By Jools

Re: tidying up the garden for winter
09 Sep 2008 09:35

This is the first year that I have grown vegetables in my back garden. I was wondering what i should be doing to get it ready for winter. I have courgette and squash plants going bananas, Runner beans which are still producing and also tomato plants that have fruit on them
When they have finished what should I do with them? Will they grow back next year or will I have to start again?
What can I put in the ground at this time of year to grow?
Sorry for all the questions but i am a complete novice at this but its something that I have enjoyed doing and intend to dig a bigger plot for next year.
thanks Jools

Replies

By Biggles

Re: tidying up the garden for winter
09 Sep 2008 10:14

Oh no Jools, you'll have to do it all again next year :0)

We used to keep our beans and tomatoes going until the weather sorted it. Cold spell will finish things off. You can let a couple of bean pods grow to maturity if you want to use the seed for next year. Dig up and put on the compost.
We usually prepare the bean trench during the winter for the beans the following spring, lots of compost and torn up newspaper (didn't do that here this year).

Can't help with what to do now as we are very much novices ourselves and learning as we go along. Will you try potatoes next year? We really like Kestrel and Charlotte.

Sorry to hear about the squash thief :0(

By treehugger

Re: tidying up the garden for winter
09 Sep 2008 10:31

Jools- sorry to hear about the squash thief too- the cheek of it!- dont know if its too late to do some winter salad leaves- and think you can do shallots and winter hardy garlic- the rhs website is very good for all garden info- they have a calendar to tell you what you should be doing- (nicer to ask here i know- but it might be worth a look :-) )
http://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/diary.asp
sounds like you've had a very successful 1st year- my first year growing here has been a learning curve too! (new climate and soil- a bit of a challenge!!)

By Loopy

Re: tidying up the garden for winter
09 Sep 2008 10:51

Hi Jools. Cannot offer any advice regarding preparing your garden for the Winter. The nearest I get to gardening is a indoor herb garden pot that I recently bought from Aldi - it is sprouting though! Tried to post on your Squash Thief thread but it disappeared - not sure if website problem or user error! Would say probably the latter. Sorry to hear about that - very frustrating as I'm sure you had plans. Some people really are the pits! Luv, Loopy XXXX

By Sam, worthing west sussex, uk

Re: tidying up the garden for winter
09 Sep 2008 15:53

your plants mentioned, will not produce again.

If you don;t have a compost bin, you can make your own using old pallets, if you have the room, or its several trips to your local dump and put in the green bins for the council to compost.

the best thing to do with your runners is to snip the base of the plants, and leave for a few days so that the greenery wilts, easier for stuffing into black sacks etc.

same for the tom's and courgette and squashes, just let them die back on their own, for stuffing into bags.

once you have cleared the site, hoe the area of weeds.

then if you do have a compost, chuck a load of the made compost onto the hoed area and then hoe/dig it in.

If you haven;t got your own compost never mind not a worry, just weed it, and leave till spring, and then put a dress coat of brought compost on and hoe that in, again after another weed, then you can start again, with new or different veggies.

Also, its good to rotate your crops, ie, where you planted runner beans this year, plant your tom;s...each vegetable uses and absorbs different nutrients that are in your soil.

Saying that, you can grow runners in the same site for 3 years quite successfully, but after that they won;t produce many beans, as the soil has become poor and unfertile of the nutrients they need.
Sammy

By Guernsey Moo

Re: tidying up the garden for winter
11 Sep 2008 13:45

I'm new to the veg. plot but my sugar snap peas & baby corn have finished (my beans did nothing) so I pulled them out and planted pak choi, carrots and beetroot (I also managed to plant a row of perinnial spinach behind my courgettes). Apparently garlic will also grow over winter. Its hard to now what to grow though! some stuff does great (my sugar snaps & courgettes) while my toms and beans were terrible!

By *Bramble

Re: tidying up the garden for winter
12 Sep 2008 16:15

Let me know what your spinach does, Moo? I've planted several varieties of the stuff, and it's always bolted, even the sort that isn't supposed to! I think my soil's too good!
Bramble xxx