My hobby, gardening is just a hobby. I get so much pleasure from raising and growing plants then either eating the end results or popping them into a vase AND giving them away! I also grow more plants than I need so I can give them away too, again it gives me pleasure. So for my gardening style, size of plot and all that is involved I have put up tunnels and greenhouses and use propagators. This allows me to grow warmer weather crops and bring on all the extra plants I want to grow or use some other way, for example one tunnel right now is in use as a cover whilst I paint timber for new raised beds, keeps the rain off! The whole idea of this topic was to merely show those new to gardening that you dont really have to dive in and buy all of these things immediately, which can lead to buying the wrong thing and spending too much money. You can get very good crops out of bare ground for next to no money at all. However if later like me, you wish to be able to do more and grow more different plants, than some of these extra items will be very very useful, just dont dive in head first straight away!

All you need to start to grow is a patch of earth, a few seeds, motivation and the willingness to keep trying when something doesn't work out as planned.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

That is a perfect statement there, then later when you have built your experience you can make choices to buy the other things if you want to...Steve...😃

Hi Steve back in the day my father didn't have the luxury of modern greenhouse he built two of the most beautiful in my eyes from old windows that were being taken out by the council, Some had the little six by six panes glass and Patio doors but they did the job and to some extent I think better, he also didn't have plastic but used orange boxes for his seedling with news paper at the bottom clay pots that he used for all sorts right up to potatoes that he tap the pot to see how dry they were, ok he is what some would say is old school but I say was a true grower and one I wish I was half as good as , Stay safe Bill and val

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

There are still many of those types of greenhouse on allotment sites up and down the country, they look brilliant!...Steve...😃

Oh well done Steve .All the group's seem to chat as if everyone has lights and propogators .Thank you for this post .Ive been growing for many years and I've managed perfectly well.Everything gets germinated on top of our boiler if it needs heat or naturally and I've got a freezer full of harvest .

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Susie, many gardeners have done that or germinated seeds in the cupboard where the hot water tank is (airing cupboard)...Steve...😃

Second hand greenhouses,tools from auctions,homemade compost and buy everything out of season when its cheap. Gardening can be very cheap.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Another good way of keeping prices down, I have my eye on my local auction, waiting for a bit of kit to be put up that I can use, but I am in no rush for...Steve...😃

Hi Steve this video got me thinking off my past as a young lad my mother used to send me to the allotments behind our house to get cut flowers i was always fascinated by the various ways the plots where worked the massive greenhouse where the chrysanthemums where grown i can still smell the scent to this day. I was to young to get a plot but my granny let me work her back garden for flower and veg growing the first thing i made was a gate from her garden unto the allotments and every day after school i spent hours walking around talking to all the growers on the plots the knowledge i gained is still so valuable today as you said there was no such things as propagators/polytunnels or lights in them days but i built a kind of greenhouse from old windows the builders would give me and the big thing for growing on was the cold frame. And you where right about seed sowing season mine used to start ST Patricks day sowing seed potatoes and most veg seeds towards the end of April earl May. Tools where another thing you cleaned sharpened and repaired the second hand tools you gathered up from various places no cash to run to garden centres to be honest i don't even remember a garden centre in them days you'd got a seed catalogue and posted your order away around Christmas time . Present day i think I'm to fussy and worry to much should get back to the old ways sow seed then just plant GREENSIDE UP LOL [Lawrence]

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Nice one Lawrence, you get another 10 points for the planting "Green Side Up" thing 😁😁😁 Your little story is bringing floods of memories back for me also, I might recount one in an upcoming video...Steve...😃

I enjoy all of your videos but this one was so very informative and important to hear!

