Gyo needs your top tips!

[RuthC]

We'd like to hear about what you learned from last year's growing experiences on the plot. What were your success and failures and what might you do differently in 2010?

[OllieMartin]

Netting my brassicas.
The No.1 failure of my growing attempts last year was the loss of all my broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and swede. I didn't have any netting available and convinced myself I'd be okay without.
I have since constructed a netting framework out of mains water pipe and voile curtain to protect the patch next year.
Let's see the blighters get through that!

[vicky]

Label any rows of seeds as soon as I sow them....I will NOT remember what or where they are even 2 days later when I have a pencil to hand, no matter what I think at the time....!
To sow crops such as lettuce successionally - ie every two weeks - I still manage fantastic gluts then nothing for weeks...
And don't sow tomatoes/chillis etc in january if you don't have a greenhouse...they just sit on the windowsill getting leggy. Those sown in April DO catch up!
Success was the autumn onion sets I grew for the first time - so easy
Failure probably the beans, they grew too much and I didn't get that many as young pods...but lots of dried beans were good later in the year

[FionaH]

Ditto with the netting!
Label, Label and then Label
Squash plants really do take up more room than I think!

[piskieinboots]

Get the runner bean trench underway now.

Dig the trench, add organic matter, add soaked paper, add more organic matter - keep going until you have a nice mound of rotting vegetation. Don't, however, add any nitrogen rich material.

Runner beans need plenty of moisture at their roots.

[Pumpkin Becki]

This years failure was one of planning - I didn't remember to sew my brassicas, and ended up having to buy some bare root plants instead. Serves me right.
Best success this year was with Dwarf French Beans. The were a bit slow to start producing, but once I started picking, they were really prolific, and I could pick them at their absolute best. Delicious!

[Bigmallly]

Gonna grow carrots, parsnips, radish in pots rather than the beds to give me more room. I may put some in between crops on the beds depending how I feel.
Gonna try growing sweetcorn in beds instead of pots.
Looking forward to trying out the ground coffee on the slugs.......
Like Ollie, the debris netting is already in place for the Brassicae.
Must grow plenty of Marigolds for the good beasties.

[weeclop]

i am giving up on potatoes and tomatoes due to blight again this year.
will be trying different types of sweetcorn as this year the few i planted were delicious.
more carrots and more soft fruit for next year

[Two_Sheds]

Remember to sow winter brassicas in spring. Don't leave it until you clear the plot in September!

[Pies]

When building a "standard" bamboo support for beans add a couple at 45 deg this will stiffen up the structure

[cupcake]

I've invested in an electric propagator , (£5 2nd hand from my hairdresser) and will start my chillis and tomatoes off far earlier next year. I am still ripening my rocottos in a tupperware container with a banana!

[Scottishnewbie]

germination in pots (paper or toilet roll tubes) gives a much greater rate of success and actually saved me time as i only planted things out when they were big enough to survive the pests/slugs. it also meant i could start germinating earlier.

and the other biggie for me was to actually THINK about what was going where beforehand. i ended up giving loads away and also growing lots in containers as i underestimated the space i had and the seedlings needing the space!

[zazen999]

Grow celery in the greenhouse; sow into pots sat in water in a tray and keep them sat in water all year long. Chop the lot from one pot when needed for soups [which I use it for] and then let it grow back. Repot when the roots start to take over the tray out the bottom of the pots. Year round sweet blanched celery. Fab.

[Scottishnewbie]

Grow celery in the greenhouse; sow into pots sat in water in a tray and keep them sat in water all year long. Chop the lot from one pot when needed for soups [which I use it for] and then let it grow back. Repot when the roots start to take over the tray out the bottom of the pots. Year round sweet blanched celery. Fab.

great tip zazen = thanks

off she wanders to see if she's got any celery seeds to germinate......

[Glutton4...]

Irrigation - relatives can't be relied upon to water your 'babies' when you've gone away for the weekend, even though they can find time to 'harvest' all the Peas you were saving for yourself!!!