I've got way too excited.. and

[feefeelalabelle]

OH has anchored it down quite well i think as it hasnt moved yet and we had the worst winds that first night, we are on a corner plot and the wind whistles up our driveway, have put a few heavy pots in there too.
The seedlings what i was gonna leave in there are, lettuice, beetroot, carrots.... will they be ok. so i will put the carrots outside when i get time but am i going to have to separate each seedling before planting or DD will end up with a rude shape on her plate like you did

Have really dun my tendans(sp?) in my hand from digging today.... so hard to type

Oh and one of my berry bushes have been munched ohim so not happy ! whatever it is has eaten the leaves? any ideas how to stop this..... immediatly!

[Demeter]

Lettuce, beetroot & carrots should be fine outside although if they have been indoors they may need to gradually get used to the cold of being outside, especially if you are getting frosts at night!

Your carrots are likely to be wonky whether you separate them or now, so personally - if it were me - I would save the bother and plant them out in small clumps of 2-3 seedlings per clump. Or, if you really don't want wonky carrots, just compost the lot and start again sowing direct into the soil!

What plant has been eaten?
Slugs are the usual suspect for anything being eaten. We hate slugs!

Hope your hand feels better tomorrow
xx

[feefeelalabelle]

nah i dont mind the wonky carrots, be quite fun!
i dont think we will have anymore frost, but you can never tell but will ease them in gently!
i think it was a red current or a black current, it still has a few leaves on but they are rather holey now !like your signature by the way, you a male by any chance !!!! and did your wife tell you to put that haha lol only messing around thanks for all the advise i find you people so helpfull.... i can pick your brains

[jackie j]

I have just caught up with this thread and OMG you have given me a good laugh I think we have another lynda66 here ( sorry lynda ) esp with the drill thing lol. Well done though for making a start and get the OH to help with the digging instead of him saying you cant do it. Practice makes perfect ( well nearly ) so they say. Keep those questions coming.
Happy Gardening

[feefeelalabelle]

I have just caught up with this thread and OMG you have given me a good laugh I think we have another lynda66 here ( sorry lynda ) esp with the drill thing lol. Well done though for making a start and get the OH to help with the digging instead of him saying you cant do it. Practice makes perfect ( well nearly ) so they say. Keep those questions coming.
Happy Gardening

Lynda66????? Im presuming shes blonde too then yeh
yeh OH helped with the digging digging yesterday but said i should be able to do it, (even though he had senn me bouncing off the spade do get it in!) i told him that hes alot stronger than me... his reply was "we are all equals" haha, then it got into a bit of a debate about equality in the work environment and that women always want good jobs like men ect, ect. I quickly cut him off by saying that if we are equal he can do the washing up, ironing, cleaning, looking after DD AND working !!! he quickly started digging.


just been out to the greenhouse and its all condensated up, should i wipe this off, is it a good thing or not? ive opened the door slightly to let some air in xxx

[womble]

Just open the door and it will sort itself out. A good airflow in the greenhouse is always a good idea, it's a balancing act between airflow and warmth.

[susiewoosie]

Hey Feefee I love reading your questions. I only started gardening about a week ago and I'm growing everything in containers. I'm learning a lot from your posts

[Creemteez]

'Afternoon, Feefee. Now, you really must get that great hulking OH of yours to buy you a GARDEN FORK. You will find it so much easier to dig with than a spade. I'd go with him if I were you and make sure you get one that suits your size as they do come in a variety of sizes. Get one that you can lift quite easily as when you have it full of soil it makes a big difference. Look out for what they sometimes call a Boarder Fork or Lady Fork. They are smaller and more manageable to the fairer sex (lol, you should see me!). Trust me , you'll do more than a tendon in your hand if you try to do too much with the wrong equipment.
Take care, Sweetie,

[Demeter]

nah i dont mind the wonky carrots, be quite fun!
i dont think we will have anymore frost, but you can never tell but will ease them in gently!
i think it was a red current or a black current, it still has a few leaves on but they are rather holey now !like your signature by the way, you a male by any chance !!!! and did your wife tell you to put that haha lol only messing around thanks for all the advise i find you people so helpfull.... i can pick your brains

LOL - you guessed wrong, although I must say i could do with a wife to get on with the housework while I play in the garden...

I expect it was probably slugs eating your currant plant, little b*ggers.

PS I second Creemteez - get a fork, they are a lot easier to dig with esp in heavy or stony soil and esp if you had a good quality one with strong prongs. There is a thread here at the mo called "I keep breaking tools" suggest you have a read of that as well. I use a full-size fork and my 4yo uses a border fork (you should see her jumping on it to get it in the soil lol) - we are strong women in our family lol.

