A few more questions...

[hiyatim]

1. How tall do beans and peas grow, beans are scarlet emperor and peas kelvedon wonders

2. how long are these peas likely to take to germinate, ive had some in since 9th may, some in greenhouse to germinate and some outside.

3. do beans and peas need protecting from pests with net or do the need polluntaing. im assuming the need pollunation but unsure about pests

4. how do i know when carrots and parsnips are ready, first lot went in around early march

5. same question a 4 but regarding beetroot

6. anyone ever had sucess growing kiwi, alpine strawberries or melons?? ( i have watermelon and honey dew melon growing but no germination from the kiwis or strawberries)

7. would u like me to think of more questions??

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, right here we go.............

Scarlet Emperor Runner Beans will grow to at least 6 foot (1.8 metres) so you need to support them as they do get heavy when full of beans and grow them up canes in either a row or a wigwam.

Kelvedon Wonder Peas only grow to about 2 foot or 24 inches (61cms) and they should have germinated by now. Sowing peas direct outside never worked for me as they must have been pinched by field mice! Carefully dig a pea seed up and see if it has started to sprout.

I have never protected either beans or peas from the birds and the bees will do the pollinating!

Carrots depend on the variety. Early varieties are ready in about 12 weeks, maincrop in about 16 weeks but that doesn't stop you pulling them as baby carrots and sowing some more. Parsnips are a long season vegetable and need about 34 weeks before harvesting and beetroot take about 10 weeks but pull one up if you think they look ready and if you are happy with the size then use them and sow some more.

I will pass on question 6!!

[hiyatim]

thanks lesley, you really are a font of knowledge, you should be a taxi driver

what about question 7

all my canes are about 3 foot so i best go get some more my beets and carrots will be ready any time now so will be fun to have a look

[Reweed]

question 6: I have a kiwi plant, it's about 8 foot tall, had it 2 years and it's not flowered yet.

[Lesley Jay]

Originally Posted by hiyatim

thanks lesley, you really are a font of knowledge, you should be a taxi driver

what about question 7

I can't drive!!!!! LOL!!!

Question 7 - oh, I have a feeling that you will come up with question 7 soon!!!

The questions are just great - remember there are an awful lot of people reading them that also want to know the answers!

[hiyatim]

well as long as my questions are providing a service

well keep your font to the veg and we will leave the driving to the proffesionals instead lol



with regards to the 2 year old kiwi...did u struggle to get it to germinate??

[hiyatim]

ok ok i got number 7...

7. i checked my peas like you suggested, tried the greenhouse ones first, found the first seed all soft and sloppy, rotted i guess.
then check ouside peas, first 2 i couldnt find so i kinda gave up and was a little heavy handed checking third..there was a tiny shoot tho probably killed it, am i over watering to cause rot and are they too hot in greenhouse?? should i plant a load of seeds and thin if i get any growth or leave them til next year???

8. i have garlic in greenhouse just sprouting, about 2 inches at the mo, do i bring them out yet they seem so happy..?

9. i have carrots and parsnips planted 9th may, the carrots are in greenhouse to germinate and the parsnips in a semi greenhouse its 3 sided so temp lower, the parsnips have just germinated now but the carrots are doing nothing, do i leave them too it or move them or plant more seeds??

10. do courgettes always lose there lower leaves? they seem really really healthy and have loads of new growth but the very bottom leaves are slowly browing off and dying back one by one

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, try germinating the peas in the kitchen on damp kitchen paper then carefully plant out the sprouted seeds. Soak the peas in water over night then spread them out on damp kitchen paper, covering over with more damp kitchen paper. Keep it damp and after a few days check to see if the peas have sprouted.

Bring your garlic outside and the same goes for the parsnips. Carrots can take up to 3 weeks to germinate. Carrots and parsnips should be sown direct in the ground or the container that you intend growing them in. They do not like their tap roots disturbing. I would be tempted to sow some more carrots outside if you have any spare seeds.

Courgette plants do tend to loose the lower leaves and as long as there is plenty of new growth and the plant looks healthy it should be fine.

Waiting for question 11.

