Seedling crisis

Aggghhh...the tomato seedlings I pricked out the other night are dying on me. Is it because I put them in a polythene bad rather than a propogator lid? Maybe it's because I put them in a different room (although the room faces the same way - SE). Maybe they didn't like the disruption. Anyway, I'm desperately trying to save them. Fortunately, I've got loads more seedlings and some more waiting to germinate, but I want to know what I've done wrong to avoid ruining the rest.

I've got 20 seedlings pricked out (Brandywine and Gardener's Delight) and I may be able to save some yet as they haven't all shrivelled up. I've now put them back in the original room they were in and put a proper propagator lid on them. They didn't look any worse when I checked them this morning so maybe there is hope yet.

Unfortunately, I only have four propogator lids so I've had to the tray that contains my herb pots into the polythene that I had used for the tomatoes, at least until I can get to the garden centre. It doesn't seem to have harmed them though yet and, in fact, this morning I noticed that my basil has started to germinate.

I suspect the problem with the toms was down to putting them into a the lounge (the lounge is bigger but is centrally heated whereas the bedroom I was originally using is small but not heated). I'm going to try sewing my next batch of tomatoes (Tumblers) straight into pots so I don't have to move them until they are much bigger and stronger. Maybe the problem is partly too much root disturbance early on.

I will post back when I have some more news on the tomato front!

I also have a bit of a mushroom problem in that some funghi are growing amongst my tomato seedlings (not the ones I pricked out) and my pepper seedlings. Will post on Grapevine (Grow your own) forum to find out why this is happening (too damp?) and if I should remove them. Bit worried about the pepper too - only three seedlings, one with an iffy looking head, and no sign of any more showing through.

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I've just had some feedback on this. It seems that the funghi is caused by my propogators being too warm. I need to remove the lids and take the funghi out but it should be okay as long as it isn't touching the seedlings.

Re the problem with my transplanted seedlings - I have confirmed that the seedlings do have 'seed leaves'. However, it's okay to tranplant toms that have seed leaves. It may just be that they are taking their time getting used to their new position. I won't panic yet then.

I couldn't resist

Last night, I got home from work and for the first time this year it was light outside. I couldn't resist the temptation to get my hands into some soil so I decided to prick out some of my tomatoes into 3 inch pots. I left the ones that are still a bit small and will probably do those over the next week. My peppers are also starting to germinate. For ages I had one lone seedling coming through but over the past two days they have started to get their act together.

Small tip on companion planting whilst I'm here. I'm going to plant sweet peas among my French beans and sugar snaps. Apparently, it is good for pollination as well as looking great.

Hoping to take some piccies of how the garden is coming along at the weekend so will get those on the site next week.

Fuscias, bottles and poly pots

I've always been quite a fan of fuscias and was eyeing them up in the garden centre. Found some handy tips on taking cuttings so that you can get twice as many fuscias for the price:

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/gfoster/index2.htm

Also, a couple of sites for buying bottles and jam jars:

http://www.ascott.biz/
www.ebottles.co.uk

And lastly, a general gardening shop with good deals on poly pots:

http://www.kayshorticulture.com/

Jobs for weekend of 1st/2nd April

Things to do next weekend:

1. Plant out rest of Duke of York spuds
2. Sew carrots (Early Nantes)
3. Sew parsley
4. Sew cabbage (Premiere)
5. Sew parsnips
6. Sew nasturtium
7. Sew catmint
8. Prick out tomatoes into pots

All in a weekend's work

Monday lunchtime and I have a splitting headache. Don't know if I'll make it through the rest of the afternoon at work. Wish I could be chilling out in the garden instead.

Got heaps done this weekend. Started off at 9am on Saturday morning putting the last of the compost onto the flower beds. Fortunately, I had enough so no more trips to the garden centre to lug bag several bags of the stuff. It was so exciting to see it all ready for planting. Dug in some pelleted chicken manure so hopefully it'll be great for growing my new plants. First plant in was the Hellebore Niger that Christine was given for her birthday by Rory and Claire last week. It looked pretty lonely there on its own, cue trip to garden centre yesterday.

