Hi,

It's still raining where I live and my garden is completely saturated. I
haven't even put in my runner bean poles or sown any beans and I'm getting
worried. Is it too late now, perhaps I should grow water melons instead?

MCT

MikeCT wrote:
Hi,

It's still raining where I live and my garden is completely saturated. I
haven't even put in my runner bean poles or sown any beans and I'm getting
worried. Is it too late now, perhaps I should grow water melons instead?

You could try starting them off in the greenhouse? I have heavy clay
soil and have learnt through experience that it's better not to attempt
to sow *anything* direct into the ground. I've just planted out the
runner beans that I sowed a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't have
thought it would be too late to sow them; they'll surely catch up
quickly enough.

Rhiannon

Rhiannon Macfie Miller wrote:
You could try starting them off in the greenhouse? I have heavy clay
soil and have learnt through experience that it's better not to attempt
to sow *anything* direct into the ground. I've just planted out the
runner beans that I sowed a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't have
thought it would be too late to sow them; they'll surely catch up
quickly enough.

Yes absolutely - with the warmth everything's popping up within 6/10
days in my greenhouse - I've even started more broad beans indoors this
week end (the first time I do this), the slugs have had a field trip on
mine with all that bad weather sob

"Rhiannon Macfie Miller" wrote in message
...
MikeCT wrote:
Hi,

It's still raining where I live and my garden is completely saturated. I
haven't even put in my runner bean poles or sown any beans and I'm
getting worried. Is it too late now, perhaps I should grow water melons
instead?

You could try starting them off in the greenhouse? I have heavy clay soil
and have learnt through experience that it's better not to attempt to sow
*anything* direct into the ground.

Glad to see I'm not the only one with that problem. I have had to resow my
spring onions and beetroot, spinach, lettuce, radicchio etc in the
greenhouse as the failure rate has been phenomenal, and I even covered the
seedlings over with plastic to get them a better start this year. I even
grow carrots in the greenhouse now, just to start them off, even though
you're not supposed to transplant them. Last year I lost two complete
sowings of carrots, though that might not have been helped by sowing them
early in poor weather.

I'm working on improving the soil but it takes huge amounts of organic
matter. Perhaps I should just stick with thigs that like heavy clay?

Andy.

"Andy" wrote in message
...
: I'm working on improving the soil but it takes huge amounts of organic
: matter. Perhaps I should just stick with thigs that like heavy clay?
:
: Andy.

Have you tried heavy liming to see if that breaks it up any quicker?

Andy wrote:
I even
grow carrots in the greenhouse now, just to start them off, even though
you're not supposed to transplant them. Last year I lost two complete
sowings of carrots, though that might not have been helped by sowing them
early in poor weather.

I'm trying the same this year, growing them in toilet roll tubes in the
greenhouse. They're still very tiny (seed leaves and the beginnings of
the first true leaf) but the root has appeared out the bottom so I'm
guessing they're about ready to plant out. I hope to at least get
carrots the length of the toilet roll tube.

I saw some narrow bucket-like things for sale in Morrison's the other
day (a bit like the ones you sometimes see cut flowers being sold out
of), and was wondering if I could try growing carrots and parsnips in
those. Anyone have any experience of that?

I'm working on improving the soil but it takes huge amounts of organic
matter. Perhaps I should just stick with thigs that like heavy clay?

Brassicae. They love it.

Rhiannon

"Rhiannon Macfie Miller" replied:
snip
You could try starting them off in the greenhouse? I wouldn't have
thought it would be too late to sow them; they'll surely catch up
quickly enough.

Rhiannon
---
Thanks for your reply, why didn't I think of that? I have started
germinating my beans on moistened kitchen paper towels. It
appears that they will soon send out roots, when they can
be sown around the bean poles All I have to do today
is erect and tie in the supports.

MCT

"MikeCT" wrote in message
...
Hi,

It's still raining where I live and my garden is completely saturated. I
haven't even put in my runner bean poles or sown any beans and I'm getting
worried. Is it too late now, perhaps I should grow water melons instead?

MCT

Well I don't know about you, but I'm on the verge of giving up the garden
for the year and spending my time building an arc instead.
--
Lyndon

... spending my time building an arc instead.

what use will that be during this "drought"?

--
Hayley
gardening on well drained - but not well drained enough to cope with the
current downpours , alkaline clay in Somerset