[webby139]

Hi all,

Just a few questions from a real novice really.

Butternut squash,
I have them heavily protected in large poly type tunnel. I can open this when ever i want as i built hinges onto it. Other than water and feeding 1 or 2 times per week with tomato feed - Is there anything else i should be doing.

Chillis and Peppers,
I have these in large pots & grow bags in the green house. Other than feeding (what should i feed these with ?) and watering is there anything else i should be doing. i.e. thining out or do i let them just grow ??

Cabbages,
I have 10 or so still in my green house. The have about 4-5 small leaves each. Do i transfer straight into the ground or move through the pot sizes as i did with the peppers etc. I take it i let em stand outside for a day or 2 before moving into the ground.
What should i feed these with - anything special required ??

Cucumbers,
I have bought the outdoor type, but my neighbour reckons it's too cold up here (tyne and wear) for these and advised me to put into grow bags and leave in green house. I have done this, placing 2 in each grow bag (4 in total). Is he right, will the grow?? I still have 3 left and was gonna try them outside any way. Anything special needed??

Potatoes,
I have planted some seed potatoes into bags / barrels due to lack of space really. I have them in compost and have the compost moist. Anything else required other than just keep addind more compost when flowers show up ??

Winter Onoins,
My onions are about 1.5 foot tall at present. I have been feeding 1 per week and watering regularly. When do i know there ready ??

I know its a few questions, but i really am a novice and need help from people "in the know".

Thanks in advance,
Keith.

[stompy]

Right,

Squashes will be fine, feed and water well, but when they begin to flower you will need to open the tunnel to let insects in to polinate, or you can hand poinate.

Chillies and peppers, personally i nip out the growing tips once they are around 8" tall on all the stems as this promotes a bushier plant, also don't over water chillies/peppers, they like a drier soil, i would wait until the soil looks dry and then water sparingly.
Feed with a general purpose tomatto feed.

Cabbages/brassicas, you will have to harden them off for a week or so first then plant straight out into the ground, you can do that now as they are hardy.
I personally sprinkle about a tea spoon of lime into the hole as i plant them and feed them with Chicken manure pellets made into a tea.

Cucumbers/outdoor, these are the ones i grow (marketmoor) i grow them in the greenhouse as i feel i get a better crop and they don't get damaged by winds(etc), they will need to be kept well watered but water from the bottom as cucumbers are notoriouse for getting stem rot, especially early on. feed with a general pupose feed.
You can grow them out doors in a sheltered spot but if you have space in the greenhous then i personally would put them in there.

Your doing the right thing with the potatoes although when you have around 12/18" of compost on them don't add anymore and feed and water well.


Winter onions i know nothing about as i've never grown them but im sure some one will know.

Hope this helps

[webby139]

Hi again,

Thanks Stompy for your reply,
BUT,

With regards to the butternut squash - How will i know if they have been polinated or not?
I can open up during the day no probs in decent weather - but is there any signs that will tell me they've been done?

When you say nip out the growing tips, what does this mean?
Currently the chillis / peppers look like very large cress. Some of them have like, well 10-12 in a pot, some have about 4-5. I've been watering quite often if i'm honest, so i'll cur back on that then - Cheers.

When i got back last night - 3 of my cucumbers had died due to the one night of frost in the last 4 weeks or so - typical. So i still have 5 plants in growbags in the green house - i'll see how i go. So when i water, water straight onto the compost - not on the leaves etc??

What do you feed your potatoes with ??
Also, the barrel i have them in is maybe 3 foot tall. So the 12" / 18" you mentioned would only fill 1/3 of the barrel. Is your recomendation still good for this size barrel.

Thanks a lot - as you can tell i need the help.
Look forward to your reply and any others that can help.
Cheers,
A Real Novice,
Webby.

[stompy]

Hi again,

There are 2 types of flower on the squash plant, male and female.
The male flower is just a flower on a slim stem, the female flower has what looks like a tiny squash at the back of it.
When the female flower has been polinated the flower dies off and the squash begins to grow.
You can also hand polinate using the male flower, you pull the male flower from the plant, remove the pettles leaving the middle thin middle part, then poke this into the middle of the female flower and give it a jiggle around gently.
This will transfere some of the pollen into the female flower.

If you still have all your chillies in one pot they need potting on, but you only pot them on when they have one true set of leaves, not just the seed leaves.
Remove the chillies from the pot in one piece then tease them apart keeping as much root and compost around each individual plant, once you have done that get the plant holding it by it's leaf and not the stem then put some compost in the bottom of a new 3" pot and place the seedling into it now place compost around the seedling being very carefull not to damage it and firm it in. thats potting on.
This is the same for any plant that needs potting on.
You nip the growing tips out when the plant reaches 8" to 10"
(go on Youtube and you can see how it's done)

Cucumbers,

So when i water, water straight onto the compost - not on the leaves etc??

Yes

You didn't put the size of barrel that you used for growing the potatoes so i gave you general information.
With that size barrel just keep filling it until you get to within 6" of the top of the barrel.
You can feed them a general purpose fertiliser every couple of weeks but there should be enough neutrients in the compost for them.

[Yorkie]

Webby, can I make a quick suggestion?  You've got a lot of separate questions in your thread.  It's more likely that you'll get the answers you want to all of them if you post each in separate threads in the future, or there's a risk some might get overlooked 

(No need to to anything about this thread, don't worry) 

[webby139]

Hello again,

Advice taken on the threads for the future - thanks.

Stompy,
thanks yet again for your reply.

Potatoes - OK i'll just wait and add the compost as i go - Magic.

Squash - Thanks for that - it makes sense to me now - but  i will look on you tube - If i hadn't have joined this site - the male / female thing would have been a mystery for years. Just green plants and no squash i think.
On one of my plants now has a female flower and the little squash behind it.
No male as yet from your description - I'll just wait.

To be honest - i almost feel like i am watching them grow minute by minute.
Great this growing thing !!!!!!!

On the chillis side i guess i need a little more advice.
I planted the seeds in individual small pots about 1.5 inches wide. Then i removed the whole thing when they germinated and moved into about 4 inch pots. THen when they were about 8-9 cm tall i have moved, again the whole thing into large i think 12" pots.
I have around 8 now in large pots - BUT they have around 4-5 stems with leaves on in each pot. One of my pots has about 10 in.
So with your information below, do i take it in each pot there should only be 1 stem with leaves on Or is this just the chilli / pepper plant growing.

Sorry to be a pain in the backside,
Thanks and look forawrd to hearing from you again,
Webby

[stompy]

Good morning,

There should be 1 chillie plant in each pot.

The more stems per plant the better, you don't grow them as a cordon  like you do a tommato plant.
Chillies grow as bushes.

Stompy

[webby139]

Magic, thats what i have done then,
They must just be a bushy plant.
cheers.