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Maxine!...Steve...😃

Great Steve. Sound, honest, down to earth advice. I did my head in a bit last year (first year with an allotment) trying to sow everything I could think of, many seeds too early. Trouble wasn't that they didn't germinate, trouble was most of them did! So I ended up with 40 purple sprouting broccoli plants...for 2 people, 50 tomato plants, and so on. I know a bit better this year. I think one of the most valuable lessons I've learned so far is that you can't hurry a garden. Thanks again

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

"you can't hurry a garden" I adore a good quote as you have probably guessed by now, now you have given me a new one! I am so stealing that one...Steve...😃

I was thinking of buying lights but then I saw a video by a bloke who develops and markets big commercial lights on how to build your own small home lights - my husband made mine and I use them instead of normal lights in rooms we use in the evening or rooms that are dark during the day in the winter ~ I love the addition of natural light in those spaces and the possibility of having living plants that are also edible indoors.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

That sounds great Bernadette, could you email me the link? I would be interested in seeing that. steve.greensideup@gmail.com ...Steve...😃

Such Wisdom, Steve 👩‍🌾👍 Garden What You've Got has been my life mantra and carries over to my gardening and Vermiculture. Congratulations on hitting 15K👍 I love watching your channel 👩‍🌾👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the congrats Peggy, another milestone hit ...Steve...😃

Good questions and great answers. Some of the most enjoyable gardening is the easiest gardening, without all of the extras.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Scott, I am all for easier gardening if I can do it, gives me more time to keep an eye on crops...Steve...😃

It's taken me the last 5 years to get the plot to where it is now, but I've been patient and waited for free second hand things to improve my plot!

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Best way overall Helen, then you appreciate your own handiwork too...Steve...😃

Great advice for the newer gardeners Steve, another good video, thank you.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks for watching...Steve...😃

Thank you for another great video! I picked up the keys for my first allotment plot last month and your videos have been my go to for advice. I don't have a lot of windowsill space so have found a space to a small plastic greenhouse in my kitchen just to give me some more shelf space. I sowed some flowers seeds on Monday and I've already got a shoot! It's so easy to think you need all the gadgets and feel disappointed to not have a greenhouse but I'm resisting until I get to know my plot and learn more about growing veg.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

This is the joy of seed sowing, waiting for the action then seeing green coming out of the soil ! The very best of luck with your new plot Amanda...Steve...😃

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

@@theressomelovelyfilthdownh4329 Aquilegias are also brilliant for self seeding where you least expect them, for us here at home it is always right in the midle of the patio, great colourful plants too...Steve...😃

It's awesome that you're helping a new plot holder like this. Lovely chap 😀😀😀

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I'm helping another too get his plot in shape...Steve...😃

I think this is your best vlog.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much Kyle...Steve...😃

Great advice Steve. Totally agree about grow lights. I gave them a go but not for me and have found very little advantage in using them. My late dad was gardening for over 75 years and he managed without lights and so will I.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

They do grow fanatic plants under them and fast too, I am just not in that much of a rush right now. I have a light, never used it but I might one day...Steve...😃

Great advice 👍. I took I on too much when I started and used to feel overwhelmed with the amount of work and keeping on top of things. So I cut back to a smaller plot I could keep on top of. Now I’ve just taken on another small plot behind my original. At first that felt over whelming but little by little I getting it up to scratch for the season ahead. Another point, you can often get secondhand greenhouses either free or at cheap prices if you look around locally. Mine was free and I only had to replace 3 or 4 panes of glass.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

That is a real bargain Christine!...Steve...😃

This has really resonated with me. I’ve always struggled with the impulse to just spend the money to get the result sooner (in all areas of life!). I’ve been gardening for 3 years, so very much a beginner, but already feel that I’ve learned so much wisdom from the garden. Most importantly, that life isn’t about a race to the finish line. I love having projects and for the first time, feel no shame in showing off my incomplete garden. I think we live in a society that only shows the polished finished product and it’s dangerous and harmful. For the first time, I love taking my time, making mistakes, experimenting and taking pride in progress.

Absolutely fantastic advice. This video should be the 1st port of call for all beginners. I confess I made so many of the mistakes you talk about, shiny shiny must have!!!

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

"shiny" I think we all know that one!...Steve...😃

Always good solid advice Steve. Another cracking video. I bought a couple of those really cheap growhouses for bringing stuff on. If its looking like a really cold evening/day then laying some fleece directly over the plants gives them all the protection they need. Never any real need for the expensive stuff as you say.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

That is it Nathan, I have fleece ready to go sat in both tunnels (have not needed it yet this winter) just in case, there is nothing worse than the temperature dropping and you have to half empty a shed looking for fleece...Steve...😃

The bare roots and real facts of building your gardening journey! Thank you!

