Grow Your Own Needs Your Help!

[HayleyB]

ooh how did that happen

[Burnzie]

For me its tomato Gardeners Delight, reliable, prolific and best of all delicious eaten straight from the plant on a warm summer evening.

Burnzie

[COMPOST CORNER]

Sungold tomatoes are a must for our family, and I'll be growing a few more this year in the hope that some will make it to the kitchen, instead of being eaten like sweeties every time someone goes into the GH.

[BarleySugar]

I experiment with some things, but for as long as I remember, my main salad tomatoes have been Tigerella and Golden Sunrise. Tigrella crops earlier than the Golden Sunrise tomatoes I grow for OH and DD, I love the taste, and I have to be careful to support the plants well. On year I went on holiday to find the supports had broken through the weight of the crop, and all my plants were on the ground. The vines survived the bends and breaks, and still went on to produce ripe fruit. I do grow them in the greenhouse, blight seems to get anything I try outdoors.
The Golden Sunrise have converted OH to a tomato lover, enough of an incentive in my book to grow it every year.

[Pies]

Fo me the mainstays are

Tomatos, - Sweet million - very easy to grow lots of lovely toms over along season

Broad beans ,-Aquadulce Cladulia,utterly reliable,can be planted in November,I'd advise agaist planting any earlier if its a mild Autum.The plants will grow too big too early and be decimated in extreme cold

Looking around the allotment other that seem to do well in my area are

Leeks - Musslebrough
Pots - Kestral
BNS - Hunter

[stella]

Well I have not got years of experience to pass on but last year I grew French breakfast Raddish. Where I saw soil I put seeds in, hanging baslets, troughs any space got some seeds the packet from T&M seemed to go forever. Plus they all grew. A nice crunch and plenty of flavour, no disease, no trouble. I also picked a few of the young leaves to add to fresh salad. Seems like good value to me

[Torreya]

We've saved our own seed for years: BB's, runners etc and last year we thought we should have enough for us, the seed exchange here, AND HSL. Unfortunately, we were plagued with rats late in the season and they decemated ALL of our seed stocks - our rat-catcher man Simon, said he'd never known Rolands (rats!) get screw-top lids off jars before! We also had them in the house (yeuch!!), where they even got into metal cans, that was after pulling screwed-in air-vents off the wall!!! This time we've got in early... I've got poison boxes eveywhere, a new seed storage box in metal with a clip-on lid with 1/2 breeze blocks to weight it down and some steroids for the cats!!!

[Two_Sheds]

I'm a fan of my Rusty winter lettuce. It comes up every year (I bought the seed back in 2005, and haven't actually sown any since then).

It stands all winter, without protection, and I transplant them into a tidy line if I can be bothered.

This pic was taken at lunchtime today

[peanut]

My favourite tomato which i have grown every year since I discovered it has to be Black Cherry....it's a large Cherry type with an exceptionally sweet but still tomatoey flavour, (i've even made Tomato Jam with it, it's fab!) I grow mine in an unheated greenhouse and sow around Feburary, I was still picking them at the end of November last year!

My favourite lettuce has to be a Butterhead called Buttercrunch, it is a large lettuce which hearts up well, stands well without bolting and has a lovely sweet, smooth, buttery flavour.....been growing this for years.

And of course I, always have my Purple Sprouting Brocolli's, I grow two varieties so i have a longer season. Rudolph and Early Sprouting, they're both reliable and heavy croppers and depending on when you so you can be picking from early December to end April....simply delicious steamed fresh from the garden and served with a generous knob of butter....yumy

[reetnproper]

We always grow runner beans (Scarlet Emperor) and climbing french beans (Cobra) in tubs along the lawn fence which saves taking up valuable growing space in the veg beds and brightens up a bland 6ft high expance of featheredge fence . Both these varieties have been so prolific.

Gardeners Delight cherry toms and Ailsa Craigs have alwasy done us proud inside and out.

Sundance sweetcorn are a fabulous sight and have been very successful for us over the last 3 years as have the various pumpkin and squashes, grown at their bases. The cobnut squash I grew last year was a big success and I will be growing them again this year.

I grew parsnips (Gladiator) for the first time last year and the success (numbers, size and flavour) of these means that they will also be making a reappearance this year.

We have learned that brussels, brocolli, turnips and swede are not good crops for our plot, taking up too much room and harbouring too many pests to make them vialble .

Regards
Reet

[sweetiepea]

I use my own seed potatoes - Dublin Queens (original seed came via a friend in Donegal).

[SueA]

I always grow Moneymaker tomatoes although I don't save my own seed from them, they're tough & reliable outdoors. Tumbler toms are usually good outside in hanging baskets by the back door too. For seed potatoes I only grow earlies in pots & tubs & usually choose something like Charlotte & also 'Winston' as they taste lovely & also come up nice & clean & perfect for the 'GYO Virtual Show'!

[Storming Norman]

These seed varieties have been grown every year without fail in my garden for absolutely ages:
Broad Bean - Aquadulce Claudia, for sheer cropping size alone.
Radish - french breakfast. Mild, fast growing, pretty & utterly reliable.
Pea - sugar snap. These are tall ones, which means they are very productive for the space they use [on supports], tasty as anything and much more pest proof than normal peas. More food of course because you don't throw out the pods.
Tomato - Sungold, gardeners delight & black cherry.All are sweet, pretty, easy to grow, really tasty, very productive & suits my greenhouse and growing style. I have people asking for free handouts of these - say no more!
I have found newer favourites from more recent sowings as I now have much more space. So I find it pays to always grow a few seeds of another variety alongside to find the possible 'safe bets' for the future.

[weekendwellies]

Last year was my first with an allotment and I neglected to save any seed from what I grew. But I will have a go at letting one of everything go to seed this year and save each.

I have some seed envelopes ready for the job. And I must remember to have a pen available to write on what is in each envelope.

Looking forward to reading the article in GYO for tips on saving and storing all of them.

[wellie]

GYO April Issue - Ruth C needs help.

Pest-ResistAnce is what you meant angel....?!

Personally, I would put my hand on my heart, and champion these three:

SUNGOLD CHERRY TOMATO.
If you sow the seed early enough in January or February, (and then sow later for a 'later crop', obviously!) growing them in your greenhouse, and respect them, you can be picking your very first cherry tomatoes in June, or early July, and still be picking them near to Christmas if you look after them.
The size of the fruit, the continuing 'Bumper Crop' and the taste, outperforms 'Gardeners Delight'. in my (humble) opinion.

FERLINE TOMATO.
Is an exceptionally tasty tommy, as beautiful as the traditionals, but superbly tolerant of Blighty as an indoor or outdoor grower. I've grown this now for what seems 'forever' and wouldn't entertain another in its' place.
It does everything that it says on the tin in terms of reliability, ease of cultivation, disease or pest-resistAnce, gives you a bumper crop, and honestly, just stick it outside and forget it?!



CLIMBING BORLOTTI BEAN.
Because you can grow them in much less rich soil than you need for Runner Beans. And, if you grow them for 'shelling' the beans for preserving or drying, it means you can use them as a summer 'screen' in your garden, and not have to pick the pods every five minutes of every day like you would with Runner Beans. Free Screen, Safe Bet. No Work. Huge Harvest..... And pests don't seem to bother them at all.
But if you did fancy Runner Beans, just pick 'em'n'eat'em like you would ordinary Runners. Simples. Double Bubble.

Thank you for Listening.
Wellie.
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