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  • Outside stuff in the greenhouse

    Hi,

    (Note: anyone with a polytunnel probably thinks this is a fatuous post.)

    A while back I said I was going to try a few things I'd usually grow outside in the greenhouse, in pots. I said I'd come back with a report, and as I ate my first potatoes on Sunday, I thought now was the time...

    Throughout, bear in mind that I'm quite far north, so everything is a bit behind some of you further south.

    1. Potatoes. One per planter, sown very end of Feb. Turned out the first pot on June 2nd and got a satisfactory crop, matching expectations (I was so relieved). The two of us scoffed the lot, but they would have fed three or even four fairly well. For first earlies I thought this was fine. For context, outside the first earlies ought to be ready for the first week of July (when they usually are).

    Despite some serious watering the pot was pretty dry, so more watering might have increased yield. I've also done something bad. After turning it out, I was surprised to find the seed potato still solid (could have eaten it). So I've chucked the plant back into the soil and I'll look again in a couple of months to see if anything else has appeared. It's been relegated to outside though.

    Oh yes, and they were lovely!

    2. Broad beans. 4 per planter, sown end of Feb. I thought these were least likely to succeed, not enough soil and difficulties with pollination. However, at time of speaking they've set a lot of beans. Not ready yet, and I don't expect all the set beans to produce, but it's looking good. Again, about a month ahead of outside.

    3. Peas. About 20 in a planter. Again, looking good, lots of peas setting, I'm hoping to eat them soon. Miles ahead of outside (including some started in modules only a couple of weeks behind).

    4. Courgettes. One per plants, sown mid-March. Actually, I do this every year. Usually get a crop in the last week of May. This year, first female on June 1, though the boys are still in bed.

    5. Carrots. I've got a big pot with some amazing greenery. Sadly not much carrot as yet. I'm still hoping that they'll swell up soon, but possibly I've sown too much (and I'm terrible at thinning).

    6. Spinach. I was astonished how much better the crop was from inside than out. Inside we had a whole load through May (now sadly bolted). Outside, sown at the same time, the crop is just coming and the leaves are much, much smaller.

    7. Beetroot. The one failure. They didn't like the cold nights in March and essentially set there doing nothing. I'm going to scratch my head about this and try again next year.

    So, in conclusion, I'm looking at getting a number of very edible things a month ahead of schedule. That's a success to me, so I'm going to do it again next year.
    Last edited by jacob; 06-06-2013, 10:01 AM. Reason: use the preview next time...
    Garden Grower
    Twitter: @JacobMHowe

  • #2
    Firstly, lucky you, and well done!

    Fabulous to read abou successes. With your carrots, this could, hypothetically, be done to feeding. All that greenary. I've had that, where I've fed them lots and lots with tomato food. All leaf and no carrot. If, they are a similar to say Paris market carrots, then yes, you are to have diddly little carrots by virtue of variety.

    My beetroot is only just visible, was sown some time ago.

    Broadies are building up their strength.

    Keep going ^_^
    Horticultural Hobbit

    http://twitter.com/#!/HorticulturalH
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Horti...085870?sk=info

    http://horticulturalhobbit.com/

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    • #3
      Thanks. What size greenhouse do you have?

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      • #4
        Good to hear. Atho I don't have a green house so will just keep going with outside.
        Ali

        My blog: feral007.com/countrylife/

        Some days it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints!

        One bit of old folklore wisdom says to plant tomatoes when the soil is warm enough to sit on with bare buttocks. In surburban areas, use the back of your wrist. Jackie French

        Member of the Eastern Branch of the Darn Under Nutter's Club

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Feral007 View Post
          Good to hear. Atho I don't have a green house so will just keep going with outside.
          Downunder the outside is like an inside

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          • #6
            I too have some potatoes sat in the greenhouse.
            This year I wanted to start container growing outside, given how bad the weather was I started them in windowsill followed by the unheated greenhouse.
            By the time it was fit for them to go outside I'd already planted more then my designated area could fit so I just left them inside.
            At the moment I have a bucket of kale, 2 of potatoes (3 joining them as I found 3 chitted potatoes I missed) as well as a strange broad bean plant which I thought was a duffer, but carried on growing.
            The kale in particular makes the ones I moved outside look like babies.
            I have tried peas, but the containers were too small so needed watering too often which caused them to grow only about a dozen pods.
            My biggest worry is the brassicas bolting which happened to me during my winter veg experiment (when it was hot for that week early in the year).
            Last edited by JoeDaStudd; 06-06-2013, 11:30 AM.

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            • #7
              I gave up on the idea of growing veg outside after last year. Everything is inside now. The taller stuff, tomatoes, corn, and a few other bits go in the greenhouse. Everything else is in the tunnel.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by redser View Post
                Thanks. What size greenhouse do you have?
                This is all in a 10ft x 6ft greenhouse. That said, I also have a new 6ft x 4ft for overspill. Without this I'd be hitting space problems now I've got toms into their second pots (7").

                btw, it's fairly small quantities of stuff: 5 x potatoes, 4 x broad beans, 1 x peas, 1 x carrots, 2 x courgette, 1 x spinach pot.
                Garden Grower
                Twitter: @JacobMHowe

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                • #9
                  I thought I'd finish this thread off with the final conclusions...

                  * Our potato crop was good, at least matching outdoor crops (and a month earlier).

                  * Broad beans were excellent, out-producing our outdoor crops (and 3-4 weeks earlier).

                  * Just when I was grumbling about carrots they starting swelled up, not massive (they're amsterdam, so supposed to be smallish), but a proper crop which hasn't finished yet. With the outdoor ones surviving the slugs and snails it's going to be a good carrot year. (Also, 4-5 weeks ahead of outdoors).

                  * Peas were a bit disappointing. Got a little crop of tasty peas (4 weeks ahead of outdoors). However, they yellowed and died pretty quickly -- I suspect we've overplanted and/or they've run out of some nutrient or other.

                  * Courgettes did well, as always, perhaps 3 weeks ahead this year, rather than their usual 6!

                  I wonder if there is a lesson here about soil quality. Everything was planted in earth from our 'soil pile'. That is, all the pots get turned out into a big pile overwinter. For the tomatoes, etc... this gets cut with a lot of compost and a bit of woodash. After a number of year my feeling is that this soil pile is now high quality. The plots take second place for fertilising, and I feel that the soil quality just isn't quite as good.

                  I hereby encourage you to plant stuff in planters a month early in your greenhouse. Now bring on the aubergines.........
                  Garden Grower
                  Twitter: @JacobMHowe

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                  • #10
                    I suspect that the peas probably suffered from the heat - mine did exceptionally well in the soil in the polytunnel, but as soon as it started getting hot in there they struggled and needed a load of watering to keep going. I've run out of water now, so they're being chopped down now.

                    My beetroot did nowt either, so they've been turfed out, the outside ones are looking much better

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