Grow Your Own 2011

[Papa Lazarou]

I'm very jealous of you guys with new Allotments - I've been on the waiting list for 3 years now in worthing and not a thing

 

[The Hon Sec]

Lucky to share a small walled garden with the owner. Sown tomatoes, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, cauli, leeks and broad beans in the greenhouse so far and they are showing signs. In the beds are Garlic and onions planted last autumn. And over the last couple of weeks have planted loads of onion sets and sown parsnips, carrots and spring onions outside. Must think about chillis. One of the best times of the year except that this year it will be outdone by taking my seat at the Amex!

 

[jevs]

Toms up.....

Balconi red
Balconi yellow (plants no bigger thann 8" absolutely smothered in fruit last year)
Golden sunrise
Black cherry
Shirley
Ilde

Peppers...

Romano mixed
Torro rosso
Gourmet
Summer salad

Chillis

Orange wonder
Cayenne
Rokita

Spuds

Charlotte
International kidney (Jersey royal)

Carrots...baby moxed

Dwarf beans....speedy

Runners....

Lady Di

In fact ive got cucumbers, courgettes, french beansm leaks, onions, mangetout, spring onions, carrots, lettuce, alpine strawberries, normal strawbs,

I need a bigger garden

 

[BensGrandad]

Toms up.....

Balconi red
Balconi yellow (plants no bigger thann 8" absolutely smothered in fruit last year)
Golden sunrise
Black cherry
Shirley
Ilde

Peppers...

Romano mixed
Torro rosso
Gourmet
Summer salad

Chillis

Orange wonder
Cayenne
Rokita

Spuds

Charlotte
International kidney (Jersey royal)

Carrots...baby moxed

Dwarf beans....speedy

Runners....

Lady Di

In fact ive got cucumbers, courgettes, french beansm leaks, onions, mangetout, spring onions, carrots, lettuce, alpine strawberries, normal strawbs,

I need a bigger garden

You sound as if you must have a patch as big as a market garden as it is for that lot. Tell me why do you grow so many different varieties of tomatoes, especially as most fruit about the same time, not criticizing just curious as I might learn something.

 

[The Sock of Poskett]

We have cooking apples, conference pears, passion fruit and a some blackberries in our garden, but if I claimed they were anything to do with me I'd be lying. The trees stump up each year and we take what comes.

 

[jevs]

You sound as if you must have a patch as big as a market garden as it is for that lot. Tell me why do you grow so many different varieties of tomatoes, especially as most fruit about the same time, not criticizing just curious as I might learn something.

Only gowing a few of each just to see if they taste different. Have been told Ilde and black cheery are delicious. Balconi red and yellow i grew last year and they were lovely whilst taking up little space. Only my 2nd year growing veg so still learning lots...especially with tomatoes.

 

[BensGrandad]

Think that I may try some of those Balconi red and yellow, are they greenhouse or outdoor.

 

[vegster]

Got some Broad Beans and some garlic in at the mo, still lifting the last of the winter Carrots and Parsnips and awaiting the arrival of the Purple Sprouting Broccoli in a week or so. Rhubarb on the rise too.

Will be growing 3 lots of spuds, Rocket,Charlotte and Stemster and trialling a couple of Belle De Fortney. As for the rest, its Carrots, Beetroot, French Beans, Runner Beans,Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Lollo Rosso, Parsnips, Peas, Mange tout...oh gosh, loads of stuff

 

[jevs]

Think that I may try some of those Balconi red and yellow, are they greenhouse or outdoor.

Don't think it really matters mate....i grew mine outdoors last year and really neglected them. They were dried out and only fed occasionally and they produced loads of sweet cherry sized fruits. Think the seeds were from Thompson & Morgan

Thompson-Morgan - Search Results for tomato balconi

Also grown this black cherry variety after recomendations

Tomato Black Cherry - Tomato Seeds - Thompson & Morgan

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I'm very jealous of you guys with new Allotments - I've been on the waiting list for 3 years now in worthing and not a thing

It's worth the wait ( although my back isn't so sure this morning !!!! ). I was waiting over 5 years and only got one because B&H have started splitting the large plots in half. The people that took the other half had been waiting over 7 years !!! I found pestering the council every now and then to find out where you are on the list seemed to help a little - you at least get an update then. That said B&H council seem pretty crap at managing the lists. A guy on my set of allotments said my plot laid unused for over year after the previous tenant gave it back voluntarily. There's still a plot that hasn't been handed out for over six years - disgraceful.

