The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: TracyC on October 19, 2016, 08:50:27 am
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Hi there
Well my "winter" spinach and corn salad didn't germinate which I sowed directly early Oct, so I'll note that one down to experience. As I mentioned on the other thread, there was a frost which I think stopped them germinating.
I've just had an email from T&M to say my onion and garlic have finally been dispatched. They were let down by their supplier, so are 2 weeks behind where they want to be. Putting those in will keep me busy on Saturday at least. I've put in some PSB and cauliflower which were doing well in the unheated greenhouse but appear to have been eaten by slugs. I'll have to put some pellets down which I don't like using but needs must. There's 5 PSB and only 3 caulis as just experimenting to see what will work.
I'm also thinking about pre ordering my potatoes as I see on the T&M website that they are taking order and 1 set of early varieties was sold out already. Obviously they won't dispatch them until 2017 but I don't want to miss out like I did this year. I think I have a voucher for them too.
So I'll be adding rotted muck to the beds that will make use from it and covering them until they are to be used. I've got my first plan of the veg plot for next year drafted but it's going to need shifting round as my hubby doesn't want the pumpkin patch in the front garden. Apparently it won't look as nice as the lawned area we have now! I'm trying to relocate it as I really enjoyed growing them all this year, but they take up so much space that I would like to try and put them somewhere in their own dedicated spot. He has other ideas however :innocent: :huff:
I have my leeks and red cabbage that are looking ready to pull so I plan on taking the cabbage out, cooking it and freezing for Christmas dinner then using the leeks as we need them. Oh and we have a few sprouts but I am scared to use them as I think the entire UK caterpillar population ended up living on them. They were supposed to be for Christmas too! One for the learning for next year.
What's everyone up to, anything? Hibernating and counting the day until the Spring? :roflanim:
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I was just given keys to the allotment!
I was given a plot which is bordering my garden! The best I could wish for!
It has two mature apple trees and very sweet plum and a glasshouse!!!
Two years on the waiting list but it was worth it lol
So at the moment I spend my weekends shifting a mountain of compost and rabbit and chicken manure to the allotment. Then I want to dig the weeds out and plant some garlic and onion before its too late.
Then I will keep working on fencing and later in winter planting fruit bushes and training them along the fences.
Sooooooo much work! At the same time our house is being decorated.... headache headache constant headache...
Can't wait till I can sit down and watch everything grow, chickens running and scratching...
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Slugs got most of our greens but chard and spinach and kale coming on well. Also lettuce beetroot and fennel in the polytunnel and will be sowing spring onions and rocket in ther as well next week :fc: picking up pork from abbatoir tomorrow, four lambs going next week, one for us two sold and one for rent
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The weds are growing and it looks derelict. :innocent:
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TracyC, please remember that the biggest killer of hedgehogs is slug pellets! You might try a boundary of fine gravel around vulnerable plants?
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Don't forget to put your broad beans in during the first week of November if it's frost free .
If you've never had them or had a lousy experience with them , they are really quite nice when straight off the plant and not fully grown , lightly boiled and buttered or with white sauce . None of that stinky smell you get from the ones you'd get in hospital that stink to high heaven and taste absolutely vile . !2 plants have given me about 1& 1/2 pounds of shelled beans .
As I'm th only one who eats them I blanched them for a timed 90 second scald in boiling water , a quick drain and then plunged them into a big bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process.
After draining them I put them in 25's in cut down heat sealed vac packed bags & labeled them up & bunged them in the dep freezer . They will last me through the year and also see a few go into the occasional stew pot .
I've been busy moving five full plastic Dalek type compost bins ( 650 cubic litres worth ) some 30 mtrs away to the back of my property now that the landscaping has been completed and things have settled down to growing .
They are full of four year old well made animal dungs & associated beddings compost , old kitchen waste plus a lot of wet straw & shredded garden stuff including 40 or so feet ( both sides ) of chipped / mulched 12 foot tall Leylandi hedge cuttings .