Other jobs done on Saturday were planting my Duke of York spuds in old compost bags (3 bags each with 3 tubers in). I've still got a load of tubers left so need to do some more when I get chance. I also sewed some lettuce and spinach, which I've put into the greenhouse. Sewed some herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil and dill) and put on the window ledge in a propogator.

Yesterday, I bought more seeds and plants. There were loads of people in the garden centre for Mother's Day! Lots of lovely spring plants to choose from too with some good offers on. Here's a list of all the plants I've bought:

Campagnula - Persicifolia Alba
Heather - Calluna vulgaris Spring Torch
Heather - Calluna vulgaris Orange Queen
Heather - Calluna vulgaris Hammondii Aureifilia
Heather - Calluna vulgaris Wickwar Flame
Veronica - Georgia Blue
Bellis - Rusher Red
Crocosmia - Meteore
Lupin - Gallery Red
Vinca Minor - Atropurpurea

Can't remember all the seeds I bought but they included climbing nasturtiums, sweet peas (two varieties), blue poppy and catmint (for the kitties). I've sewed the blue poppy and put in the greenhouse. Apparently, they quite like cold weather and even don't mind frost but can be quite a handful in other ways. I'll see how it goes anyway.

I decided to sew the rest of my Gardener's Delight tomatoes anyway so they have now joined the other toms and peppers on the window sill.

I've now got lots of seeds and plants to watch and see how they fare. Have also made a list of jobs to do next weekend so I can get more of my veg going. Am now skint after yet another trip to the garden centre but still considering splurging on the RHS Encyclopaedia of Plants and Flowers, which Amazon have on offer for under £20! I have the RHS Fruit and Veg book, which is great but apart from an old Gardening Year book, I don't really have a comprehensive guide to non-edible plants.

Plant wish list - April

I'm currently reading books and magazines to decide what plants might suit my borders. Here's my list of potential plants so far. I'm going to look these up on the internet to check prices and suitability. I hope to create a new list each month with new plants that will look good during the current season.

Back border

Fritillaria persica - grows to 3ft, needs a sunny, sheltered spot

South-east border

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Eva Constance'

South-west border

Dodecatheon meadia - hardy perennial, grows to 16 ins (need to check if it likes shade?)
Brunnera macrophylia - robust, sun or shade, reaches 18 ins
Vinca minor f. alba 'Atropurpurea' - hardy, evergreen, cool shady border - even likes it under trees - NOW BOUGHT
Epimedium - hardy perennial, shady border
Meconopsis - shady, add manure and mulch well (see Gardener's World offer in April issue) - BOUGHT SEEDS WHICH ARE GERMINATING IN GREENHOUSE

Front border


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I will update this post with links to images and info about each plant. If I purchase it, I will add it to my 'plants I have' list.

Plants for the borders

I've divided the sections of my garden that are for non-edible planting into four areas.

1. Back border - this is the border that runs along the very back of my garden. It is raised and set in a stone wall.
2. South-east border - this runs along the bottom of my veg beds and gets a good amount of sunlight.
3. South-west border - this runs along the fence and gets very little sunlight.
4. Front border - this border runs along the front of our house and is south-east facing. It gets heaps of sun throughout the day.

These are the plants I currently have in there. I will be editing this as I check my garden to see exactly what I have.

Back border

Clematis - Avalance, Niobe
Iris
Tulip

South-east border

South-west border

Front border

Rose
Fig

April jobs

This is the job list so far for April. Lots to do as the weather has meant a late start.

