In my relatively short experience (10 years or so now), it is definitely much harder than it is on Youtube, or the BBC, and it takes some practice and experimentation. The instructions on the seed packets are very much guidance and in many places - where you live probably included - pretty inaccurate.
You can just give up and buy it instead, but with a little patience, you will find there are some things that will grow for you, but not necessarily 'by the book'. You may need to sow later or earlier or under cover or not. I can only grow carrots in a pot; I have worked out how to net brassicas successfully but that some of the big ones, like brussels, won't do well for me (too windy); I can reliably grow parsnips but I sow them much later than the packets advise; potatoes are hit and miss, same with garlic; chard is good as long as I keep the pigeons off the young plants.
Your bigger turnips look pretty good to me - I'd be happy with those. Beetroot have a similar hit rate for me. If I ever got an aubergine bigger than a 50p I'd be cock-a-hoop
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first”
In my relatively short experience (10 years or so now), it is definitely much harder than it is on Youtube, or the BBC, and it takes some practice and experimentation. The instructions on the seed packets are very much guidance and in many places - where you live probably included - pretty inaccurate.
Indeed. No moorland is balmy as far as I'm aware! I've been growing stuff for decades, in and around the same area. Even with flowers rather then fruit or veg, it takes a lot of practise and experimentation. TV programmes rarely allow for climactic variations/light etc, in various locations, and from what I've seen on YouTube, it's the same there. As I've just been saying to a poster on another thread, you can add about 4 weeks here on re timing, to the info on packets of seed. Then cross your fingers that the weather decides it'll play ball. You sometimes also have to accept that certain things don't suit. Pots for carrots for me too. I don't have enough room anyway in this garden to keep me in carrots, and it means you don't have to worry about the fly. When I had loads of room, the f***in' rabbits ate everything, so I'd have needed a polytunnel or similar over there. It might be worth trying a succession with your veg sowings @InTheMoorlands, and basically just little and often, regardless of the type of veg, and keep note of how it all goes. That will give you a better idea of what works best for you, and what's not worth bothering with.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Regarding veg. Keep going, keep thinking, you will learn from your mistakes/successes more than we can teach you.
Yes, I've learned a lot in the last two years but it's always good to get a second opinion.
My first year potato crop was a bit of a disaster while in 2022 they wouldn't stop growing - they even grew on the compost heap from scraps that i must have thrown away the previous autumn!
I've been growng veg. for about two years now and it's not as easy as it looks on YouTube
I found the same. I'd not bothered with veg until a few years ago and was so disappointed with the results when I did. Despite buying good veg cages with butterfly netting my veg were inedible.
In all my years of growing and helping dad to grow veg, never have I read any more true comments than the above. Books and TV make it seem and look simple, even dad made it look simple but in reality it isn't, in my experience anyway. I've decided to give it one last try this year simply because where I grow them there will be more sunlight due to the beech trees being taken down.
It isn't too complicated really. Soil preparation is key - look at rotation cycles on sites such as the RHS and Garden Organic - and be sure to add manure or compost or lime for the right crops and not for those that don't like or don't need it.
Most veg need lots of sun but not all and be prepared to water in dry spells and hoe regularly to keep down weeds which compete for both water and nutrients. Good insect barrier netting held well above the plants will keep off butterflies and other pests. Once theleaves touch the netting the insects can lay eggs thru it.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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In my relatively short experience (10 years or so now), it is definitely much harder than it is on Youtube, or the BBC, and it takes some practice and experimentation. The instructions on the seed packets are very much guidance and in many places - where you live probably included - pretty inaccurate.
You can just give up and buy it instead, but with a little patience, you will find there are some things that will grow for you, but not necessarily 'by the book'. You may need to sow later or earlier or under cover or not. I can only grow carrots in a pot; I have worked out how to net brassicas successfully but that some of the big ones, like brussels, won't do well for me (too windy); I can reliably grow parsnips but I sow them much later than the packets advise; potatoes are hit and miss, same with garlic; chard is good as long as I keep the pigeons off the young plants.
Your bigger turnips look pretty good to me - I'd be happy with those. Beetroot have a similar hit rate for me. If I ever got an aubergine bigger than a 50p I'd be cock-a-hoop
I've been growing stuff for decades, in and around the same area. Even with flowers rather then fruit or veg, it takes a lot of practise and experimentation. TV programmes rarely allow for climactic variations/light etc, in various locations, and from what I've seen on YouTube, it's the same there.
As I've just been saying to a poster on another thread, you can add about 4 weeks here on re timing, to the info on packets of seed. Then cross your fingers that the weather decides it'll play ball. You sometimes also have to accept that certain things don't suit.
Pots for carrots for me too. I don't have enough room anyway in this garden to keep me in carrots, and it means you don't have to worry about the fly. When I had loads of room, the f***in' rabbits ate everything, so I'd have needed a polytunnel or similar over there.
It might be worth trying a succession with your veg sowings @InTheMoorlands, and basically just little and often, regardless of the type of veg, and keep note of how it all goes. That will give you a better idea of what works best for you, and what's not worth bothering with.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
As far as tender bonzai, my most tender is Ficus benjamini that I keep indoors.
Regarding veg. Keep going, keep thinking, you will learn from your mistakes/successes more than we can teach you.
BTW, "balmy" Exmoor relative. I lived on in-country Dartmoor - tough compared to on the Edge of Exmoor. But both easier than High Pennine.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I was expecting bigger ones! Perhaps that's why they have gone out of fashion. They don't seem a very good crop for the effort.
Yes, I've learned a lot in the last two years but it's always good to get a second opinion.
My first year potato crop was a bit of a disaster while in 2022 they wouldn't stop growing - they even grew on the compost heap from scraps that i must have thrown away the previous autumn!
Books and TV make it seem and look simple, even dad made it look simple but in reality it isn't, in my experience anyway.
I've decided to give it one last try this year simply because where I grow them there will be more sunlight due to the beech trees being taken down.
Most veg need lots of sun but not all and be prepared to water in dry spells and hoe regularly to keep down weeds which compete for both water and nutrients. Good insect barrier netting held well above the plants will keep off butterflies and other pests. Once theleaves touch the netting the insects can lay eggs thru it.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw