Looking To Get the Kids Involved

[bigt1888]

Hi all,

having been to an eco event with my kids where my kids aged 11, 5 and 4 got a chance to plant some peas and broad beans and watch them sprout on the kitchen window sill with great excitement i did what every "normal" dad would do!!!!!


i laid some turf in the back garden and built three raised beds,filled trhem with compost and bought a greenhouse!!!!!

that was some 8 weeks ago and since then i have planted a herb garden in one bed consisting of

• mint
• parsley
• corriander
• lemon balm
• chives
• basil

a veg box consisting of

• lettuce leaves
• carrots
• leeks
• potatoes

the third bed i hope will contain fruit such as strawberries etc which i have yet to plant out but have sown indoors.

so to my point!!!!!

where do i go from here?

the herbs are flourishing and i am getting a constant stock for cooking, the peas and beans are now aroung 12inches tall, the lettuce goes on the sandwiches every morning and the carrots and potatoes seem to be doing well!!!

what can i plant or sow in the greenhouse over winter to keep the kids interest???

i know deep inside there is a gardener just waiting to burst out so come on guys help set him free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zazen999]

onions from sets, garlic, more broad beans [all for harvest next year], pea shoots for the shoots themselves, winter lettuces and oriental salads; and in Dec - next year's potatoes, and leeks and then we will be into next year's peppers and then early tomatoes - and then it will be next year's mains.......

[bigt1888]

thanks for the quick reply zaz

im going to try as much as i can that you suggest!!

excuse my ignorance but what are onoin sets? and whare is best to get supplies?

[zazen999]

They should be rampant at garden centres/nurseries at the moment.....baby onions that grow into big ones for harvest next June/July ish.....

[bigt1888]

is there anything that i can start sowing in the greenhouse as it is looking a little empty at the moment and everything seems to be sow indoors and then transplant outdoors

or am i missing something

is there anything that i can sow just now and maybe germinate in the greenhouse for planting out after or during winter?

p.s. once again excuse my ignorance but i am really an absolute novice who has never grow a thing before and seem to have did so well so quickly!!

[tamsin]

You could sow some trays of winter lettuce as you'll have a longer season with a bit of extra protection from being covered.

You could also start some spring onions off, white lisbon winter hardy can be sown now and then overwintered and you'll get an earlier crop in spring. I do mine in seed trays but you could also do modules (a pinch of seed in each) and plant them out next spring.

You could also put some of the strawberries in pots in the greenhouse and they'll fruit slightly earlier than any planted outside. If your growing from seed they might do better in the greenhouse their first winter while they are little anyway.

[Two_Sheds]

8 weeks ago ... i have planted ...carrots...potatoes

Outside? In Scotland?

Potatoes are tender plants (from S.America) and won't grow in the winter. They are planted early spring and crop over the summer.

Carrots like to be sown in warm soil: April is ideal. Big tough ones like Autumn King can sit in the soil over winter, with a fleece, but that's when they're fully grown.

Do be aware of the seasons and when to sow at the right time, because you'll be ever so disheartened if all your crops just die

Check out the What I Did Today thread to see what people are doing "today"

[bigt1888]

thanks guys all good advise im sure!!!

will take heed!!!!

[bigt1888]

where do i find the "what i did today " thread?? doh!!!

[bigt1888]

i bought my seed potatoes from ebay and the instructions were to plant them out in august and they would be ready for harvest at christmas

is this not the case?

all the advice i can find seems to point toward this as being ok

[zazen999]

i bought my seed potatoes from ebay and the instructions were to plant them out in august and they would be ready for harvest at christmas

is this not the case?

all the advice i can find seems to point toward this as being ok

Plant them outside in august and ready for Christmas - in Glasgow????

good luck - I'd maybe go a July plant into bags and grow in a greenhouse for a Christmas harvest - and that's in the Midlands...but not in the ground to be honest.

things that grow now over the winter are in my first reply on here; lettuce can be cropped over the winter and the others will give a spring harvest.

[bigt1888]

the plants are around 12inches tall and look like they are doing rally well. would you suggest i dig them up and transplant them into a contanier in the greenhouse? or take a chance and see what happens

[zazen999]

I'd put a big cloche over them personally; keep them dry and as warm as you can.

[bigt1888]

do you think i should lift one of the plants and have a look to see if they are edible just now as i have moved some of the dirt away by hand and the tubers are about the size of a golf ball.

[zazen999]

No - I don't! Just leave them be now they are in.