Grow your own fruit and vegetables

[Osbourne One-Nil]

I've gardened orgainically since I moved in 5 years ago and whilst I weed, I wouldn't consider myself a tidy gardener. I compost all the leaves I can, but do leave them on the borders and have dry stone walls around the front and back, so plenty of habitat I'd have thought. My neighbours seem pretty organic too. Perhaps they just don't like me?

[jethro]

Shouldn't be a problem then, hows' the Harlequin situation up there? Perhaps that has something to do with it.

[Soaring Hawk]

Thank you to Grey Owl and Jethro for your answers to my questions, really appreciate it. I've found them very helpful.

[PersianPaladin]

I recommend this book if people want to grow their own food with little effort: -

http://www.amazon.com/Ruth-Stout-No-Work-G...k/dp/0878570004

[J07]

Yes growing your own fruit is the way forward. I believe it's not only sustainable but also rewarding, and there's a great feeling when say a seedling sprouts, currently raising a pear tree, lemon tree and olive tree (as seedlings apart from the Olive tree) so it should be brilliant when they start fruiting

Positive thinking

Will be good to see how the lemon tree goes that's for sure. I remain unconvinced that it can fruit successfully in most of the UK. Though I did once think otherwise (think I mentioned this another time). They are very common in back gardens over here, but they don't like the South Island, except for the northern parts (which is NZ's sunniest area). Christchurch is about the southern limit and you just don't see them around Dunedin or Invercargill in general. And those locations have a similar climate to NW England (Summer highs about 20C, winter highs about 10C, approx 1500 sunshine hours per year and rainfall from 800-1100mm). I don't know why people don't grow them down there. I don't know what the limiting factor is.

Certainly, pot planting and greenhousing is workable just like many other plants. Europe has many lemon trees in pots and they fruit fine. But I'm not sure it's the best way. The reason is that the roots tend to extend out as far as the drip-line of the leaves. This is generally much wider than most pots. It could be that lemons (like peppers) are a specimen that likes having their roots restricted but I must say it's not what I've heard, and I've always had to be very careful digging around lemon trees since their roots can be quite sensitive and shallow.

I wish you good luck and if you succeed, I'll be on the bandwagon trying to get everyone back home to have a lemon tree

Don't know much about olives, just they need several months of consistent high temperatures to fruit successfully and they can handle a good old cold blast fairly easily. Not sure how they manage months of grey skies and cool conditions though.

[laserguy]

I'm a curry addict and practically live on the stuff (home made of course ),and the hotter the better. Naturally,I grow loads of chillis every year,many varietals but the latest one was the Dorset Naga - The hottest in the world!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article700700.ece

Volcanic,incendiary,nuclear,industrial strength heat in a curry from less than half of one of these grape-sized chillis. Marvellous! Anyway,onto my question. I end up with sufficient chillis because of the number of plants I grow,but it's disappointing that around 50% of flowers simply drop off the plants a few days after opening up. I've had this problem every year over the many years I've been growing them,and all varieties are affected equally. Any ideas,Jethro? Thanks in advance.

Just seen your post J07,and as I mentioned earlier,lemon trees are very reluctant to fruit here. Sixteen years and still waiting! Gonna follow Jethro's tips and maybe...

[peterf]

I recommend this book if people want to grow their own food with little effort: -

http://www.amazon.com/Ruth-Stout-No-Work-G...k/dp/0878570004

no such thing as little effort PP.

THATS JUST A PLOY TO SELL THE BOOK TO LAZY BUGGERS

[peterf]

I'm a curry addict and practically live on the stuff (home made of course ),and the hotter the better. Naturally,I grow loads of chillis every year,many varietals but the latest one was the Dorset Naga - The hottest in the world!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article700700.ece

Volcanic,incendiary,nuclear,industrial strength heat in a curry from less than half of one of these grape-sized chillis. Marvellous! Anyway,onto my question. I end up with sufficient chillis because of the number of plants I grow,but it's disappointing that around 50% of flowers simply drop off the plants a few days after opening up. I've had this problem every year over the many years I've been growing them,and all varieties are affected equally. Any ideas,Jethro? Thanks in advance.

