On the advice of billybob, starting a new life getting a fresh hobby  :P The missus and I have recently been setting off some seedlings ,Toms, Cumbers , Peppers, Onions, Sweet Corn..... so on and a few flowers , a mixture of Spanish  and English types . its our fisr year at this  , we intend to use raised beds and auto irrigation, has anyone had great success or dismal failure with their veggie plots , any tips, reccomendations on veg ,flowers to grow, would be nice. Im alright on the fertizlizer front as my Neighbour Marcello will be dropping 64 tonnes of the chicken blend in the next week or so for his orange groves which surrounds us.  :-?

We are not exactly Tom and Barbara but we have been helping out some friends who are renovating their place and have a veg patch on the go. We have found that unless you put plenty of mulch, compost and your neighbours chicken stuff in the soil it can go rock hard after watering.

We've been told to plant seedlings not seeds and they should be well spaced out (as with pot plants...)
Failing that,grow goats.

Nobrots other half.

Thanks N.O.H bit about the soil makes sense, I have a thresher mulcher munching machine so can do on that also, Im  hoping to get some quality top soil if it exists soon, were growing seedlings at the mo then pricking out into small pots  so they can stand half a chance when they hit terra firma, good advice ! anyone else ? :)

Hi
I feel abit of a fraud putting a reply as our place is only a holiday retreat and everyone else is living in Catalonia and we don't have too much knowledge about gardening at our place although at this time of year our weeds are fantastic!!!  Anyway have found this website which might give a little bit of info        www.gardeninginspain.com.
We are hoping to set up a watering system for when we are away so I will be requesting some advise at some point if anyone else has done this.
Debbie

I've been growing veg here pretty much for the last 3 years. Chicken manure can be a bit too rich at times - you need to leave it for a year (so I'm told!). On the other hand, rabbit manure can be used immediately.  

You can buy seedlings from the indoor market in Tortosa (2 stalls sell them) - they are spanish varieties so well suited to the climate - I've tried some english varieties with poor success. Prices are very reasonable - a few cents each for lettuice, peppers aubergines etc. A large bunch of onions (normally around 150 ish) costs around a cent per plant. Hardly seems worth raising from seed!

I had little success with english runner beans or melons, but good success with chillies, peppers, swede, cucumber, potatoes, raddish, marrow, aubergines, carrots and many other things (English strawberries do well if you can get them established).  I'm currently experimenting with rhubarb grown from seed - so far looks promising, just have to see how they cope with the summer heat.

You can get 2 growing seasons here if you time things right - spring and autumn.

Best tip, keep an eye out for what the locals are planting and what seedlings are being sold in the market. Also, if you really want to raise from seed, Lidl sell various seeds at reasonable prices.

Nigel

Thanks Deb bookmarked that  ;)

Nigel I havent visited Tortosa Indoor Market, now on the to visit list , maybe tomorrow, I also heard from local friends who ha ve struggled with peas and beans .also,  Asked my dad about fertilizer he  told me about the Chicken stuff also,.......  a definite no no for carrots apparently, funny enough Ive bought some seeds from Lidl but the only strange thing is Tortosa stocked them Amposta and Vinaros Lidl didnt up to press.

Again thanks for all replies knowledge is sucess  ;)

Keep them coming !

No real problems with peas - bought the seed from Lidl last year and this. Only problem I had last year with them was the goat escaped and ate most of them :(  This year no goat! Peas went in about 3 weeks ago and are growing like crazy at the moment.

I'm trying runner beans again - planted them in pots and kept them indoors and they grew like mad. I transplanted them to the garden and they pretty much stopped growing :( Not sure if it's temperature or what.. anyone help?

The other problem to bear in mind is the wind. Try and plant in sheltered areas or you may find the wind will whip the plants around and break the stems!

Maybe we should create a planting calendar?  The locals plant their potatoes around the middle of february for the first crop and then in october for the second crop (for anyone who wants to know).

Nigel

The website you given is really good - thanks for that!  I'm experimenting with various things too, my problem is, back in UK I could kill any plant without really trying, so over here, very pleased when something does grow!  To reinforce, watch what the locals do and buy seedlings at Tortosa market.  That's what I've done this year and it seems to be working to some extent.  (As much as my black fingers can achieve!)

