Anyone for Gardening?

tillytop

Hi - I joined last week and it's been lovely to find some fellow gardeners to chat to - an unexpected bonus on an arthritis forum!

So, thought I'd start a gardening thread to see if anyone is interested in sharing their gardening news, tips and tricks. (Perhaps a virtual allotment where we can meet in the greenhouse for a garden gossip and sit outside on sunny days admiring our flowers and veg? How about somewhere near the cafe so we can pop in for tea and cakes when we need a break from our labours?)

Gardening is my "best thing" and although I am by no means an experiencied gardener, I really enjoy planting, pottering and planning in our smallish back garden. Over past few years I have been experimenting with veg in containers cos our soil's not good and have had varying degrees of success. So any hints would be very welcome!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Tilly

valval

strange you should say just out side the conservitory is a walled garden bit over grown but has got a shed and green house and cafe will fetch drinks to the patio for you just shout lol. well i will sit in chair watching all the macho men do the hard work then will help out sowing seeds lol any one for tea or lemonade

skezier

Hi Tilly,

Glad you did this I used to grow a good acre and a half, maybe 2 and it was hard work but very rewarding..... Took me a bit of time to work out what grows well here (is a bit bleak and gets a lot of rain) I did the root veg and loved turnip (some people call them swede ) and beetroot, cabbage did well so did collie and broccoli. Peas and beans... it depended on the rain... Spuds i used get a lot of blight so some were good and some weren't.......Did carrots, tried strawberries but hey didn't really do well as it is very open and well......

Constant problem with rabbits and 7" slugs.... have a lot of hedgerows.....So put salt all round the plots, it got bizarre actually.....

Did salad stuff in season and 'ell I kinda miss it but am less withdraw Just spent hours out in the fields.....

Good luck and tomatoes are good as well ((( ))) Cris x

valval

can we have cherry tomatoes love the smell and runner beans

tillytop

Hi all

Valval I'm thrilled - walled garden sounds perfect thankyou! And so close to the cafe too - couldn't be better! Cherry tomatoes and runner beans are a given - wouldn't be a proper veg garden without them!
Since it's a virtual garden, clearing the plot ready to plant shouldn't be difficult and I'm sure that the soil will be perfect! And with expert advice from Cris and Rehab, help from Rehab's Grandkids and refreshments from the cafe we should be up and running in no time!
I'm just off out into my garden while the sun is still shining but look forward to talking to you again soon. Tilly

frogmorton

Hi Tilly

I shall bring you some of my compost and a composter so we can improve your soil over time

Just got to get out in my own garden urgently - I can see some dandelions.....

Love

Toni xx

mellman01

I am growing a load of veg and a a few really strong Chilli's called Dorset Naga this year, also growing a few spuds in big pots.

barbara12

Hi Tilli
What a good thread this is...I love gardening, but cant get down now to plant things, so I will be coming on here to pick up some tips.
Also I would love to grow veg...I have just put strawberries and potatoes in for the first time...and am really looking forward to picking them.
Oh and cream teas at the cafe yum
Barbara x

Wonkylegs

well what a lovely change to be able to sit out in the sun

I've brought some sweet peas that I potted on yesterday - and I'll have a few spare tomato plants (they are smaller tomatoes but not quite cherry ones I thnk) because I appear to have been heavy handed and all the pots that should have had 1 or 2 seed in have 5 or 6 :roll: :roll:

now then, all this talk of gardening has made me thirst so I'll just join the gang round this table and have a cuppa

valval

pixyandfaries wrote:

how about home made lemonade! love it and so summery

that sounds great because we have lemon tree that is fruiting lol just when we need it who squeezing them

barbara12

valval wrote:

pixyandfaries wrote:

how about home made lemonade! love it and so summery

that sounds great because we have lemon tree that is fruiting lol just when we need it who squeezing them

you can squeeze the lemons val...leave the men to me....

joanlawson

pixyandfaries wrote:

hi tilly and welcome to AC, what a lovely name too

hubby has started his chillys off, i can see green shoot already, i like a nice garden but dont enjoy doing it much so i will sit in a deck chair and watch if thats ok ................now can i find some hunky guys to help turn the plot over for you 8)



will these do ! 8)

Will you send them round to my place as well, please :?: I've taken a sudden interest in gardening :!:

valval

pixyandfaries wrote:

JOAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :shock:

well i can see why lol would not mind watching them do mine lol

tillytop

Hi all - so glad to find lots of gardeners out there - even if at least one of you is only here for the hunky guys!

Thanks to the hunky gang sent round by pixyandfairies we now have a half dug-over plot and I've asked them to build us some raised beds too so that those of us who are not so bendy can join in with the gardening fun! And lots of seats for just enjoying the garden when energy is in short supply.

Thanks Toni for the offer of compost and composter and wonkylegs for the sweet peas and toms. I think I was bit enthusiastic with my toms this year too so I don't think our garden will be short!

Meliman - it sounds as if you have good experience to share which will be very useful for us new (ish) veg gardeners and Barbara I can thoroughly recommend veg growing even on a very small scale - the joy of picking just one or two home grown lettuce leaves or pulling up some home grown new potatoes cannot be bettered I don't think. Not tried strawberries so be interested to find out how you get on.

I'll be back to check on the hunky workmen in the morning. Have a good evening and look forward to seeing you in the garden soon.

Tilly

pluggathome

Hi Tilly

Woo Hoo! We have a garden/allottment

Well, I'll bring cucumbers and courgettes, they'e babies at the moment but when they are a bit bigger we can plant them out. Hopefully by then our lovely boys will have finished turning over the plan.

I'll plant us up some carrots and spring onions at the weekend, not sure how this will go though, my first time growing them this year.