Just seen your post J07,and as I mentioned earlier,lemon trees are very reluctant to fruit here. Sixteen years and still waiting! Gonna follow Jethro's tips and maybe...

hi LG,

ive grown chillis for a lot of years now and your right about the Naga .

regarding flower drop try increasing your humidity as it sounds like dry set to me.also monitor night time temps as cold nights have the same effect,i keep my plants on the dry side in a soil based compost and only ever water them by flooding the bench once or twice a week depending on conditions.

try this website out http://www.thechileman.org/

mark hails from darlington and is an expert on our beloved chillis.peter

Edited May 29, 2008 by peterf

[SnowBear]

Jethro, don't give up on a thread like this for information for others. We might all be green fingered veggie growers on this thread at the moment and a thread like this will attract enthusiasts and professionals at first, but others who sit quietly looking through the forum may not and on reading this they will get inspiration to turn part of their concrete/block paved patch into something more productive.

Maybe try this, make a new thread, ask for it to be pinned. Have that thread titled as "Jethro's Vegetable and Herb Growing Corner". Add maybe something once every two weeks or so.

This thread have as a general gardening chitchat and questions and answers. Later their could be an FAQ pinned up with the other thread which has an a-z of the questions asked.

Ladybirds? Seen more Harlequins this year, and a few British. But overall, fewer ladybirds this year than last.

I am hoping toms do better this year than last, we got pretty much nothing last year. Fruit didn't ripen, or went black on the vine as many growers found. Onions did well, as did Leeks and despite the weather, Sweetcorn, which was surprising. The usual carrots, parsnips, etc did ok. Runner beans low cropping but did ok.

A complete rework of the patch over winter, changed the orientation of the rows to maximise sunlight on each row.

Been building the herb garden stock up this last month or so, Mint, Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Parsley, Oregano, Coriander, Fennel, Sage etc.

A tip for keeping carrot fly off the carrots. Grow French Marigolds from seed in the spring, (or buy plug plants from a nursery) , and plant about 12-15" apart between the rows of carrots, works well we have found, the fly hate Marigolds.

Edited May 29, 2008 by SnowBear

[peterf]

Jethro, don't give up on a thread like this for information for others. We might all be green fingered veggie growers on this thread at the moment and a thread like this will attract enthusiasts and professionals at first, but others who sit quietly looking through the forum may not and on reading this they will get inspiration to turn part of their concrete/block paved patch into something more productive.

Maybe try this, make a new thread, ask for it to be pinned. Have that thread titled as "Jethro's Vegetable and Herb Growing Corner". Add maybe something once every two weeks or so.

This thread have as a general gardening chitchat and questions and answers. Later their could be an FAQ pinned up with the other thread which has an a-z of the questions asked.

Ladybirds? Seen more Harlequins this year, and a few British. But overall, fewer ladybirds this year than last.

I am hoping toms do better this year than last, we got pretty much nothing last year. Fruit didn't ripen, or went black on the vine as many growers found. Onions did well, as did Leeks and despite the weather, Sweetcorn, which was surprising. The usual carrots, parsnips, etc did ok. Runner beans low cropping but did ok.

A complete rework of the patch over winter, changed the orientation of the rows to maximise sunlight on each row.

Been building the herb garden stock up this last month or so, Mint, Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Parsley, Oregano, Coriander, Fennel, Sage etc.

A tip for keeping carrot fly off the carrots. Grow French Marigolds from seed in the spring, (or buy plug plants from a nursery) , and plant about 12-15" apart between the rows of carrots, works well we have found, the fly hate Marigolds.

totally agree with what you say Snowbear,this is now the first thread i visit when logging on.

i think it will go from strength to strength

[grab my graupel]

Hi everyone

I have a question for you good people.

My wife has wanted to grow poppies in our garden, but had little success getting them to germinate, despite the

fields around us being surrounded by them. I am wondering whether this is an indication of the sort of soil we

have here, or if it is something we are doing wrong.