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome, thanks for watching...Steve...😃

I think is one of the most important messages of the spring. It's some tempting to go big too early. Keeping it manageable is an essential message to everyone.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

It is so so easy to buy many things at this time of the year, I am already being bombarded with this and that gardening offers of a lifetime...Steve...😃

I’ve only ever grown tomatoes outside, even got a decent crop last year despite all the challenges and leggy tomato plants. The year before, I had excellent cucumbers grown outside, though last year only one in a cheap £60 ‘blow away’ greenhouse did well in its pot (the rest died outside). And while the peppers and chilli’s that I dared grow outside did not fruit much and didn’t ripen, I could still harvest them green. (Although these were started off in a £20 heated propagator, mainly because I caved as I couldn’t get any started. The year before they germinated just fine without. Outside growing, you really will have good years and bad years, 2021 wasn’t great for many hot weather plants, but so good for beans and peas! I’ll point out that I only used that shady greenhouse and an east facing window indoors to nurture seedlings last year. I’m also in the U.K. but in the east.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

The good thing is you are having a go and adapting to your conditions, your crops, plants and overall harvest will improve over time Louise...Steve...😃

Great video. Its how I started my plot. My dad recycled in the 50s and I've always done the same. A down to earth ( excuse the pun ) allotment video. I spend as little as possible to grow my fruit and vegetables.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

My Grandads motto was "Make do, and mend", it has served me well over the years too. It is only in recent years when I know what I want that I have started to get the nice things I have...Steve...😃

Thanks Steve, I’m still starting on the window sills with recycled pots and I’ve got reasonably good at it . Just doing onions and leeks now 👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

And you can stay warm in the house doing gardening...Bonus!...Steve...😃

Great advice Steve. My gardening journey started when dad made a lean-to to greenhouse out of polycarbonate. Had a shed with lean-to greenhouse when we got our house and now have a bigger shed and separate greenhouse. No electricity down the garden so germinate my seeds on a cupboard in the dining room then straight down the greenhouse. Don't have greenhouse or polytunnel at the allotment but am able to eat fresh vegetables all year round. Found a good investment to be a coldframe, if you can't make one they are cheap to buy.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Anna, that is brilliant and has to be the ultimate achievement to be able to feed yourself all year. If I remember you also grow cut flowers too?...Steve...😃

@annaeborall934

2 жыл бұрын

@@GreenSideUp I most certainly grow flowers too. Am looking at daffodils which were brought home yesterday 😊

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

@@annaeborall934 Excellent food for body mind and soul too!...Steve...😃

Allotment folk are very friendly as a whole and love nothing more than to talk about their plots & plants & veg etc. I agree with you Steve about talking to each other. Also invaluable source of seeds & secondhand tools etc. It's nice to be nice and I value your advice so thank you 🙂

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Kim, go to talk to a fellow plot holder and most of the time you will be offered something, a pot of seedlings, some advice, cup of tea or a couple of nails to fix that shed door...Steve...😃

You make some really great points here Steve. Seems to be the world all over today - companies trying to convince people that their products are absolutely essential - truth is, they’re not. I’ve found the most knowledgeable gardeners around tend to be the most thrifty!

Are you the best KZreadr…. YEP 👍🏻🥇Simple, direct, practical wisdom from experience that saves us time & money. Your videos are so concise covering real things that make us better gardeners. You really think of everything!!! I first found your channel when I looked up starting an allotment 🤩 wow it was totally invaluable answering questions I hadn’t even thought of but needed to know!! You put so much time & effort in making these for us it really is appreciated. Love your ideas 💡 & how you explain them. You’ve helped me so much. Many many thanks Steve 🙏🏻 Glad I found the greenside up club 🌱🌱💚💚 even learn from reading the comments 💚💚

Good advice Steve, it’s true as a beginner I thought I would need all the equipment, I now have a polycarbonate greenhouse which is brilliant and I even keep a potted Bougainville happy all winter in it have done for five years now, but I don’t have grow lights I made a cardboard box with tin foil inside it to grow seedlings on and it worked brilliantly.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I like the box idea Lynda, well done you!...Steve...😃

Thank you very much for the information, support and the kind words. I am worried that my plot is looking quite bare at the moment, but then I am thinking that it's my first season in the allotment, I maintain the plot by myself only and I will get improve in the future xxx

Wonderful down to earth advice. Well done Steve!

