Veggie Patches

[clareybel]

Year 2 of veg patch and still loads to learn! Can anyone tell me how i can stop Mr Fox from wrecking things. He's dug up my onions and started on my potatoes now. Tomatoes have been demolished too, its very disheartening. I'd rather not look at plastic netting, but if thats the only solution then so be it.
Compost...We seem to create loads of compostable waste, more than we can pile up. I have called a halt at the mo, what should we be doing to the compost pile? (I say we, but it wont be me, as I'm sure the thing will be snake infested!)
Rocket...grew far too much, its now gone to the most lovely tall flowers, any use for it now?
I find this ironic, I'm trying to be all greeny, yet I create plastic waste by buying big plastic bags of growing stuff!
Oh and to top it all my curly kale is ready now and wasnt supposed to be until Oct/Nov. Anyone got a barbie recipe for Kale??????

[nantotwins]

Its cheaper to grow from seed but time consumming. Trouble is you usually end up with far more plants than are needed. At the Allotment they all swap plants which helps.
I must admit OH has bought runnerbean this year because they were only £1 for 10 plants. Saved buying the seeds and compost.
He turns the Compost to aeriate it often put layers of newspaper in there too. I think he has a couple on the go and as the 2nd one settles he uses what has been made.
Cant help with foxes, how about Vandals!!

[clareybel]

Thanks for the compost tip, I shall make that suggestion to OH...no come to think of it I will tell him thats what he should be doing!
I did start off quite a few of the veggies as seeds, and we brought one of those plastic thingy's with shelves, but taking in to account the cost of buying the seeds, compost, car travel, car parking etc I'm not sure its cheaper or better for the enviroment growing my own. though I must say I do feel immensly proud of my courgette and sweetcorn plants I grew from seed they do look quite spectacular, whether they yield or nor is a different story

[GrannyHaggis]

My cucmber plants seem to have developed a life off their own with tendrils out all over the place !
GrannyHaggis

[Aggie]

how are you all getting on with the veggie growing ? Ithink everything is late this year , I am usually giving away tomatoes at this stage but they are not ripening this year , got some butternut squashes which are not fruiting !!they have lovely big yellow flowers which fall off

[nantotwins]

Allotment has been VERY disappointing due to very dry summer here. Last year we had enough potatoes up to Marh, this year so far only 2 bags and they are small. Gladioli and Asters all dried up, onions not worth bothering about. Tomatoes excellent, sorry Aggie! as are cucmbers and courgettes.Carrots are a very strange distorted shape!

[clareybel]

Went on holday leaving a thriving mass of curly kale, to come back to bare stalks, completely decimated by caterpillars. Spectacular looking sweetcorn as tall as me, I felt very rewarded for my efforts until I saw in sainsburys 2 sweetcorns in their kernals for a pound....I've got about 4 kernals left now after wind blew the plants all over. Not a carrot in sight, potatoes raided by the fox, onions mysteriously disappeared.
The time, the cost, the water is it worth it? I'm not sure, my only success is very freaky looking giant courgettes, they are meant to be little courgettes but are bigger than marrows.....I'm writing a book "5 million and one ways with courgettes" followed by the sequel "death by courgette"

Me green? nope very red!

[Aggie]

oh dear , so my crop of green tomatoes seems quite good now I make soup from giant courgettes , my SIL grows courgettes and I mop up the huge ones , they only use the proper size ones , the soup is quite green but tastes good and it's healthy

[nantotwins]

Theres only SO many courgettes you can eat!! Its got to the point that when I see OH coming in with a bag of "goodies" I start trying to think of who I can offload it all too..

Ok wise women---what has eaten the leaves off of my favourite rose and the leaves are curling????

[Granny Goggins]

I know the feeling about courgettes and at the current time runner beans,now I adore runner beans but not every day Alot of our produce is given to family and friends,the once courgettes -now marrows are a firm favourite of my friend.Our only disaster this year was we had carrot fly and lost the lot. Hubby plants pots with the grandbabies every year,they so look forward to coming around and picking their produce,this year it was french beans. Afraid I have nothing to do with the veggie patch,Im the flower lady in this house.