Advice for a Beginner :)

[AnonymousGardener]

Hey Guys!

This is the second year of planting in my vegetable garden I'm still very much learning and making lots of mistakes :/ Last year I planted - Parsnips - Didn't grow properly just kind of stopped
Beet root - Grew ok I guess
Cucumber - Died as soon as I put them out doors
Courgettes - Went very well had lots of them
Radish - Again went well

As you can see I had problems with the parsnips and the cucumbers :/

This year I'm planning on growing - Parsnips
Carrots
Cabbage
Cucumber
Courgettes
Brussel Sprouts
Broccili

I'm looking for advice on whether is should start of indoors or just straight outside? When I should start seeding? And anything else I should know

Thanks Guys

[imafan26]

It would help a lot if you update your profile with your zone and location.

When you plant depends a lot on your frost date.

What you plant depends on the time of year, choice of cultivar, and location.

[rainbowgardener]

I agree, no one can tell you much about when to plant without knowing where you are and what your climate is like.

But root crops generally are direct planted in the ground as soon as the ground can be worked, that is, it is unfrozen and dried out enough so it doesn't clump up. But of course that is advice for an area that has winters with frozen ground. If you live in an area that has no frost, the carrots and parsnip would be planted in late summer/ early fall to grow through winter, as they are cool weather crops. Either way, they don't like to be transplanted and should be direct seeded in the ground.

I can say that of your list, the carrots, parsnip, cabbage, brocilli, and Brussels sprouts are cool weather crops that would be grown in the coolest part of your growing season. The cucumber and courgettes (zucchini) are warm weather plants that can't go in the ground until the soil has warmed up to about 70 deg (F).

You mentioned cucumber dying when you brought it out. Anything that has been grown indoors is very tender, and not adapted to the amount of light outside and to temperatures, winds, etc. So they have to be introduced to it gradually. You can do that by bringing them out for just a couple hours the first time and gradually increasing the exposure. Or since I work and can't run home to rescue plant babies, I do it by location, putting them in a very protected space at first with no direct sun and bringing them in at night, gradually putting them in less protected locations and leaving them out (depending on weather cooperating). In maybe 10 days of gradual hardening, they should be ok with the real world.

[AnonymousGardener]

Ok I have updated my profile... I hope that's better

Yeah I started my parsnips indoors and transplanted them outside and they grew a bit but then just stopped :/ I even found one when I was sorting the garden out a couple of weeks ago it was still alive but it still had not grown lol And it had been out a year!

With the cucumber from what you have said I'm guessing they were just not ready to be transplanted outside instantly and I was still having light frosts.

I'm not sure if you have seen my other post about using fairly fresh manure? Well I added manure to my soil that I had dug over and I was really hoping to start seeding with in the next few weeks so I guess I have just got to keep my fingers crossed the manure doesn't damage my veggies.

This is all quite new to me but I'm getting there slowly.... I have just made a compost bin I no they are handy to have.

I also had an idea because I have out up a chicken wire fence around my veggie garden... Of growing sweet peas around it so they climb up the fence making it a bit more pleasant on the eye

[rainbowgardener]

yeah, cucumber is the warmest of warm weather crop (along with melons etc) and has no frost tolerance.

Your soil with fresh manure might actually be better to put seeds in than plants. It is going to take the seeds awhile to become plants and meanwhile the manure continues to break down.

Sweet pea up the wire fence would be pretty as long as it doesn't shade out the veggies within.

You will love your homemade compost!

[applestar]

Parsnips are like carrots in that they need loose deep soil. They are cold hardy and should be sown directly outside in early spring along with peas, I should think. So right now or even earlier would have been better. If you can sow them where deep rooted crops grew last year -- like corn, tomatoes, sunflowers, they will find it easier to grow down. I believe it likes the soil to be limed and with extra phosphorus.

Being a root crop, it doesn't like too much nitrogen and won't do well if waterlogged. I found them ready to eat shortly after the fall frost before the ground froze, or as soon as the soil had thawed and next year's seeds could be sowed next spring. Mine grew down until they hit hard pan clay subsoil, then grew fatter. If you wait too much longer until the soil warms up, the last year' shoots will bolt and send up a flower stalk, which robs the roots and makes them in edible, but you will get seeds eventually.

[lexusnexus]

Or since I work and can't run home to rescue plant babies, I do it by location, putting them in a very protected space at first with no direct sun and bringing them in at night, gradually putting them in less protected locations and leaving them out (depending on weather cooperating). In maybe 10 days of gradual hardening, they should be ok with the real world.

What is this you say? Sounds like your boss needs to get his/her priorities in proper order. Those babies are of extreme importance.

[AnonymousGardener]

Well I feel like I have learned a lot already lol I will not seed the parsnips indoors and will give there raised bed a good going over to make sure I get all the stones this time around.

I think I will wait well after my last frost date until planting the cucumber seeds in the uk where I am the weather can suddenly seem like its on the up and then suddenly you can wake to a heavy frost.

I happy to hear that about the manure I really have been worrying about that So I guess I'm good to go very soon for some of my veggies and I will keep my fingers crossed that its better than last year.

Thanks for all the help Guys