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much Angie...Steve...😃

The new lady has something we don't have, she's got You :) I have raised veg for more than 60 years, and my first REAL bought in greenhouse will be delivered here in March. For about 15 years (a long time ago) I grew most all of our food and we didn't have electricity (or a tractor ;). I just unsubscribed from a very popular channel because it's devolved from growing veg to selling green stalk planters and using all new heavy equipment bought with the income from their KZread channel. Good for them but not Real Life for most people and I think gives a wrong sense of adequacy or success or failure to new people. I much prefer your style ;).

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Paula, it is easy to fall into that trap. I have made a few videos about products and agreed far too quickly to do those because they are dangling a carrot in front of you..a freebie! I wont be making that mistake again unless it is an absolutely super gardening product that I simply must show...Steve...😃

Fantastic video. Completely agree. This is my 4th year with an allotment 3rd season and it’s the first time I’ve bought anything apart from seed and compost. Have managed to fine my local free compost site this year which is great and have now invested in a greenhouse coming next week but it’s taken years of trial and learning to understand what I want and how best to use resources. I agree it brings so much joy to grow food for my family and I’ve had to come up with ways of being super organised as I’m not as time rich as some allotmenters. This year is going to be the best harvest yet I’m determined.

@thesmirkinggrape

2 жыл бұрын

Free compost site? What is this magical place you speak of?

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I wish you a bountiful harvest this year Christie, but not all at once..spread out a little...Steve...😃

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

@@thesmirkinggrape Next to the unicorn stable I reckon 😁😁 I have heard in the past that some councils up and down the country do provide composted greeen waste for free, you either have to pay for delivery or collect/bag yourself, but that was a good few years ago I last heard about that and sadly not round here...Steve...😃

Loads of good sense there Steve. 👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks Steve...Steve...😃

what a great honest and refreshing intro into gardening....with planning you can grow so much in a small garden like mine....but the message given here is quite brilliant....if the cost out ways the produce why bother.....scrounge stuff from skips.....timber etc....youd be amazed.....go to flower shops or big stores and get big flower pots for free.grow thing in tyres....potatoes rhubarb etc.....while youre using them they are not in landfill sites. pallets from builders yards ....a great asset to any garden

Thanks for this. I was about to dive in and get one of them smallish poly tunnels cos they are quite affordable; but your comment about them not having a lot of space rings true. Gonna make do an mend for the time being till I suss out what I need. Thanks!

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

If you possibly can, see if you can get an invite into a polytunnel that is in use, that is the best way to help you decide on overall size...Steve...😃

Thanks for speaking common sense. I'm a new allotmenteer (This will be my 2nd season growing) and there's no way I could have a polytunnel or greenhouse. Had a reasonable crop last season without any of those. Am enjoying learning the basics.

Your videos are blooming fantastic so infomative and varied and looks at different ways of doing things for all levels of experience and budget your an absolute legend and iv learned so much from your content i cant thank you enough after following ur tips last year on growing sweetcorn in my first growing year on my plot my harvest filled a freezer and they were delicious. Cant thank you enough for sharing 💪🙏😊🌼

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Li, thank you so much, this really makes me smile and feel happy right through, I am so glad that what I am doing has had a positive effect on you. All the very best for another great season Li...Steve...😃

I agree Steve, however, I have a greenhouse at home, a decent propagator and lights. Last year I heated the greenhouse over winter to 10 deg C and overwintered a few plants in there, downside was this also overwintered a number of bugs that caused issues for the rest of the year. This winter no heating, bug bomb and lots of Jeyes. The propagator now set up with light (when needed) in the greenhouse and plants are coming on nicely. But I've been doing stuff at home for a number of years, now I have a small plot and the game changes a lot. Not 100 percent essential but it gives me an edge on the natural season. Keep up the good work Steve

