I don't think I'll ever be a good gardener

[Pidge]

I'm just not patient and organised enough.

I'm too late with my tomatoes so am gong to just have to buy any plugs I can get hold of. I chickened out of doing potatoes because I couldn't work out the logistics of planting and sowing etc and I want the chilli plants I bought yesterday to be ready for tonight's dinner!

[piskieinboots]

... and I want the chilli plants I bought yesterday to be ready for tonight's dinner!

Oh ain't that the truth and for us all I guess

Stick with it Pidge, it isn't a competition

[Pidge]

Hahah true, although I do like a challenge.

I read earlier someone's advice on spring onions in containers (something I've been toying with the idea of) and they mentioned sowing the seeds a few at a time, spacing them out and being careful not to do this and to make sure you do that. Put me off for life!

Perhaps I should set myself small challenges? Maybe successfully grow one veg plant and then when I can do that move on to the next?

[Liza]

Hi Pidge

Grow some easier veg, beans, spring onion peas courgette etc.There is nothing wrong with buying plug veg to start with.

See how you get on, then you will be ready to do all your own sowing next year !

[Glutton4...]

You sound like me, Pidge. I start off all enthusiastic, then life takes over, and I sort of, well, let's say interest dwindles a little. Then Mr. G. gets home from work and says "Lets go watering and weeding." Totally forgetting I've been on me knees, weeding, all blimmin day! At least when he takes an interest, I get more motivated.

Stick with it - the harvest, however small, always makes it worth it!

[Pidge]

That's it! Don't get me wrong, I take pride in my garden, but I am also very lazy about getting stuck into things I don't fully understand.

I'm off to the garden centre today to get inspiration and am determined to get something edible growing by the end of the BH weekend! Watch this space ;o)

[Nicos]

I'm a 'bung it in and survival of the fittest' sort of gardener!!!

( bit like my culinary skills!!!!)

yes- I do fuss about some things- and my OH fusses about others- so it all works out fine in the end.

[janeyo]

pidge if I can master spring onions then anyone can - they aare a doddle. Just sow a pinch (about 10) in a little pot, wait til they are looking a bit like grass then plant out in a little space somewhere in the garden. As they grow they will push each other away slightly. You can then eat them little, chopped in salads as you thin them etc or wait til they get to normal size.


This growing lark is still a learning curve for ALL growers new and old alike

[Shadylane]

That's it! Don't get me wrong, I take pride in my garden, but I am also very lazy about getting stuck into things I don't fully understand.

I can relate to that, which is why when I first started I didn't have the motivation to read loads of books and do shed loads of research. I just bunged stuff in and hoped for the best. If I wanted to know something I looked it up on t'internet and by doing so I picked up other stuff. It's amazing how much you can learn without realising you're doing it.

As for the logistics of stuff, if it confuses and baffles you, ignore it. If someone says something that makes your eyes glaze over ignore them and stick it in the ground anyway.

One thing I learned last year is that stuff wants to grow. All the other itty bitty stuff that the experts tell you to do is great but not essential to get a crop. All the confusing conflicting expert advise out there is all about how to get a better, bigger crop or maximise this and that but sticking to the basic simplicity of bung it in and wait will still work. Of course when you get the hang of that then you can focus on all the faffy other stuff that you're supposed to do

[piskieinboots]

Really good advice there Shady

....but I am also very lazy about getting stuck into things I don't fully understand.

I can so understand that one!

I've just moved house (again!) this month Pidge, it is a b**ger of a time of year to move, I have:
- tons and tons of seeds to sow - but they aren't sown because I am still emptying boxes
- a lottie - but it ain't worked even a little bit yet because I am still emptying boxes
- a new garden - but it ain't touched (much) yet because I'm still...
....gawd I'm even boring myself here with my groaning

I come in here to get a fix

[bobleponge]

Stop bigging yourself up so much Pidge, sheesh!!

As Piskie said, its not a competition, chuck it in where you think it might work, and see what happens.
I work away from home and when I'm away I make loads of plans and drawings and seed charts and "what I'm going to do and when" lists.
Then when I get back to work after leave I open my diary and see the lists that I had made that I had intended to do when I was at home.
And yet every year I have stuff that grows.

To paraphrase slightly "plant it, it will grow."

[di]

I don't think I've ever faffed about with Spring Onions....make a drill,give it a little water,sprinkle in the seeds,cover and wait.
In fact that's pretty much what I do with most things.
You can make it as complicated or simple as you like...a friend of mine sows beetroot in little pots,transfers them to slightly bigger ones as they grow before finally transplanting them in their final position...mine just get sown exactly where I want them and come up just as well.

Like Shady says,have a year of bung it in and watch it grow and if you want to get faffy about things as you learn then do.

[Hilary B]

I can see the point to successional sowing (who needs a 20ft row of spring onions all ready at the same time?), so yes, do 'a few' every couple of weeks, but no need to make it complicated. I am trying to manage the 'successional' bit with lettuce, Pak Choi and fennel, but not really got enough space!

[di]

I can see the point to successional sowing (who needs a 20ft row of spring onions all ready at the same time?), so yes, do 'a few' every couple of weeks, but no need to make it complicated. I am trying to manage the 'successional' bit with lettuce, Pak Choi and fennel, but not really got enough space!

A lottie friend has got into the routine of every time he plants out lettuces he sows a few more seeds.(he has a little plant pot sat at the edge of the row).....I had every intention of adopting the same strategy...not too late.

[binley100]

I(who needs a 20ft row of spring onions all ready at the same time?),!

I would just love even a 2ft row of spring onions
It's the one thing I can't seem to grow