It's taken me nearly two weeks , doing a bit whenever I was able . Interspersed with that I also dumped a couple of buckets of the compost in each 9 square foot X 900 mm high raised bed that need if for the compost hungry crops of next year .
One of these beds was captured by Alison some 18 months ago and covered in 3 mm thick engineering construction waterproof sheet , she'd had some of her Bonsai collection in it till I got the 12 mtrs of 60 wide staging set up for her bonsai .
It had compressed some nine inches , so yesterday afternoon I added four bucket of compost , four buckets of mulched up coir and two buckets of coarse vermiculite granules then turned it in several times over .
The bed is now full to the brim , I might just stuff a couple of dozen semi hard wood fuchsia cuttings in it, for the bed that I did that in last year produced a decent plant on nearly every cutting ( thanks to hormone rooting compound as well :thumbsup: )
Next week ought to see me starting to draw up my new seed sowing charts for 2017 and discard any seeds that didn't do very well this year .
Some of my seeds are many years older than the seed houses suggest you keep them .
It's been a revealing experience to decant 7 store in tip top storage conditions and work out the real viability of seeds from info off the internet .
Round here most of the garden centers are clearing the seeds of the shelves in readiness for the Christmas tat & as a result are marking nearly all seeds down in price often to at least half or less . Last year we saved nearly £78 if my memory serves me correctly .
Next week is also the latest time I can take cuttings off my perennial Kale ( Chou d' Aubenton Sp??) My strain of plants must be getting on for five or six yerrs old now . Each year I've run several sets of followers four months or so apart then chopped up & composted the old gnarly plant once I have some new healthy productive plants up & runing .
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Its all in my head at the moment.
I am waiting for three large trees to be taken down in early November then I will be ordering sleepers (or something cheaper and better) to build my raised beds. Sadly it does mean that next year will not be as good as it could be but thinking longer term it should be great.
In the meantime I have built my three stage compost bin and this weekend I am putting in the leaf mould area as I have sooo many leaves to collect :)
Ahh the joys of a new garden and only being able to work on it at weekends
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Ahh the joys of a new garden and only being able to work on it at weekends
Oh an in couple of weeks it will be dark before most people are back from work... I won't even see my animals in the afternoon :( forget about evening gardening...
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TracyC, please remember that the biggest killer of hedgehogs is slug pellets! You might try a boundary of fine gravel around vulnerable plants?
You can buy organically approved slug pellets in garden centres and online. I have used them in my polytunnel, where the biggest problem is that the mice gather them up overnight to line their nests ::) The pellets contain an iron-type compound which degrades into naturally occurring stuff.
I understand fully the need to control slugs and snails, but have found none of the barrier methods work. I grow alpines in stone troughs and large pots, the whole soil surface covered with fine sharp grit. The slugs and snails happily crawl over this and graze the surface of the cushion plants. I have tried a wool mulch - having plenty of the raw material here - with no effect other than it gets tangled around the tines of tillers and rotavators. I've tried copper barriers and bought those plastic things with a trough of water, but both are too expensive to use for more than a couple of plants. Picking the slugs and snails off by hand isn't a realistic option because of the number we get (it's very wet and lush here) and because of the area to be covered. Also I prefer to sleep at night rather than spend my time searching for slugs and snails.
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<<< After draining them I put them in 25's in cut down heat sealed vac packed bags & labeled them up & bunged them in the dep freezer . They will last me through the year and also see a few go into the occasional stew pot>>>
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[/size]Cloddopper, if you open freeze the broad beans on a tray for a few hours, you can then store them all together but without clumping. That way you save on bags and can vary the number of beans you eat at one time.[/color]
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[/size]I have found there is no point sowing broad beans in the autumn - deep snow will kill the plants if they are outside, they don't crop well in the tunnel, and my Feb-sown crop is only days behind anyway. . [/color]
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[/size]I totally agree about using the beans young. If the scar from where the bean was held in the pod shows any change of colour then they're too old for anything but stew. Another way to enjoy broad beans at the start of the season is to pick the whole pod when they are about 2 - 21/2 inches long, steam and serve with white sauce, flavoured with summer savory. [/color] :yum:
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Outdoors in my veg plot there's nothing at the moment apart from the dregs of some carrots and beetroot. The potatoes are all lifted and stored. For the first time in the 21 years we've been here, we have some 'frost-free' storage space :thumbsup: .