I ask this, because we are interested in turning part of our garden into a vegetable growing area, but we

wonder whether the soil we have at present may need replenishing in anyway

Many thanks

Brian.

[jethro]

Hi everyone

I have a question for you good people.

My wife has wanted to grow poppies in our garden, but had little success getting them to germinate, despite the

fields around us being surrounded by them. I am wondering whether this is an indication of the sort of soil we

have here, or if it is something we are doing wrong.

I ask this, because we are interested in turning part of our garden into a vegetable growing area, but we

wonder whether the soil we have at present may need replenishing in anyway

Many thanks

Brian.

I suspect the problem of germination is one of light, Poppies won't germinate in the dark, even the lightest sprinkling of soil can be enough to cause the problem. Either sow them direct outside, literally just sprinkling on the surface and leaving, or in a cool greenhouse, again just broadcast on the surface but cover with a sheet of glass or polythene to prevent them drying out (remove as soon as they germinate). Poppy seeds are funny old things, they'll remain dormant for years in the soil but as soon as the soil is turned over and they're brought to the surface light, bingo! up they pop.

Peter & Snowbear, thanks for the positive feedback; your suggestion sounds like a perfect middle ground.

[SP1986]

Positive thinking

Will be good to see how the lemon tree goes that's for sure. I remain unconvinced that it can fruit successfully in most of the UK. Though I did once think otherwise (think I mentioned this another time). They are very common in back gardens over here, but they don't like the South Island, except for the northern parts (which is NZ's sunniest area). Christchurch is about the southern limit and you just don't see them around Dunedin or Invercargill in general. And those locations have a similar climate to NW England (Summer highs about 20C, winter highs about 10C, approx 1500 sunshine hours per year and rainfall from 800-1100mm). I don't know why people don't grow them down there. I don't know what the limiting factor is.

Certainly, pot planting and greenhousing is workable just like many other plants. Europe has many lemon trees in pots and they fruit fine. But I'm not sure it's the best way. The reason is that the roots tend to extend out as far as the drip-line of the leaves. This is generally much wider than most pots. It could be that lemons (like peppers) are a specimen that likes having their roots restricted but I must say it's not what I've heard, and I've always had to be very careful digging around lemon trees since their roots can be quite sensitive and shallow.

I wish you good luck and if you succeed, I'll be on the bandwagon trying to get everyone back home to have a lemon tree

Don't know much about olives, just they need several months of consistent high temperatures to fruit successfully and they can handle a good old cold blast fairly easily. Not sure how they manage months of grey skies and cool conditions though.

Lemons can be awkward because like the sunny weather and dry weather like you say but it is possible to grow them but they may never ripen and may be much more bitter. In a good summer here like 2003, lemons will ripen though unfortunately I wasnt growing any in 2003. Growing lemons is much more of an interest in growing borderline species than growing fruit but the idea of sustainable fruit source is exciting to me, and the great thing is that they can be seeded when they fruit! I grow mine in a small pot and its doing fine, but like Bougainvilleas its one of those Mediterranean plants that prefers to be outside rather than inside. Before I put the lemon outside it defoliated completely, but now outside its grown back its foliage, which makes think they would not actually mind +5C as long as they have good air circulation (and no frost of course)!

Lemons are domestic to me though, I want to grow Archontophoenix palms, Syagrus palms, you name it, Guavas, Pineapples which I don't think would necessarily die in this climate if given ample protection outside in winter.

[grab my graupel]

I suspect the problem of germination is one of light, Poppies won't germinate in the dark, even the lightest sprinkling of soil can be enough to cause the problem. Either sow them direct outside, literally just sprinkling on the surface and leaving, or in a cool greenhouse, again just broadcast on the surface but cover with a sheet of glass or polythene to prevent them drying out (remove as soon as they germinate). Poppy seeds are funny old things, they'll remain dormant for years in the soil but as soon as the soil is turned over and they're brought to the surface light, bingo! up they pop.

