http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Growing food for beginners, advice sought en Wed, 13 May 2026 03:08:03 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-330108 Sun, 17 May 2020 16:54:48 +0000 chdot 330108@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Last para</p> <p>“</p> <p>“If you plant a seed, you think in terms of weeks and months, not the 24-hour news cycle,” he says. “It’s a retreat and it is one of the best ways we have found to cope.”</p> <p>“</p> <p>Indeed! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-330107 Sun, 17 May 2020 16:10:52 +0000 Colin 330107@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/how-lockdown-has-created-veg-growing-revolution-uk-coronavirus" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/how-lockdown-has-created-veg-growing-revolution-uk-coronavirus</a></p> <p>Some lovely ideas in that article.<br /> Cheers<br /> Colin </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-330006 Fri, 15 May 2020 17:02:30 +0000 Greenroofer 330006@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@gembo - I like to grow <strong>large </strong>hostas. Last summer I went outside one calm, warm, damp evening at dusk and realised that in the quiet of the dusk the gentle <em>scrunch scrunch</em> I could hear was the snails devouring the largest. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-330001 Fri, 15 May 2020 16:36:15 +0000 chdot 330001@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Depends what seeds they are.</p> <p>Also, growing medium, temperature, water level, light level etc etc.</p> <p>Still getting tomatoes germinating that I planted in January!</p> <p>Last year I’m sure everything came up after a couple of weeks or so!</p> <p>Growing some trees this year. Notable that some spend a long time growing roots before anything is visible above the surface. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-330000 Fri, 15 May 2020 16:27:32 +0000 the canuck 330000@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I seem to finally be getting somewhere with seedlings, although looking at other people's photos, mine seem awfully tiny.<br /> How do i get the memo to them that after two weeks, they reeeeeallly should have more than 2 leaves?<br /> I don't dare put any out! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329955 Fri, 15 May 2020 07:14:34 +0000 gembo 329955@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My hostas have grown and are looking good.</p> <p>This year they are on a sort of pedestal (Brick and a mono-block) looks ok but precarious</p> <p>Also some coffee grinds round the inside of the rim</p> <p>I am of course fooling myself</p> <p>The slugs and snails just wait until the plant is nice and juicy before devouring it </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329949 Thu, 14 May 2020 22:06:45 +0000 acsimpson 329949@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have never fed my potatoes before other than adding some fresh compost to their pot soil each year. However I have a tub of growmore so added some this evening.</p> <p>Runner beans are the one thing we manage to grow without fail each year. They taunt us in the spring by not appearing so we then plant more in propagators in the greenhouse. Just as they are ready to plant out the ones in the ground appear (however we never learn). We had good peas last year but I suspect it was due to all the rain. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329894 Thu, 14 May 2020 08:37:56 +0000 chdot 329894@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“two of my hearts are rubbish“</p> <p>Are you a Time Lord?? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329893 Thu, 14 May 2020 08:25:54 +0000 SRD 329893@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>will plant the peony root today (unless anyone advises otherwise). </p> <p>oddly, i do have some tomato food. didn't know i was supposed to use it on the potatoes. mine are only a few inches high. in a bag with new, good quality soil. so would be surprised if they needed feeding now? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329890 Thu, 14 May 2020 07:07:53 +0000 gembo 329890@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@acsimpson, I would estimate Google will know much better than me. I add the tomato feed at the start which now seems stupid. Also this year I fear I flooded one trench.</p> <p>Sharpo is one of the brands I am growing (Stalin’s potato) they grow anywhere in any dirt and start nice and small but if you leave them in keep growing all summer.</p> <p>Other brands such as Golden Wonder a little more skittish. But basically tatties is about all I can grow. Have some leeks this year look ok so far and some rhubarb is doing well but two of my hearts are rubbish. (Always have been). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329885 Wed, 13 May 2020 22:36:15 +0000 acsimpson 329885@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thanks, Google seems to suggest keeping the tomato food for later so I assume general purpose fertiliser would be best for now. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329865 Wed, 13 May 2020 17:31:22 +0000 gembo 329865@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@acsimpson</p> <p>Spuds fairly tough except if potato blight hits.