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, all incredibly useful and if you want or need to use them there is nothing wrong with that at all...Steve...😃

Hi Steve, another great video with lots of advice for newcomers, thanks for sharing & take care 🙂

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Christine...Steve...😃

Always great advice Steve,this is particularly good because tough times are with us,nice to have the things mentioned especially up here in Scotland,just to get a head start,however just grow what you can grow for your climate,it will still keep you happy 👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers James, it is much easier having those things as I have now, but did manage without them for many years...Steve...😃

Agreed. Most of this paraphernalia is not needed. Just a little bit of warmth will get your seeds away indoors if that's what you want and when the warm weather arrives move the seedlings outdoors then plant them in their growing positions a few days later. Bish bash bosh. Jim.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I have none of these but still grow plenty of vegetables in my allotment. You really do not need spending a lot of money to grow food.

Best one yet! I don’t have a polytunnel or greenhouse but I can still have tons of tomatoes and cucumbers if I pick the right sorts and I livi in Sweden. It’s cold and dark

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

That is excellent Lina, how long is your growing season? Another youtuber I like to follow is Richard Perkins, also in Sweden and he does incredibly well on his regenrative agriculture training facility/farm...Steve...😃

Cheers Steve , much appreciated lots of good advice as usual

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

You are welcome Jim, thanks a bunch...Steve...😃

Really enjoy your blogs - so much sensible advice - haven't got an allotment yet but trying to grow some food in back garden - despite the best efforts of the cat, pigeons and foxes x

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

The trouble with growing nice things to eat is that everything else wants their share...Steve...😃

Fantastic honest video! I have begged stolen and borrowed. Presents, car boots sales, market place, soon your chums say "can you use this in your garden"? ... before you chuck it, figure how can it be used in the veg patch ... drawers, baths, clothes airers and everyone's veg scraps and grass clippings!

Great video Steve with some great advice 🤗

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks Gail...Steve...😃

Brilliant video thanks Steve take care.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching Sandra...Steve...😃

Wow! Great video..saying what noone have said before..great advices! Greetings from Sweden🇸🇪

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Gina! How long is your growing season in Sweden?...Steve...😃

@ginavandam735

2 жыл бұрын

@@GreenSideUp Hi! It really depends on where you live. Sweden is a loooong country ..so in the south the climate is almost mediterranean..and in the north..almost no summertemperatures, very short growingseason. Where I live..almost in the middle, you can grow from May till September. To have a polytunnel really helps, and to start indoors early under light. But many does not do that. It cost too much and you need a lot of space. Greetings 🇸🇪

What a brilliant video!! Thank you

Real down to earth advice Steve ---- great video

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Joan...Steve...😃

A really top video Steve, with some great tips to help us along. It really does make so much sense to just start to grow cautiously without spending fortunes, and then when things start to make sense and you become a little bit more knowledgable and proficient about your veg and flowers, you can decide what type of items would best suit your gardening needs. 😀 have a good weekend mate and stay safe David 👍👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

It is very easy to get "sucked in" to buying these things, but most people who have them have spent years without them...Steve...😃

Great video Steve! Sound advice and I find listening to your voice and delivery very relaxing in these crazy times. There is so much pressure upon us to have a perfect life, perfect home, kids, garden from social media that I so want to turn back time and halt the madness. Your message really resonated with me for these reasons. Life is a journey as they say, but increasing feels like a race. I am a Brit but live in the USA. Some people spend a lot of money here, creating fancy gardens. I am determined to keep my gardening as inexpensive as possible. What is the point of expensive vegetable? I've built all my raised beds over time from wood that I find people discarding in my neighborhood, gather tons of leaves each autumn to make leaf mold and add to compost my pile, use the tree branches that fall in my yard for hugle beds, saved a huge pile of unwanted natural slate slabs from being thrown in the garbage etc etc. It gives me a sense of accomplishment knowing I haven't succumbed the the 'raised metal beds' and 'plastic tower planter' rage that is currently going on...

