Hello from Chesham

[Super Sprout]

Hi everyone,

I'm a complete novice gardener who lives in a flat with a communal garden which is all lawn. I've tried to grow container crops on my ESE facing balcony with limited success, mint, coriander, parsley, and cut &come again lettuces do well; radishes, beetroot & peas were a disaster! So I applied for an allotment and took over a plot in Nov 16 which I'm slowly clearing.

I've got the bug big time, but realise there is so much to learn &I'm like a sponge for information.

Where to start with the questions? It'll soon be time for planting seeds indoors, but I've found that on my ESE facing window sills there's not enough light, and on the opposite side of the flat it gets very hot in summer, or the seedlings get very leggy stretching for the Spring light. Should I be looking to invest in a greenhouse for the allotment? Any advice there please?

I've managed to completely clear an area of weeds &stones which I then dug over with some well rotted horse manure &left for 2-3 weeks. On 18 Dec I planted 5 rows of soft neck Cristo garlic. It grew very quickly to 2-3" then has endured a week of cold temp down to -8C, then a light covering of snow, and further cold temp (ground was still frozen on Saturday). I've noticed that some of the necks are going brown &a couple of stems have dropped off. Is my crop done for already? Should I have covered it under tunnels to protect from frost? Can I still salvage it?

Many thanks for listening. Any advice would be gratefully received!

[Baldy]

Welcome along - lots of friendly and often contradictory advice here. Ask 3 gardeners a question expect at least 4 different answers I reckon.
See if you can freecycle / gumtree a GH for the allotment - not much point having a posh one unless money is no object IMHO. I've got something based on a £25 plastic thing from BnQ augmented with lots of pallet wood to wind proof it. An eyesore but works on the plot (not in the back garden). Deffo worth having it though.
Not a garlic expert but sounds like rot to me... Still time to put some more in as I recall - maybe wrong..

Just noticed your username - she was before my time here but something of a forum legend... No pressure

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ht=Supersprout

[happyhumph]

Hi and welcome to the vine. If you can get a greenhouse of some sort it will be really really useful - like Baldy says you don't have to spend a fortune.

Not sure what's happened with your garlic, but there's still time to put more in - I've got a couple of soft neck types I'm going to plant in the next few weeks to complement the hardneck planted last year. Possibly a bit late for an autumn sowing in December but too early for a spring sowing. My autumn ones normally go in October /November & soft necks are about February depending on weather.

Lots of lovely people on here so ask away

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine.

Anything that could offer protection to seedlings will help. Cold frame, gh, blowaway greenhouse or just a sheltered spot. Don't be to eager to sow too early most things will catch up just fine from later sowings. The only thing I can think of that genuinely need early sowing are really greenhouse crops (although some peeps put them outside) aubs, peppers and cape gooseberries. Other veggies will be just fine.

I would try and work out what went wrong from your container veggies. Whilst an allotment is a bit more forgiving, I feel that learning from mistakes and checking your options is better than repeating it the following year and getting disheartened.
What soil did you use? How often did you feed? What did you feed with? Spacing? What time of year (min/max temps)? When did you water? How frequently?

Then lastly your garlic, it sounds like it may have rotted off but again don't be eager to do anything hopefully I am wrong and it has done lots of growing under ground and will pop back up in spring.

[Nicos]

Ho there, and welcome to the Vine from me too

[Lumpy]

Morning.......welcome to the font of all GYO knowledge and lots of daft stuff thrown in for good measure.

[Cadalot]

Hi SS and welcome to the madhouse, keep an eye out on freecycle greenhouses come up every now and then and all you have to do is take them apart and move to your plot and put them back together again.

[Super Sprout]

Thank you all for your warm welcomes.

I will definitely be looking for a second hand greenhouse or some such.

I think my containers failed due to there being a severe lack of natural light on my ESE facing balcony which has a roof with the direction of the sun heavily sheltered by a high sloping 2level garden &lots of trees. The containers probably receive o ly 3 hours direct sunlight per day, and that's between 8-11ish.

I hope my forum name is not an insult to the memory of the legendary Supersprout; maybe I can see about changing it? Thanks for the links Baldy.

[Bigmallly]

Hello SS & welcome to the Jungle, I'm sure your name will be just fine.

[ESBkevin]

Hello and welcome,

Container grown veg reguires moisture, light and feed, the compost will typically feed well enough for about 8 weeks+ or more but as the plant grows it will require a top up because it can't reach out for more nutrients like it can in open ground. A healthy root system connects to the mycorriza fungus in the earth and forms a team to swap nutrients, the suns converted sugars go out to the fungus web which in turn draws the moisture and nutrients into the plant. In a pot that needs to be helped by lots of fresh organic rotted material or artificial fertilizers. I hope thats not too compicated to grasp in one. if you get the chance look on you tube for 'Charles Downing' or an American called 'I am Organic gardening', both of who have some excellent technical information that they put across very well. beware it can get compulsive!

I suspect you have lost some of your garlic, replant again, I grab a clove from the shop, break it up and plant it anyway, you results are smaller than commercial product but the flavour is more intense and it's cheap enough.

[PyreneesPlot]

Hello and welcome!
Enjoy the Vine and don't forget to take lots of photos of your plot so that you can rejoice (or weep ) at your progress

[Ms-T]

Hiya and welcome

[johnjohn]

Welcome to the Vine. Generally speaking autumn sown garlic can be sown up to about December and spring sown from January and then there are some that can be both autumn and spring sown. My autumn garlic didn't get sown until December this year, a bit late for me.
Garlic is pretty hardy and benefits from a cold spell but it doesn't like to be wet so you might want to look at the drainage.
I would leave what you have in the ground at the moment but consider a second sowing of a spring variety if you have space available.

[Super Sprout]

Thanks again for all of the replies.

I spent a fair few hours on the allotment this weekend and am pleased to report that the garlic has grown a bit more, and doesn't look too bad. I will take a photo and post it sometime.

The shallots on the other hand don't seem to be moving, other than one plucked out by the birds

[vixylix]

Welcome SuperSprout! My mum lives in Chesham, right opposite some allotments - I wonder if they're the same ones!

Hope you enjoy the forum