We have two areas we cultivate in alternate years, since we cut back on the total area cultivated. One half has been covered with a thick tarpaulin since the spring, and will be for growing in next year. The second plot which we cultivated this year is nearly cleared and will be covered with a tarpaulin as with the first, until spring 2017. We are changing to an almost totally no-dig system, of necessity and this seems to work for us.
In the tunnel, we have several very awkwardly placed self sown kale and PSB plants - they are nearly as tall as me and provide far more than we can possibly eat - still, the sheep love a treat :sheep:
We have leeks which were planted out late so although they are looking splendid I fear they will go to seed before they are large enough to crop.
We still have tomatoes (sakura) which are producing enough fruit for us, in spite of some frosts already. They are covered in fleece and the fruit is picked as soon as it starts to turn colour, then ripened indoors. The foliage is a disaster, but that doesn't prevent the crop being healthy.
The allium bed is prepared, waiting for the garlic to arrive from T&M.
[member=163269]TracyC[/member] I have ordered my T&M potatoes, spring shallots and spring planted onions already. If you order all the heavy stuff together it saves on delivery costs. I go mainly for blight resistant potatoes - this year Carolus was the best, although Orla and Setanta were good - and Setanta makes the scrummiest roasties. Each year I change one variety - this year we had Markies but it was the first to succumb to foliage blight. For next year I'm trying Athlete. I have in the past tried the Sarpo types but in general their flavour isn't great in our soil.
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I've got carrots and parsnips to pull up and eat/freeze/make soup from, plus the rest of the spuds, which I really need to get out of the ground soon. Oh, and a few leeks, but they're still rather thin.
Once they're all up I need to dig out all the strawberries, which have gone mouldy before getting ripe every year so I'm giving up, and then top up all the beds bar the one that'll have the carrots and parsnips next year with rotted manure.
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CJ. Try potting your strawberries this autumn in big well drain-able plant pots and stand them a foot or so off the floor . so long as the actual berries are not touching anything wet most will be usable .
Best of all it makes it easy to take new runners off them when they are in pots as you can stand the new pot adjacent to the planted up pot .
It also helps when you do the three year clear out /destruction of the older plants for disease prevention & pest control reasons as there is nearly alway some new clean unused disease & pest free soil/compost available for the runners in the new pots .
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Well I have put some aubergines in - we're off! They are germinating in the house at the moment.
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I sorted seeds out yesterday for first sowings today. I gave up on aubergines 'cos only OH eats them and not many and they are the worst for attracting whitefly into my greenhouse. Toms, peppers, leeks and a few brassicas and lettuce. They'll often go leggy indoors when sown this early and I don't heat my big g'house and the heated one is packed with citrus... so i accept that first sowings (toms/peppers) may end up frosted once moved out to the cold house. Simple plan is a repeat sowings every 3 weeks to catch the early sweet-spot. G'house was cleaned and sterilized last week.. my usual lazy way with a load of sulphur chips in an old saucepan and set alight, vacate the greenhouse while it fills with fumes all day.
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First sowing today for the propagator - sweet and chilli peppers, plus having another go with aubergines (my favourite summer vegetable and I don't like buying vegetables in the summer...). Just got all my seed orders through last week and am currently sorting them into monthly see boxes.
Will tomorrow put in my order for a Keder greenhouse - it's long been on my list and we finally have decided to go for it... am quite excited! Although it is likely that this summer the polytunnel will still be them main indoor growing space
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MUD!! :innocent:
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MUD!! :innocent:
Me too ;D
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We've still got a few bits in to see us through to spring. leeks, parsnips, kale, carrots, cabbages and salad.
