I Wish Someone Had Told Me.....

[Andraste]

As it's still to early to be doing anything practical, I started thinking of what we've learnt since taking on our plot. Here are some things I wish someone had told me at the beginning of our first year on the plot:

If you can't dig it/weed it/grow in it for a while, cover it with something to block the light (card, tarp, plastic sheet etc.). It really helped us stop the weeds going rampant in spring by just covering any empty beds in the winter last year.

Yes, you need paths to get around the plot but they do take up a lot of growing space & you'll still end up needing to stick your foot on a bed at some point. We'll be getting shot of our horizontal path this year.

Nasturtiums might be pretty & attract loads of bees & somewhat keep the weeds down by being ground cover - but they aren't tasty in a salad & if you grow them once they'll self-seed forever so keep them for boundaries/round the shed rather than in the main growing beds. We're always relocating the darn things.

Just because something grew well one year doesn't mean it will grow well every year (weather/other unforeseen nuisances) - but that also means it's worth trying again when something fails.

Totally organic is often aspirational if you want to have anything to eat (it says organic & wildlife friendly on the slug pellet tube so I've convinced myself they're ok).

The list could go on for ages I think! Anyone care to join in with their own random musings/pearls of wisdom?

[rary]

Advice is a guide, not something that must be rigidly followed.
If you dont try it you might never know

[Nicos]

I wish I had concentrated on getting my soil in better condition/ weed removal on my first plot rather than going crazy and planting asap with the excitement of actually, finally , having a plot of our own!

[mothhawk]

It doesn't matter how many water butts you have, they are always full in winter when you don't need them, and empty in summer when plants are wilting before your eyes.

[Babru]

Everything grows bigger than you expect. Even going out with a measuring tape when planting, I still find plants are too close together. Just trying to cram too much in I suppose.

[Snoop Puss]

That there is no feeling quite as good as sowing new seeds and seeing them germinate.
But don't be too ambitious. Don't start off thousands of seedlings you don't have room for.
That spring is a season of optimism and joy. If you can, plan your calendar to have a holiday at home so you can make the most of it.
Clear and plant as you go. Don't leave soil bare if you can help it, as it isn't good for the soil and the weeds will take back over as soon as you turn your back.
If you want to dig, don't bother with double digging. You'll just bring up loads of weed seeds to the surface, likely damage your top soil, which will take years to remedy, and give yourself backache.
Mulch is your friend.
Don't be downhearted if your plot doesn't look picture perfect.
Don't get into the typical competitions of who picked the first tomato or harvested the first potato unless it really is only for fun. What you didn't pick first, you'll be picking later.
Think twice before setting about building raised beds with constructed walls. If you do want them, spend a long time at your plot watching where the shade is, where the frost pockets and dry and damp patches are, where you can get water from and how you might irrigate your patch with least effort, which direction the prevailing wind blows or is it just all round gusty, and get in lots of graph paper so you can plan well in advance before you actually start building your beds. Either that or work your patch for a year or two first. I don't have raised beds. Just as well given the number of times I've changed things!

Edited to add: Great advice, Babru. I have to use a tape measure. In particular, I struggle when planting cabbages out as the gap between them looks enormous. But they really do need it.
In fact, great advice from everyone. Great thread, Andraste.

[bramble]

Snoop...great advice...I just wish I had all this know how when I was starting out..

[Andraste]

Tools you definitely need are a fork, spade, hoe, rake, hand trowel and hand fork.

Don't be enticed by the 'gadget tools' as they rarely do what they claim to and often become a very expensive ornament. We're still trying to find an more constructive alternative purpose for our fancy long-handle weed taproot gadget than using it for hanging coats/gloves on in the shed.

[Florence Fennel]

I wish someone had told me about growing comfrey instead of buying expensive fertiliser

[Andraste]

I wish someone had told me just how strongly comfrey stew stinks of fresh cow pats

Last year I designated one of our waterbutts & regularly threw leaves into it - it didn't have a lid - phewwww! It'll be getting a lid of some sort this year as it doesn't need disturbing to smell it from a decent distance

I also need to scout out some kind of gas mask for when watering with it as my tolerance time to physically retching is only about 2 watering cans - suggestions welcome

[Florence Fennel]

I stuff leaves into empty milk cartons, add water and screw the top on Andraste - no smell and easy to store

[Andraste]

Thanks Florence Fennel - such a simple solution!

[rary]

Keep notes of what and where you plant or sow

Follow you own advice lso

[Penellype]

Don't grow stuff that other people grow just because "everyone always grows....". If you don't like cabbage, don't grow it! Grow what you like to eat.

[Andraste]

I wish someone had told me that the starting time for sowing on the seed packet is only a guide not an instruction. E.g. if it says sow from March to June, you might find March is a bit too early in your area or June might be too late to produce anything.

Think about when you want to plant out & count backwards: e.g. if you want to plant out in early May & your seeds will take 6 weeks from sowing to planting out, you're not going to want to sow until around last week March/first week of April - but it's never a bad idea to try a slightly earlier sowing to experiment or in case you have failures.

There's lots of mention of the 'last frost date' but there's not actually a set date (it's not like New Years Eve) - it varies by location & weather can be different year-to-year. This site gives an estimate: https://gardenfocused.co.uk/