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Gardening resources and tips, etc.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:27 am

My success with them is a bit hit and miss. I had 3-4 pots of them but they have always come up in 'straggles', so I have never had a pot of blooms - just one or two flowering at a time in each. I merged them into two pots in late autumn because I needed pots for spring bulbs, and did it very carelessly. They don't seem to have minded. They also seem very hardy, so maybe I should put some in the ground.

Confession: until a year or two ago, i thought they were anenomes. My mother always pronounced it this way, I am struggling to change my pronunciation!

I bought some corms couple of years ago and lost them before planting, and resdiscovered them last month. I wonder if they will come up if I plant them. Only one way to find out...

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby PatsyMFagan » Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:47 am

Beautiful Herbi :clap :clap :clap

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Lusciouslush » Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:51 pm

Wonderful colour Herbi..... :thumbsup I've never been very successful at growing them - no idea why, they just don't do a lot so I gave up trying.
herbidacious wrote:Confession: until a year or two ago, i thought they were anenomes. My mother always pronounced it this way, I am struggling to change my pronunciation!


Don't you dare - it's lovely to have family quinky dinkies - I'd never change mine!

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Suffs » Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:10 pm

Herbi ... one of my friends when I was a child was Penelope Emeny ... she had a sister named Anne Emeny !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On top of that I was married for a while to a man with that very surname .... imagine the difficulties anemones cause me .... not to mention nurses discussing 'an enema for Mrs Emeny' .... my life is less complicated now, for many reasons.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Lusciouslush » Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:31 pm

:lol: Sorry...... but I read that as 'every enema needs an anemone'

It's how my mind works...................... :oops:

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Suffs » Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:59 pm

Just as well you didn't know me back then Luscious :? :lol:

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Lusciouslush » Tue Jan 11, 2022 8:13 pm

Too true Suffs - can you imagine......... :shock: :D

The only trouble is I know what will stick in my head for eternity now & that is ............... ' Every anemone needs an enema'

:?

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Thu Jan 13, 2022 4:51 pm

scullion wrote:
herbidacious wrote:I had a Babbington's leek or two, but I lost them. (As in, they were in pots and went AWOL.) I really would like to grow some but can't find a source.


this is where mine came from. otherwise, when (if) mine produce some pips - although possibly not this year - i'll send you some, if you want.



Sorry I only just noticed this. That's very kind. I managed to get some from Chiltern seeds, but the instructions are daunting/disconcerting. (Stuff about germinating indoors then stratifying at -4 C for a couple of weeks, or grow outside but 'May take 30 days-12 months to germinate' :o

Do you have any advice? Or maybe this is all I need to know...https://backyardlarder.co.uk/babingtons-leek/

I am unsure as to where to put them or how many to grow. They seem pretty tolerant of lots of growing conditions.

Can I also ask, as a general question to anyone, when instructions say 'sow indoors or under glass' are there any assumptions about temperature going on there. It can pretty darned cold in my greenhouse at night. It's been down to -2.5C at times.

Some of the sweet peas I sowed last Tuesday came up the day before yesterday.

I am having trouble persuading Mrs R Penney - an unscented but orange sweet pea - to germinate. This is my second attempt. Different packet, but same supplier.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby scullion » Thu Jan 13, 2022 7:11 pm

i'm i right in assuming they are bulbils? if so, i would plant them outside where you want them to grow now. as they are a native to this country i would think it was best to do what nature would do for them!

as for sowing indoors or under glass - i'm of the opinion that the temperature should remain above freezing, probably 10-15°c for germination. if it needs to be more the packet should say. the temperature can be dropped a bit after germination.

i have just sown a couple of trays of modules (indoors) with a selection of chilis, peppers, aubergines, leeks, romanesco broccoli, 9 star perennial cauliflower, courgettes and swiss chard.
some of the seed was old so i won't be holding my breath.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:00 pm

Thanks. I will just sow the BLs outside, then.

re 'under glass' it's going to be a while before we achieve 10 and above at night outside under glass, I think... I was asking because these instructions are often given on packets of things on which it says sow from March onwards. It's not something I have thought about much before because I've not had a greenhouse.

Gosh that's early for courgettes! Can they go in a(n unheated) greenhouse once they have germinated? I would like to grow some in a greenhouse this year in the hope that this avoids the mildew issue. Whether it does or not will depend on whether having had mildewy cucumbers in there last year will be an issue. I don't fancy trying to disinfect it.

I might do a few aubergines and peppers in the next week or two, but would they need above 10 to be ok once they have germinated? Similar to tomatoes? Will you keep yours indoors? In my (somewhat limited) experience, aubergines, at least, grow into largeish plants reasonably quickly, but just take forever to fruit. I sowed mine on the 14th of February last year. Most of them took until September to fruit and then stopped quite quickly. My wonderful aubergine glut came from the purchased grafted plant which was fruiting heavily by the third week of July.

I had better think about where to set up my propagators. The spare bedroom, which was to be cleared over Christmas, but is still virtually impassable, is where I usually start seeds off. Husband says I can put my huge propagator with grow lights in his bedroom, but he might regret this, so not sure whether to take him up on it or not. On the other hand maybe he will find it interesting...?!? :?