[hiyatim]

lesley, peas are now soaking in water and will be transferred to damp kitchen roll tomorrow..when i read your response i was nervouse about the transplabting the shoots part of it, but i guess with such little success so far i have to try this.

garlic is now outside as you suggested, should i protect them with net?? i only planted 3 garlic this time, one is yet to germinate to i will leave it in the greenhouse a little longer unless u advice differently

i think i phased my carrot/parsnip question poorly, the parsnips have germinated so i have know worries with them, the answer i was looking for really was could the heat of the greenhouse be stopping the carrots germinating. i did germinate some in there a couple of months back but the temperature is higher now... same with my lettuces they dont seem to want to germinate in the greenhouse anymore

with regards to not disturbing the tap root, i was aware of this and with my others ive sowed where they are to grow (in pots still) but i received advice from a local veg grower who told me if i plant them in small pots and transplant the whole pot as if im repotting then they should be fine (we will see )

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, once your peas have sprouted you transplant the whole pea with the shoot attached, taking care not to knock off the shoot. They will be just fine!

You can start your garlic off in the greenhouse and then transplant as alot of people do. Me - I just plant it at the same time as the onion sets. There is no need to net it over.

Carrot seeds will germinate up to a temperature of 35c so I don't think the greenhouse is the problem. They don't like soil that is too wet though. The problem with sowing them in small pots is that the tap root grows faster than the foliage as it needs to grow straight down through the soil searching out water. Once it reaches the bottom of the pot it will bend and this will give you mishapen or forked carrots. I just sow carrot seeds direct into the ground and leave them to it. (I water them of course!)

I have always germinated my lettuce in the greenhouse throughout the year without any problems. Why not sow a small pot of lettuce seeds and put them on the kitchen windowsill but don't over water them!

These things are sent to try us and make veg growing so really interesting - I love it!!

[hiyatim]

ill do that the lesley, they will be in the kitchen roll tomorrow and ill check them tuesday late afternoon, if i get any luck how deep do i put the pea i the ground??

ive planted a different variety of lettuce straight outside (little gem) and i have a seedling already

i do have some carrot seeds out planted last week so ill see if they come out, on another note the seeds are dated til the end of this year, should i throw them then or will they still be viable next year??

tim

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, Good news with the lettuce!! Sow the peas no deeper than 2 inches (5cms). Remember to only soak them overnight. The carrot seeds should be viable for at least 3 years but store them somewhere cool, dark and dry (empty biscuit tin). As the seeds have this years date on them, is it the packaged date or the 'use by' date??

[hiyatim]

hi lesley, the date is definately the use buy date, i certainly wont have space to get them all in, theres hundreds in a pack and im already pushing it for space, ive got a whole load of 6 in pots i could sprinkle a good few per pot and then just kill off the weaker sampling and get say 3 per pot or even go for 5 or 6 per pot and pull early for baby carrots??

peas were soaked overnight and are now on the kitchen roll, ill let u know how they get on, it sounds tricky burying the shoot without doin any damage to it

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, just dig a shallow trench about 2 inches deep and carefully place the peas in, then cover gently with compost and water.

You need fresh seeds each year for parsnips but apart from them store all your seeds correctly and they will last years. (Depending where you buy them from.) I don't want to knock garden centres but they are usually built as a huge greenhouse and the seeds bought from there could have been on the shelf for a couple of years. Ideal storage conditions for seeds are cool and dark - which is hardly what I would call a garden centre!

I always buy my seeds online with Thompson & Morgan my favourite supplier. You get fresh seeds. For the last few years both Thompson & Morgan and Suttons have offered a £5 voucher at the start of the year with no minimum spend. Spend £5 on seeds and they are free!! All you have to do is request their brochure.

Seeds, Plants, Seed Potatoes, Fruit, Bulbs and Gardening Equipment from Thompson & Morgan

Suttons, Seeds, Flower seeds, vegetable seeds, flower plants, vegetable plants, organic seeds, seed potatoes, seeds.

[hiyatim]

hey lesley, an update and a question..

i soaked 10 seeds and then did the whole kitchen roll thing, they were soaked saturday night until sunday, i have checked them today and all 10 have germinated, is there a best day now to put them in, i could still do it now but i have left it a bit late but dont want to leave them until tomorrow an see them all die

[DavidT]

Then plant them.

[hiyatim]

but im all showered and not in clothes suitable for planting, i was hoping for a response saying they will be fine until tomorrow??

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, GREAT NEWS!! Plant them now if you can or keep them in the damp kitchen towel until tomorrow, but keep it damp. Then, soak some more peas as you can never have enough!!

[hiyatim]

ive just added a few extra drips to make sure its nice and damp, they will have to wait until tomorrow ive decided as i think i will rush to plant them now and do more harm than good, i dont think i can soak more due to lack of space im not too sure ill get all these in in fact. you said they only grow to 3ft tho so do u think id get away with having a plant in a 5" pot? i need an allotment already

[DavidT]

Lesley, he said he could still do it now. Don`t let him off the hook. Anyway, the rain will be too heavy in North Wales tomorrow.