I've just sown some mangetout for the polytunnel and broad beans for outside, into deep rooters in the house. Hoping they'll catch up with my outdoor showings from last Nov so I can plug the gaps created by hungry critters.
Looking forward to the purple sprouting broccoli in a couple of months time and the Autumn planted onions and garlic are doing well.
I'd love to get on with a bit of weeding but the ground is either too heavy from rain or frozen...
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Lol @ mud.
Interesting way to streilise the greenhouse :D
We too have PSB ready in a couple of months. I can't wait!
Now obviously I didn't grow these, but am getting Sevilles to make marmalade with today :)
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Now obviously I didn't grow these, but am getting Sevilles to make marmalade with today :)
Not obviously ;D ... I grew an orange tree from a pip a a standard. The first year it fruited i figured I was going to make my fortune.. a dozen tiny oranges the sze of walnuts and so sweet. I had plans to clone the tree and sell whole candid orange cake decorations. The next year, full of anticipation it grew more than a kilo of small oranges... heck they were seriously bitter and ended up marmaladed and a really, really strong flavour. It's never fruited since (7yrs?)... probably 'cos it's now potbound and i couldn't manage a larger pot for gettign it into the citrus house over winter. I've tried severe pruning to encourage fruit etc. Perhaps one day i'll do cuttings.
Now lemons... well this is my tree 2 years ago..(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00253_zpszjox7sci.jpg)
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Well blow me down with a feather! I am going to give it a go!
The Seville's weren't in, so couldn't get started. I did get some mangoes for chutney though, don't tell me you have a mango tree too? :D
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I've only tried to germinate a couple fo mango seeds and failed..possibly they don;t get to ripen on the tree enough before export..or just wrong conditions. They are a multiembryonic seed (if memory serves) and should grow true to type rather than needing grafting. If you've ever seen a mangoe tree fruiting they really hang as long heavy strands.
I have tried lychee - which germinated but died over winter in a conservatory - you'ld really have to keep the night time heat up. I've also failed with breadfruit.. I brought some root cuttings back once and they didn't take .. smuggling a whole young tree would be harder to do.
Bananas I have grown and pineapple. I do have limes and grapefruit.. get plenty limes but the grapefruit rootstock it was grafted on underperforms.. I get the odd one only. Kumquat only fruited once and my sweet orange tree got diseased and died. It was reliable and regular.
Citrus is pretty hardy.. just frost free will do but they can take a degree or two of frost.. get rare snow in the florida groves and it just knocks them back rather than killing them. Heating for the more tender exotics just got too expensive to bother but I did ave a client growing coffee in her conservatory..it was like a sweatbox in there.
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I'm mostly pruning apple trees at the moment; some very old ones that are seriously neglected. I have a few spinach, winter lettuces and pak choi seedlings on the go and I just put in my first aubergine seeds on heat to try and get ahead - last year they were USELESS.
This year I'm going to really try and pay a lot of attention to the veggie patch; mostly as a way to bring in some extra income.
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Thank you for the pruning reminder!
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Lovely lemons! Outside we have garlic and shallots growing and whatever kale which hasn't been shredded by the gales and undercover we have set Rocket first early tatties, overwintering rocket, raddiccio, leaf beet, spring cabbage and early purple sprouting broccoli. But nothing is of any size to be eaten just yet.
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I've sown tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, chillis, PSB, aubergine and corn salad over the last week or so. Some heated, some in the house accordingly. Really excited about it. I'll probably lose some due to being leggy but that's ok, I prefer to try and fail than wonder as I have plenty of seeds.
I've also just ordered some sunflower seeds which as it is now February, I can say I will put in next month :) In fact, I may start a few under glass just to try them.
Tatties are chitting on the north facing windowsill.
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We've covered an area over to make our outdoor beds, digging over a bed in the polytunnel, putting some manure down in our future berry area and getting ready to kick some new seeds off.
Dans
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I've dug around half of the allotment on Saturday! Just before the rain started!!!
My polytunnel arrived yesterday! So happy!
