Things i will do different next year..

[Anne-Marie]

Next year I will do the following differently:

I will sow more seeds in seeds trays and propegators and not straight in the ground (apart from carrots etc).

I will continually dig beds, not just when I am ready to plant something. It's so much easier if it's all done before I need it.

I am making sure that this late Summer/early Autumn I'm growing green manure so that in Winter the beds aren't empty!

[Mrs Dobby]

Next year we will.............

Net everything to keep the bleedin wabbits off the crops (including the onions from seed, beans, peas and celery, aswell as the brassicas and carrots!!!)
Plan the brassica locations AND label them (wont we Mr D????)so we dont end up with them all mixed up together!!
Do a plan of whats in the greenhouses AND laminate it and stick it to the door (as trying to find the label under all the foliage is nigh on impossible!)
Use more cardboard mulches - on everything!!!!
Not decide to take on another plot right at the busiest planting time!
Mark the locations of the watering bottles on the courgette beds with a can topped cane!
Keep better notes!
Make a note of which toms need sideshooting and which dont, which need training up a string or cane and which are for hanging baskets!
Start the melons off earlier!
Start the sweetcorn off earlier!
Start the toms off a bit earlier!
Get the spuds in earlier!

[armadillo]

Next year I will not keep picking my beans too early. Nor will I bother trying to grow them in the shady bit by the fence.

I will make a note of what variety each thing is ( Cukes doing very well in every location-do I know what type they are? Do I? Hmph! )

I will sow a few different types of potato, rather than just one maincrop

I will be able to use chicken-poo-enhanced compost!

[SarzWix]

Next year:
I will know that 'Vigorous', when talking about heritage pea plants, really does mean vigorous! And they need lots of space per plant & a really sturdy frame - I've reinforced the one they've got twice now, and it's still got a list to starboard!!

I will make sure that my trays of tomato plants don't fall on the floor, losing all their labels, so I don't end up with 40 "Mystery Tomato Plants"

I won't keep on buying tomato seeds from all over the globe, but just settle on a few varieties, and only grow enough to fit in the greenhouse, instead of enough for the entire village

I won't think that it's warm enough for the butternut squash and take away it's cloche before the flippin thing has formed a fruit - it's never warm enough for a butternut squash in North West Yorkshire!

[Mrs Jackson]

Next year:

- I will not think that allowing the cabbage white butterflies to lay eggs on my psb then leaving them until the caterpillars pupate into more butterflies will be a good wildlife project/biology lesson for my toddler
- I will net everything against said butterflies
- I will go to war with the slugs and vine weevils (even if Mr Jackson thinks that the vine weevils look 'cool'!)
- I will get Mr Jackson to build the raised bed he was going to do last year (but he didn't, because I put a load of psb, broad beans and garlic in there) so that I'm not trying to grow things in soil that mainly consists of brick dust and stones
- I will plant an extra courgette, 2 is never enough
- I will not grow runnerbeans again (they never get eaten)
- I will not grow 8ft tall mangetout plants which have stringy pods just because the flowers look pretty
- I will not grow aubergines again (still never had an actual aubergine)
- I will allow the boys a dedicated 'digging' area so they don't dig up my plants
- I will remember to transplant seedlings before they get too big and bolt
- I will clear a space in the back bedroom (child-free!) for raising seedlings so that we can grow even more chillis and don't have to worry about seed trays being pulled off the windowsills because someone's trying to climb on them
- I will try to only grow varieties that taste good, rather than wasting space on varieties that look good but taste like poo

Mrs J

[Kristen]

"I will not grow runnerbeans again (they never get eaten)"

My lot much prefer Suttons Seeds: Vegetable Seeds: Bean (Climbing French) Limka Seeds which is a climbing French been, but similar to a runner. Just top & tail and cross-cut into 1" chunks. No string!

"I will not grow aubergines again (still never had an actual aubergine)"

Snap! I've grown six or seven plants, and my lot really don't like them at all. Can't think what I was thinking of!

[Noodles]

Great thread!

Next year I will:

- Get organised earlier and make a proper plan rather than having regular panics when I realise I was meant to have planted things the month before
- Put up slug defences earlier rather than waiting till they've taken a bite out of just about every single lettuce leaf.
- Secure my portable mini greenhouse properly so it doesn't blow over in strong winds, crushing all the seedlings in it so I have to start again.
- Think more about what I'm actually going to want to eat rather than just planting tons of runner beans as I happen to have a big area of trellis free.
- Lay some paths across the veg patches so I don't have to tiptoe between rows of things to get to the middle plants
- Plant more mint early on rather than waiting until we're well into Pimms season to realise we don't have nearly enough.

I will not:

- Go away for a long weekend, forgetting that my housemate is also away so my tomato plants don't get watered for 3 days and shrivel up.
- Decide to hack down a load of errant brambles while wearing shorts and a vest so I end up looking like I've lost a fight with some giant cats

[HeyWayne]

Next year I will

completely eradicate bindweed
pay more attention to the information on the seed packets
ignore the information on the seed packets when it suits
sow more carrots
sow more parsnips
sow more peas
sow more beans
use a petrol strimmer instead of shears on a hot humid day to get rid of the weeds
turn my compost bin more
plant more onions - but not red ones
use more windowsil space

[Shortie]

Next year:

....
....

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

Good point there Hazel

[Mrs Jackson]

My lot much prefer Suttons Seeds: Vegetable Seeds: Bean (Climbing French) Limka Seeds which is a climbing French been, but similar to a runner. Just top & tail and cross-cut into 1" chunks. No string!

Thanks for that, we all love french beans. I'm growing Blue Lake this year which is a climbing variety but I might give that one a try next year, it's always good to get recommendations. I'm shocked that I can't get anyone to eat the runners though, my 2 year old eats raw broad bean pods!

Mrs J

[Kristen]

"Plant more mint early on rather than waiting until we're well into Pimms season to realise we don't have nearly enough"

I put Borage flowers in the Pimms too - just pull off the blue petal bit, rather than the hairy stalk! Easy-peasy to grow from seed; don't sow any in subsequent years, you'll have millions of self-sown. No idea what else they are good for, except that the oil costs-a-fortune.

"I'm growing Blue Lake this year"

Yup, that looks like a proper French bean - circular cross section. The Limka are very flat; we had some seed ages ago that purported to be a Chinese Bean, or somesuch, but I'm sure was the same as Limka - so the family call them Chinese beans! Anyway, they are flat like a runner, but cut & cook like a french bean.

[Tori]

Next year I will not grow anything I don't like just to see how it grows! - And then run out of space for the things I do like!

[Tori]

Oh and . . . .
Next year I am going to break out from the bottom of the garden and into the main bit of garden by planting some veg in the flower beds - don't tell OH - he won't know the difference anyway!

Excellent thread Wren xx

[kwa50]

Next year I will be selective in what I grow. Instead of growing 40+ tomatoes I will grow 12 and look after them properly. I will grow again potoatoes, broad bean, strawberries, herbs, lettuce, cucumber, cabbage. I will not grow beetroot (takes too long to cook), or so many garlic or onions (they were a bit on the small side).

kwa 50
CraftChallenge.co.uk - Home

[fwuffydragon]

I won't replant seeds that I've dropped on the floor, when there's more than one variety on the tray!!! (I have trailing squash where I thought I would have bush courgettes!!!)

I will also remember to label better, and include the planting date.

I will try to plant seeds at the right time, and to plant them out earlier.