Wednesday, March 9, 2011

How to Grow Vegetables and Plants The Easy Way.

Wednesday 9th March.

Good morning or evening all. On this page I will be trying to tell you about how to grow all different types of plants from summer bedding, vegetable, trees, fruit bushes and much more...

There are many different ways to grow plants one of the best ways is from seeds or cuttings which are each to do once you've had a few goes....

So lets start with something really easy...The Runner Bean... You will need 10 x 10cm plastic pots a smallbag of multi-purpose compost some water and perlite...
  1. Fill the pots 3/4 full of compost 
  2. Then water until moist and leave for 5 minutes.
  3. Then place 2 beans 1 inch apart  about 2 inche deep in each pot.
  4. Cover each pot with 1/2 inch of Pelrlite
  5. Place on a warm shelf in the greenhouse or if you have space on a sunny (but not direct sunlight) window sill.
  6. Check every 2-3 days for watering, keep them moist but not to wet..
  7. The beans should greminate within 1 week.
  8. You will need to pot them on after 1-2 weeks into 1 litre pots.
  9. You can then after 3-4 weeks start to place then outside during the day but remember to bring themin at night..
  10. Plant out after 4 weeks  plant them  6-8 inches apart and place a 6 foot cane in the middle of each pair.Water in well.
  11. Tie them up as they grow, this will be quite quickly so keep an eye on them every couple of days.
  12. Check that they do not dry out in warm / hot weather, best to water first thing in the morning of late evening..
  13. Once to beans start to appear keep an eye on them, when they get to around 8-10inches long and look plump it's time to pick them..
  14. Remember to pull up the plant after they have finished producing beans you can compost the bean stalks.
  15. You could leave a few beans on the stalk to save for next year take them off just before removing the stalks from your vegetable patch and store in a  dry frost free place...
So I know it looks like a lot to do but it's very straight forward and very easy to do...

So I hope you manage to get some runner beans growing this year just folow my tips and see how you go...
Lady Sarah.

5 comments:

  1. Wednesday 9th March.

    Let's see what esle I can think of thats fairly easy to grow from seeds.

    Let's try broccoli.
    1. you can sow broccoli straight outside from March to June...
    2. To prepare the seed bed, rake until the siol is quite fine then will the back of the rake tamp downthe soil so it is quite firm.
    3. Water the soil and leave for a 5 minutes so it will soak in to the soil.
    4. Sow the seeds thinly on the surface and then cover with 1 inch of multi-purpose compost.
    5. Then lightly water again and tamp down the soil again with the rake.
    6. cove area with protection fleece after about 7 days and if no germination recover and check again in another 7 days...
    7. Raise the cover slightly when they seeds have germinated and firm the soil around each plant.
    8. After a few weeks of growing thin out the plants so they are arond 1 foot apart, you can replant some of the seedling you removed to fill in any gaps...
    9.you could also pot up a few of your thinings
    and keep in resevre just in case you need to replace any of your plants...Keep them well watered.
    10. your crop will be ready to harvest from November through until at least Feb. / March the following year.
    Lady Sarah.

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  2. Thursday 10th March.

    Well as the weather is starting to warm up a bit now it's time to start thinking about planting seeds straight outside.

    So lets try lettuce they are very easy to grow.
    You will need. A rake, 2 short canes and a length of string, watering cane with a fine rose, some lettuce seeds and 1 litre of Multi-purpose compost (MPC).Protection fleece.

    So lets start.
    1. Rake the soil until it is fine , like bread crumbs.
    2. Place the 2 canes at either end of the row with string tied between them, put the string at soil level.
    3. Make a drill (line) with the side of the rake draw it towards you follow the string line yu made.
    4. Sow the lettuce seeds quite thinly along the line try to space them at least 3-5 inches apart.
    5. Cover with the MPC and gently firm down with the back of the rake.
    6. Water and cover with the protection fleece.

    Check after 1 week to see if any have germinated if so lift up the fleece to at least 6 inches above the seedlings and give them a gentle watering again, you willneed to check daily now to see if they seedling need watering, but do not over water, as this will make the lettuce bolt and ruin your crop.

    After 14 - 21 days you will need to thin out the seedlings to around 6-8 inches apart,depending on the type you chooose to grow...
    By the end of May you can start to remove the protection fleece and let them grow with out any protection.

    You will need to check regularly for weeds remove them as soon as they are big enough to handle around 1-2 inche in size.
    And water as and when needed.

