http://townx.org/blog/elliot/gardening-post-mortem Comments for "Gardening post-mortem" en http://townx.org/blog/elliot/gardening-post-mortem <p>So, the main growing season is largely over. Obviously you can grow some winter salads, plant bulbs and the like, but the garden is less active than it was a few weeks back. It was a fairly decent season for first-time vegetable growers (me and Madeleine); here's a summary:</p> <ul> <li>We started out with lettuce, rocket and spinach, sown into paper pots, then planted into the ground when big enough. All were a complete failure and totally ravaged by slugs and snails. No crops.</li> <li>We also grew some miniature sweetcorn which got to about 4 feet. The plants were healthy, but the yield was pitiful (6 cobs off 6 plants - delicious, but not enough). Should have started them earlier, or maybe fed them more, or given them better ground to grow in. Small success.</li> <li>We tried pumpkins, which were again completely demolished by snails and slugs. They stayed fairly small for a long time, then around the start of September went demented and grew about 6 feet over the next 8 weeks. A few pumpkins started, but got chewed. Failure.</li> <li>Radishes: we planted these out directly in the ground, and managed to crop a few. Not many though. I think the squirrels had them or something. Moderate success.</li> <li>Salads growing in troughs hanging from the fence: the major success of the year. The troughs are attached about half-way up the fence around the patio, so they're warm and out of the way of slugs. I also put some wire mesh over the top to stop the squirrels and birds digging in them, then sowed through the mesh (so the plants grew through it). We had plenty of delicious crops from this, including mustard, spicy salad mix (rocket, leaf radish, etc.), lettuce, spinach, and endive. Endive is a great crop, by the way: everyone says it's bitter, and it consequently seems less attractive to wildlife; and the young leaves are at least as good as lettuce (I'd say tastier). Big success.</li> </ul> <p>For the rest of this year, I think I'll carry on planting salads, some in the greenhouse. Next year, I think we'll do sweetcorn again, plenty of salads, radishes and peas outside; then try squashes, courgettes, aubergines and tomatoes in the greenhouse. Just need to get my seed order sent off.</p> http://townx.org/blog/elliot/gardening-post-mortem#comments misc Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:02:52 -0600 elliot 754 at http://townx.org