[hereshoping]

Hi,
I wrote a message earlier but it got deleted apparantly   but Lesley you answered most things so thank you so much!!

A few more things I wondered tho, how do you all know (when you first start out) what you can grow, being July, the weather hot but obv raining now and then, I would have thought it would be a great time to start growing things but how do you know whats going to grow and whats not? We have two young children (3 and 7) so we need to make sure this new hobby doesnt cost too much!! We are loving being down there but want to make it work too.

Would these grow if we planted now:

Carrots
Runner Beans
Onions
Peppers

Also what fruits would work now? We have a space where apple and pear trees are being grown, then there is another space where you have an apple tree and then earth and then a redcurrant and black currant tree, what would you suggest putting in the earth thats in between? I was going to put rhubarb but was told this wont grow now, any other suggestions please would be great!

Also, do all things need watering? We have onions and potatoes down there now that we found under the weeds and overgrown mess, do these need watering? Silly questions to you all I am sure but I am a complete novice at this!!

Many thanks for taking the time to read,

Helen

[mumofstig]

Apologies once again 

Here's the site's sowing and harvest chart, which is a great help I think
http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/general/sowing-harvest-vegetable-chart.php


You can see from the chart that it is ok to sow carrots now, a few runner beans may catch up and give you a crop before the cold kills them...see what the others think

[Yorkie]

Some of what you can grow will depend on your local conditions.  Carrots don't grow well on my clay soil but leeks thrive.  Have a look around at what others grow locally for some ideas.

I think it's the wrong time of year to start off onions and peppers.

Re. the space you mention between the apple tree and the currant bushes - how big is this space, how big is the tree, and how far from the tree does the space extend?  It can be difficult to grow much right underneath a tree given the competition for light, water and nutrients. 

Rhubarb might be OK - it will simply settle itself for next year, it's too late to get anything from it this year.

As for watering, not a bad idea for spuds.  I can't remember what people generally say about onions.

[hereshoping]

Thank you so much for your replies.

The potatoes that are there, I think they must have been planted last year so does that mean this year, I need to make sure I dont plant them in the same place?

Also, there are a lot of ants in between the onions and the potatoes, is this ok? It might be because I dug up a lot of it in between to get the weeds out but there were millions! 

So (as some of you are far more experienced in this than me) were to acquire a plot this month, had rotivated and prepared all the soil, what would be the things you would be planting? I am not worried if I dont get anything from it this year, I just dont want to plant it look after it and then nothing ever comes out of it as the winter kills it if you see what I mean! Then from your list I could pick the ones we like, I have learnt from reading posts on here not to plant things you dont actually want to eat!!

I really want to get planting!!

Thanks again for your advice,

Helen

[Yorkie]

Look at the sowing chart earlier in the thread for stuff to start off now.  You will probably find a few plants left at B&Q, garden centres or car boot sales (but only buy brassicas such as caulis or broccoli if it's in clean compost) to plant out.

[digalotty]

if we have a good august and september you may do ok with your beans , most salad crops are ok,  and if you put some beetroot in this should be alright and swiss chard and perpetual spinach will be good as they will give you something in early spring as well as this year

[hereshoping]

Thats great, thank you!!

I did see some tomato plants in B&Q the other day, do you just plant them straight into the ground then? Sorry I am such a novice at this!!

Thanks so much for your replies everyone,

Helen

[Yorkie]

Yep, bung them in.  Or in pots.  I add extra fertiliser to get them going, and then feed them with tomato fertiliser once the first truss (set of flowers / fruit) has set i.e. you can see mini green tomatoes starting to develop.

They may need staking, depending on variety.