Hello from Birmingham (UK)

[amortize]

Hi folks,

I am just saying "hello" from Birmingham.

Fairly new to growing stuff to eat. We tried a few things last year, grown in pots and had a little bit of success with the potatoes and courgettes, but little else (the tomatoes all got blight and died, the root veg didn't really form roots). We think we learned something from our mistakes: not everything works in pots, and we didn't thin things out enough.

This year we dug the garden over completely and improved the soil, and we're having another go. Two whole rows of spuds this time, rather than a couple of pots. We're trying runner beans, french beans, beetroot, lettuce, rocket, onions, leeks and sweetcorn. And we're trying again with tomatoes in pots and hoping the blight doesn't get them this year! I don't expect everything will work, but I hope something will. We've at least got a decent lettuce harvest already, and plenty of rocket coming up. And a couple of yummy strawberries (they all rotted last year).

[MKG]

Hi Amortize

Keep trying - it WILL come right.

[amortize]

Thanks!

I think we'll get to learn what does and what does not work for us, and avoid some of the mistakes. I'm hopeful that we'll have a better year than last year, anyway...

[Ratty]

Hi there. Welcome aboard!

Its great to hear that last year's crop problems didn't dishearten you for this year! I only managed to grow spuds in my raised bed last year because I was heavily pregnant when we moved here, then with a baby things were too chaotic! But this year we have things sprouting up everywhere. Oh and slugs enjoying a feast too!

Be sure to keep us posted on how everything does. Good luck!

[amortize]

Thanks Ratty!

With last years rains we figured it wasn't really a typical year so it wasn't too disheartening (a lot of people I knew had blight trouble last year, for example), and we think we have worked out at least some of what we did wrong.

Glad your patch is going well!

[red]

welcome

[tim&fatima]

Hello amortize, welcome to the madhouse

[Thurston Garden]

Ahoy amortize!

[amortize]

Thanks Thurston Garden, red and Tim&Fatima !

Ratty, you did say to keep posted on progress, so here goes... We harvested the first beetroot yesterday. Very nice :-)

[Rosendula]

Hi,

[amortize]

Hi Rosendula :-)

Another small progress report, we harvested our early spuds today, or the first of them.

Going to have them boiled, with some of our beetroot and out own lettuce. OK, and a veggie burger from the supermarket, heh!

[Berti]

hi amortize , a heartfelt welcome from netherlands too :)
berti

[Millymollymandy]

Hello and welcome!

[hedgewitch]

[vicki]

Hello! I'm another newbie, living just down the road from you in Solihull!