Things i will do different next year..

[HayleyB]

Will nots...

Plant loads of seeds expecting only a few to grow ending up with 27 courgettes, 26 sweetcorns and over 50 tomato plants (half in a bed half in pots)

Plant my swedes, cabbages and caulis in neighbouring modules not expecting them all to look the same when leaves appear without labels.

Overcrowd my turnips so one half of the long planter is doing great and the other half seems to be producing slug food.

Try to overwinter my parsley and just get another pot from Tesco to plant.

Decide I'm going to try to grow my own in April and start earlier

Spend hours laying manure beds with tons of the stuff all at once, cause I've done it already and will take my time manuring the beds that haven't in accordance with my (dare I say it) 'rotation plan'

Will do's....

Be a regular on this forum as it's absolutely amazing

Plant broccoli and parsnips and try lots of the heritage type of tomatoes

Sow when I am mean't to and not try to 'wing it'

Carry on talking to my chilli plant, its first chilli eaten last night blew my husband's head off when I gave him a raw taster

Plant the same amount of beans but not overwater them when transplanted meaning I lost three to root rot

Sow more peas - I love raw peas and can see myself eating the entire crop from 24 plants before they even get to see a saucepan

Hope I like Khol Rabi cause they are doing brilliantly

Plant Lolla Rossa again in a growbag (constant supply) and the same for a mixed bag of lettuces - amazingly I've tried cutting lettuces leaving the roots in and they are growing again

Plant my carrots in a massive bucket again

Try this advanced growing concept of gradual sowing without forgetting when I sowed what and when to sow another batch

Buy more fish from the fish society - their polystyrene boxes are brilliant for putting my pots of herbs in to overwinter - except the parsley - and I think slugs may not like the polystyrene as my Khol Rabi has not suffered a single blow.

Panic cause my beans are flowering/ed and there's no beans yet

Find out more about toilet roll centres

[Shortie]

Next year I will...

Build sturdier runner bean supports so that 8LGM doesn't spend an hour building new supports around the collapsed rows

Stake the tomato early so that I don't spend ages getting stained arms like yesterday to stop the plants drooping all over the floor

Plant lots more peas. Yuuuummm

Plant lots more broad beans. Yuk, but I'm not growing them for me anyway

Put up the pea supports at the time when I sow them. Ooops

Not bother with climbing french beans that hardly germinate, Pah!

[Newbie]

Next year i will:

Not buy 4 different 2.5kg Bags of seed spuds & think that will be "just enough" for 2 people.
Not dig up an entire 22ft row of spuds all at the same time because the tops look sickly.
Not end up with 30 different Purple & White Sprouting broccolli plants from fear of not all the seeds germinating.
Pay attention to the sowing times on the seed packets.
Have had a greenhouse from the beginning of the year so will be able to get things started a bit earlier.
Try growing onions from sets.
Have persuaded hubby that i really do need 2 more veg beds

[Kristen]

"Next year I will make sure I have plenty of pots before I start, and not have to go to various garden centres trying (in vain) to get 2 1/2" or 3" pots."

Worth trying Kays. Check out how many are in a "case" because that is the most economical purchase quantity

Kays Discount Garden Supplies - N A Kays Horticulture - Sankey Traditional Pots 9cm/3 1/2" x case (1320)

[Finedon.Dandy]

Not bother with climbing french beans that hardly germinate, Pah!

What is it with french beans this year? Previous two years they were fine??

[Winged one]

Next year I will:

Cover the soil all winter so that weeds don't get a chance.

Be a bit less generous with the seeds when initially planting (especially not sowing 15 brassica seeds into a 1" module, 12 times, and have to thin them all out later!).

Actually remember to do more successional sowing to leave less hiungry gaps.

Sow lots and lots more pea seeds, well netted and slug pelleted, and with appropriate climbing structures in place.

Grow more beans too.

Try to plan a bit better about making sure I have plenty and no hungry gaps (suffered a good few already this year).

