Am I Being Crazy? You Can Be Honest

[Iamhanuman]

So i've had a few days planning, plus some quality time with the family, and now i'm back here to post my list - The List ...

The list of seeds I have acquired to grow this year. When I started out it didn't seem like that many, but boy oh boy that list seems to have grown.
Please tell me, as a New Boy, am I being crazy going Big Bang like this, or should I take a selection and hand the rest over to friends or store them?

I have:
French Beans (Dwarf) Stanley
Cabbage Sparkel F1
Cape Gooseberry
Pumpkin Orbit F1
Rosemary
Mint
Basil Gecofure
Cilantro
Marigold (Dwarf French) Naughty Marietta
Garlic Sultop Bulbs
Lettuce Red & Green Mixed
Tomato Garden Pearl
Rocket
Carrot Paris Market 4
Courgette Sicilian Long White
Sweetcorn Earlibird F1
Tomatillo Verde
Red Perilla (Shiso)
Winter Savory
Tomato Red Alert
Chinese Chives New Belt
Welsh Onion
Salad Burnet

Then I have my seed potatoes
Epicure First Earlies Potatoes
Edzell Blue Second Earlies Potatoes

I am really eager, have lots and lots of containers, i'm making a raised bed area and am prepared for some failures.
Should I go ahead with that list, or just choose a select few.

Over to you!

[sewer rat]

Are they all in containers and the raised bed - do you have a greenhouse ?
1. Pumpkins need a lot of space
2. Not certain as I don't grow them but would Cape Gooseberries grow and more to the point ripen outside ?
3.Garden Pearl toms will grow in a hanging basket so that could save you some space.
Can't really see any other potential problems, though I suppose it depends on how much (or should that be how many) of each you plan to grow.
As for the tatties -superb choice of second early

[Eyren]

I don't think you're mad - but then I've been growing veg for 4-5 years and my list is about four times as long as yours

It's sensible to be prepared to have a few failures, but as long as you sow everything at the right time and keep your plants watered and weeded, you should have at least a few successes. Courgettes are fairly idiot-proof, ditto tomatoes (if you don't get blight - and that's no fault of the grower). Herbs, lettuce and carrots are vulnerable to slugs, so it's worth being vigilant on that front.

As Rat says, the pumpkin needs a lot of space - we're talking a couple of square metres minimum here! - so you might want to hold off on that for now (the seeds will keep until next year, if you keep them cool and dry), or trade the seeds for something a bit more manageable.

Good luck!

[Iamhanuman]

thanks to you on the sanity judgement
could i get away with one pumpkin plant and if so how many fruits from the one plant on average?
i figure i might as well try with all this
i am just so nervous but then i have everyone here for help and advice along the way
!!!

[HayleyB]

You sound as mad as me this will be my second season and my list is about the same size. Mind you I'll be planting a lot as I'm taking out half a paddock to turn into an 'allotment' secondary to my front garden 'allotment' which is even more scary

[Iamhanuman]

i have a raised bed being created in our front garden and a load of containers

[Seahorse]

Sow, sow, sow! As long as you don't plant ridiculous amounts of any one thing, I think you'll be fine. I've successfully grown a similar selection (including pumpkins) in a small suburban garden, using lots of containers as well as beds and still leaving room for a bit of lawn for the kids to play on.

I grew some butternut squash in an old wheelbarrow one year - it was big enough for plenty of soil and high enough to mean the trailing vines didn't trail too far over the ground. Maybe something similar might work for your Orbit F1s?

[zazen999]

Personally......I'd ditch the cape gooseberry and tomatillo unless you have a good 18 foot of space as they are both huge plants, and you need 2 of each for decent fertilisation.

All your salads can be succession sown so that you have them all year round [yes it is possible]. Ditto any spring onions but I can't see any onions at all [are you CRAZY???].

Marigolds can be grown with toms and brassicas

Basils can also be grown underneath tomatoes.

You can grow your pumpkin on your compost heap so that it takes up less growing space.

I started in containers....and I've put it in here before but I grew 'vege boxes' in those large plastic storage boxes...with beans, peas, toms, spring onions and a courgette all in the same box...pop a marigold in one corner to assist on companion planting and a cane in the middle to support everything and it's chocs away.


[ETA - think 3 dimensionally...so crops that grow up and be mixed with crops that grow along and also those that grow down. Add in 4 dimensions and plan so that when crops are ending you've always got something to plant in its space]

[Iamhanuman]

thanks for the vote of confidence Seahorse!!!
i have a large german metal tub which i'm considering for the sweetcorn and the Orbits, plus maybe the beans and courgettes
how does that sound??

[gojiberry]

With the pumpkin you can either go for one big one or several smaller ones. Personally I just let the plant make up its own mind as to how many. Usually about two or three. Don't see anything wrong with your list except space to grow it all.

Ian

[HayleyB]

Sweetcorn takes up a lot of space and you will generally only get a couple of cobs per plant a metal tub doesn't sound big enough to me

[FionaH]

If your mad so am I. This is my first year growing and I have alist as long as my arm!
The way I see it is that if it all goes bottoms up I will know what not to do next year.

Just going to do what I can and hope I get something we can eat, if we dont then at least my kids will get a laugh out of it

[Seahorse]

thanks for the vote of confidence Seahorse!!!
i have a large german metal tub which i'm considering for the sweetcorn and the Orbits, plus maybe the beans and courgettes
how does that sound??

Sweetcorn takes up a lot of space and you will generally only get a couple of cobs per plant a metal tub doesn't sound big enough to me

Depends how big the tub is, I guess and what sort of yield you want.

I grew five sweetcorn in a tub about 60cm diameter and about the same deep. Probably not the easiest or most efficient way of growing them but the experience of standing next to the plant with the kids and eating a fresh cob each? Priceless

[Flummery]

You should see the list of seeds I need to plant this year. However, with age has conme a little wisdom - I'm beginning to realise that you don't need to sow everything every year! I want to sow so many varieties of some things - peas, beans, toms, greens, that I can't possibly fit them all in. I'm making them queue up and take turns now!

[Iamhanuman]

Depends how big the tub is, I guess and what sort of yield you want.

I grew five sweetcorn in a tub about 60cm diameter and about the same deep. Probably not the easiest or most efficient way of growing them but the experience of standing next to the plant with the kids and eating a fresh cob each? Priceless

The tub I have is about that diameter but only maybe 45cm deep. i was thinking 5 plants too, in a block formation.
Beans and maybe courgette in there too to climb up
My wife and son are growing sunflowers so I was thinking of putting those in pots next to the tub.
Might stick the pumpkin on the compost heap after that lovely comment!