    Pick when they are big enough...check seed packets for size of plant. and remember to keep sowing new seeds every 2-3 weeks so you'll have fresh lettuce all summer. And if you want to grow them all year. there are a few good varieties you can grow.
    From end August onwards you will need to give them some protection under a cloche or in a bed in the greenhouse will do just fine...and remember again to keep sowing them every few weeks so you will have the whole year. The best variety for growing is called "All Year Round".

    So go on have a go this weekend , and they are very easy to grow and very tasty too.
    Lady Sarah.

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  3. Friday 18th March.

    Well seeing as it's almost the weekend and it looks like we could have a really nice one too...
    I thought that tonight I'd talk about growing Tomato's...They are quite easy to grow, just follow these few easy steps...What you will need.
    a, tomato seeds
    b, multi-purpose potting compost
    c, 2 x 10cm plastic pots
    d, watering can..with water in it...
    e, pen and labels.
    f, fine vermiculite
    g, 2 x plastic bags,big enough to cover the pots.

    1.Choose whether you want to grow your crop inside or out...as there are so many different varieties to choose from for both...
    2. Now is a good time to sow your tomato seeds, so here we go.
    3. Fill your 2 pots to the top and then lightly firm down the compost and water, let them stand for a few minutes until the water has soaked in well...
    4. Sow around the pot about 5-8 seeds per pot.
    5. Cover the seeds with 1/4 of an inch of fine vermiculite.
    6. Place each pot in a clear plastic bag, seal the top and place on a sunny but not direct sun windowsill or in a heated greenhouse..or if you have a heated propagator do not place in the plastic bag..just straight into the propagator check after a couple of days to see if they need a light watering..
    7. After 7-14 days you should have had some germination, leave for a week before you pot them on in to individual pots (10cm).
    8. Once potted up check for watering regulary and when you can see the roots at the bottom of the 10cm pot it is time to plant out you tomato plants...
    9. Once the plants have been place in there growing area check for watering daily as they will need alot to make them grow...
    10. DO NOT USE PLANT FEED UNTIL THE FLOWERS HAVE STARTED TO OPEN...
    11. After 6-8 weeks you should start to be able to pick your first crops of tomato...
    Good Luck...Lady Sarah.

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  4. Monday 28th March.

    Today we are going to look at Hautli "Rainbow Mix" This is rather a rare plant and I managed to get 30 seeds recently and it is very easy to grow...and yes there will be some for sale on the 11th June....
    The Haulti plant was grown my the Aztec over 2000 years ago. It ia known as a super food as there is so much you can do with it, once your plant has flowered you let it set seed, the seeds are what you eat, you can add them to museli or your homemade bread mixture and you can put them in salads. It has many health uses low in fats and carbohydrates and has antixiedents as well....Each plant will produce 100,000 seeds so you will have an endless supply ove rthe next few years...Lady Sarah.

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  5. Thursday 31st March.

    Growing peas.
    Peas are such an easy vegetable to grow you will need.
    1, Rake.
    2, Peas seeds.
    3, 4 x 4 foot canes
    4, ball of garden string.
    5, Watering can full of water.

    A, Firstly you need to prepare the area that you are going to sow the peas seeds in.

    B, Rake the soil / compost until it is quite fine.

    C, You need an area around 1 foot wide by how ever long your vegetable beds are.

    D, With the back of the rake pull the soil in to a drill as wide as the rake around 1 - 2 inches deep.

    E, Sow the pea seeds 3 in a row across the drill
    push in just under the surface of the soil / compost.

    F, them push back the soil / compost from the sides of the drill.

    G, Water in well.Use a fine rose on the end of your watering can.

    H, Place the 4 canes at each corner of the drill and tie the string around each cane to make a retangular frame, with the tring around 6 inches up the canes from the ground and do the same again at 9 and 12 inches up the cane. You may also want to put a run of string down the centre of the canes too, this will help the centre row of peas to grow up...

    I, Keep a check for weeds while the peas seedlings are small and pull up any that grow around them..

    J, As they get bigger you can hoe around them, as they get bigger you will have to keep a check on the watering do not let them dry out as this can damage the peas and they may grow deformed.
    You'll need to water them daily if it gets hot,try to water first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening.

    L, You should also watch out for slugs and snails munching the young peas shoots, fill a small jam jar around half full with cheap beer. and bury it so the rim is at surface level the slugs and snails like the smell and fall in to the beer trap. You can also gather them up by hand put in a container and take them away from your garden, They can escape from rubbish bins So becareful where you put them as they will return again and again...
    Your home grown peas will taste really sweet and remember if you have lots of the pick them in the evening, pod, the blance them in boiling water, place in plastic bags and freeze...They will atill taste just as sweet after a few months in the freezer and you'll have some to eat during the winter too... Lady Sarah.

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