Prepare the ground better in spring and get plenty of fertiliser of some sort into it - preferably FYM but anything would do - as well as moisture reservoirs for courgettes, beans, peas and squashes.

Plant everything at least a hoe width apart so that i can actually tackle weeds.


One thing that I did do right this year, was only sowing my mangetout into the back garden and not the plot - as I am able to wander out and gather a small handful evryday before they get too big and put them in fridge if necessary, so that they are lovely and tender when eaten rather than huge.

And having a few lettuces squashed together in the garden (mainly cos type) which I can harvest a few leaves at a time for my lunch evryday rather than having to wait for whole heads to be ready - ready earlier, each plant lasts WAY longer (pulled up ones last night that had been cropping since mid-April) and means I can have a variety in my lunchbox everyday.

[RobintheBobin]

Next year I really will make an effort to use the principle of crop rotation

Next year I will not bother growing radishes especially for my OH...if I don't pick them he never bothers eating them and they take up valuable space

Next year I really will try and plan in advance to fill that bleak patch around April - June when I never seem to have anything in the garden to eat

Next year I will try and curb my "must grow something 'different'" habit as it results in a fortune being spent on new seeds

Hopefully...

[Flummery]

Next year I will remember that I have room for about 18 tomatoes in my greenhouse.
Next year I will not sow 6 seeds of 8 varieties 'just in case' - of what!

[nikkijy]

where to start

I will not oversow my beetroot and then kill it after 4 weeks later
I will not plant said beetroot right under the lights
I will not kill chilli plants
I will not rot the stems of my peas by planting them out too deep

I will write in diary what to sow when
I will ask OH advice on where to plant things
I will sow more aubergine
I will grow more round yellow courgette
I will keep asking stupid questions
I will learn from my mistakes:

[ailsasyl]

next year!!!

This year first :- lay slabs to make patio(recycled from front garden)
move gravel from front to back
make planting areas for front garden
put black plastic on area between new patio and veg beds

next year :- lay new lawn
make gravel paths
move washing poles
new fence(if cash available)
make third veg bed
grow flowers from seed for the new beds at front and back
make sure I add more compost to raised beds
plant less cabbages
start peas an carrots of in loo rolls
try growing sweetcorn, swiss chard and more herbs
organise the shed!?!(can't find anything)
make sure the fleece goes on the strawberries early so the birds don't get them.

I'm sure this list will get longer as the year progresses

[marigold007]

Next year I will:

Protect corn seedlings with plastic bottles
Protect courgettes and pumpkins from slugs
squash the aphids as soon as they are sighted
Not eat all my early carrots and turnips as baby veg
sow more mangetout
grow more onions
and generally grow more stuff that I use regularly

[shushkin!]

What a fab thread!

Oh, all these are all a great and amusing read.
Its nice to know you are not alone in just being human!

Oh, well done Sewer rat with your achievement
"1000 strawberry plants next year" or was that a mistype!
The mind boggles!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Next year:

I will tie up the sweet peas to their netting rather than let them get on with it. They are rubbish at doing it on their own, and just get in a mess.

I will give the Kelvedon Wonder peas more that 2 1/2 ft of netting as they gow miles higher and just get in a mess.

I will support the broad beans which otherwise just get in a mess.

i will sow more that a dozen leek seeds when I know that last year's 40 leeks were not enough.

I will remember to sow cucumbers.

I will remember to read this thread at the beginning of next season...

[scarey55]

I promise that next year I will clearly mark which ones are cucumbers and which are gerkhins

[lynda66]

I promise that next year I will clearly mark which ones are cucumbers and which are gerkhins

i've joined that club, i have 2 types of melon, cucumber, courgette, and 3 types of squash ........ god only knows which is which (they did have labels, but then a few died, so i planted a different seedling there, and now the labels are all mixed up ....... i definitely won't do that next year (ok i probably will, cos i'll forget that my memory forgets things by the time i've sat down for 5 mins or made a brew)