[Creemteez]

Feefee, where are you? Getting worried, you havn't posted in 24hrs! Is your hand too painful to type? Perhaps you are out buying a new garden fork!

[feefeelalabelle]

Feefee, where are you? Getting worried, you havn't posted in 24hrs! Is your hand too painful to type? Perhaps you are out buying a new garden fork!

Haha, was you all missing having a giggle at me?
To be honest ive been out in the garden the last 2 days.... how busy does gardening keep you!!! No i havnt invested in a fork yet, but have been using just a normal garden fork the past few days, i deff do need a ladies one but i think the problem is im not strong enough or heavy enough to get it in the ground . The girls had a giggle at work as i couldnt clentch my hand from all the digging and everytime i moved my fingers my i looked like a druggie with my veins all popping out oh im in agony and i now have little golf ball muscles in my arms
Had a little helper today DD whos 18month old,she found it rather funny watching the worms and then tried to feed them to the cat! lets just say we needed a good bath

Killed my lettuice today they have been in the greenhouse and i think they have died, they all keeled over, is there anything i can do ?

I know ive sowed my beans too early but can they go outside yet as i really dont want to have to repot them and them put in the ground as it seems like alot of stress


Thanx for the advise about the fork though, am going to get one this weekend

SUZIEWOOZIE, glad your learning from my silly expeditions, keep digging girl !!
DEMETER, im just going to sow my carrot seeds in the ground as i think my seedlings have died now, so thanks for the advise xx

[susiewoosie]

If it makes you feel any better I went to check on my shallots the other day and noticed I'd planted some upside down

[feefeelalabelle]

oh ive done that with my potatoes.... arnt we silly

Been in the garden again today digging out all the boarders, made my back 10x worse, everytime i move my neck im getting the sharpest pain between my shoulder blades, that ill teach me to be so unfit
planted my lettuice and caulis outside in the polytunnel and green house today along with my runnerbeans in a large plant pot, its one of those calf height ones about 30cms or so wide, ive put 4 in, do you think they will be ok?
Another daft question, how do i know when things are ready to be pulled and eaten?
hope you have all been having fun today

[Demeter]

oh ive done that with my potatoes.... arnt we silly

Been in the garden again today digging out all the boarders, made my back 10x worse, everytime i move my neck im getting the sharpest pain between my shoulder blades, that ill teach me to be so unfit
planted my lettuice and caulis outside in the polytunnel and green house today along with my runnerbeans in a large plant pot, its one of those calf height ones about 30cms or so wide, ive put 4 in, do you think they will be ok?
Another daft question, how do i know when things are ready to be pulled and eaten?
hope you have all been having fun today

Steady on - don't do yourself an injury!

Runnerbeans - 4 in a large pot is a sensible number but as you know it is too early and sadly they are unlikely to survive, they don't like the cold at all. The good news is there is masses of time to sow more!

As for when things are ready to harvest - obviously it depends on the plant... Anything above ground you can pretty much see when it is ready. Things that grow below ground - spuds and carrots and parsnips, but not cucumbers - well, there are specific things to look for (e.g. carrots tend to push their shoulders above ground and you can see how big they are) but aside from that it's partly about timing and partly about having a little furtle under the soil

[walshie]

Feefee - sorry to hear about your back - just think of all of the fresh air and exercise that you are getting, bundle that up with your own fresh veg and check out how healthy you are, beats going to tescos!!!

to answer your Q, depends on the veg - lettuce, when it looks big enough to eat, same with caulis (but these will take a long time) but if you think that it look big enough to eat then you cant go wrong. there are certain types that you can not tell if they are big enough to eat, such as root veg. Some root veg, if you can not wait, you can eat young. A lot of people sow a lot of carrots in the same place (drill) and then thin them, eating the ones that they thin and you can do the same with beets, parsnips, turnips, etc.
with potatoes most people say that when the flowers are gone and the leaves are begining to go yellow then they are ready to pull. But if all else fails and you dont have a clue then check the writing on the back of the seed packet!

And ALWAYS experiment!!! try a couple, raw or cooked, it dont matter (you might find that they taste better raw!). If they dont taste too nice then leave them a little. The amount of times i have gone to my plot and pulled a carrot and eaten it mud an all!! I am always trying something to snack on when i am down there. Have fun with it thats what its all about.

hope i helped!

Walshie