2021 plans

[burnie]

I might have already started a thread along these lines, but things are changing politically and it's going to affect us gardeners isn't it. Those abroad may not be able to get Uk supplies and those of us here may not be able to source all the plants and seeds we usually get, I know huge amounts of bedding plants come from the Netherlands.
I grow all my needs from seeds(a poet and didn't know it lol) and have a large supply of pretty much everything I shall need for a couple of years at least, we are however likely to see a change both in prices and availability of some stuff in the supermarkets. At present I'm not planning to grow anything different, but there are bound to be some items not usually grown in the Uk that will be either expensive or hard to come by. I have been eating what's in season for some time now, but I expect we will see some changes that may make that more a necessity, whether we get a deal or no deal Brexit.
Anyone planning on doing anything different, I'm too far north to grow my own Oranges, Bananas or Rice lol.

[nickdub]

I am hoping that for me the main difference in 2021 will be getting vaccinated against Covid. I do not go out a lot anyway, but I have found that only doing a supermarket shop about once a month and staying home the rest of the time has left me feeling stir crazy over the last few months. In the Summer Ido more gardening and also get out on my bike, plus we had a few visitors who we could sit and chat with in our large garden. I am not looking forward to being confined to barracks for the next 3 or 4 months.

Quite frankly compared to the pandemic, Brexit seems like nothing to worry about to me.

[ameno]

I bought all of my European seeds a couple months ago (I got some from a Polish site and some from a Croatian site (varieties I couldn't get in the UK), so I'm set now.

As for 2021 plans, a lot of them I've been working on since about September.
I've gotten hold of a load of large bottomless containers I'm using for mini raised beds at the bottom of my allotment (the soil there isn't great and its awash with couch grass and bindweed, so this is an easier solution than trying to dig it over and improve the soil).
I'm extending two of the allotment beds by about a foot, as I think the path is wastefully big and I could do with the growing space.
I've dug out the goji berry, and will plant a grape cutting and some strawberries where it was.
I plan to dig out the remaining to willow coppices at the bottom of the plot, and will replace them with a quince tree.

[Snoop Puss]

Burnie, I imagine a lot of seeds from UK suppliers will still be available, as they'll order in such bulk, perhaps even from a UK-based central source, that the cost of phytosanitary certificates won't be an issue. It's the small orders like Ameno's from Poland and Croatia and mine from assorted UK suppliers that won't be feasible any more. Maybe some unusual seeds won't be available and it might be a problem for suppliers like Real Seeds, but by and large, I imagine most ordinary commercial seeds will be available as normal.

As for my plans, I'm hoping the weather plays nice and lets me get back to growing again. Most of my seeds are now out of date, so I'll be restocking, probably from France in my case, as the Spanish seed market for home-growers isn't that great. I've decided I won't give ground over to potatoes, however much of my plot I manage to re-clear. Being realistic, leeks and brassicas are far more valuable to us. Even carrots. They're not expensive, but we eat a ton it would seem and not having to go out and buy more would be a boon. Sitting tight at home hasn't left me stir crazy. Perhaps because of this, and because of the vaccine on the horizon, I don't regard this pandemic as more of a problem than Brexit.

[Jungle Jane]

I used to buy bedding plants but growing from seeds saves money. Most of my seeds are from kings near me,I’ve never bought seeds or plants from abroad.
Snoop have you heard about these Spanish online places?
https://www.ohlaliving.com/online-plant-shops-in-spain

Germi garden is one of the ones that has seeds
https://www.germigarden.com/es/534-c...semilla_tomate

[Snoop Puss]

^Thanks, JJ. I'll have a look. I can't buy plants, though, because the shop that take deliveries for me also sells plants... I don't think they'd like it if I were buying from the competition. I'm more interested in seeds, so will have a good look at Germi garden.

I bet Kings buy at least some of their seeds in from Holland. But they won't be affected if they buy in big enough bulk. It's more of a problem for small companies and customers. I buy pasta dies from Italy. Not a problem for me, but they've just issued notification that they can no longer take orders from customers in the UK. It'll take a little while before everything settles down and we all get used to the new circumstances.

[Snadger]

The only thing I have bought are the Black tomato seeds I grow, but that was just in case I couldn't get them in 2021?