Bought some seeds over the weekend.
Should I start planting tomatoes and aubergines now?
Anything else I should start now?
After that I will start cabbage and cauliflower
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Awaiting the delivery of 36 asparagus crowns to join the plants already in place. Ground prepared and has been covered in black plastic since the middle of last summer so that I can get it as clean as possible before planting.
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My seeds from Garden Organic's Heritage Seed Library have arrived - the six packets (squash and both runner and climbing French beans) plus my lucky dip extra which this year is celeriac. Never grown it before so I'm not sure whether or not to try it. I did try one once but didn't like it much but it was a rather grotty little one. What do people use them for?
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Mgm we grow celeriac and have disovered that it needs to be watered even if its raining! We make celery and celeriac soup, mash it with potatoes or just have it as a veg. Nice in stews as well
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What a coincidence MGM just got back from the tunnel with a big celeriac which I've added to a load of other veg fto make a delicious curried veg soup! We had hit and misses growing this vegetable until we tried the variety called Prinz - fantastic - non bolting, behaves itself very well and makes the best soups!
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:thumbsup:
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Most of my chilli and sweet pepper seeds, as well as two of the aubergine varieties (both F1) have germinated and all have been moved to the light box for growing on. My one aubergine variety I got from Real Seeds sadly has not done anything, but then I saw in their packet that it needs 35 deg C to germinate.... well no chance of that in my house, unless I tuck them inside the poultry incubator... , which I may try as it is empty at this time of year...
Recently pre-germinated and then planted in the polytunnel into toilet roll holders three different kinds of b/beans, just before we had quite a bit of frost... but they are now coming slowly through.
Garlic still in pots in p/tunnel waiting to be trans-planted into outside beds (once two of my goats have kidded - due yesterday and at the w/end)...
so enough to do, but finished all the pruning, even the gooseberry bush...
Tomatoes next into propagator, end of February only though...
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Nothing as of yet, weather's still too bad to do anything in the garden :( I may sow some veg seeds this month, if I have time, else I'll leave it till march...
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Planted some shallots and sowed aubergine and kohl rabi for the tunnel this week.
Celeriac is particilarly good creamed with double cream, butter and seaoning. I find it needs a long growing season to achieve a good size and dies much better in the tunnel. I also find it germinates much better in the polytunnel in a tray than indoors, even in a heated propagator.
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Great to see so much activity and thoughts. I love hearing what other people are growing.
I've sown a few things which as expected went very leggy, but I am sowing every 7 days to get the right date for me, then next year I'll know when that is. I must stress I have so many seeds that need using which is why I am sparing them for this experiment :)
Re aubergines, mine only started showing yesterday and are in my kitchen which is 19/20C daily. They were sown on 15th so it's taken over 2 weeks for them to germinate, so don't give up.
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Well after writing that post tother day I decided to sow some sugarsnap peas, for an early harvest. Here's hoping it works.... :excited:
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First things to go in this year - broad beans. I sow them in pots in the tunnel. They are put into bakers' trays then suspended from the crop bars. This is usually to deter mice, but this winter with the hens in there I'll need to hang them extra high to stop them deciding to fly up and perch. In about April the beans will be transplanted into the outside garden.
My garlic is coming up slowly, maybe half up now.
The hens still haven't touched the kale or sprouts, although the giant cabbage is nothing but a stump - kept them entertained for weeks. The sprouts are sooo delicious - we had some tonight with our own sausages and potatoes :yum: :hungry:
Today was warm and sunny so we did the first work in our flower garden. I've found before that if you get mild weather in Feb it's the ideal time to get many weeds out. They seem to have only weeny roots and have been pushed up by frost, so come out very easily. In a couple of months they will have put down long, strong roots which are much harder to get out.
It was lovely seeing all the bulbs coming up, and some in flower, jasmine too - promise of things to come.
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One thing we have been experimenting with is using a hotbed for germination.
Built a metre cube out of pallets in the polytunnel and filled it full of fresh horse manure. Within a few days the interior temperature was 50 degrees C and the surface temperature 29 degrees.