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

You have to grow the way you feel more comfortable with because the end result tastes so much sweeter. I have my own way too and quite often that "challenges" what is the normal or expected for a given situation. But I do like to do that, change things around and learn from it, I am just as happy failing at something as I am succeeding, therefore I am always happy in the garden...Steve...😃

Great advice from a fellow Cumbrian. Our village doesn’t have any allotments so I’ve approached the parish council to try & get one for the area, just need lots of motivated residents to get involved. In the meantime I’m doing what I can with 2 raised beds on my lovely neighbours land!

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I have never been involved in a campaign to get a new site established, do let me know how you get on Gillian...Steve...😃

Yes then Steve 👍👍👍 great advice

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers lad...Steve...😃

Quality video as always mate. I've just taken on my first allotment 2 days ago so your videos have been very helpful.

Good advice Steve, completely agree with your points in todays video! 👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Niall, thanks for that...Steve...😃

Great video Steve. Good advice and tips. I am only doing one no dig bed in my plot this year because it's not practical for all the beds to be no dig due to the cost of the compost. Keep safe, warm, well and happy gardening.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

It can be quite expensive to startup no dig or as others have said it can be done other way by collecting and using other resources, but once it is done it is minimal to maintain...Steve...😃

Gardening is my hobby from March to late autumn, when I'm glad to give up for 3 months and pursue other hobbies. There is not a single construction of any sort on my large allotment....just 2 temporary paths, which get changed and dug over from time to time

Pheww thank goodness I thought I would have to give up growing 😂😂. My nana never used them and although I can see the benefit I won’t be going out and spending hundreds on lights and heat. Thank you for sharing as always great advise without chastising or criticism just common sense. 👍🇨🇦🐝 safe ps your such a good neighbour it’s what makes most good gardeners people to know 🥰

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

It's gardening Ali, I cant help but get involved !...Steve...😃

Thank for the great advice, really useful for a novice like me. 👍

well said.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Dale...Steve...😃

Dankjewel Steve!!! Leuke informatieve video 👍 (again) ... 👩‍🌾

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks Estella...Steve...😃

Brilliant video and very well explained, nice one Steve 👌🙂

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thaank you very much Ashley...Steve...😃

Good points

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Diana...Steve...😃

another cool vid with tons of advice thanks

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

You are welcome bev, glad you have found it useful...Steve...😃

@bevcroft7875

2 жыл бұрын

@@GreenSideUp i did cheers

Great advice 👍👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks CAL...Steve...😃

Such precious information from a seasoned gardener my friend! As well, great point about KZreadrs starting small. We would be hard-pressed to find a better example than James Prigioni-A quick look at his first videos and it’s abundantly clear that he started with the very basics in all areas. He’s turned into a wealth of knowledge, and his content and equipment is first rate!

Thank you for the very useful video Steve, got my allotment since May 21 and planted all sorts of things with no greenhouse or polytunel, my next project is to build some frames

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

They will be a big help Sandrine...Steve...😃

Really helpful thank you

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Hannah...Steve...😃

Great video

Hi Steve great video. I don't have anything except a cheap small plastic greenhouse £15! Can't put it up outside until after all the storm's have past 1000ft above sea level 🙈. But using the shelving from it in my bedroom window. My kitchen window is always full of seeds from late Feb!! Have been doing this for the past 4 years and have learned a lot. One day I will get my polytunnel up.... But untill then happy growing 👍😉

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I am convinced that doing what you are doing, managing with what you have makes you a better gardener in the end...Steve...😃

Thanks Steve for this vlog. I’ve been following your vlogs for a few weeks now after one popped up on my iPad. I only have a backyard in Wigan. It was fully paved but gradually I’ve taken some slabs up and Beene growing in pots and buckets. For the first time this year ive learnt from you it’s worth to continue sowing cabbage and other seeds but I was wondering how I could give them a bit of extra protection, so I’m going to have a go with the blue water pipes, and try the local carpet shop and see if I can get some plastic! Thanks Joan