Ooh Ooh and me salad leaves and lolloshave just popped their heads up

Happy to lend out me knee pad to if anyone forgets theres.

How exciting!

Pluggxx

Hi Tilly,great thread!

frogmorton

Hi All
this is going well isnt it??

I think.....

Joan has shocked me :shock: I thought she was so very - good :shock:

Barbara - grow stuff in pots on stands then you can reach 'em I also have a kneeler with handles to push myself back up on..... might help??

If we are very lucky Minky might let us have one or two of her stringless runner beans......

Love

Toni xx

annie_mial

I was asking earlier in the year for any tips for a small, very neglected garden.

The new ones here won't know, but we are moving in a couple of weeks to a garden flat.........I haven't had a proper garden in 40+ years, but I have done a lot of container gardening in that time in the small yard we have here.

For a long time I was able to grow a few veggies and lots of flowers and shrubs - some in very big pots - but the veggies became a no-no when a family of foxes moved in next door. They piddle and poo all over everything and somehow I lost my taste for home grown veg!

So looking forward to having a garden even if it is the size of a postage stamp.........it's a mess just now as a lot of old shrubs have been removed and two nasty blighted apple trees are scheduled for removal next week. The soil is poor so we are keeping our large pots and containers and will use them there.

We are also having a tiny patio laid in a few days and I can hardly wait to get down there and get started on it all. As Arther is leading me a bit of a dance right now it is something to focus on and think about when I get really down.

Any hints, tips and ideas gratefully received.

Annie

minky67

What a great thread, i love my garden.
This year i have;
2 pots of strawberries.
lettuces, spring onions, radishes all in pots & seem to be doing well.
Stringless runner beans in the border,againist a wall at the back of the garden.
Im staggering the planting, so ive planted everything a few weeks apart so they dont all come at once.
Ive just put a load of sweetpeas againast a fence & there ever lasting.
seeds in trays; Primroses & lobelia. Tomorrow Alysum is going in the borders so it cover the rocks around the borders.
most of my flowers & veg are in pots as we have a dog that doesnt stay off anything :roll: would love a big veggie plot as in the past ive grown all sorts & really miss the new potatos straight from the ground,i might do some layered in growbags yet & planning using my garden room as a greenhouse (but dont tell the OH)
I'll be watching this thread for hints & tips.
Here you go as Toni wanted a few of my stringless runner beans for you veggie plot.
Good luck all & i hope you get your rewards from all the hard work.
debs

joanlawson

Joan has shocked me. I thought she was so very - good

That's me!!

Joan

joanlawson

It's true :!: Ask Nina :!: :!:

frogmorton

Jan

you think she and Nina are in cahoots????

'ANGEL'??????????

Pah!!!!

Love

Toni xx

PS thanks for the runners Minky

trisher

I think you might be better if you got some more soil on it and dig it in. Then plan what is going where.

My hubby uses chiken manure, he digs it in and the flowere have grown better each year.

Plan where you want what, flowers need the sun others don't. We also have hanging baskets Busy lizzies grow well, Purtunia''s they grow well. Geranuims they all grow well. Sweet peas are nice.

You can grow them in a large pot and make a pyramid of strong canes let the grow up them. Get the strong smelling ones during the summer the smell in the evening comes indoors.

Vegatables, runner beans (you only need a couple of beans ) you will get a good crop. You can grow them in a large pot.

If you get slugs in your garden try and get a band of copper about 2 inches in height wrap it around the pot and they will not go near them.

Tomatoes get the cherry ones they are beautiful . Do a herb garden and grow a mint one if you like it.
Trish x

ninakang

joanlawson wrote:

It's true :!: Ask Nina :!: :!:

I don't think I'm quite the right person to lend you credence, Joan!

I love gardening, I could sit and watch my lovely hubby do it all day. Having parents who are keen gardeners (and farmers back in India), I have lots of knowledge about how to grow plants, which I'm happy to share with my hubby while I read my magazine :-D

Nx

trisher

Annie

There is another plant that is really lovely I might mispell this they are called Mesybreanthiums. You get all different colours, they are a border plant and spread. When the sun is out they open up and you get a beatiful array of colours, at night they close up.They are very pretty.

We grow shrubs as well so there is not too much gardening

Trish xx.

trisher

tillytop wrote:

Hi all - so glad to find lots of gardeners out there - even if at least one of you is only here for the hunky guys!

Pardon :shock: :shock: :oops: can't help it

annie_mial

trisher wrote:

Annie

There is another plant that is really lovely I might mispell this they are called Mesybreanthiums. You get all different colours, they are a border plant and spread. When the sun is out they open up and you get a beatiful array of colours, at night they close up.They are very pretty.

We grow shrubs as well so there is not too much gardening

Trish xx.

Thanks, Trish. Hubby's in charge of the soil bit and as we are having only two small ground-level beds I'm leaving it up to him.
He's also in charge of what we are calling a 'lawn' but he does know what he's doing with grass (which is more than I do) so he can get that sorted out - should look a lot better next year.

My job is the planning and arranging and stocking - and all the other bits and pieces which I'm fairly used to doing here. Potting, taking cuttings, etc. etc.

Definitely having tomatoes, will have a look round and see what they have. Think I will try two different types this summer. I should be OK for some late ones.

I hadn't thought of sweet-peas..........there's a rather horrible wire fence between us and the garden next door (which has leylandii growing against it their side) and the fence is rather bare in places - think I could grow sweet-peas up the fence to cover it for the summer. From our point of view the leylandii are wonderful, we have almost complete privacy and no light blocked at all - they are in the dark most of the time!

Get me outta here! I can't wait to start now!

Annie