Would not have normally planned to do any sowing yet but had plenty of various salad leaf seeds and wanted to try and get the tunnel producing salad all year. Planted various trays and put on top of hotbed, covered with plastic. Germinated in four days and today moved into a coldframe inside the tunnel before they frazzle.
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Who's your gardens after last week's storm?
My polytunnel/greenhouse cover nearly flew away. I caught it on time and put it nicely in the shed. That gives me time to clear some overgrown Holly trees which are covering much of the sunshine to my plot. Hopefully this weekend :fc:
Then I really want to put cauliflower and cabbage seeds in toilet roll pots!
When should you start sweetcorn???
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I can at last get to my polytunnel and veg plot now that the hens and geese can roam. The tunnel is dark with kicked up dust so first thing is a thorough pressure wash, then some uncovering and weeding of the leeks, garlic and brassicas which were netted while the hens were in.
Although we missed the worst storms, we have had a lot of snow and rain so the ground in the veg patch is way too soggy to work yet, where it's been open to the elements. The main patch though has been covered for a year with a tarpaulin, so soon we can uncover it, rotavate in manure (we usually just spread it on the surface then cover and leave it to the earthworms, but we were too late this year) then re-cover until we're ready to start planting.
I really need to start sowing seeds now I have access to the tunnel, as all I've got in so far is broad beans. For tender plants, I set up the jumbo propagator in our bedroom :eyelashes: so that's today's task.
For sowing sweetcorn [member=156019]macgro7[/member] , it does depend on where you live. I won't be growing any this year, but usually I go by the seed packet and for Scotland go by the latest date given, or the earliest if I'm starting things off under cover.
We've been doing lots of tree work too, to get it all done before the nesting season starts. Just some tall willows still to attack :tree:
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I sow sweetcorn in April for the tunnel and May for outside and I'm based in Norfolk.
Harvested my first ps brocolli this week. Lovely....
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I was just given keys to the allotment!
I was given a plot which is bordering my garden! The best I could wish for!
It has two mature apple trees and very sweet plum and a glasshouse!!!
Two years on the waiting list but it was worth it lol
So at the moment I spend my weekends shifting a mountain of compost and rabbit and chicken manure to the allotment. Then I want to dig the weeds out and plant some garlic and onion before its too late.
Sooooooo much work! At the same time our house is being decorated.... headache headache constant headache...
Can't wait till I can sit down and watch everything grow, chickens running and scratching...
This might save you a little time & also be very beneficial for you .
My gardening books say that your garlic & onions do not need a newly manured bed for that will make them grow a lot of greenery and small bulbs .
The books recommend not manured in the previous year so they are similar to carrots & other root crops ..
TIP :-
Growing a row of onions & a row of carrots side by side for several 6 foot plus long rows is supposed to be a good biological pest control .. Carrot fly don't like onions & onion fly does not like carrots .
I'm not sure ..... about these folk lore tales , carrot fly are not supposed to fly much above 18 inches off the floor yet in the early years they decimated all the carrots in my 36 inch high raised beds till I started to use a new seed type called " Flyaway ."
So far I've not had onion fly strikes though I do use a bug away spray to treat all my crops including all flowers .
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Far too little going on in my plot at the moment.
I've managed to kick some garlic off in pots
The future outdoor veg beds are still covered with weedproof fabric to clear the ground and I've no idea how long I should really leave them.
The indoor beds are waiting to have some manure added and be planted and one is halfway through us digging through the hard clay underlayer.
We have a couple things growing from over the winter, including some self seeded 'raab 60', which has started bolting already!
Oh and I've unpacked the propagator but still not washed it.
I really should get a move on!
Dans
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My veg plot is still covered to stop the weeds. i put horse muck all over it before the winter and left it to the weather. I only covered it a few weeks ago as I am thinking of leaving it for a season. My plan is to grow this years veg by using pallets and also my pollytunnel. All my seeds arrived the other week so need to get them started inside. At the moment I am digging out a hole to sit a very old bath in. It was used for years for various plants but we have frogs etc and I fancied a wee wild life pond. I can get a solar powered pump. Anyway that is my plan for this year.