1. Fork and feed - Add pelleted chicken manure and organic compost to borders. Give plants in pots a good liquid feed. Dig and fork over borders and finish with a mulch of leaf mould or bark. DONE
2. Sew sweet peas DONE
3. Plant up strawberries according to pot method in the post I made below. DONE - DIDN'T USE POT METHOD JUST BOUGHT SOME IN A STRAWBERRY POT THAT WERE ON SPECIAL OFFER
4. Sew parsnips about 1/2 inch deep in rows 1 ft apart. mark row as they take about three weeks to germinate. DONE
5. Sew rest of tomatoes DONE
6. Sew carrots DONE (FIRST SEWING ANYWAY)
7. Sew more herbs, lettue and spinach
8. Sew cabbage - one or two seeds ina pot or rootrainer filled with moist compost. Barely cover with compost or vermiculite. DONE
9. Sew broccoli DONE FIRST SEWING
10. Sew peas by sprinkling along bottom of a 2 inch deep by 6 inch wide drill. Rake soil back over them and firm with back of rake head.
11. Plant rest of potatoes

I will probably add to this list in the next week or two and will be ticking these off as I get them done.

Jobs for weekend of 25/26th March

With the weather finally sorting itself out, I thought I'd try and get a few more jobs done this weekend. First off will be to spread the rest of the compost I bought last weekend on the borders and rake over the beds ready for planting (need to buy a rake for that, so off to the garden centre again - other half will be cursing me).

I thought I'd try sewing a bit of lettuce and spinach to see how it fairs in my new plastic greenhouse. I need to weigh this down though first as it blew over last weekend - don't want all my plants ruined! May also sew a few herbs on the windowsill and then sew the rest next month.

Also, I'm going to bite the bullet and get some spuds in. The Duke of Yorks will be planted in old compost bags this weekend as I'm saving the raised bed for the later varieties.

As regards my toms and peppers, the majority of my tomato seeds have germinated now; just waiting for the last few Brandywines. Still only got one Sweet Nardello seedling showing signs of wanting to come into the world and that's not up properly yet. Apparently they take a few weeks to germinate though so I'm not concerned.

Seed list

I've been meaning to post this for a while. It's a list of all the varieties I am growing this year.

Tomatoes - Gardener's Delight, Brandywine, Tumbler
Peppers - Sweet Nardello
Carrots - Early Nantes 2, Nantes 2 and Resistafly
Lettuce - Mixed Leaves
Spinach - Matador
Cabbage - Premiere, Marner Storing Red
Broccoli - Bordeaux, Purple Sprouting Early
Parsnip - Gladiator F1
Peas - Sugar Bon
Courgette - Gold Rush
Pumpkin - Baby Bear
Squash - Butternut, Buttercup
Swede - Airlie
Turnip - Noir d'Hiver
Dwarf French Bean - Opera

Potatoes:
First Earlies - Duke of York
Second Earlies - Charlotte
Early Maincrop - Ambo, Desiree
Late Maincrop - Arran Victory

Herbs - Dill, Basil, Coriander, Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley

For Swapping - Radish (French Breakfast 3), Leek (Musselburgh) - can't stand either of these but got them free with Kitchen Garden magazine.

Tips for tomatoes and strawberries

Also from the Grow Your Own forum:

New way with tomatoes

Thanks to Geordie on the forum for this suggestion:

"This is for all the people looking for a 'new' way to grow toms. If nothing else it will provide a talking point.

We've been growing our tomatoes upside-down for the past three years and really have fun growing them this way! We also grow tomatoes in the ground, and, by comparison, the ones in the upside-down buckets seem to have a little better yield than the same varieties grown in the ground. I attribute it to the fact that the branches have less stress while growing, and have better air circulation. Of course, you have to grow smaller varieties or ones that are suited for container growing, or the yields will be less.

You can grow tomatoes in any large container that has a sturdy hanging system, but we've found the safest is to use five-gallon paint buckets that have a handle. Planting them in the buckets is much easier and safer for the plants when you have one or two other people helping you.

Start out by drilling a hole in the bottom of the bucket. Usually, there is already a circular indentation, which is approx. 2 ½" in diameter. If there isn't, drill the hole between 2 and 3 inches in diameter.

Set the bucket, right side up, on a structure such as two wooden horses, so that the bottom hole is exposed. Put whatever material you choose to use to secure the seedling, in the bottom, then take the seedling and gently thread the leaves and stems down through the hole so that it hangs out of the bottom of the bucket. Hold the plant up till no more than 2 inches of the stem is protruding out from the bottom.

