Anyone doing gardening this year?

[dallysingh101 1,665]

Love this time of year. Going to get my gardening on. Just cleaned up the beds. 

Anyone else planning on growing this year? What you gonna grow? 

 

And for certain people - please don't turn this into another opportunity to start promoting your jaat-paat buckwaas. You don't have to be from any particular type of background to enjoy this. 

[puzzled 1,464]

I don't do gardening apart from planting a sun flower seed every year lol   

But my mum plants a lot of things like coriander, spinach, tomatoes, pumpkins, mint, mircha and other green stuff.

one year I buyed 2 venus fly traps that lasted a couple of months through the summer but died when it started getting cold. They would gobble so many flies and bees and other insects HAHA!

 

[MisterrSingh 3,239]

Working in the garden and general landscaping instead of planting flowers and stuff. Getting rid of old wooden fence panels, and putting up new panels. Might need to get rid of an old shed and replace the lawn, too. I'll be doing it myself because I want to see what I'm capable of, and I'm kanjoos, lol, joking.

[dallysingh101 1,665]

2 hours ago, MisterrSingh said:

Working in the garden and general landscaping instead of planting flowers and stuff. Getting rid of old wooden fence panels, and putting up new panels. Might need to get rid of an old shed and replace the lawn, too. I'll be doing it myself because I want to see what I'm capable of, and I'm kanjoos, lol, joking.

I miss the times when my garden was a wild, untamed jungle. Now there isn't that much work to do. But I have upped my game with remineralising the soil with composting. 

Never really grown flowers other than very few, and that just to attract bumble bees and lady birds.

It's good to be 'conduce' like you're mentioning. lol Otherwise you just someone else to do these things and not learn ish yourself. 

There is nothing better than being outside on a summer's day, enjoying the garden. Nothing! I hope my food grows well this year, been tweaking my compost. Even got a worm farm going on.......sad......I know......lol....but that gundh-ganola tutti is meant to be super powerful plant food! And costs a packet if you but it from stores/online. 

Make sure you get a compost bin if you haven't already. 

[mahandulai 39]

On ‎2‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 2:09 PM, dallysingh101 said:

Love this time of year. Going to get my gardening on. Just cleaned up the beds. 

Anyone else planning on growing this year? What you gonna grow? 

 

And for certain people - please don't turn this into another opportunity to start promoting your jaat-paat buckwaas. You don't have to be from any particular type of background to enjoy this. 

several bonsai shallow planted in pots, in the greenhouse outside that I built, then got around 20 other trees and shrubs in there, bare root, and some other miscellaneous things like ficus, apple trees, pear trees and catnip, in there too. Then, have some seedlings, I am growing maple,with some other acers, mountain maples, and other things like beech, and some allround greens for good measure. thinking of putting them outside nowm because it is getting warmer, but my greenhouse has a window. 

 

[MisterrSingh 3,239]

54 minutes ago, dallysingh101 said:

I miss the times when my garden was a wild, untamed jungle. Now there isn't that much work to do. But I have upped my game with remineralising the soil with composting. 

It's definitely not a jungle, lol. It just needs some new bits and pieces, and a visual overhaul. I'm bored of the fading fence panels and the old shed. The lawn's always been well maintained even by mum when I was out of action for a few years when she was still a little sprightly, but I want to rip it up, get some good quality soil down, and lay down some fresh grass. I was thinking of going for a uPVC shed instead of a wooden job. 

[GuestSingh 150]

anyone tried growing wheat, lentils/beans or rice? what about certain fruit and veg. that are already familiar to our folk?

daal roti is my main meal everyday but would be nice to grow the stuff myself and save on travel i.e. fuel and plastic packaging too inc. milk tho we cant get desi cows in the uk let alone in the back garden...

any experience or tips/advice? recommendations?

Edited March 18 by GuestSingh

[dallysingh101 1,665]

6 hours ago, GuestSingh said:

anyone tried growing wheat, lentils/beans or rice? what about certain fruit and veg. that are already familiar to our folk?

daal roti is my main meal everyday but would be nice to grow the stuff myself and save on travel i.e. fuel and plastic packaging too inc. milk tho we cant get desi cows in the uk let alone in the back garden...

any experience or tips/advice? recommendations?

