How does your garden grow?

[Christine Weetman]

Hi All, I'm keeping quiet about my garden, nothing is growing, I'm hopeless at gardening!  All my lettuce outside has turned into mush and I don't have a clue why, all the ones in my greenhouse have gone limp and floppy, I do have some cauliflowers growing nicely outside, but they are too tall, almost two feet and just a very tiny appearance of a cauly inside them! The ones in my greenhouse are very small and don't have a middle yet.  I did quite well with the giant African marigolds well, I had a Few, but they have all died down now...the other varietys did quite well and I even managed to replant some of those in the front of our house as well as plant two little wooden trikes to give to the two grandma's as a gift, which was nice.  I'm glad to say my lavender is still thriving, but it is staying very small!  I had only less than 40 strawberries on my plants altogether and not a single tomato! Oh dear. Plenty of flowers and yes, we did tickle them to help pollinate them.  The ones outside all died and the indoor ones are wild in height again, without any fruits on them!  My rhubarb has produced just 4 thin sticks and the hugest leaves I've ever seen! So I didn't pick them..I did use some really good goat dung in the soil when I planted them!   The sunflowers all grew too tall, so I had them replanted outside and they are still there now, maybe seven feet tall without a flower! lol  I had other flowers that came through in single figures but not enough of anything worked!

 

 

I need help, help to know where I went wrong and how I can improve?  I think next year I'll just plant say ten seeds of everything so I can handle them better as I think it's been too much to tend to properly, I meant well, but although things were watered every day, I don't think I was able to spend enough time on standing and steaking things or repotting things etc. I'm really disappointed.

 

I am hoping you'll be able to give me some tips and tricks to try next year? Also is there anything I can grow in the greenhouse over winter to help me feel better? Smiles.  Speak soon, A disappointed Christine.

[Andrew Shipp]

Hi Christine,  Please don't get down hearted,  we all have good and bad years with some things,  this year might of  hopefully  of been yours,  so just look forward to next year and try the same again,  there might be  other things you could of done  but this we shall have to look in to.  Have  you tried  putting  the question  in Ask.co.uk  and see if you  find any thing on there?  if not  give it a try.  Regards Andy. 

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[Christine Weetman]

Thanks Andy, but this is the second year of disasters for me, last year I put it down to me having planted too late, this year--well, it's just a total disaster and all that time I put into it too, and the others who helped me too, I at least hoped we could have something that we'd deffinately grow again next year! Oh dear.  I'm no good at searching, I've just tried it but I got all kinds of stuff, I put in

vegetables turning to mush

and got all those words searched singularly. Oh dear, searching is as unsuccessful for me as gardening, yet I have so much enthusiasm! lol

 

Chat soon and thanks for the wise words, I'm a determine nut, so yes, I'll try again next year and still haven't given up with this year yet, just hoping for some good aspirations!  Chat later and thanks again my greenfingered Andy.  Christine.

[Roy]

Christine,

 

The problem with your lettuce was probably Cutworm they cut through the root and leave the head lying on the surface, this mainly happens when the ground is too dry.  As I said in the piece I wrote on tomatoes outdoors theyneed no help to polanate, indoors just tap the support from time to time, this is enough to release the pollen.

 

These days I am housebound,I have had this garden now for forty years and miss it terribly, I grew mainly vegetables with which I won a few prizes localy, for the last twelve years my garden was organic, which worked really well .

So now I just have a small conservatory to work in, in which I have just two tomato plants and some geraniums, so far I have had  ten ripe tomatoes with lots more to come.

 

I hope this has been of some use to you Christine and told you a little about myself.

 

I have been a friend of Andy for many years and may I say Andy your garden adviser.

 

Don't dispaire Christine it will come right eventually with your determination.---- Original Message -----

From: Christine Weetman

To: blind-g...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 8:08 AM

Subject: [B-G-1109] How does your garden grow?