While holding the plant in one hand, pack the material around the stem so that the plant is anchored and will not slip through the hole. There are several things that can be used to keep the seedling from 'slipping out' of the hole untill the root system has developed and it can hold it's own. You can use sphagnum moss, newspaper, coffee filters, etc.

Keep holding the plant in place, and add the soil into the bucket, making sure it's distributed evenly up to the root ball. Gently let go of the plant, letting it rest on the dirt, and add soil till the root ball is about 2 inches below the soil line. Add about 2 cups of compost, then fill the bucket with soil up to about an inch from the top.

Carry the bucket to the structure you are going to hang it from, being very careful to keep the tomato plant from hitting the ground as you walk. Hang the bucket by the handle, then water thoroughly. Water should start running out of the bottom hole within a few minutes.

Check the soil level of each bucket to be sure the soil didn't settle to more than 2 inches from the top, adding more if it has. Water and add fertilizer, when needed, directly in the top of the bucket. You can also grow "living mulch" like parsley or other herbs, in the top portion of the dirt, but be sure you water the bucket sufficiently so that the water gets to the tomato plant's' roots. Some herbs, such as oregano or marjoram, become too thick to allow the water to penetrate quick enough into the soil.

Keeping a lid set on, but not tightly sealed, the tops of the buckets will help prevent moisture loss, but can be a problem since they have to be moved every time you water. Depending on what type of watering system you come up with, will depend on whether or not the lids are used. We've always set the lids on top of the structure, above the buckets (approx. a foot above the rim), and watered the buckets with a hose. The lids don't help much with the moisture retention, but it does help deflect rain in the extremely rainy season. How much to water the buckets will depend on your climate.

One interesting thing that will happen when you grow your tomato plants this way is that they will grow upwards towards the sun until the plants get bigger and bushier and start producing fruit. You have to check them daily to be sure that the stem is growing out from under the bottom, not into it.

Every few weeks, check the soil level to be sure there has not been too much loss. Add soil or compost each time the level lowers."

Tomatoes - sewing

Sew one seed per 4 inch pot and leave the tomato to grow up in it. Transplant to a larger plot before planting outdoors.

Strawberries - in planter bags

Westland sell them and they are like growbags. They mean you can grow them on a table or other surface, which keeps the slugs off. Use a soluble feed when you water them. Replace every two to three years.

Strawberries in pots

Get a plastic bin and drill 1 1/2 - 2 inch holes around the sides roughly 6ins apart and drainage holes. Plant strawberries through the holes and backfill with compost and grit. When you get to the top put in more strawberries.

Raspberries on a trellis

Fit a trellis to the wall and plant raspberries in a trough. Raspberries only have a shallow root system so don't need a deep pot.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I will be trying these out and posting here about my success.

News ways with potatoes

Discovered a forum on the 'Grow Your Own' magazine website today, which is great especially for newbies to veg growing.

I found lots of tips for growing potatoes, including in bags and buckets, which is what I'll have to do as I don't have enough room in my raised bed for all my tubers.

Anyway, here is a summary of the suggestions. Thanks to all the people who made these suggestions in their forum posts:

Planting in the ground

Dig a trench half a spade deep. Lay the seed potatoes in the trench 12 inches apart for earlies. Then cover the trench and earth up now to roughly 9 inches above the ground level. Flatten the sides of the earthing up with the back of the spade to make it look neat and make sure that there are no holes where the daylight can get through. Job done. No need to do anything else before you dig up lovely new potatoes apart from watering. 24 inches between rows.

Re-using compost bags

Grow first earlies in old compost bags of 40 litres or more. Turn the bag inside out so the black part is on the outside. This means the sun warms up the soil better. Put 3 ins compost in the bag followed by two ins of manure. Add 2 ins garden soil. Place 2 or 3 tubers in depending on size of bag. Put 4 ins of soil/compost on top of potatoes and water well. Top up with compost each time haulms show through about 4 or 5 ins high until you've reached the top of the bag. Then just wait for the harvest.