A lot of the traditional stuff is unsuited to UK weather.

I've scaled down the varieties of what I grow now. When I first started, I wanted to try every thing (like 5/6 types of chillies alone). Now I just stick to a small number of items. 

Perpetual spinach and Swiss Chard are great - robust and require minimal effort. Good for saag or palak paneer, chicken paneer or whatever. 

Broccoli can be tough to grow. Everything wants to eat it! Slugs, snails, bugs, pigeons. You have to cover it up. 

Tomatoes are real easy - just remember stick two cups of milk powder in ground just before you plant the young plants (stops a common calcium deficiency problem called blossom end rot). 

Chillis are good for big pots - I've tried loads of varieties in the past but just stick to cayennes now. It's more economical. Growing can be a lot more expensive than buying from shops - so pick your crops carefully. But go through the process of learning to try everything because it's a great learning experience. Tried Bell peppers, garlic, peas, runner beans, french beans in the past with varying success..... 

Runner beans are great but attract these black fly pests. 

Get a compost bin going on if you can. What you make there is like 5x more powerful than the soil you buy in bags. 

[GuestSingh 150]

On 3/18/2019 at 8:16 PM, dallysingh101 said:

A lot of the traditional stuff is unsuited to UK weather.

I've scaled down the varieties of what I grow now. When I first started, I wanted to try every thing (like 5/6 types of chillies alone). Now I just stick to a small number of items. 

Perpetual spinach and Swiss Chard are great - robust and require minimal effort. Good for saag or palak paneer, chicken paneer or whatever. 

Broccoli can be tough to grow. Everything wants to eat it! Slugs, snails, bugs, pigeons. You have to cover it up. 

Tomatoes are real easy - just remember stick two cups of milk powder in ground just before you plant the young plants (stops a common calcium deficiency problem called blossom end rot). 

Chillis are good for big pots - I've tried loads of varieties in the past but just stick to cayennes now. It's more economical. Growing can be a lot more expensive than buying from shops - so pick your crops carefully. But go through the process of learning to try everything because it's a great learning experience. Tried Bell peppers, garlic, peas, runner beans, french beans in the past with varying success..... 

Runner beans are great but attract these black fly pests. 

Get a compost bin going on if you can. What you make there is like 5x more powerful than the soil you buy in bags. 

thanks bro thats very useful info.

re: weather thought it would be the case - only looking to grow the basics but will deffo look into this more soon...

my nanke used to grow all sorts back in the day like potatoes, turnip, even rhubarb and some other stuff that escapes my memory so at least those are possible...

[dallysingh101 1,665]

1 hour ago, GuestSingh said:

thanks bro thats very useful info.

re: weather thought it would be the case - only looking to grow the basics but will deffo look into this more soon...

my nanke used to grow all sorts back in the day like potatoes, turnip, even rhubarb and some other stuff that escapes my memory so at least those are possible...

Bro, I should've mentioned, I've been doing low-carb diet for a bit now. It just agrees with me and keeps me lean. That obviously dictates what I grow. There are a whole host of other things (like you mentioned) that you could grow that I don't. I don't do any root veg for example which seem pretty easy. 

Get yourself some massive pots (or a bin) for the potatoes. 

I put a small raised bed in a year or so ago that I haven't used (apart from as a compost dump), see what I can do with that this year. 

[GuestSingh 150]

10 minutes ago, dallysingh101 said:

Bro, I should've mentioned, I've been doing low-carb diet for a bit now. It just agrees with me and keeps me lean. That obviously dictates what I grow. There are a whole host of other things (like you mentioned) that you could grow that I don't. I don't do any root veg for example which seem pretty easy. 

Get yourself some massive pots (or a bin) for the potatoes. 

I put a small raised bed in a year or so ago that I haven't used (apart from as a compost dump), see what I can do with that this year. 

have u tried growing any herbs/spices? nuts/seeds? medicinal stuff e.g. aloe vera?

[dallysingh101 1,665]

26 minutes ago, GuestSingh said:

have u tried growing any herbs/spices? nuts/seeds? medicinal stuff e.g. aloe vera?

Oh yeah!