A good book I got from Amazon is "Gardening in Spain" by Marcelle Pitt, it gives a pretty good guide of what to plant, when.

Is anyone interested in setting up a gardening circle or club?  Thought it might be a good idea to get together occasionally and swap ideas, seeds, plants, books, tips etc. etc., We could take it in turns perhaps to be host, or find a place to meet.  If anyone is interested, drop me an email and we could try to set up a get together.

Will of Orange, good on you, nice to see you have a good sense of humour. good luck with the veggy growing, growing a few veg myself, did quite well last year so hopefully better this year. water, water, water but watch out for those snails. ;D oh by the way, i work till the early hours, and like a drink myself when i get in  ;)

Popped into the  Tortosa indoor market on Friday, got a few bits and bobs, only one of the stalls was open, the lady who was selling veg also, the other stall had alot more plants but was closed, do I take it the variety of seedlings changes through out the year as planting requirements change.

Thanks for leting me know
PS I bought some seeds they were between 2 and 3 euros a packet  (box in case of peas) not cheap but enough in each to sow a full field  or two,  8-)

Bill,
Try the woman with the purple hair outside the market by the river (saturday and mondays).She does a great line in healthy trees and a few pot planted herbs.We've just planted a small orchard of cherries,oranges,lemon,lime,grapefruit and peach trees from her and if she hasn't got them she will get them

NTG, cheers for that but Im OK on the citrus tree front we are not a million miles away from a very large company called Viveros Alcanar there on the road from Ulldecona to Vinaros KM 7 a massive company which does all the citrus trees, not cherry just citrus, most of the farmers use them, a tree about 4ft in a cloth root bag are 5 euros or a potted one slightly bigger in a 10inch pot are 10 euros each, there online at [deleted re forum rules]. Not veg I know but worth the visit if your buying a few for a new orchard!

PS the woman with the purple hair.........thats about 20% of all the Spainish Ladies  ;D what is the new colour for 2008 ? 8-)

Thanks Bill
I know the place.
On the hair front,Burgundy,this years purple.

wrote on Mar 29^th, 2008 at 5:20pm:

Bill, Try the woman with the purple hair outside the market by the river (saturday and mondays).She does a great line in healthy trees and a few pot planted herbs.We've just planted a small orchard of cherries,oranges,lemon,lime,grapefruit and peach trees from her and if she hasn't got them she will get them

hi dose she have olive tree too :)

Hi Nen
Yes she has olive trees,they are basically small saplings.If you want something larger and more established there are plenty of growers/garden centres along the n340 toward Vinaros and the other way to L'ampolla,there are also a couple of commercial growers between Mora and Miravet to name but a few places.

:-/nobrot Can you tell me ?have you been spaying your fruit tree's.First couple of years we had just orange,pear,lemon,mora,and a large plum tree . Last year we planted a apple and peach tree .the apple got the worms so to speak ,and the worm got the better of the plum tree  . are you still with me !. .Somebody has said you must always spray ............just wondered if you have. Maybe anyone else may know .         Anybody out there hows your tree's doing ?

Can't honestly say I know anything about fruit trees other than what I find on tinternet.As for spraying
we dont intend to spray as we will not be selling commercially.As far as I know if you sell commercially the fruit,certainly oranges,have to be sprayed will a fungal inhibitor so that they last longer.All we will be doing in the pest control department is ladybirds and nude dancing around the trees at midnight.It seems to work for the sprouts and peas......

O' nobrot..the mind boggles ......................my next question is who  are you dancing round those   tree's with ...not the women with the purple hair i' hope    ;D  now i know whats wrong with me veg .not enough dancing ... but thanks for the reply !

e have plenty of goat mauare if thats of ant help to any1

sorry that should be we before any1 corrects my spellig :P

wrote on Mar 31^st, 2008 at 11:48am:

Hi Nen Yes she has olive trees,they are basically small saplings.If you want something larger and more established there are plenty of growers/garden centres along the n340 toward Vinaros and the other way to L'ampolla,there are also a couple of commercial growers between Mora and Miravet to name but a few places.

ok thanks for that regards nen