Looking for a "mentor" ... does anyone have a little time?

[Odsox]

Forgot to mention, you will certainly know if your squash plant is happy.
A happy squash plant will easily spread 10 feet in all directions, and even further if it's very happy.

[vegbox-recipes]

Cripes! In which case I'm only planting ONE!!!

Thanks again Tony ... I have been checking out the sun, and the best place is really the front garden. So I'm going to put the spinach and lettuce in troughs on the front window sills.

My lettuce seedlings look very sorry I'm afraid. Thin white stems about an inch and half long, and still only have their seedling leaves. And they're lying down on the soil rather than standing up.

[Annpan]

Yup... they probably won't last - but you have loads of time to plant more, and make sure they get plenty of sun his time

A mistake I have made is to sow all my lettuce at the same time, when you really ought to sow some every fortnight or so (right through till June...ish) it means you have some just becoming ready all the time

[vegbox-recipes]

I will get some more seeds and do as you advise, Ann!

Chalking it up on the learning board!

[vegbox-recipes]

OK, so I've sown 4 lettuce seeds only, 25 cm apart, in one row, in a terracotta trough, and I've put the trough outside on the front window sill, which means it's facing south. I am setting a reminder in my calendar for 10 days time to sow another four.

The tomatoes looked like they were almost going the same way, but the extra light from getting them further into the window seems to have saved the day, thanks to you folks.

I have hardened off the very big broad beans, and have planted half of them in one spot, with support.

broad beans planted out with supports.jpg (22.9 KiB) Viewed 2744 times

Here is a wider view of both ends of the garden, so you can see where I'm doing all this. It's North facing, which is unfortunate, and the West side is all house, so I may find a planter to put the rest of the beans in out the front of the house.

the east wall of the garden with broad beans shed and composter.jpg (37.01 KiB) Viewed 2744 times

the north east corner of the garden.jpg (43.18 KiB) Viewed 2744 times

Tony - would it be OK to use the picture you posted of your lettuce in a blog of mine, to show my readers what my lettuce SHOULD have looked like, and how it actually turned out?

Onwards and upwards!

Clara

[red]

I sow lettuces a pinch at a time in a flower pot etc. then when they are big enough i pot on a few, and use the rest as cut and come again baby leaves. then i sow some more.

[vegbox-recipes]

Thanks Red ... can you explain "cut and come again baby leaves" to me?

[red]

Thanks Red ... can you explain "cut and come again baby leaves" to me?

sure. I take a pot - and scatter a pinch of lettuce seeds in, let them germinate. Then when they are big enough, i prick out a few, and pot them into bigger pots.. as giving them extra space encourages them to grow. ultimately i will plant these into the greenhouse border to grew into adult lettuces!

meanwhile, the pot with the remaining lettuce seedlings i treat as cut and come again.... i carry on watering them etc, and pick a leaf off each little plant now and then (this is the cut part) - these are baby leaves. as I have not taken all of the leaves, teh plant will make a comeback (thats the come again part) and grow some more given a chance. I will have picked enough baby leaves to go into my sarny. result!
As soon as the first lot of lettuce have germinated i sow another pot full - so i always have a few pots of baby lettuces crowded in a pot from which I can harvest. after a while, being crowded in a pot and having someone nick a few leaves becomes too much for the lettucesm and they go manky looking. i compost them, but always have replacements coming. and of course the big lettuces growing in the border.. being replaced as i harvest.

You can buy packets of mixed lettuces, so you get variety etc.

[vegbox-recipes]

you're a star!

[Annpan]

Last year I mostly only picked leaves off of my lettuces too (the ones that should have ben growing full size) As there are only 2 of us a full lettuce tends to go limp before it gets eaten. So you can do that as well, especially, like red says, when you only want enough for a sarnie.


If you have any plastic bottles lying around, you can cut them in half and use the top half, pushed into the soil around your lettuce seeds to create a mini green house, lid removed so you can water them - you only need to take them off when the leaves touch the sides. (and for taking pretty photos ) This might not work well if your window-ledge is very exposed as you might end up just sending litter down the street .


Can I ask... how many people are going to be eating your produce?

[vegbox-recipes]

I LOVE the mini greenhouse thing! I have saved some bottles, but they're green ... that won't work, will it?

In terms of how many, it'll be me and my housemate, and then any surplus will go to neighbours and friends to try and get them into it and away from supermarkets...

[Annpan]

Green will be better than nothing, but maybe change to clear if you get the chance. The main purpoe is to keep the soil and the seed a bit warmer than outside, but when photosynthesis kicks in I would go with clear.
Ina (an isher who hasn't been about for a while) told me about a study into how colours of covering affect plant growth.... I think blue and green were fine, but red was detrimental.... I think... but I might be wrong.

[vegbox-recipes]

You guys really rock.

I'm so happy to be getting so much support!

[Odsox]

Tony - would it be OK to use the picture you posted of your lettuce in a blog of mine, to show my readers what my lettuce SHOULD have looked like, and how it actually turned out?

Of course you can, as far as I know all the photos on here are public domain anyway (although I will probably be put right by someone in the know)
Good luck with your second batch of lettuce.

[vegbox-recipes]

I've written a blog about my growing efforts and the support I'm getting from you folks... linked here in case you're interested.

http://blog.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/2009/0 ... ox-garden/

Hope you like it if you read it.