Excellent video buddy

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks!...Steve...😃

As a now experienced gardener I agree with you that you don't have to have all of those things, BUT we're an impatient species. We want to keep up with the gardening Jones's so perhaps a video showing what a new gardener can expect to see; for example what the difference is between common weed seedlings and the crops we just sowed. When I was starting out, I had dug over a patch (1.5 x 1.5m or so) and sowed carrots, some brassicas and parsnips. Of course, because I had dug the ground, the weed seedlings had germinated and me being a new gardener I didn't know which was a crop and which was a weed. It didn't occur to me to ask anyone which was which because I hadn't realised that an experience eye can tell the difference, and of course I hoed up a whole row of parsnips! So maybe a practical vid on what new growers can expect would be good. Also, for any new gardener out there: it's okay to fail. Failing one year is a lesson, and maybe next year you'll get it right. And if all else fails, there's the good old gardener's mantra: "next year will be better" 😀

Brilliant advice Steve from second year covid gardener...also for new gardener side you Steve, she got some great advice from yourself... maybe you should ask her to subscribe to your channel 👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Michael, she is already here and subscribed. I have not menioned her name for reasons of privacy etc...Steve...😃

hi Steve i went with out a polytunnel or propagator for around 2 years & done ok tell around a year ago then i got myself a polytunnel & i've just finished building my benches & stuff inside the polytunnel from pallets for free. all the best ivan

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Ivan, pallets are a gardeners friend, useful is so many ways...My big shed at the back of the plot is made from them...Steve...😃

@upbeet863

2 жыл бұрын

@@GreenSideUp you can never have enough pallets like you side so useful . all the best ivan

Wise Wise words there Steve, can not agree with you more. I am a traditional tiller and find that I grow more than enough produce than I can use year on year using the traditional methods so why do I need to go down the no dig route? There is logic in the Charles Dowding way, however unless you need to max your production IE as a Market Gardener you don't need the expense of all that compost or the facilities to make lots yourself. No dig does not mean no work if that's also what you may think. I happen to enjoy digging my beds I find it very cathartic a good work out and I really like seeing the nice even fresh tilled beds as a end result. No I don't have a green house as yet but I do find a cold frame a valuable asset and would suggest one for new gardeners. Also as you mentioned I see a hoe is the gardeners best friend. So a big big thumbs up for this one. Keep on gardening. 👍👍

I have a cheap tunnel that i take down in autumn, so then i have no worries.

I also think before taking on an allotment people should consider how much of their time it will take - you cant just dig it over pop in seed and then leave it for weeks on end. Other plotholders will not be pleased at the weedy mess that ensues. However, as you say enthusiastic newcomers who are willing to learn and put the regular time into it can start small and 'grow' into it over time.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I think this is the most overlooked thing of all and the mistake of digging over and planting then coming back to hours of weeding, is what makes a high percentage of plot holders give up, a when a 10 minute weekly hoeing will keep the bit of ground manageable...Steve...😃

Great wise words Steve but 'kitchen floor'! Have you met my wife?!!! 😜

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Just last Thursday Norman.😁😁😁, she told me she was fine with as many seed trays as you need all over the Kitchen...Steve...😃

I was beginning to worry thinking it was me not needing all these things.

👍👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you ...Steve...😃

💝

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you...Steve...😃

👍

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Valorie...Steve...😃

Nice advise Steve. I've not sown any seeds yet . we are going to be hit with a bad spell of weather soon as well :(

@MrCobbsalad

2 жыл бұрын

Same here apart from garlic. Surely too early in Scotland to start sowing without cover.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Woke up to a severe frost here this morning, bad weather is always just around the corner, something very British about that...Steve...😃

Hi Steve, I'm not sure if your comments are strictly true,, I'm almost 70 and I too remember the real 4 seasons back in the UK,, now I live in the West of Ireland and find we don't get the brightness/daylight we used to have,, I've found I need a bit of light to help the seedlings, I use the lights in the propagator, the cheaper £8 light strip units, or my seedlings get too leggy, even in March and April