I've grown dhaniya (which I don't now because it's cheaper and more convenient to buy from the shop), different types of basil (tulsi), methi, thyme; I've got some oregano going on right now (first time, takes ages to grow); I bought some aloe vera bootay a couple of years ago and have 3 of them going on right now (keep 'em out of direct sunlight indoors and water sparingly! I use them as face cream). I've had mint going on before (aka pudheena). 

No seeds or nuts apart from sunflowers but some kabooter (or some other animal) always gets at them before I do. I wake up and find the flowers partially devoured on the floor. 

I've got a fruit plant called a calamondin  (which are like mini oranges) an old tutoring client gave me years ago. 

I tried the following with little success (but may try again) peas, celeriac, french beans and probably a bunch more. Bell peppers are too much headache and give little yield from my experience.

Might try ginger and garlic in the raised bed, but they are long time plant. Wouldn't mind getting my own haldhee going on too. I brought a bunch of fresh haldhee last year and peeled it and dried it outside and then ground it to make proper haldhee powder because it's meant to be a major medicinal root.  That was a dirty job though. Wear rubber gloves and old clothes if you ever do this. 

[Guest]

Is no one interested in growing carnivorous plants ???

[GuestSingh 150]

1 hour ago, dallysingh101 said:

Oh yeah!

I've grown dhaniya (which I don't now because it's cheaper and more convenient to buy from the shop), different types of basil (tulsi), methi, thyme; I've got some oregano going on right now (first time, takes ages to grow);

would like to grow my own dhaniya, pudina and tulsi - guru har rai ji was said to have grown this herb in their garden and treated many sick people inc. the son of a muslim king if my memorys correct..

I bought some aloe vera bootay a couple of years ago and have 3 of them going on right now (keep 'em out of direct sunlight indoors and water sparingly! I use them as face cream).

bought one of these about 4 years ago and just ate the gel (after washing off the laxative sap of course) but tried to plant it and it just ended up dying...even kept it indoors/outdoors with plenty of warmth..cant remember how much it was watered but it just wouldnt grow any new leaves for weeks...

my parnani has 'greenfingers' - every plant she touches ends up prospering...she used to keep this houseplant that had a really fresh fragrance especially wen u rubbed its leaves and it grew really tall..never knew the name of it but can still smell it now just thinking about it...

I've had mint going on before (aka pudheena).

No seeds or nuts apart from sunflowers but some kabooter (or some other animal) always gets at them before I do. I wake up and find the flowers partially devoured on the floor.

think almonds are simple to grow indoors but aint tried it myself...

I've got a fruit plant called a calamondin  (which are like mini oranges) an old tutoring client gave me years ago. 

I tried the following with little success (but may try again) peas, celeriac, french beans and probably a bunch more. Bell peppers are too much headache and give little yield from my experience.

bitter gourd, baby pumpkin, aubergine and okra would be nice to grow - cabbage as a saabjia is one of my favorites with rotiya so that too...

Might try ginger and garlic in the raised bed, but they are long time plant. Wouldn't mind getting my own haldhee going on too. I brought a bunch of fresh haldhee last year and peeled it and dried it outside and then ground it to make proper haldhee powder because it's meant to be a major medicinal root.  That was a dirty job though. Wear rubber gloves and old clothes if you ever do this.

did u attempt to grow haldi?

u dont need to tell us how messy it gets bro - just gettin a few sprinkles accidentally on ur clothes or the kitchen counters/cooker is just enough to get 'chuttiya time'...

dug up one side of my garden about a year ago but its a small area so not much available to use - just gotta work out what to grow, how and where etc. any recommended sites/videos that can help? theres a lot of info out there and its easy to feel overwhelmed with plants/flowers etc...

 

[dallysingh101 1,665]

You know what I just discovered. Freshly dried oregano tastes so similar to the Indian herb Ajawein, they must some from the same family of plants. Gonna try growing some ajawein seeds for the sake of it. 

Mahandulai made me remember I bought some catnip seeds for meow-billy months ago. Now I can't find them. Damn! Cats love getting high on that ish!

Another tip: don't get cat-grass. Bought and grew some and the cat was not remotely interested. Prefered the normal grass in the garden to chew on.