Thanks folks, went to garden center today and they had some tiny little cabbages, psb, etc so will buy some of those, but they are the size my seedlings were when I planted them out, so god knows if they will have time to grow before winter sets in.
Sounds very late for PSB plants to me ... my Garden Centre sells all sorts of things that are far too late to be planted out (and they have rows and rows of Rhododendrons, and no suitable acid-soil within driving distance from here ...). Personally I don't grow over winter cabbage either (and I wouldn't be sure that is what your garden centre is selling as plug plants, unless they are labelled as such)
If you are using Square Foot method I presume your raised beds are "tiny"? if so I think that Brassicas may be a luxury - they need 2' or 2'6" per plant, and they don't yield a great deal, and are in the ground from Spring until well into Winter - not to mention the caterpillar and pigeon issues!. I suggest only planting Brassicas if that is what you particular like to eat
For a Newbie I would suggest sticking to High Value, Best Flavour (which might be low-ish yielding) varieties, and only growing what you like to eat. Things like Runner Beans and Courgettes are relatively expensive in the shops because of the manual labour to pick them, but they crop heavily and thus represent a good value crop. Main Crop Potatoes, for example, are very cheap in the shops, farmers can store them well into the Winter in their cold stores which stops them sprouting - you or I would have trouble with that! - and main crop spuds are also very prone to late blight, so I would avoid growing them. New Potatoes OTOH are expensive in the shops, and will taste better picked and immediately cooked (something about the sugar turning to starch from the moment they are picked), plus you can grow the exact variety/s that you & your family like, and which suit your soil.
I hate it when newbies have crop failure, or find the task of growing-their-own arduous, because it is so disheartening and likely to put them off - just as you have described. I have been doing it for years, and crop failure is now rare for me, but I have so much in my vegetable patch that total failure of one thing does't prevent the Galley from churning out great meals
Still annoys me intently though ...
money is rather tight
The Garden Centre Group is currently selling off seed packets at 50p each, dunno if there is one near you (or if they will have much left) but might save a few pennies for next year. This forum has a Seed Parcel most years, might be worth looking out for that too
www.thegardencentregroup.co.uk/garden-centres/findDo people still use pesticides on such things these days??
I don't put any chemicals on my crop, ever ... except that I would if I was at risk of losing the whole crop. We grow firstly for flavour (I don't care if the variety I like the taste of is low yielding, or prone to disease, or fussy about something, we want our veg to taste First Rate
), and secondly for the provenance that at least for the food we grow ourselves there is nothing added; in my lifetime there have been so many chemicals which have started out with news headlines that they are the panacea, and then years later are found to be toxic / have side effects / are withdrawn ... I just feel happier not eating chemical-added grub whenever possible.
For some bugs a spray with water plus detergent is effective, most people would be happy using that - but it won't help you with caterpillars
. Chemical pesticides are systemic - they are retained by the plant and kill bugs that then eat them - but soap is a contact-only solution, so you have to keep spraying regularly, and get over-and-under the leaves, so it is harder work than a chemical pesticide
I net my brassicas (and several other things that the Pigeons like) with Scaffolders Debris Netting. It is often thrown away after a job, so if you see some on a building site near you worth asking if you can blag it when the scaffolding comes down - builders have to pay "muck away" to have skips/rubbish carted away, so you'll be saving them some money taking it off their hands - so don't be shy to ask! Some pictures on my blog showing my 9-year-old erecting it in my veg patch