Peter & Snowbear, thanks for the positive feedback; your suggestion sounds like a perfect middle ground.

Thanks Jethro

I think you may have solved the problem for us; we have indeed been covering the seeds over with soil.

I hadn't realized that poppies are so particular, given that they seem to grow so freely elsewhere.

Thanks again for your help and excellent advice

Brian

[jethro]

Thanks Jethro

I think you may have solved the problem for us; we have indeed been covering the seeds over with soil.

I hadn't realized that poppies are so particular, given that they seem to grow so freely elsewhere.

Thanks again for your help and excellent advice

Brian

You're welcome. They're easy once they get going, just picky for germination.

Useless snippet of the day: all those WW11 Poppy fields were caused by bomb blasts bringing old Poppy seeds to the surface, a bit of light and they all sprang into life; the irony of life eh, so much life lost led to so much new plant life.

[PersianPaladin]

no such thing as little effort PP.

THATS JUST A PLOY TO SELL THE BOOK TO LAZY BUGGERS

Heh...its not a ploy.

The method of using mulching really did save a lot of effort for people like the author who have phyiscal problems.

[laserguy]

hi LG,

ive grown chillis for a lot of years now and your right about the Naga .

regarding flower drop try increasing your humidity as it sounds like dry set to me.also monitor night time temps as cold nights have the same effect,i keep my plants on the dry side in a soil based compost and only ever water them by flooding the bench once or twice a week depending on conditions.

try this website out http://www.thechileman.org/

mark hails from darlington and is an expert on our beloved chillis.peter

Thanks for that,Peter. Had a quick peek at that link and added it to my favourites,think it'll keep me amused for ages and be much consulted. Here's another question for you Jethro,or anyone else who's able to help. Hopefully we'll be moving house in the nearish future. In the bathroom we have an old Monsterosa plant which is huge and has spread across two walls and part of the ceiling (held aloft by various Heath Robinson bracketry). It's part of the family and will of course be coming with us,but how do we get it out without causing undue stress and damage?! Will it stand pruning (and if so where and how is the best point to perform surgery?) to the point where it will be possible to manouvre it out,and will it recover ok?

[johnholmes]

You're welcome. They're easy once they get going, just picky for germination.

Useless snippet of the day: all those WW11 Poppy fields were caused by bomb blasts bringing old Poppy seeds to the surface, a bit of light and they all sprang into life; the irony of life eh, so much life lost led to so much new plant life.

yes I have to say I love poppies, short period of flowering but just chop them down once they have flowered and most flower again, then they are there next year and so on.

on another tack Jethro?

How godd as a perennial are perennial wallflowers? I am looking to make my garden, for my advancing years(!), as effort free as possible. The more things I can get to reappear every year the better?

[I can't believe it's not better]

Hi Jethro, I hope you don't mind if I post this link to a short (3 mins) video about the Teifi Community Forest Garden Project, near the Teifi estuary. It's organised by Naturewise, a permaculture group. If anyone in the area is interested, have a look.

[jethro]

Sorry Laser, can't or rather wouldn't dare answer that question; house plants and me don't mix, I've got at least a 50% record of killing everyone I've ever had.

John: Perennial Wall flowers have a tendency to go leggy and woody, within 3-5 years they end up with growth at the top and not much else. The trick is, like Lavender, they need pruning back as soon as they have finished flowering, that way they'll shoot out from the bottom again and stay bushy. They smell heavenly too. Also, if they do start going leggy, they're simplicity itself to take cuttings, readily rooting in a gritty compost.

Hi Jethro, I hope you don't mind if I post this link to a short (3 mins) video about the Teifi Community Forest Garden Project, near the Teifi estuary. It's organised by Naturewise, a permaculture group. If anyone in the area is interested, have a look.

Of course I don't mind, more the merrier.

Watched it, looks interesting, I love it when people from all walks of life come together to do something positive, kind of restores your faith in humanity. If every community could be persuaded to do something similar to this, wouldn't the world be a nicer place to live in. Can't place his accent, Icelandic??

