2024 - Plans and Hopes

What do you hope to do on your plot in 2024? 
Aims, ambitions, plans?

2023 thread https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1744

I want to get my little tunnel up and have to , I’m sowing chillies tomorrow   .
More cottage garden beds dug and planted.
Hopefully start on some of the veggie beds.
Get lots of drainage in.

I will elaborate more when I know   

I want to expand my veg growing area and grow more food.
I need the LIttle Shop at the end of the garden to have more products available.
I hope to spend very little (preferably nothing) on the garden. I'm about to turn into the Moneyless Gardener.

I would like to increase the amount of dahlias I grow. I covered a small patch of grass last year but its not going to be enough. So i may try to dig a couple more beds.
I love the idea of using lots of perennial plants for cutting but they cost .... so I will look at those easy to start from seed that give good return for the space.

Scarlet, I'm no good at Dahlia cuttings but I find it's easy to at least double the stock each year by carefully dividing the tubers. If you can keep them alive over winter, that is...

Scarlet, I'm no good at Dahlia cuttings but I find it's easy to at least double the stock each year by carefully dividing the tubers. If you can keep them alive over winter, that is...

I do split my tubers and last year I had some success with dahlia cuttings.... although the year before I lost most of my tubers due to the wet then the freeze here, was -12 for days and the tubers were still water logged. This year they look ok...bug would like more varieties  its a bit addictive 
Though all suggestions for perennial flowering plants that are good for cutting that I can do from seed are welcome! I started a bed of eryngium last year, that looks good. I bought alstromeria - but they were privey...and Ive invested in peony tubers, so Im looking for some cheaper options

My hopes for this year are first of all to continue with good health that I am sure gardening is a big help towards.

I would also like to get my vegetable plots under control. They have got a bit unruly in the last few years. Also the flower borders but I think nature is winning hands down. I'm amazed at how far underground some roots will travel before surfacing. Damson/greengage have travelled 6' to 10' underground and couch grass at least 5'. Winter is the time of year to get on top of things but weeds are nearly impossible to remove from very wet soil and when it is freezing nearly everything is impossible. I've been trying to clear an old asparagus bed populated now with bramble, nettles, couch and damson mainly but still not been able to finish it off. In the cold spell, I've washed the inside of a small greenhouse with Jeyes fluid but doubt that will clear all the spider mite it was infested with. I would be quite happy with the same yield of produce as last year with may be a few more brassicas.

Here is the old asparagus patch before I started with suckering damson/greengages in the middle..

   

My hopes for this year are first of all to continue with good health that I am sure gardening is a big help towards.

I would also like to get my vegetable plots under control. ...

Well the first part was achieved - I'm still here. The 'garden' wilderness though is as bad/worse than ever. But I've had an ample, and continuing supply of beetroot, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, cabbage, broccoli, peas, courgettes, cucumber and tomatoes now at last. Hopefully will get a good crop of tomatoes, just 8kg so far though.

The wood pigeons/squirrels and may be crows now are getting more voracious than ever on the fruit side:

Plums, damsons, cherries:none  plums is wood pigeons, cherries is squirrels
Pears, about 3 on 6 trees.  mainly wood pigeons but some squirrels
Apple katy, most stollen/eaten. probably pigeons, crows and squirrels
Early raspberries lots eaten and plants damaged by squirrels mainly.

Picking raspberries now and harvested lots of black/red currants, strawberries and gooseberries.

Crops still in the ground are parsnips, carrots leek and some brassicas.  I need to find somewhere to plant out garlic now for next year.

View of typical area of veg. plot courgettes near front and African basil flowering.

   

I want to expand my veg growing area and grow more food.
I need the LIttle Shop at the end of the garden to have more products available.
I hope to spend very little (preferably nothing) on the garden. I'm about to turn into the Moneyless Gardener.

I've expanded the growing area and the intention to grow more food was there. However, Mother Nature had different plans to me and the Little shop has been very poorly stocked this year. 
I have, however, spent very little so I'm happy with that. It'll be more of the same next year.

I want to get my little tunnel up and have to , I’m sowing chillies tomorrow   .
More cottage garden beds dug and planted.
Hopefully start on some of the veggie beds.
Get lots of drainage in.

I will elaborate more when I know   

I did get my little tunnel up. Chillies are doing ok.
I did get a couple more cottage garden beds planted and the year isn’t over yet .
epic fail on everything else! 

What the hell have I been doing all year!? That’s very unimpressive seeing it written down!