[liz from the fizz]

Theres just us two and the cats and they aren't fond of veg, so how do I work out how much to plant,sow and grow.?

[muntjac]

ok this is the hardest part of veggie growing . me i sow a row of every thing , i sow a full row of cabbages and cut them at different stages of growth you can do the same with most things  carrots i sow 4 weeks apart and pul them when i feel the tops and they are about 3/4 inch across you have so many different carrots that mature at different times as well. onions you have to leave till they mature but you can grow spring onions to cover you . you have to think of  what you will use up fresh what can be dried or frozen .cooked and frozen .look at what you want to grow ,how fast it will mature ,can you eat it smaler and let the rest mature ? .  

[liz from the fizz]

When I was a kid the spuds used to over winter in a potato clamp, can i make one of these and how do i go about it.?

[muntjac]

if i was you i would only grow tatties as new ones ,with the price of them nowadays it really has no value in growing loads to see the winter through , but a clamp is made by piling up the potatoes on a bed of straw about a foot deep solid , then put more straw on top about 2 ft or so deep .then pile soil over the straw , you can just pile straw on them but it will blow away ina wind n make a mess . so i have used soil before

[GrannieAnnie]

Then you work out how many cabbages 2 of you will eat in a year and plant them, and along come all the pests and ruin loads so you don't have enough.  the next year you plant twice as many and get no pests and you have a glut of everything!!! lol

I rekindled my interest in growing my own veg again 4 years ago when we moved to Lincolnshire, and things get a bit better every year, but I am still learning.  One thing I really must get better is successional sowing.  Last year I planted loads thinking that I'll probably ose a lot of stuff, but ended up with too much that was ready all in one go, and ran out of room for later stuff.  At one point I had over 200 tomato plants, but luckily I found homes for quite a few so only grew 117.  I still have about 80lbs of chopped tomatoes in the freezer!!!!!  

But, better too much than not enough, and you will soon find out how much you and your OH will need, plus giving some to family and friends.

Good luck with it anyway, and keep us posted on how its going.

[noshed]

You can never have too many courgette plants...

[GrannieAnnie]

Mmmmm, that one's open to debate!!!  I've still got loads of them in the freezer too!!  

[supersprout]

I start with what we might eat in season, and from store, per week - then multiply up for a month's yield, then use one of the online yield calculators (e.g. to approximately grow enough.

I think it helps to sow in succession where you can - I sow about 25 carrots per fortnight during the growing season, and if it looks like that's below/above what we'll need, I sow more or less next time.

And then there are growing conditions - it's never an exact science! If you keep notes each year, you get better at it

Edited Link

[Eristic]

This is an area where each and every one of us gets it wrong on something every year and is an old comedian's standing joke. The comment about the courgettes was probably a joke all by itself as they were coming out of our ears last summer.

Making a list of your current consumption is a good start but remember our crops have to be consumed or preserved before they go past their best. Bear in mind that there is little control over size and products may be far larger than you are used to.

Potatoes and onions keep well if harvested and stored properly, while roots such as carrot, parsnip, swede and jerusalem artichoke will remain in the ground unharmed throughout the winter.

As a guide, may I suggest no more than 3 or 4 courgette plants, and a similar number of sprouting broccoli or curly kale and 10 runner beans grown on a wigwam of canes will out-bean you.

[shaun]

so this is where the F1 types come in ,when you sow/plant them they will be all ready around the same time (within a week)
where as open pollinated seeds they will mature more randomly  say 1-4 weeks between one and another

[Mysteryjimbo]

I'm just going to give my extra away to my mother-in-law (to be) and my elderly neighbours.

My bit for the community.  

[shaun]

thats all i do mate theres always some one who is looking for a courgette  
but this year i'm not giving any spuds away(appart from my lovely ma-in-law) only got half a sack left now  

[supersprout]

When I was a kid the spuds used to over winter in a potato clamp, can i make one of these and how do i go about it.?

You can make large or small clamps, with mixed roots or one type of root in a large pot. My clamps are in the cold greenhouse. Maincrop spuds do better in a paper sack in the shed! Nowadays I use straw for 'packing', I find it neater and cleaner than compost, peat or soil. The main problem is keeping vermin and slugs out, so lids (preferably with a weight on) are a good idea. Recently I've started to line the large clamps with woven plastic to deter slugs and meece. Ensure the veggies aren't touching each other, and are separated by 'packing'.

We go down to the plot once or twice a week with a bucket and harvest from the clamps, put some straw around the roots, and the bucket of roots stays fresh outside the front door - close to the kitchen.

The method is something like this:

[muntjac]

great picture sprout just the job to describe my wafflings lolo  

[Mysteryjimbo]

Thats useful to know, i shall be constructing one at the end of summer then.