After all the rain my plot is flooded so I may have to resort to raised beds to get above the water table. The beds will be more like raised 'mounds' as I am not a great fan of sided beds and it will save me having to import any more soil.

That's the plan anyway!

[Snoop Puss]

^I make my 'walls' out of all the big clods that I rake to the side when raking out the beds. Makes life easier when I change my mind again about how I want my veg patch to be. It'll be all change again for the patch up by the house. I had big plans about how the irrigation system was going to go, but a trial run on a few beds showed it was far too complex and required loads of taps, joints and short runs of hose. So I've abandoned that idea.

[burnie]

When on holiday in the Canary Islands I noticed that all the gardens had hose pipes running round the beds with holes in them to act as sprinklers, they were switched on when the sun went down and seemed to be quite effective. The flower beds used "grey" water, but the edibles used "clean" water, could something like that work for you Snoop?

[Purple Primrose]

I'm considering turning part of the wild bit at the end of the back garden into three more 4ft by 12ft beds so that I can grow more vegetables. It's currently mostly bluebells and mint.

For the last couple of years I've stopped mowing the front garden to see what sort of wildflowers would come up (in the hope that it would be of more use to bees and other insects). It's not been a great success as the only wildflowers that have come up have been cow parsley, docks and a little bit of bird's foot trefoil. When the weather improves, I plan to remove the grass and seed the whole area with a wildflower mix. If I have space and time, I'll grow some other pollinator-friendly plants from seed to add with the wildflowers.

[ameno]

For the last couple of years I've stopped mowing the front garden to see what sort of wildflowers would come up

You just reminded me of something I saw over the summer.
At the bottom of my road is an ROAB building, and because of the lockdown the lawn out front didn't get mown, and there where a couple of orchids flowing in it in around June. I think they were early purple orchids.

[Purple Primrose]

I was hoping for more early purple orchids to pop up in the garden around the two that appeared a few years ago. I was disappointed not to see any until I noticed that one had appeared this summer, 20 metres away in the pot of chives next to the back door! I've saved seeds from it so, if I'm lucky, I may get a few more growing soon.

[goosander]

Biggest problem for me is getting the compost I am used to. Last season I was short and had to make do with what I could get. The difference between the compost growing the same plants side by side surprised me. Some of the so called composts the plants just stayed the same size. Started growing bedding plants for the boss and thanks to her giving plants to friends I now have a lot of people depending on me.
Buy most of my seeds from Plant World Seeds which was recommended to me by some one on here and find them very good.
Bob.

[Snoop Puss]

When on holiday in the Canary Islands I noticed that all the gardens had hose pipes running round the beds with holes in them to act as sprinklers, they were switched on when the sun went down and seemed to be quite effective. The flower beds used "grey" water, but the edibles used "clean" water, could something like that work for you Snoop?

Yes, the same idea. Not sprinklers, though, but a textile hose that seeps water. Works well according to reviews and to someone in the village who uses the same system. The water supply will be by solar pump from the well. I'll have mulch over the top to slow evaporation. I'm afraid I don't grow flowers. I couldn't justify the water for them. Just make do with the wild flowers, which are impressive in the spring and even the autumn and winter.

[Purple Primrose]

Yes, the same idea. Not sprinklers, though, but a textile hose that seeps water. Works well according to reviews and to someone in the village who uses the same system. The water supply will be by solar pump from the well. I'll have mulch over the top to slow evaporation. I'm afraid I don't grow flowers. I couldn't justify the water for them. Just make do with the wild flowers, which are impressive in the spring and even the autumn and winter.

Sounds like you're a very environmentally responsible gardener who is keeping their local insect population very happy by growing the wildflowers they like to feed on.

I'm surrounded by grassland (local farms are mostly sheep and cattle) so I feel I need to grow more wildflowers to try and support the insect population that can't feed on the grass. I really enjoy watching the butterflies flit about and listening to the bumble bees buzzing around while I'm working in the garden. I'm particularly fond of beetles so I even tolerate the damage the flea beetles do as they have to eat something. I move the caterpillars off the brassicas I don't want damaged though and onto a bed of sacrificial brassicas that I grow just for them.