squirrels get about half of them, but the tree is prolific, enough for all.

Keep after the sweet corn, Pav. It will be worth it. There are few things on this earth better than sweet corn picked, cooked and on your dinner table within the hour.

Connor

 

[Pav]

I know that you have to avoid the "flight path". Other than that I don't think there is any risk?

 

[Tony Babowicz]

I grow my own veggies also.
tomatoes
onion
corn
broccoli
okra
peppers (various)
carrots
cucumbers
beans
strawberries (I know, not a vegetable)
radishes
lettuce
herbs like cilantro and basil

 

[Oldsarge]

Potatoes, flageolet beans, zucchini, tomatoes for three different purposes (sandwiches, salads and sauce) beets, chard, and an assortment of herbs. I'd do more but I also have eleven fruit trees and berry vines along with 150 orchids so the yard is a bit overcrowded.

I'd really like to have room for chickens . . .

 

[Tony Babowicz]

Chickens... I have four of them. Four fresh eggs everyday. PLus fertilizer for the garden.

 

[demasoni]

New to gardening myself and started out with square foot gardening. I've had decent results with:

beets
radishes
broccoli
lettuce
carrots
kale
various herbs - basil, parsley, chives

Also have fruit trees:

papaya (not enough sun though - I live on the leeward side of Maui)
bananas
guava
surinam cherries

Planning on getting into chickens soon and build a coop.

 

[portinfer]

Good thread
Got some rocket seeds to go in (can't have a summer without rocket and my usual 'supply' is not growing this year ) but have yet to remove the rubble and building mess in the garden.
Thought I'd go from there.... start small.
Ed

 

[slingshaft]

Conner, eat the squirrels

 

[cdavis]

Squirrel is good, my favorite type of hunting. Exterminating the little buggers has occurred to me, especially in years when fruit is scarce. Sometimes the stupid varments start sampling before the crop is ripe, pic one, take a bite and throw it away, pick another, maddening. Unfortunately, we are in town. The neighbors get a bit upset if they see me sitting under the tree with a rifle. Some of them never even heard of squirrel stew. Not to mention the city government would have a epileptic fit if I started firing.

Now, I did borrow a pellet gun once, but discovered that it makes a surprising amount of noise. Decided I couldn't get away with a large scale kill.

Connor

 

[ReefTroll]

We have loads of lemons, so everything NEEDS lemon with it right now!

 

[sunfish]

Squirrel is good, my favorite type of hunting. Exterminating the little buggers has occurred to me, especially in years when fruit is scarce. Sometimes the stupid varments start sampling before the crop is ripe, pic one, take a bite and throw it away, pick another, maddening. Unfortunately, we are in town. The neighbors get a bit upset if they see me sitting under the tree with a rifle. Some of them never even heard of squirrel stew. Not to mention the city government would have a epileptic fit if I started firing.

Now, I did borrow a pellet gun once, but discovered that it makes a surprising amount of noise. Decided I couldn't get away with a large scale kill.

Connor

The Theoben "pump up" style airgun is quieter I think.

 

[sunfish]

Good thread
Got some rocket seeds to go in (can't have a summer without rocket and my usual 'supply' is not growing this year ) but have yet to remove the rubble and building mess in the garden.
Thought I'd go from there.... start small.
Ed

I've got rocket too and land cress and mustard. Salad leaves can be quite expensive to buy.
The new potatoes are a favourite of mine to grow. They're expensive too and taste much better straight from the ground. I've got 5 different varieties in and they should keep us all going through to October or November.

 

[Lazuli]

We've grown enough Dill to season a Blue Whale plus

Parsley
Peppers (hot + normal)
mint
strawberries
Spaghetti Squash (for the winter)
Peas
Aubergine
Runner beans

 

[Pav]

and I seem to have a SLUG farm in my veg garden!

How do you protect your crop other than slug pellets? They seem intent in destroying my crop.

 

[Oldsarge]

and I seem to have a SLUG farm in my veg garden!

How do you protect your crop other than slug pellets? They seem intent in destroying my crop.

Try a product named "Sluggo". It's iron sulfate. Completely harmless to wildlife and pets and breaks down into fertilizer but mollusks eat it then stop eating all together and starve to death.

 

[Pav]

GALES on the North Coast!!

At 3am I was outside in my pants and clogs trying to save my Cold Frame much to the annoyance of my wife! I loaded it up with all the spare lead weights that I could find and got back into bed and wispered

"1 pane of glass broken, but I think i've saved the rest of it".

Rolled over and then heard an almighty crash of glass. Wife in fits of laughter!! , A gust had picked up the cold frame and all the lead weight and flipped it over onto the patio.

My Broad Bean plants look very sick this morning.

 

[sunfish]

Tough luck Pav. I have to admit I've got nothing in yet this year. We've just finished leeks and swedes and five minutes ago I ate soup made from a pumpkin which has sat in our cool Kitchen since last autumn but I should have had broad beans, garlic and maybe a few lettuce growing by now.
My early potatoes are going in as soon as the weather warms up again.. Those and the broad beans are my favourite crops to eat.