[I can't believe it's not better]

Yeah Jethro. Humanity. Accent is part Islington, part Cardigan and part somewhere 'I'm having a mental block' Europe!

I've been meaning to start a thread about using urine :blush: as a fertiliser. I do it all the time I have a good little book somewhere that I can't find called 'Liquid Gold'. It's all in there and it's partly the way forward. In UK society it seems we'd rather not think about no.1's and no.2's. Just flush it/them down the loo (more electric required at the sewage works) - all that nutrient! Nitrogen loving plants love wee wee. (#1's is high in nitrogen - eg. sweet corn, green leafy plants). Disclaimer: But beg, steal, borrow this book before starting that sort of thing folks - don't just start pooing and winkling in the lettuce patch, 'cos it's not that straightforward :wacko: .

The water that flushes the toilet doesn't just get there without effort. It uses a whole number of electricity consuming processes to make it absolutly fit to drink and then needs pushing along miles of pipe (friction) and up to the altitude of your house (Potential energy =Mass x 9.8 x Height). Shame to just flush it all away after every single #1.

Corn on the cob anyone?

[johnholmes]

thanks J I'll remember that, certainly with lavender, be brutal is my maxim, and it does seem to work

[peterf]

Heh...its not a ploy.

The method of using mulching really did save a lot of effort for people like the author who have phyiscal problems.

PP nearly all books are aimed at a certain market,and as for little effort there is no such thing..iv'e worked with disabled people at FINCHALE COLLEGE DURHAM.

and i think if i was to suggest that they needed little effort would have greatly upset some of them whilst sitting their NVQ LEVEL 3S.

LIFE IS WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.

YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN.PETER

GARDENING IN THE BLOOD HERE,HERE'S THE YOUNGESTS EFFORT 2 YEAR AGO

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=GI...h=&start=10

GIANT PUMPKIN2

Edited May 29, 2008 by peterf

[PersianPaladin]

PP nearly all books are aimed at a certain market,and as for little effort there is no such thing..iv'e worked with disabled people at FINCHALE COLLEGE DURHAM.

and i think if i was to suggest that they needed little effort would have greatly upset some of them whilst sitting their NVQ LEVEL 3S.

LIFE IS WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.

YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN.PETER

GARDENING IN THE BLOOD HERE,HERE'S THE YOUNGESTS EFFORT 2 YEAR AGO

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=GI...h=&start=10

GIANT PUMPKIN2

Read the book first before criticising.

[J07]

Lemons can be awkward because like the sunny weather and dry weather like you say but it is possible to grow them but they may never ripen and may be much more bitter. In a good summer here like 2003, lemons will ripen though unfortunately I wasnt growing any in 2003. Growing lemons is much more of an interest in growing borderline species than growing fruit but the idea of sustainable fruit source is exciting to me, and the great thing is that they can be seeded when they fruit! I grow mine in a small pot and its doing fine, but like Bougainvilleas its one of those Mediterranean plants that prefers to be outside rather than inside. Before I put the lemon outside it defoliated completely, but now outside its grown back its foliage, which makes think they would not actually mind +5C as long as they have good air circulation (and no frost of course)!

Lemons are domestic to me though, I want to grow Archontophoenix palms, Syagrus palms, you name it, Guavas, Pineapples which I don't think would necessarily die in this climate if given ample protection outside in winter.

I think Lemons don't mind frost all that much. At least, they can handle ground frost, not sure about air frost. However, given your location I would imagine that neither is all that common.

I had never heard of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archontophoenix before you mentioned it. :o

I also never knew there were quite so many hardy palms in the world.

True that pineapples can survive, but they won't fruit. Though you can get "red pineapples" now, which is some sort of infertile variety that is grown commercially in Northland.

A plant which would do well for you is the Pineapple Guava (Feijoa). It's the Southern Hemisphere season for them (just coming to an end) so they may pop up in small quantities at specialist food stores. It's from the South American highlands and would do fine in the UK I think. Lovely looking tree also.