Signs of life

At last, there are signs of life in the tomato propogator. Two of my Gardener's Delight seedlings have germinated and hopefully the rest are on their way. I've been checking them every day since sewing and am excited that things are finally starting to happen.
The weather outside is, of course, shocking. Flurries of snow when I left for work this morning and no sign of any sun. When is it going to pick up? I just hope we get a great spring and summer when it finally does arrive.
Tomorrow, I will be trying to finish off my flower beds, which means more compost from the garden centre. I should be planting my potatoes today as it's St. Patrick's Day but with the threat of frost still around it looks like I'll be holding off a while longer. I may try a few of the earlies out in pots in my new mini-greenhouse and see how they get on.

A few links

Just a few links that might be useful for future reference:

http://www.kitchengarden.co.uk/forum/

http://allotments-uk.com/

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/index.php

http://www.myallotments.blogspot.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbgardening/

A Sunday potter

I keep checking my tomatoes but they haven't germinated yet. Went to the garden centre today and finally bought myself a garden fork. It's a traditional-looking one, with a wooden a y-handle as they were well-reviewed in a magazine recently. At £20 from Wyevale, I thought it was a good deal. Unfortunately, I managed to hit my foot with it when I was forking the garden this afternoon. One of the tines pierced my walking boot and grazed my big toe, but luckily no harm done. Will just have to be more careful in future. At least I've managed to turn over the compost in my bin, which has needed doing for weeks.

Bought some suet feed and so have a variety of sunflower seed, peanuts, suet and fat balls out to attract some birds. I've struggled to get birds to visit the garden in the past, even though the Norwood area is full of birds, due to the woodland that still remains from the Great North Wood. More info on Norwood wildlife can be found here and there is also a list of local bird sightings. I'm sure the fact that we have two cats doesn't help, but I am trying and will report back here.

Anyway, I've marked out the flower borders round my veg plots and have put some border edging in. I was visiting the garden centre by myself so only bought two bags of compost. Will need to go back next week and get the rest. Once that's finished, I just need to get my gravel paths done and I'm ready for planting. Hoping to finish all that next Saturday. We have friends coming to Christine's birthday tea next Sunday, so hoping to get the garden looking tip-top by then.

I also bought one of those cheap mini greenhouses with the plastic covers, which was on special offer. I'm planning on using that for hardening off my plants and growing some of the varieties that prefer to be under cover. It doesn't take up much room in the garden, but looks like it will hold quite a few plants.

I've really enjoyed spending some time in the garden today. The weather is cold but it has been bright with some sun. I felt very at one with the world and relaxed. Looking forward to spending lots more time in the garden in the weeks and months to come.

The first sowing

On Wednesday, I sowed my first seeds of the year. I was working from home so had a bit of time to do things. I have sown a packet of Gardener's Delight tomatoes, which are a very popular variety in this country. I also sewed some Brandywine tomatoes, which will be huge if they work out. Apart from the toms, I've sewed Sweet Nardello peppers, which may take a few weeks to germinate according to the blurb. So, I've got propagators on the windowsill and shall be watching them avidly for the next few weeks, willing something to happen.

That's it for now. Have got my potatoes chitting in the same room as the propagaters - hope no-one wants to come and stay as the spare room is full! Just waiting until the frosts pass so that I can get them planted.

Preparing my plot

I decided to create raised beds due to the heavy clay we have in this part of the country. I wanted to dig in some organic compost to help the soil to drain more effectively. I don't have much space so my beds are small, although I will supplement them with some container veg. I have decided on a four year rotation plan so have divided my beds up and dug in some manure in the plot I will be using to grow potatoes this year. I have used both wood and Link-a-bord to line the beds. Link-a-bord is supposed to keep the heat in and it was on special offer in a magazine so I thought it was worth a shot. Will report back on this at a later date.

Anyway, I've finished creating my raised beds but have yet to complete landscaping the rest of the area. I want to create some flower borders and then put some gravel down to create pathways. All the compost I have used in the beds is organic.

