HELP!!!! A very kind neighbour has delivered to my doorstep 6 'runner bean' plants. They are established but I have no idea how to grow them. There is no room in my garden so am I able to put them into grow bags 2 to each bag? do they need a lot of tending?
many thanks. see your point about the depth. we have managed to find a fenced area so will put the 6 plants in there. how far apart do they have to be and can i just put canes behind them and garden string for them to grow against? have also bought J I compost to dig in first as soul is heavy. does that sound about right? thanks.
Robbie, if the soil is heavy and clay-like, then sharp sand (from a builders merchants, or somewhere like wickes) is good to start, as it will help with drainage, and any organic matter, like well-rotted farm yard manure, or compost, or cheapish grow-bags is great. With JI, what number did you buy? As a rule this is how it should be used:
JI number 1 seeds and cuttings
JI number 2 potting on seedlings
JI number 3 mature established plants.
When I first started out I bought John Harrison's veg growing month-by-month, it was about a fiver from Amazon, and worth every penny. It explains stuff that I complete beginner (like I was a couple of years ago) can understand, and tells you what you should be doing in your veg plot every month (although this will vary from area to area, and in years like this year, everything is about a month behind because of the awful winter we had). You can sit and read cover-to-cover, dip into it at will, or look stuff up. Is the best gardening book I've bought yet. It explains about plants that like acid or alkaline soil, how to test your soil, adding lime to increase it's alkalinity for things like cabbages, caulis and sprouts that like it that way.
A good tip for blueberries (and anything else that likes acid soil, like azleas and camellias) is to water with cold black tea if no rainwater available - tea is acidic and does contain other nutrients that they will appreciate. Next time you make a cuppa, either empty the teapot (when it's cooled down!), or if you're a heathen like me, put the used tea-bag in another cup, and pour hot water over it and let it stew. Make sure you explain to your OH that it's for blueberries - I've had him drink it before and ask why there were 2 teabags in the bottom and it tasted stewed!!
Hi M M P - thanks so much for all those tips like the idea of the tea - our dog drinks our left over tea at the mo with a drop of milk !!!
We have actually bought J I multi purpose compost.. any good!!! Will also check out Amazon.sounds as if its what i need as I love the idea of growing as much fresh fruit/veg as i can but obviously its not as straight forward as I thought!!
Compost is a hotly debated subject on the forum, as there's so much rubbish about! JI should be good, but people have had mixed results with the JI compost. I very recently found a garden centre tucked away in the area (so many have shut down), very basic with one big greenhouse and compost stacked on pallets, but full of healthy plants at affordable prices, and none of the tat you usually find at the big chains. This forum is full of people that are passionate about gardening and know loads. If I've ever had a question (and I have had lots), somone on here always knows the answer. The only daft question on here is do you want a cup of tea?!!
Hi Verdun, Robbie was also asking about runner beans - ericaceous won't do runners any good at all, hence the advice about planting near the fence and using canes!
Once you start this gardening lark, you find yourself being given all manner of strange things. I've given away plug plants, jiffy pellets, and copper tape to name but a few. I've also gone skip diving (with owners' permission) for plant pots and planters!
You're right about the compost, with blueberries, cranberries, azeleas, rhododendrons etc needing proper ericaceous stuff. Are there any other berries that need ericaceous? I know strawberries and rasperries don't, what about all varieies of currant - asking as I've recently bought a blackcurrant and it looks as it's doing OK in ordinary clover MPC.
Posts
I have just dug in - in eron. soil two blueberry plants, raspberry and i have a growing blackberry.
I threw in some nice manure, sand/pebbles for drainage / seaweed power / fish,blood n bone / blood / potash and covered up with a nice mulch.
I wait and I wonder if anything materialises.
wow garjobo - should think you will get a bumper crop - good luck.
HELP!!!! A very kind neighbour has delivered to my doorstep 6 'runner bean' plants. They are established but I have no idea how to grow them. There is no room in my garden so am I able to put them into grow bags 2 to each bag? do they need a lot of tending?
Please any advice is welcomed.
Robbie.
many thanks. see your point about the depth. we have managed to find a fenced area so will put the 6 plants in there. how far apart do they have to be and can i just put canes behind them and garden string for them to grow against? have also bought J I compost to dig in first as soul is heavy. does that sound about right? thanks.
Robbie, if the soil is heavy and clay-like, then sharp sand (from a builders merchants, or somewhere like wickes) is good to start, as it will help with drainage, and any organic matter, like well-rotted farm yard manure, or compost, or cheapish grow-bags is great. With JI, what number did you buy? As a rule this is how it should be used:
JI number 1 seeds and cuttings
JI number 2 potting on seedlings
JI number 3 mature established plants.
When I first started out I bought John Harrison's veg growing month-by-month, it was about a fiver from Amazon, and worth every penny. It explains stuff that I complete beginner (like I was a couple of years ago) can understand, and tells you what you should be doing in your veg plot every month (although this will vary from area to area, and in years like this year, everything is about a month behind because of the awful winter we had). You can sit and read cover-to-cover, dip into it at will, or look stuff up. Is the best gardening book I've bought yet. It explains about plants that like acid or alkaline soil, how to test your soil, adding lime to increase it's alkalinity for things like cabbages, caulis and sprouts that like it that way.
A good tip for blueberries (and anything else that likes acid soil, like azleas and camellias) is to water with cold black tea if no rainwater available - tea is acidic and does contain other nutrients that they will appreciate. Next time you make a cuppa, either empty the teapot (when it's cooled down!), or if you're a heathen like me, put the used tea-bag in another cup, and pour hot water over it and let it stew. Make sure you explain to your OH that it's for blueberries - I've had him drink it before and ask why there were 2 teabags in the bottom and it tasted stewed!!
Hi M M P - thanks so much for all those tips like the idea of the tea - our dog drinks our left over tea at the mo with a drop of milk !!!
We have actually bought J I multi purpose compost.. any good!!! Will also check out Amazon.sounds as if its what i need as I love the idea of growing as much fresh fruit/veg as i can but obviously its not as straight forward as I thought!!
Compost is a hotly debated subject on the forum, as there's so much rubbish about! JI should be good, but people have had mixed results with the JI compost. I very recently found a garden centre tucked away in the area (so many have shut down), very basic with one big greenhouse and compost stacked on pallets, but full of healthy plants at affordable prices, and none of the tat you usually find at the big chains. This forum is full of people that are passionate about gardening and know loads. If I've ever had a question (and I have had lots), somone on here always knows the answer. The only daft question on here is do you want a cup of tea?!!
Hi Verdun, Robbie was also asking about runner beans - ericaceous won't do runners any good at all, hence the advice about planting near the fence and using canes!
Once you start this gardening lark, you find yourself being given all manner of strange things. I've given away plug plants, jiffy pellets, and copper tape to name but a few. I've also gone skip diving (with owners' permission) for plant pots and planters!
You're right about the compost, with blueberries, cranberries, azeleas, rhododendrons etc needing proper ericaceous stuff. Are there any other berries that need ericaceous? I know strawberries and rasperries don't, what about all varieies of currant - asking as I've recently bought a blackcurrant and it looks as it's doing OK in ordinary clover MPC.