</p> <p>Personally I would hope for the best</p> <p>You could give them a bit of feed maybe? I have 3 lots in the ground and 1 lot in bags. They are not that far on apart from one of the bags so they seem OK</p> <p>Actually re-checked and some of my Shaws are looking wabbit - surprised they were ok this morn as has been chilly </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=4#post-329859 Wed, 13 May 2020 15:57:26 +0000 acsimpson 329859@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My potatoes seem to have suffered in the frost. Strangely it's the smaller plants which fared worst. In my haste to protect them from future cooling I covered them again as far as the pots would allow.</p> <p>However I now see that the advice is to remove damaged leaves before covering so my question is should I excavate and remove the damage or just leave them now and hope for the best? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329854 Wed, 13 May 2020 15:07:16 +0000 SRD 329854@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I’ll just leave the typo.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329853 Wed, 13 May 2020 15:06:47 +0000 SRD 329853@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A peony riot has just arrived chez moi. Should I plant it today? Or wait for warmer weather? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329716 Mon, 11 May 2020 14:47:48 +0000 gembo 329716@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>frost along the verges of the A70 early this a. m. as @Bill will attest.</p> <p>But not in the gardens of Balerno. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329715 Mon, 11 May 2020 14:39:09 +0000 amir 329715@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>No evidence of frost out here. Phew! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329712 Mon, 11 May 2020 13:34:27 +0000 sallyhinch 329712@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Having been very free dishing out the advice yesterday, I forgot to check the forecast for here and woke to realise we might have had overnight frosts ... lettuce survived unscathed but some of the emerging potato leaves are looking a bit nipped. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329683 Mon, 11 May 2020 00:33:21 +0000 acsimpson 329683@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Snow in EH12 this afternoon. I'm hopeful that the warm sun before and after will mean minimal damage to seedlings. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329659 Sun, 10 May 2020 17:55:40 +0000 gembo 329659@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Still 2 degrees at midnight but minus 1 at 5am (BBC data)</p> <p>Cold whatever</p> <p>Might take Tricross up red road in morning then. As can go back out in the evening when warmer according to new guidelines </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329653 Sun, 10 May 2020 17:06:34 +0000 crowriver 329653@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Frost TONITE... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329609 Sun, 10 May 2020 11:15:25 +0000 gembo 329609@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Frost tomorrow. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329605 Sun, 10 May 2020 10:41:33 +0000 Rosie 329605@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have a Darwinian attitude to gardening. Seed is cheap, some die, eat the survivors. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329600 Sun, 10 May 2020 10:13:48 +0000 chdot 329600@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“play my small part in keeping us all busy/distracted”</p> <p>You’re a social service. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329599 Sun, 10 May 2020 10:03:54 +0000 SRD 329599@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>that's been my assumption too, but thought i might as well play my small part in keeping us all busy/distracted .... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329598 Sun, 10 May 2020 10:02:42 +0000 chdot 329598@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@ SRD Suspect it won’t actually freeze unless you have an unfortunate microclimate. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329596 Sun, 10 May 2020 09:48:12 +0000 SRD 329596@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>the lettuce is definitely the most vulnerable. will deploy all the cloches. just wondered if i should try anything more (but if so, what?) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329595 Sun, 10 May 2020 09:45:58 +0000 sallyhinch 329595@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Also, if you have more bottle cloches the lettuce might appreciate a little protection </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329594 Sun, 10 May 2020 09:45:03 +0000 sallyhinch 329594@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I wouldn't bother bringing the potatoes in. Can you cover the shoots with anything (like more soil)? Otherwise, if there's a frost they'll get nipped, and go a bit brown, but it won't really affect them in the long run </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20151&page=3#post-329591 Sun, 10 May 2020 09:18:48 +0000 chdot 329591@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>You worried about cold or wind? </p>