Best tip of the year

[annie8]

Was reflecting on what I have done differently in the garden this year because of the advice from people on this forum. There are lots, so was thinking we could share the best tip we have and this year that has helped our growing.

Mine would be making tunnels from the blue plastic piping covered in netting. They have been great at covering my brassicas and carrots and will use them for years to come. They also work well because my raised beds are all different and odd shapes so they are flexible and not expensive to make. So I got the best carrots I’ve ever head with no carrot fly and no problems with cabbage white either.

[Snoop Puss]

Mine this year would be something I know but completely forgot about in the excitement of spring. Put a post in to tell you where you planted melon and squash seeds. Very hard to water after a few months if you don't know where the roots are likely to be...

[Penellype]

Invest in a cheap pair of tweezers for removing caterpillars from brassicas. So much easier than trying to get at them with fingers or tease them off with a plant label when they are near the centre of the plant!

[Purple Primrose]

A useful tip from a gardening friend of mine: the plastic tubs that washing blobs (laundry capsules) come in are really good for starting off seeds that need a bit of depth of compost, e.g. sweet peas. Drill a few holes in the bottom and remove the lid to use as a saucer (when putting the tub on the windowsill). When hardening off, the plastic tub works better than toilet rolls in stopping the compost from drying out but without attracting slugs. The tapered shape of the tub means that the seedlings and compost slide out easily when it comes time to planting out.

[frogga]

Invest in a cheap pair of tweezers for removing caterpillars from brassicas. So much easier than trying to get at them with fingers or tease them off with a plant label when they are near the centre of the plant!

I very nearly lost my Brassicas in July when I had covid. Fortunately my wife created a game for my daughter's, with a small seaside net to catch the butterflies and using their bug spotting set to collect the caterpillars, our chickens are now used to their daily take away of whatever they can harvest in the garden.

My other tip is to inspect the pots in the greenhouse weekly, by taking the plant out and inspecting the roots. We found over 100 slugs in their one week, with plenty of eggs destroyed. Hopefully for better crops in 2022.

Andrew