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby scullion » Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:12 am

herbidacious wrote:re 'under glass' it's going to be a while before we achieve 10 and above at night outside under glass,

i would say that it's probably the same as saying 'on the kitchen windowsill'. why not do an experiment and sow some things indoors and some in the greenhouse - you'll then see how much the delay is between the two.

i think the mildew on courgettes is more to do with watering than infected growing conditions. if you grow a courgette in the greenhouse it's going to take up an enormous amount of room (they grow bigger indoors than outside) - you'd be better off putting tomatoes in there and a couple of courgettes out in the garden.

if the aubergines come up (it was old seed) i'll put them in a sheltered place outside or rig up some protection.
we grew an amazing crop of peppers one year, under big cloches.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:19 pm

I have a huge problem with courgettes and mildew. I never ever get to glut stage with them. I gorw mildew resistant ones, I have tried growing them with a wick and water tank underneath so consistent supply of water and none from the top.
I have grown them in areas where they get plenty of breeze.
I have done the opposite of all of these things in various permutation.
I get mildew on my peas and sweet peas too. I think it must be airborne? I might try one in the greenhouse as an experiment, although if it gets it, the spores could already be in the greenhouse, so not terribly scientific. I could buy a pop up plastic 'grow house' but it would have to be a big one. I don't love them that much...! I really grow them primarily because they grow so very quickly which is satisfying when most things take quite a while.

I can hear foxes squabbling in the garden...

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Suffs » Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:00 pm

Powdery mildew is host specific ... the type that affects peas won't affect squashes and cucurbits etc etc etc.

However if your greenhouse cucumbers had powdery mildew last year it may be that the mildew spores are lurking in the greenhouse, so 'd give cucurbits a miss in the greenhouse this year.

Powdery mildew tends to affect plants that have been stressed ... usually due to drought at the roots some time previously ... the answer is not to let the plants get stressed. Growing squashes etc under cover wont stop it happening and may prevent effective pollination.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Sloe-Gin » Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:42 pm

herbidacious wrote:
I had better think about where to set up my propagators. The spare bedroom, which was to be cleared over Christmas, but is still virtually impassable, is where I usually start seeds off. Husband says I can put my huge propagator with grow lights in his bedroom, but he might regret this, so not sure whether to take him up on it or not. On the other hand maybe he will find it interesting...?!? :?


At least you won't want your grow lights on all night, herbi!

I don't want to start mine off too soon, as I don't want to encourage plants to outgrow the cosy heated propagator while it's still cold outside. The greenhouse itself isn't heated.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Suffs » Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:50 pm

That's the problem with starting things off early SloeG ... lack of windowsill space for growing them on once they outgrow the tiny pots .........

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:29 pm

Right ho, Suffs! I won't grow courgettes in the greenhouse!

I am hoping that growing some peas and sweet peas early in the greenhouse i.e. in the cold this year will help them be stronger and more disease resistant, and I suppose better establish earlier, as they will be planted out earlier. I noticed today that their roots were coming out the bottom even though they are not very tall plants. I guess this is good, as it means a good root system... unless I let them get root bound. They are in trainers. Maybe I should pot them on? I have some long pea pots.

Some peas and some sweet peas will go in the (deep) raised bed this year so it will be interesting to compare success rates with those that go in pots. I really don't have room to put either in the ground proper, alas.

I have sort of decided to buy aubergine and pepper plants. I grew too much from seed last year, and ended up with small jungles in the sitting room, lean to and spare bedroom and full windowsills in the kitchen and my bedroom. It would take a little pressure off having some larger plants arrive in May. (Although if the suppliers cock up, as they have been known to do, it will be very disappointing.)

I won't be starting most things until March or April unless they are plants that can go straight into the greenhouse or a cold frame, as seedlings.

I usually just start things off in heated propagators in the house, or in the unheated lean to. This year, however, I might only start things off this way if they really need that oomph of heat to get going - try to grow things as cold as possible. Every year there is that too little light vs too much heat debate on various gardening forums (can't remember if they do this on GW) as an explanation for leggy seedlings, and I am increasingly inclined to think that too little light and the presumed need for grow lights is a red herring, unless, of course, you want to grow them away from a natural light source. (I successfully did this last year with numerous of flowering plants simply to expand my limited indoor growing space. I only have one really good windowsill and one other that's got the balcony stuck in front of it. But I also had lights in the glass-roofed lean to. I am not convinced that that was necessary.) I could be very wrong, of course. While my peas and broad beans in the greenhouse look healthy, some of my tiny hardy perennial seedlings look a bit pale.

Sloe, do you have your propagators in your greenhouse or in the house?

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:46 pm

I am going to have a go at these this year: https://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item_13 ... _o_leccese

Carosello, 'Scopatizzo o Leccese'
Heirloom Heritage

An exciting, hard to find variety from southern Italy, the carosello resembles a small cucumber. It has curious fuzzy skin which is very thin and a sweet and mild, never bitter, flavour resembling melon. Perfect in salads and a great accompaniment for pasta dishes. Reported to be easier to digest than ordinary cucumbers.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Sloe-Gin » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:02 pm

They're in the greenhouse, herbi, but we're lucky, it's right by the house for the leccy feed. They come on at 4, go off at 7am. He monitors the cost to heat them (buttons atm)
I've sown herbs, because they won't outgrow the height and will be useful sooner.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:14 pm

I can't remember which one(s) you have. You can get extension bits for some propagators to make them higher.

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Re: Gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Sloe-Gin » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:30 pm

I'll take some pics tomorrow. Some are old and the UV has affected the covers.

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