Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

What are you planning for 2021?

garyoneill65garyoneill65 Posts: 7
in Fruit & veg
I've just registered for the forum and thought I'd do a quick intro message.

I've had a full size allotment for about seven years and even though I've learned a lot, I learn something new nearly every single day.  That's why forum's like this are so good.  I get to share some of my experience and at the same time learn from others.

Since June last year I've started posting a Garden/Allotment videos on YouTube so if you have any suggestions for future videos then please let me know. The last video I posted looks at planning for 2021: https://youtu.be/U_eyPOYf3mg 

So in order to start the discussion and to get to know others on the forum, my question is: Have you thought about planning your fruit and veg sowing and planting for 2021, and if so is there anything you are thinking of doing differently or trying for the first time? 
«1

Posts

  • delskidelski Posts: 274
    I am a newbie too, not only to the forum but veg growing as well! I grew some garlic last year and still have some spring onions in the ground which really don’t match the size of the ones in the shops! I wonder what I did wrong...

    Next year I am going to create a veg bed mainly for potatoes and green beans. Probably French dwarf. 
  • garyoneill65garyoneill65 Posts: 7
    That sounds like a good plan delski.  Potatoes are a good crop because compared to other veg they are fairly easy to grow. 

    For beans I usually go for the climbing French beans, plus I love Broad Beans.  You can plant certain varieties of Broad Bean into the ground now.  I planted mine a few weeks ago and they should give me a decent crop in late spring.  I also planted Garlic at the same time and they have germinated a treat.  There is a recent video on my channel in how to plant Broad Beans and Garlic so if you want a few pointers they might be worth a look.

    When you first start out it might seem a little bit like trial and error, but you learn all of the time.  It is real fun and you get fresh veg when you want it!


  • delskidelski Posts: 274
    You certainly have a well planned allotment there! The space I’m working with is barely 1/3 of one of your rectangles.
  • garyoneill65garyoneill65 Posts: 7
    You will be surprised in what you might be able to grow, even in a small area.  You can also grow veg, herbs and fruit in pots so that could also add some space.  

    Its amazing that no matter how large or small an areas you have, there never seems to be enough room.  Even for my allotment!
  • KlinkKlink Posts: 261
    Maybe i should put up a link to my OH's blog... ?
  • koyukanokoyukano Posts: 72
    edited December 2020
    delski said:
    You certainly have a well planned allotment there! The space I’m working with is barely 1/3 of one of your rectangles.
    I think a 1/3rd of one of those rectangles is still a decent amount of space, I had an allotment but could not get to it often enough working and having 2 young children, I have moved house since then and have put in some raised beds in our back garden and I get a decent amount of veg from my raised beds and greenhouse. 

    With small spaces I would recommend 2 things:

    1. Multi-sew, eg you grow bundles of crops together such as onions, betroot, radishes etc, as they start to grow you harvest the largest of the veg keeping the smaller remaining bulbs in the ground, removing the larger ones then gives more space for the smaller bulbs to develop and you get a bigger crop. 

    2. Successional planting, if you have seedlings that are big and ready to go into the ground just as you harvest other crops such as new potatoes you will get a lot more produce. 

    Charles Dowding is great for advice on this on Youtube with his small veg patch/garden videos.

    Edit: I liked the video btw, good production values, your intro sounds very much like GrowVeg (on youtube) intro! Some good advice though. Can't help but feel you joined to promote your youtube channel but hey ho and to be fair your content was decent  :)

    Also I think you should focus content around what people will be doing this time of year, so the planner was a good idea. Other possible videos could be if you can do basic DIY "how to build a raised bed", "how to build a compost bin from wood pallets", recommendations on propogators or what to do if you don't have one and want to start seedlings early (airing cupboard/window ledge etc). I also think it might be helpful to devote a small part of your allotment to a "veg patch" where you see how much you can grow that year in a small space (similar to a small garden) and give advice on that, I think then you would capture a lot of people who want an allotment but are on a waiting list and want to try grow something at least. 
  • garyoneill65garyoneill65 Posts: 7
    Thank you very much for your response Koyunkano, some really good points.

    It is sometimes tough to get time on an allotment or in the garden especially where you you have young children.  My kids are not young anymore, but they still keep me busy, especially now that I have grandchildren which I adore.  I'm building a small sand pit on the allotment to encourage my grandkids to enjoy the great outdoors, plus when I get too old I will have someone to do the digging for me!

    There is some great information out there in relation to how to use your space efficiently.  Charles Dowding puts out some really good information and I've picked up quite a few tips from watching his videos.

    To be honest my main motivation for joining the forum was to share my experience (as far as I have) but also to get into contact with like minded people and to keep on learning.  I suppose the fact that I have a new YouTube channel was also another reason for joining so that I can share with others and help them too.  I really appreciate your comments about my videos.  Funny enough, I recorded when I made my compost bins (out of pallets) last year but have not put this out as a video yet!

    I'm planning to try different veg and different varieties for next year and have ordered some seeds from a new supplier, so I may do something with this to show how they get on.  I like the ideas for utilizing small spaces and that is something I will definitely look at.

    Thank you once again for your comments which are really interesting and helpful.
  • koyukanokoyukano Posts: 72
    You're more than welcome and good look with your channel. Funnily enough I built a sand pit in our back garden for my 2 little ones out of some sleepers and they were in it all summer, I am sure youre grandchildren will love it. I'm getting my lad into veg growing now so he can help out a bit when he is older and he loves seeing the seeds he has planted grow and it encourages them to eat there veg if they have grown it themselves! 
  • the tidy gardenerthe tidy gardener Posts: 591
    I'm planning on growing my fruit and veg in containers next year.ive had a veg plot but got fed up with it! So put in raised beds which I love but instead of veg I used them for unusual herbs which I got from our local 17th century manor house.theyre a real talking point for people.but I still want to grow fruit and veg.ive just bought a patio raspberry so am hoping that will do ok.i used to have a few canes and do miss them.i do like a change in my garden.wish it was bigger!!
  • garyoneill65garyoneill65 Posts: 7
    edited December 2020
    Thank you for your comment @the tidy gardener Herbs are always great to grow and always welcome in the kitchen, so I can see why you like growing them.  I also love raspberries and I have a few new canes to transplant from the current crop.  I've always done well with raspberries which are one of those fruit that don't require a great deal of work but always seems to produce a good harvest.
Sign In or Register to comment.