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Now that we've reached the end of the Summer - and with it my first, full growing season - I thought I'd pop back here to post an 'end of term report' on my debut year.
The first thing I need to say is that it's far too long since I was on this lovely Forum. I think I lost my way a little bit out in the garden, and because I drifted away for a little while it seems a bit more difficult to come back. Having said that, I feel really happy already to be back already - and that on only just reaching this point in the post - but I only wish I hadn't stayed away for so long! I fully intend now to become a regular visitor again, and to try to keep chirping in my own two penn'orth, whilst drawing on the benefit of the wealth of experience here.
So that's the basic introductions over, and on with the gist of the post...
I came back to gardening this year, even though I'd barely tinkered with it before. I'd previously tried growing a few things when my ex-wife and I were first married, but had only really grown one or two flowers and a few tomatoes - and all with only limited success. I always felt I'd let my dear old Dad down a lot because he was a really 'dab hand' around the garden, and his old Alton cedar wood greenhouse (anyone remember them?) was a place for dreaming dreams in amongst the many wonderful things he grew in there. Dad was my hero then, and is even more my hero now, and I still often think of ringing him when something good happens in the garden or I have some other garden news to share with him, only to remember just a nanosecond later that he's no longer there on the other end, and how remarkable that I still have those moments some 17 years after he passed away.
But to bring everything back to here; I was deep in a very dark and very forbidding depression when I first entertained the merest germ of idea that I might start gardening again. This would have been in early January this year, and emerged in the midst of some of the worst days of my life. I'd then been off work for around four months, give or take a week or so, and was so lost in despair that I could barely raise a comment let alone construct a meaningful sentence or offer a glimmer of a smile. I'd been taking anti-depressant medication for months, but all with little or no effect, and it was now my almost unshakeable belief that things would never ever get better again - not now, not tomorrow, not in two or three weeks time, not anytime in the next six months, in fact; never ever again no matter how long 'never ever' ever lasted. Never ever, and that was that...Well, I'm now 9 months on from that with, as I say, my first Summer season of growing behind me, and everything is going really well!
I'd have to say that just about the most important factor in encouraging the overall project of 'my garden' has been our lovely magazine and this wonderful Forum! It's such a warm and friendly place, but full of knowledgable experience and wisdom - as well as a rare and decent sense of good, honest, clean fun that us sometimes so sadly missing on other Forums (Fora?) in other areas.
I took so many photos early on of my first hamfisted efforts on the plot, and so wish I'd kept up with the little blog I started up. I only actually ditched it was because I couldn't scale down the photos, but I wrote up pages and pages of info, and I might just resurrect it over the long, dark nights of the winter. I also took lots and lots of photos on my phone, but haven't yet remembered how to transfer these from the phone to my email, and thus into the photo section in my iPad. Maybe another little project for those same dark, winter nights?...
So what worked, what didn't work, and what were the 'not so sures' and 'never agains'?
Well, potatoes grown in bags have have been a really great success, with wonderful tasting taties in abundance and full of flavour. The Christmas potatoes are already doing really well, and they've certainly established themselves as certain regular for future days. Tomatoes, too, have been exceptional - the bush types more, it has to be admitted, than standards, but with both getting their feet under the table as a 'must' now from this season on.
Other notable successes have been in trying to grow Pak Choi. The ones I got through early in the Summer were a huge success, seeming very easy to grow whilst providing many happy moments when str fried with a sprinkle of Soy Sauce: Totally delicious! Sadly, later sowings have been blitzed by little beasties - could there really be such a creature as a voracious, flying slug? - so they've not been without their disappointments in late Summer, but they'll definitely be making a show again next year...
Runner Beans have been wonderful, too. They showed no signs of interest at all for weeks on end, but really got their act together from mid-Summer on, and finished with a glorious late flourish probably, actually just like everyone else's did, and perfectly normally despite me expecting too many early 'fireworks' in early Summer.
Carrots (of the Chantenay variety) have been a very tasty delight. I hadn't intended making them a 'first team regular' and only sowed a few as a fairly late addition to the 'squad' but they were (are) so blinkin' tasty that they, too, have booked themselves a ticket to next year's show.
