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Newbie concerns

cliffdobermancliffdoberman Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
Hi Guys,

I'm very new to the world of gardening and have set up my polytunnel and purchased some growbags around 3 weeks ago and have planted some tomatoes, chillis, peppers, courgette, squash and cucumber. Couple of things concerning me is that the soil in the bags are still wet from when I watered in almost 3 weeks ago is this normal? ( admittedly I was a bit over zealous and I do live in NE Scotland so it's not the warmest) The other thing is that apart from 4 of the tomato plants not much has moved at all and I'm wondering if I've done some permanent damage when transplanting is there a sure way to tell?

Any help/info is greatly appreciated 

Liam.

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Did you make any drainage holes in the bags? They may be sitting in stagnant water. Courgettes and cucumbers should have shown growth by now.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • cliffdobermancliffdoberman Posts: 3
    Thanks for replying. Yes drainage holes in the bags. Do you think it’s worth removing the offenders and replacing them with new transplants?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think it helps enormously if you shoogle these bags a good bit before using too, Liam.
    They get very solid and compacted when they've been stacked for a while at GCs etc.

    I think many plants have struggled up here for a while too, even in greenhouses. My toms have been very slow this year. It's simply not been that warm for them to put on growth, even undercover.
    I wouldn't worry too much yet - and you should get your veg, albeit a bit later. The polytunnel will allow you to harvest well until autumn when others in warmer climes have finished their outdoor crops. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Just checking - are your plants / bags placed in full sun?
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Can l just say @Fairygirl, l love the word "shoogle".  :)
  • cliffdobermancliffdoberman Posts: 3
    Thanks everyone. The bags aren't exactly in full sun all day but they do get a good whack of exposure when the sun decides to make an appearance. Will wait a bit longer then and see what happens I'm pretty confident I'll get tomatoes at least. And yes @Fairygirl I did give the bag a good shoogle before I planted!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    AnniD said:
    Can l just say @Fairygirl, l love the word "shoogle".  :)
     :D 
    cliffdoberman said:
     And yes @Fairygirl I did give the bag a good shoogle before I planted!
     :D 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    Mine courgettes are only just starting to show signs of wanting to grow, they have been sulking for a while. same with the tomatoes just starting to shoot up, so just give them time and drainage!
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