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

That is strange Phillip, I can struggle a little bit early in the year Jan/Feb for light, but after that everything is fine, and I am right up in North Northwest Cumbria. What are your sunrise and Sunset times today Phillip, it would be interesting to compare with my own...Steve...😃

@phirst55

2 жыл бұрын

@@GreenSideUp I'm not sure if it's the daylight hours or the quality of light,, most spring/summer days are very cloudy, and quite heavy cloud,, unlike the days of my childhood in the 1950's and 60's when we had 4 distinct seasons,, Most veg and flowers grow to a certain extent but don't appear to flourish,, An example is the tomatoes in the polytunnel,, even though they grew well, nothing ripened until late August,,, by the same token we were picking them until November,, planted in May after the last frost dates, grew to 6 feet tall and formed fruits, but very late to ripen,, Money Maker and Alicante

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

@@phirst55 We have had more than a couple of "funny" years weather wise in the last ten that has made growing challenging, especially with the warmer weather crops. Light could be playing a massive part, but in general it is not something that happens here for me too much and I have been laying it at the door of temperature fluctuations, long very hot summers and suddenly sever temperature drops for a couple of days, I think this is stalling tomatoes. It is why over the last good few years I have been playing about with growing and planting sideshoots for their quick and vigorius growth, that testing goes on this year...Steve...😃

Very Nice 👍🔥❣️💖✨🌟💫⭐🌸 Friend⭐💫🌟

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!...Steve...😃

thank you so much for this video. i'm starting up growing again (did it years ago before youtube etc then life got in the way). Its really easy to feel overwhelmed and like u need to rush out and buy so much stuff! This has 'grounded' me again, excuse the pun, and reminded me that the reason im doing it is to enjoy the process not have an overnight completely finished garden. I can't get an allotment, im on the waiting list but its in the hundreds in my area, none of my neighbours grow stuff (except weeds haha), id really like to get into the social side of it, do u have any suggestions?

This is a fantastic video. I really enjoyed it. As someone who is on the allotment list and has been for a very long time, I recently found out that it shouldn't be long before I'll get a plot. Which I'm super excited about. However, I don't want to accept a plot that would be difficult to grow on. Do you have any advice on what questions to ask when going to view a plot the first time? Many thanks in advance.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I have a playlist with 5 videos in it about starting a new allotment which should guide you on your first steps kzread.info/head/PLgTlGH1TCYdCOuRF46s9s4iKS1ae4yc_k I hope that helps you. My email address is in the description under every video if you mail me before you go and then take some photo's while you are there. I may be able to help a little more...Steve...😃

Some of the negative comments on here 🙄 wish people would watch & listen….. you’re not saying don’t buy, just wait & see what you’re after. Learn from mistakes and start slow. I know of people on our site who spent £ on a tunnel, didn’t even stay 6 months before giving the plot up.

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Vanessa, yes I have seen quite a lot of this myself...Steve...😃

Hey Steve May I ask a question? I have never grown Swede/Rutabaga,could you po ssibly do a video on this veg, from start to finish, I just love this veg and would love to grow (it is hard to get here) it this year! Thank you for all you do for your video's. TIA

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

I will see what I can do for ou...Steve...😃

What did you use Steve for that white ridge path you were standing on?.......

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

That is recycled tin roofing, I will use that until such time I can source some free wood chip...Steve...😃

Where do u get the plastic sheeting for ur hot boxes?

I wish you were next to my garden iv got 4 8x4 brand-new raised beds a1000 and I seedlings of everything you can think of and now I'm stuck what next ??? Im trying to find out what can go with what and what can't go with what ???it's a mine field...hitting this brick wall iv gone from delight to fear I don't want to get it wrong

Thanks for this advise how big are your water pipe hoops?

@GreenSideUp

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Kim, the pipes are 1 inch thick and they stretch over a bed 4 ft wide and stand 3ft tall, if you like I could measure the overall length I cut them at tomorrow which includes the bit stuck into the ground...Steve...😃

@kimscrafts4814

2 жыл бұрын

@@GreenSideUp lovely I just wondered how long I'd need the for my beds roughly mine are about 2 1/2 foot wide x

Do you need beds