Another newbie

[Kathie]

Hello Jinx-
Welcome to the Board.
I have a small vegetable patch in my garden. I have never had an allotment (wished I could-but none near enough to me) because I can only grow a few vegetables and wished I had space to grow more There is nothing like the taste of fresh grown straight from the soil to the kitchen! Unlike Supermarket stuff!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Hi jinx, and welcome to the VIne!

I was in Whitby last weekend, Kathie - we saw some allotments up on the top of the cliff right by the Abbey - I bet they grow dwarf varieties of everything up there - blows your head off!

[Kathie]

Not quite Whitby--near enough though. There are allotments round here about 20 minutes walk away but no access by car. I am unable to walk that far. I bet the allotments were at the top of the 99 steps aswell!All my vegetables are dwarf because they don't grow as big as they should I will 'look into your 'Blogspot' to get some inspiration!

[jinx]

Hi Kathie & Hazel,

Thanks for being so welcoming!

You're absolutely right about the taste. It's probably good that I no longer have an allotment - I have a busier job now, and so I can barely keep on top of a small garden, let alone manage an entire allotment.

Wind is a bit of a problem here too, I discovered this year! I'm going to need to grow something as a wind break next year.

Jinx

[Headfry]

Hi Jinx....a huge welcome to the mad house!
Its been a strange year for us all, I have not had much luck with somethings this year!
Keep up the good work and keep going, there is always next year!!

[jinx]

Thanks Headfry! I've given up on summer and I have already begun to think about what to do with my veg patch over winter - whether to use green manures etc. I'm not sure whether it's worth trying corn salad and such like here, since it is so wet. I should be able to pick another two courgettes this week, so it's not a total lost cause. And I've had a lot of fun, even if I'm not exactly reaping the rewards this year.

[Curvy Vixen]

Hi Jinx and welcome! I'm a kind of newbie too and have found this place so welcoming and so full of advice thank God!

I'm only a couple of hours away from you and this is my first year planting anything 'seriously' in the garden and feel that I should have better used my time...building an ark

Coming originally from London I adore my garden and spent all of last year feeding the fab birds that visit..until I had families of field mice in my house over the winter and my Mum pointed out that 'sure why wouldn't they come, they're getting free nuts and food from you!!!' Will be adjusting the bird's diet this year!

[jinx]

Hi Curvy Vixen! I haven't been deliberately ignoring you, I promise! It's just been a while since I logged in.

Two of my courgettes rotted on the plant because of the rain. An ark would be a good idea. And my sweetcorn - well, I'm giving that a separate post....

A cat takes care of the mice pretty well, but you have to not mind removing the dead bodies! They're better than traps or poison, I figure. When we moved into our last place, we didn't even know we had mice but in the first week there the cat caught three in two days--she hooked them out from under the fireplace in the bedroom. Yuck. Still, I'd rather have known we had mice because she was taking care of it, than found out once there was evidence in the kitchen.

All best,
Jinx