I have bought lots of seeds from the The Organic Gardening Catalogue and my policy this year is to try heaps of different things to see what works and what doesn't. I'm particularly looking forward to growing squash, which is one of my favourites. I was gobsmacked when I looked through the seed catalogues and saw all the different varieties I could grow. It made me realise how appalling the selection you get in the shops is. In a supermarket or greengrocer, you might find two types of squash if you are lucky, whereas you can buy such a huge variety from a seed catalogue. I can't wait to see my Gold Rush courgettes!

A bit of research

As I didn't know the first thing about growing vegetables, I thought I'd better do a bit of research. Here are the two books I read:

D.G. Hessayon - Vegetable and Herb Expert
Michael Pollock - RHS Fruit and Vegetable Gardening

Both have been invaluable and taught me lots about raised beds, composting, bed siting, rotations as well as an indispensible guide to all the different vegetables I could grow.

Once I'd devoured these books, I set about planning a crop rotation and organising my beds.

A Gardening Novice in Norwood

On this blog, I will be posting about my relationship with my garden. I am pretty new to gardening so am learning lots along the way. Much of my gardening will be about growing veggies as I am also passionate about cooking good food. Here's a bit of background:

The garden

My garden is in Norwood in South East London. It is pretty small but in London, one is lucky to have a garden at all. My partner and I bought our house in November 2004 and one of my main considerations in buying a place was that it have a garden. At first this was because I wanted us to be able to sit out in the summer sipping aperitifs and eating great food. Once we moved in though, I realised that I wanted far more from our garden and I knew that it had the potential to become a little piece of the country in London, a sanctuary.

The garden itself is three-tiered. The upper and lower tiers are both paved over and have tables on. The upper tier has a breakfast table because it gets the sun mid-morning. The lower has a bigger table on for entertaining in the evening. It is more sheltered as it's next to the house. The middle tier was lawn, but my partner and I removed all that last year. The garden is north-west facing but because it is higher up than the house for the most part, it gets the sun from mid-morning onwards. The soil is heavy South London clay.

Garden plans

Last year I bought a book on garden design. I made all sorts of plans for the garden. I didn't carry through most of these plans. I bought a few climbers and stuck some bulbs in the borders but that was about it (more about my plants later). I felt a bit dispondent as I think the three-tier structure is restricting. With two patioed tiers, that only leaves the middle section to play around with. I don't have lots of money for re-development or landscaping so I can't afford to play around with the structure too much.

Anyway, just after Christmas, I hit upon an idea for the middle section. I was on the web, googling on recycling (something to which I'm trying to become more committed) and I found some forums on ethical and creative living, namely:

http://www.downsizer.net/
http://www.mrsl.forumsplace.com/
http://forum.rivercottage.net/index.php

I was wowed by the amount of helpful information and food for thought on these forums. And I suddenly knew what I could do in the garden. I love cooking and am committed to using good quality ingredients. I like to know what is in my food and can't abide eating lots of pre-packaged or processed foods. We've been getting a weekly organic veg box for the past couple of years (http://www.abel-cole.co.uk), but it hadn't occured to me that I could grow my own veggies. Armed with my new plans, I set about educating myself and preparing the garden for the forthcoming year.

Next steps

The following posts will detail everything I do in the garden and all that I learn as I go along. It will be something to look back on next year to see what I have achieved (or not!), an indication of things to avoid in the future and maybe, it will even inspire one or two people to get out into their garden and get growing themselves. So, my journal will contain:

• how I prepared the garden
• what research I did and books, magazines, articles I read to help me
• week-by-week posts on what work I have done in the garden, what I have sewed, planted, harvested
• success and failures - what I can do better next year
• info on things I've done in the rest of the garden - although my focus is primarily on growing veg, I have plans for flower beds and container gardening too
• posts on other gardening-related issues (organic gardening, composting, recycling etc.)

Hopefully, I can get some comments from other people too who can offer support and advice for a novice like me.