 

[BensGrandad]

I am intrigued by the idea of trying some balconi red and yellow tomatoes. If I order them online they would be here within a couple of days but is it too late to plant the seeds now indoors then move to my green house.

 

[fork me]

Oranges and lemons for me this year. The new place has two orange trees and a lemon tree. Have a spare spot that I'm thinking of putting an olive tree in as well.

 

[BensGrandad]

Fork me can you answer a question for me as we were going to buy a bar in Limassol in 1995 and in fact the company is still in existence with the owner of Big Bens in the Kanika Enarios, unfortunately I was diagnosed with mouth cancer and it all went by the wayside. However, taking into account the amount of sun why does nobody even the expats grow runner beans. Possibly the water could be a problem but using recycled like shower or bath water wouldnt. Incidentally my friend always took me to the stadium to watch his team AEL, which appears to be yours also.

 

[PHCgull]

Lots of stuff overwintered and in greenhouse but what I am really excited about was planted three years ago - ASPARAGUS! For the last two years I have watched it sprout and left it alone, this year I am going to be guzzling it practically as it appears....

 

[clapham_gull]

I am intrigued by the idea of trying some balconi red and yellow tomatoes. If I order them online they would be here within a couple of days but is it too late to plant the seeds now indoors then move to my green house.

No, not at all. Didn't plant mine until around this time last year, but started early this year. I was probably too cautious last year - not really realising that London is quite warm and my small garden gets loads of sun.

I'm already got my tomato seedlings in the greenhouse during the day, taking them in at night.

 

[beorhthelm]

Oranges and lemons for me this year. The new place has two orange trees and a lemon tree.

i want to plant a tree, thinking of orange, do they take well in the south? get loads of sun, though clay soil.

 

[clapham_gull]

Gonna start off some more tomatoes tomorrow, primarily for the in-laws up North. Got some Eastern European varieties off the net, that apparently deal better with the cold.

I've become a bit addicted to this gardening bollocks, even though I've only got a small patio and no grass. Spent most of Sunday building a raised bed for cucumbers. By accident last year I found they grow brilliant against a wall in a slightly shaded area.

Gone big time on the chillies this year as well. Mine were a disaster last year, took weeks to germinate. However, we had some raised beds filled with the only thing I could get delivered. This very expensive and very fine organic soil. It's like black sand.

They would only deliver a minimum order, basically I has almost two tons left. I gave one to the "local community", left it outside my friends corner shop for everyone to help themselves and bagged up the rest and left in the garden over winter.

Thought I'd try it with seeds this year. They love it - I've had almost 100% success with all the chilli seeds I'm planted.

It's from a company in Surrey.

Surrey Topsoil Logs | Bury Hill | UK | London

Won't bother with potting compost in the future, I'll just try and buy a small bag of this stuff.

 

[vegster]

I'm very jealous of you guys with new Allotments - I've been on the waiting list for 3 years now in worthing and not a thing

I got talking to a chap up my site in Worthing the other day and they are just in the process off kicking out the unpaid and abandoned tenants in the next week or so, you could be lucky yet !

 

[jevs]

I am intrigued by the idea of trying some balconi red and yellow tomatoes. If I order them online they would be here within a couple of days but is it too late to plant the seeds now indoors then move to my green house.

should be fine mate...bung em in. I grew mine outside last year and they kind of thrived on neglect. Loads of sweet cherry toms.

If anyone has a little bit of room in their greenhouse, i made my own electric propagator from a grow bag tray and a reptile heat mat (from ebay). The heat mat just gives off a gentle heat and you put your trays of seeds directly on it. The results were astonishing. Some trays of seeds were only half on the mat (due to lack of space) and the seeds over the heat were up 3 to 4 days before the others.

 

[fork me]

Fork me can you answer a question for me as we were going to buy a bar in Limassol in 1995 and in fact the company is still in existence with the owner of Big Bens in the Kanika Enarios, unfortunately I was diagnosed with mouth cancer and it all went by the wayside. However, taking into account the amount of sun why does nobody even the expats grow runner beans. Possibly the water could be a problem but using recycled like shower or bath water wouldnt. Incidentally my friend always took me to the stadium to watch his team AEL, which appears to be yours also.

Dunno why nobody grows runner beans, I'm guessing it's because there's no point (unless you REALLY love runner beans!). You would need to water them almost constantly for them not to die and there's so much else that grows easily here.

Big Ben's (if it's the one I'm thinking of) has just had a refit.