I tried growing Tomatilloes (from the James Wong range) and they certainly grew - and grew and grew and grew! - to the extent that I ended up with half the garden filled with just two plants - Please, anyone thinking of growing these, don't try anymore than two unless you've got a garden the size of a county to house them in! I've now got a lot of Salsa making to do, but I don't think I'll be trying these again next year.
Celeriacs have been OK, though with a lot of foliage and not enough (yet?) below the ground. Peas (Kelvedon Wonder) have been superb, and Courgettes, too, have kept me happy all Summer long.
I had a pop at growing Cucamelons - another James Wong 'trial' - and these showed very little beyond very wispy little shoots for months, only to produce a couple of dozen little fruits of exceptional crispness, freshness and flavour at the end. They looked for a long time that they'd merely be a one season wonder, but they did enough late on to persuade me to give them another go.
I don't think I'll grow Broad Beans again next season, nor will I try any more Cucumbers. The Broad Beans were pretty nice, but deserved a better effort on my part after I stuck them in the garden as a late 'extra'. They deserved better than that, as did Cucumbers, which were also a late addition to the cause. My fault, not theirs, although I have to say the Cucumbers I grew have been excellent when pickled and I just might miss them enough this time next near to regret this 'no' vote now...
An area I set aside as a fruit bed looked very tidy and well ordered, but didn't really produce much fruit! I set up a very neat and tidy frame for some raspberries, and also popped in Blackcurrants, Blackberries, Redcurrants and Gooseberries - but all with very little return by way of fruit. I later found out (from another little query on the Forum!) that this was because I planted them almost exactly in the middle of the flowering season this year, so it was all a bit too late to expect too much for this years crop. That said, there are high hopes for next year, so one of the jobs to go with that is to ensure a proper pruning to make sure I'm doing things right and giving them the best start that I can for maximum fruiting. Rhubarb, too, was part of this little side venture, and that was a big success. I have really high hopes for this next Summer, too...
That's about it for now as regards the veg plot, but there'll (hopefully) be a Part Two in the next few days or so (or about a week or so, or something around that) when I'll have a wee bit more to report back here on various companies I've used for seeds and various plug plants and other bits of gardening paraphernalia. oh, and bees, too, there'll be a bit chat about them, but I just want this posted now before I spout on any more...Many, many thanks if you've stuck with me so far!...
The first thing I need to say is that it's far too long since I was on this lovely Forum. I think I lost my way a little bit out in the garden, and because I drifted away for a little while it seems a bit more difficult to come back. Having said that, I feel really happy already to be back already - and that on only just reaching this point in the post - but I only wish I hadn't stayed away for so long! I fully intend now to become a regular visitor again, and to try to keep chirping in my own two penn'orth, whilst drawing on the benefit of the wealth of experience here.
So that's the basic introductions over, and on with the gist of the post...
I came back to gardening this year, even though I'd barely tinkered with it before. I'd previously tried growing a few things when my ex-wife and I were first married, but had only really grown one or two flowers and a few tomatoes - and all with only limited success. I always felt I'd let my dear old Dad down a lot because he was a really 'dab hand' around the garden, and his old Alton cedar wood greenhouse (anyone remember them?) was a place for dreaming dreams in amongst the many wonderful things he grew in there. Dad was my hero then, and is even more my hero now, and I still often think of ringing him when something good happens in the garden or I have some other garden news to share with him, only to remember just a nanosecond later that he's no longer there on the other end, and how remarkable that I still have those moments some 17 years after he passed away.
But to bring everything back to here; I was deep in a very dark and very forbidding depression when I first entertained the merest germ of idea that I might start gardening again. This would have been in early January this year, and emerged in the midst of some of the worst days of my life. I'd then been off work for around four months, give or take a week or so, and was so lost in despair that I could barely raise a comment let alone construct a meaningful sentence or offer a glimmer of a smile. I'd been taking anti-depressant medication for months, but all with little or no effect, and it was now my almost unshakeable belief that things would never ever get better again - not now, not tomorrow, not in two or three weeks time, not anytime in the next six months, in fact; never ever again no matter how long 'never ever' ever lasted. Never ever, and that was that...Well, I'm now 9 months on from that with, as I say, my first Summer season of growing behind me, and everything is going really well!
I'd have to say that just about the most important factor in encouraging the overall project of 'my garden' has been our lovely magazine and this wonderful Forum! It's such a warm and friendly place, but full of knowledgable experience and wisdom - as well as a rare and decent sense of good, honest, clean fun that us sometimes so sadly missing on other Forums (Fora?) in other areas.
