Newbie mistakes

[oldie]

Believing what the seed packet said. Bush variety does not need staking !

[FionaH]

That one has me chuckling (although my fertile imagination may have made it worse than it was!!)

Unlikely! It involved soup all over my potatoes, veg peelings everywhere and said lad snoozing in the radishes

[teakdesk]

... said lad snoozing in the radishes

I know this is off-topic but that reminds me of an incident a few years ago when our dog started barking frantically at the front door.

I had no idea what was up but put her lead on and grabbed a torch. She pulled me into the drive of the house next door (who I knew to be away) and into the back garden.

Shining my torch around I could see nothing but the dog disappeared under a bush and I heard a murmur. Putting on my most authoritative voice I ordered him out.

The son of my neighbour on the other side duly emerged on all fours asking where he was... it turns out he had come back by taxi, got the houses mixed up so obviously his key wouldn't work, staggered round the back and tripped over a flowerbed that isn't in his garden, fell under the bush and passed out!!!

I had to half carry him round to his own house and hand him over to his Dad.

A very sheep-faced, hungover lad came round the following day offering apologies!!

[/Hijack over]

[OllieMartin]

I know this is off-topic but that reminds me of an incident a few years ago when our dog started barking frantically at the front door.

I had no idea what was up but put her lead on and grabbed a torch. She pulled me into the drive of the house next door (who I knew to be away) and into the back garden.

Shining my torch around I could see nothing but the dog disappeared under a bush and I heard a murmur. Putting on my most authoritative voice I ordered him out.

The son of my neighbour on the other side duly emerged on all fours asking where he was... it turns out he had come back by taxi, got the houses mixed up so obviously his key wouldn't work, staggered round the back and tripped over a flowerbed that isn't in his garden, fell under the bush and passed out!!!

I had to half carry him round to his own house and hand him over to his Dad.

A very sheep-faced, hungover lad came round the following day offering apologies!!

[/Hijack over]

You've brought an enjoyable meaning to the word "hijack"

[organic vic]

mistakes - 1.sowing too many cape gooseberries and having to give them away -
still have 6 plants!
2. planting toms and cukes into growbags too early
3.not sowing enough peas
4. not planning for winter - had to buy PSB and winter cauli plants
but you live and learn....!

[Rabidbun]

Mistakes as follows (plenty of em):
1. Not netting fruit or brassicas
2. Not abandoning hope sooner for the new Autumn raspberry canes - they all died within two months of planting for some reason and now I have a big gap
3. Planting beans too close to find them all in time to eat (did this last year too on the raised beds)
4. Not knowing how to eat some of what I grew (stuck with a large fully grown summer squash (patty pan) that apparently needed to be eaten young...)
5. Trying aubergines again - they just don't do well where I am
6. Getting russian tarragon when I thought I was getting a french tarragon plant and not actually tasting it to check for three months
7. Planting long carrots in a short container
8. Putting out the squashes too early (took way too long to get established)
9. Not finding a decent spray for flea beetle sooner - had an infestation from the oil seed fields up the hill that is Still causing trouble
10. Not messing about with that successional sowing cr*p more - dear gods the peas, the PEAS!
11. Realising too late that swedes, beetroot and turnips don't seem to do well in pots to start off
12. Mixing up my dwarf and climbing beans as seedlings and having to guess which were which (only slightly better than last year where I assumed dwarf meant the beans were small rather than the plant and put them against wigwams)

[Sue]

Hi
My very first action on my new allotment was to build a compost bin which I then proceded to fill with the weeds that were my allotment. It was later that I found out you should NEVER try to compost couch grass and bindweed roots, I still have that compost heap, hoping vainly it will eventually rot down - five years later.

And other mistakes, I reckon I've worked my way through most in the book, still you live and learn and however frustrating there's always another year and gradually you get things, if not right, better. Labelling was another early mistake - you do not always remember what plants what...

And this year have managed to grow big tomatoes that haven't split or got blossom end rot, I've got carrots sorted and after a year of bent over cabbages found out you should plant them in very firmly and still love having rows of guardsman straight cabbages. And having grown Czar runner beans for the seeds, won't in future mix them up with the other runner beans so I can't remember which ones are supposed to be left on the vine and which to pick.

And expensive mistakes - killing an apple tree by letting it get waterlogged in its pot, getting an apricot tree and not looking after it properly, putting a waterbutt too far round the back of the shed so I can't get to it when the hedge grows in the Spring - oh I could go on!

I keep trying new things and having no previous experience of gardening you can only live and learn. This year I've tried gherkins and now I've observed their growing patterns, size, shape etc, will know what to do to get a decent crop next year.


Oh it's all good fun
Sue

[bramble]

Mistakes,,,,,sowing everything too early and expecting it to survive.

Better to wait a few weeks as everything will catch up.

[Fat Bob]

Spending several hours meticulously sifting and sieving seed compost, making a beautifully flat seed tray bed, placing hundreds of seeds in regimented rows then covering with snowy white Perlite.

Placed on shelf and watered with a high-pressure hose which blew the entire contents up the side of the greenhouse.

[OllieMartin]

Spending several hours meticulously sifting and sieving seed compost, making a beautifully flat seed tray bed, placing hundreds of seeds in regimented rows then covering with snowy white Perlite.

Placed on shelf and watered with a high-pressure hose which blew the entire contents up the side of the greenhouse.

That's one of those moments where you stand for a good 10 minutes starring at what you've done just wishing you could wind back time.

My sympathies.

[cheerfulness]

Spending several hours meticulously sifting and sieving seed compost, making a beautifully flat seed tray bed, placing hundreds of seeds in regimented rows then covering with snowy white Perlite.

Placed on shelf and watered with a high-pressure hose which blew the entire contents up the side of the greenhouse.

Hubby and I are killing ourselves laughing at that. You poor thing!

[Bramble_killer]

The biggest 2 learning lessons were:
Sow little and often
Sow into modules

Yup, that's what I learnt too this year.

Another one is that slugs eat EVERYTHING. they ate my celeriac, my fennel, massacred my butternut squashes (all 3!!!). We are investing in nematodes and other murderous things next year, no organic here if we intend on eating anything!

[Ergates]

Another one I've remebered from this year:

Labeling all my rows of veg using a pen with water soluble ink. Lots of blank white sticks poking out the ground.

[cheerfulness]

I thought I'd done well because mine wasn't water soluble. They just got bleached by the sun instead on my homemade milk bottle labels. Now I'm playing the guessing game.

Shall have to try something else in my pursuit of frugal gardening next year.

[hooraynana]

Genius

Spending several hours meticulously sifting and sieving seed compost, making a beautifully flat seed tray bed, placing hundreds of seeds in regimented rows then covering with snowy white Perlite.

Placed on shelf and watered with a high-pressure hose which blew the entire contents up the side of the greenhouse.

I've done that myself

oh and forgot I had put the radio in the greenhouse and murdered that with a high pressure hose

Funny