Help... I might have planted everything too soon😅

[Melmel]

Off topic.. does anyone know what kind of tree this is? is this a fruit tree? I have clay soil that was covered with some sort of felt fabric, it seemed very compacted though there were lots of earth worms.. I decided to remove it and put on it some well rotted manure, compost and fed some bone meal powder and organic seaweed diluted.. see if it likes it (I'm trying no dig)

[Nicos]

Not sure…I’m not really a tree person …but my guess would be cherry or pear?

Try gooooogling pictures of young bark
My bet would be cherry, but I’m happy to be corrected

[Melmel]

Not sure…I’m not really a tree person …but my guess would be cherry or pear?

Try gooooogling pictures of young bark
My bet would be cherry, but I’m happy to be corrected

if it's a cherry tree I'd be so lucky! I love cherries!!

[Nicos]

Take some piccies when the leaves come out…I for one be better placed to suggest what it is

[Melmel]

Off topic again... when the cats came and dug up my plants in my raised beds to go to the toilet, I planted some more seeds after cleaning up, and as a true beginner, I didn't write down what I sown. Can anyone identify what plants they are? I think I tried parsnips. Could this be that?

[Nicos]

I think you might get more people noticing your ID s if you make new threads in the ‘Vegging out’ and ‘Feeling fruity’ sections Mel

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ot/vegging-out

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...feeling-fruity

[Melmel]

I think you might get more people noticing your ID s if you make new threads in the ‘Vegging out’ and ‘Feeling fruity’ sections Mel

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ot/vegging-out

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...feeling-fruity

that's really good, thank you Nicos I will try this!!

[Andraste]

Going back to your original question, I've found this website helpful: http://gardenfocused.co.uk/ You can select your town & get an estimate on your last frost date as well as guidelines for when to sow/plant most of the standard stuff. They are guidelines of course - weather changes year-to-year & it's always worth trying different sowing times to find out what works for you.

You were certainly right about the chillies - they appreciate an early start as they need a long growing time to produce well for you. Most of your undercover stuff was probably fine too.

I'd say you were a tad optimistic with the pumpkins as it will be a while until they'd be happy planted out but if you can keep potting on & coddling them they might well be awesome.

We don't have much room at home & don't have time for a proper greenhouse on our plot so invested in a couple of the cheap plastic blowaway style jobbies. These are invaluable for me at this time of year for growing from seed so I would recommend these if you've space outside to squeeze one in (a standard size - 3/4 shelves can be found online for around £20). BUT you do need to heavily weight the bottoms for stability & avoidance of tears (they get called 'blowaways' for a reason).

[Snoop Puss]

Here's another service for last frost dates in the UK based on post codes: https://www.lastfrostdate.co.uk/

[Andraste]

Ooo that's a great link Snoop Puss

I just checked my postcode. The dates broken down into Air Frost/Light Frost/Hard Frost alongside the tender plant risk scale is really helpful info I've not seen elsewhere. It was also interesting to see the shortening of the frost window via the climate change button

Sorry for gushing but I'm genuinely (albeit possibly irrationally) pleased - I love a good 'stat' & gardening related is even better. I found out yesterday that 6 degrees is the min soil temp for putting spuds in & was so excited to share the news with OH he thought we'd had a lottery win He was actually quite please all the same as apparently he has an app on his phone that can determine soil temps & he's been trying to think of a genuine purpose for it

[Snoop Puss]

^Glad you liked it, Andraste. These things are all good fun. I must say, I'm intrigued by the app even if it is off-topic...

[Andraste]

Just asked OH for you Snoop - apparently he has a FLIR thermal camera thingumy. I've not really got much of a clue about it but I'm sure Google would sort you out. x

[Melmel]

Going back to your original question, I've found this website helpful: http://gardenfocused.co.uk/ You can select your town & get an estimate on your last frost date as well as guidelines for when to sow/plant most of the standard stuff. They are guidelines of course - weather changes year-to-year & it's always worth trying different sowing times to find out what works for you.

You were certainly right about the chillies - they appreciate an early start as they need a long growing time to produce well for you. Most of your undercover stuff was probably fine too.

I'd say you were a tad optimistic with the pumpkins as it will be a while until they'd be happy planted out but if you can keep potting on & coddling them they might well be awesome.

We don't have much room at home & don't have time for a proper greenhouse on our plot so invested in a couple of the cheap plastic blowaway style jobbies. These are invaluable for me at this time of year for growing from seed so I would recommend these if you've space outside to squeeze one in (a standard size - 3/4 shelves can be found online for around £20). BUT you do need to heavily weight the bottoms for stability & avoidance of tears (they get called 'blowaways' for a reason).

I didn't know these, they're very helpful! Apparently my last frost date is at the end of April😩
The pumpkin opened some of their flowers today, I hope they'll be ok!



which ones are the blowaway jobbies?

[Melmel]

Here's another service for last frost dates in the UK based on post codes: https://www.lastfrostdate.co.uk/

that's great thank you Andraste 😁😁

[Snoop Puss]

The bad news is I'm afraid you've definitely planted your pumpkins too soon. They're looking like they've been confined to a small pot for a long time, so you've got sickly-looking leaves and your flowers will come to nothing. I'm sorry to say that those plants will be unlikely to thrive when you plant them out.

The good news is you're in time to start some more. Have a look here for advice on growing pumpkins and winter squash:
https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gu...inter-squashes

The Vine has got lots of useful growing guides for both fruit and veg here: https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/guides/fruit

When you open that link, click on the green down arrow to select either fruit and veg.

Most seed suppliers also give useful growing info on the seed packets, such as when to sow, how to care for the plants and when to expect a harvest.

The other thing you can do is follow this thread so you can see what other Grapes are sowing now: https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ng-thread-2025