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+--- Thread: 2023 - Plans & Hopes (/showthread.php?tid=1744)
RE: 2023 - Plans & Hopes - toomanytommytoes - 10-12-2023
(09-11-2022, 08:07 PM)toomanytommytoes Wrote: The big recycling bins and 50 L pots (except for the 3 potato ones) will be converted to wicking containers, which proved so successful with the bush tomatoes. The wicking containers require less frequent watering, the compost stays consistently moist and doesn't shrink away from the sides, there is much less water waste through run off and if I put enough organic fertiliser in at the start they shouldn't require any feeding. This means the cucumbers, celery, courgettes and bush winter squash should all do better and require less looking after.
I am going to grow all of the peppers in the ground instead of pots. Making the potting mix and filling the pots is tough work and growing in the ground instead means I can really reduce my use of perlite, bagged compost and chemical fertiliser. Sweet peppers also need a lot of water in pots, much more so than chillies, and I find frequent watering such a chore.
The outdoor plum tomatoes need sturdier supports as when the plants are top heavy with fruit, vertical bamboo canes are no match for 40mph winds.
I want to be better with getting a constant supply of kohlrabi, spring onions and lettuce.
The tree roots of next door's silver birch are invading the greenhouse borders and 3 of the raised beds. In the height of summer the tree sucks all of the water out of the soil. In the raised beds this bakes the soil into a crust so any water runs off down the sides and doesn't penetrate the surface. To rewet the soil I have to break up the tough layer and rub the water in by hand. Dry soil means stressed plants which makes them more vulnerable to pests. I am going to have to dig a trench and put some sort of root barrier down along the wall which the roots are coming under.
Celery and patty-pan squash did really well in the big recycling bins. I just hate the whole courgette family so I'm thinking of different things to grow in them next year. I grew the cucumbers direct in the greenhouse border because I lifted one of the paving slabs up to make extra room. Bush winter squash went in a raised bed with sweetcorn.
We had four bush tomatoes in the smaller, food waste bin wicking containers. Everything else was in the ground. Such a relief to not have to make hundreds of litres of potting mix. Saved a lot of money on compost too. Half of the greenhouse tomatoes were rubbish this year, whether because it got too hot or disease, I don't know. Next year I'm growing to grow hybrids or graft any heirlooms to disease resistant rootstocks. Peppers got off to a slow start but did well in the end, but I need to find a better way to support them. Both of my jalapenos conked out pretty early with some sort of root rot. I'm still finding watering very boring so I'm looking to put some form of irrigation in the greenhouse borders next year.
The outdoor plums still got top heavy but I reinforced the bamboo frame this year, they still got battered but no breakages.
Constant supply of lettuce and spring onions, pretty much. Kohlrabi no, so I probably need to juggle my space better and do more frequent sowings. The green variety, Olivia, was also rubbish this year and the bulbs were either piddly or malformed.
The roots of that silver birch were spanning the whole length of the greenhouse. I bashed some metal lawn edging down at the back end of the greenhouse, I'll check for roots again before replanting for summer. Raised beds are still drying out very quickly in hot weather. Probably going to find some way to irrigate them too, or at least remember to water them more frequently in heatwaves.