I took so many photos early on of my first hamfisted efforts on the plot, and so wish I'd kept up with the little blog I started up. I only actually ditched it was because I couldn't scale down the photos, but I wrote up pages and pages of info, and I might just resurrect it over the long, dark nights of the winter. I also took lots and lots of photos on my phone, but haven't yet remembered how to transfer these from the phone to my email, and thus into the photo section in my iPad. Maybe another little project for those same dark, winter nights?...
So what worked, what didn't work, and what were the 'not so sures' and 'never agains'?
Well, potatoes grown in bags have have been a really great success, with wonderful tasting taties in abundance and full of flavour. The Christmas potatoes are already doing really well, and they've certainly established themselves as certain regular for future days. Tomatoes, too, have been exceptional - the bush types more, it has to be admitted, than standards, but with both getting their feet under the table as a 'must' now from this season on.
Other notable successes have been in trying to grow Pak Choi. The ones I got through early in the Summer were a huge success, seeming very easy to grow whilst providing many happy moments when str fried with a sprinkle of Soy Sauce: Totally delicious! Sadly, later sowings have been blitzed by little beasties - could there really be such a creature as a voracious, flying slug? - so they've not been without their disappointments in late Summer, but they'll definitely be making a show again next year...
Runner Beans have been wonderful, too. They showed no signs of interest at all for weeks on end, but really got their act together from mid-Summer on, and finished with a glorious late flourish probably, actually just like everyone else's did, and perfectly normally despite me expecting too many early 'fireworks' in early Summer.
Carrots (of the Chantenay variety) have been a very tasty delight. I hadn't intended making them a 'first team regular' and only sowed a few as a fairly late addition to the 'squad' but they were (are) so blinkin' tasty that they, too, have booked themselves a ticket to next year's show.
I tried growing Tomatilloes (from the James Wong range) and they certainly grew - and grew and grew and grew! - to the extent that I ended up with half the garden filled with just two plants - Please, anyone thinking of growing these, don't try anymore than two unless you've got a garden the size of a county to house them in! I've now got a lot of Salsa making to do, but I don't think I'll be trying these again next year.
Celeriacs have been OK, though with a lot of foliage and not enough (yet?) below the ground. Peas (Kelvedon Wonder) have been superb, and Courgettes, too, have kept me happy all Summer long.
I had a pop at growing Cucamelons - another James Wong 'trial' - and these showed very little beyond very wispy little shoots for months, only to produce a couple of dozen little fruits of exceptional crispness, freshness and flavour at the end. They looked for a long time that they'd merely be a one season wonder, but they did enough late on to persuade me to give them another go.
I don't think I'll grow Broad Beans again next season, nor will I try any more Cucumbers. The Broad Beans were pretty nice, but deserved a better effort on my part after I stuck them in the garden as a late 'extra'. They deserved better than that, as did Cucumbers, which were also a late addition to the cause. My fault, not theirs, although I have to say the Cucumbers I grew have been excellent when pickled and I just might miss them enough this time next near to regret this 'no' vote now...
An area I set aside as a fruit bed looked very tidy and well ordered, but didn't really produce much fruit! I set up a very neat and tidy frame for some raspberries, and also popped in Blackcurrants, Blackberries, Redcurrants and Gooseberries - but all with very little return by way of fruit. I later found out (from another little query on the Forum!) that this was because I planted them almost exactly in the middle of the flowering season this year, so it was all a bit too late to expect too much for this years crop. That said, there are high hopes for next year, so one of the jobs to go with that is to ensure a proper pruning to make sure I'm doing things right and giving them the best start that I can for maximum fruiting. Rhubarb, too, was part of this little side venture, and that was a big success. I have really high hopes for this next Summer, too...
That's about it for now as regards the veg plot, but there'll (hopefully) be a Part Two in the next few days or so (or about a week or so, or something around that) when I'll have a wee bit more to report back here on various companies I've used for seeds and various plug plants and other bits of gardening paraphernalia. oh, and bees, too, there'll be a bit chat about them, but I just want this posted now before I spout on any more...Many, many thanks if you've stuck with me so far!...
Hope you continue to enjoyyour
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