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The radishes have germinated in my tunnel as have leeks in pots, just waiting for early carrots, beetroot, swiss chard and celeriac to break through the soil. We had a gorgeous early spring day yesterday now back to blumming winter, storms and rain :gloomy:
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I just started digging my first leeks :yum: . Found many had been pot bound from back when they were started off in deep modules. This year I will try starting in a seed bed to try for better results.
I've just sent off for a bulk ton bag of Veggie Gold soil improver for the tunnel where the soil has become a bit overused. Will also add my usual seaweed meal, FYM and wood ash. The hens have done a good job of clearing the ground and left the odd deposit which has dried and will break up easily. Once rotavated in I don't see a problem with burning the plants as there's not much
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Our peppers, toms and aubergines are up in the house and will be transfered to the GH mid Mar with new heater.
In tunnel I have s onions, mangetout, garlic and potatoes in for early summer and salad, carrots, spinach and turnips ready to eat planted last autumn.
Outside purple sprouting, spring cabbage, leeks, celeriac, parsnips and kale still good to eat, with broad beans and onions planted in autumn coming.
I sell veg boxes June to Xmas off the plot and so try to get things going as early as possible to get some income sooner.
Living in Norfolk does give me a slightly longer growing season, but at the expense of all those lovely hills, mountains and river gauges...
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I lived in Norfolk for the first 20 years of my life. I certainly miss the good growing conditions (my brother constantly reminds me of what I'm missing). I need the hills and peace of Scotland though - I dreamed of it throughout my childhood. I accept that I can't grow veg easily outside here but that's why polytunnels were invented :garden:
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My veg plot is still covered to stop the weeds. i put horse muck all over it before the winter and left it to the weather. I only covered it a few weeks ago as I am thinking of leaving it for a season. My plan is to grow this years veg by using pallets and also my pollytunnel. All my seeds arrived the other week so need to get them started inside. At the moment I am digging out a hole to sit a very old bath in. It was used for years for various plants but we have frogs etc and I fancied a wee wild life pond. I can get a solar powered pump. Anyway that is my plan for this year.
Unfortunately horse muck tends to be the world best weed seed carrier as the horses gut does not kill the seeds , ot just preps them for germination .
Wet composted thrashed baled straw bedding plus any cow muck , sheep muck in fact any dung from animal that has two or more stomaches & ruminates it''s food is far superior .
Clean out from the lambing shed that's been wet composted is also excellent .
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Got both plots rotavated last week both have had a covering of 4 year old cow muck , going to sow parsnips at the week end and get green house set up ,
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Forgot to say we've planted (almost finished) over 100 fuel willow cuttings in beds on weed suppressant fabric this week for coppicing, drying and then using as fuel - we already have a newly established willow shelter belt but its more for wind protection. Wish we'd done it years ago!
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Polyanya, when you get to cutting your willow for firewood, leave it out for your sheep first. They will remove all the bark, which is full of trace elements for them, and clean up the wood for you. We use willow as part of our winter feeding regime.
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Polyanya, when you get to cutting your willow for firewood, leave it out for your sheep first. They will remove all the bark, which is full of trace elements for them, and clean up the wood for you. We use willow as part of our winter feeding regime.
Just don't let your goats near it either....
We grow willow (hybrid variety) specifically for the goats, it gets cut for them all through summer.
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Got both plots rotovated last week both have had a covering of 4 year old cow muck , going to sow parsnips at the week end and get green house set up ,
STOP ! .... If you sow any long root crops such as carrots & parsnips in freshly( with six months or more ) manured ground they will all become multi rooted , very few if which will go down to any great depth . Brisels sprouts like the same old ground as the carrots & parsnips too . for the richer recently manured spoil will make them grow like mad 7 not from nice tight sprouts .
They grow best is soil that has been quality manured three to four years previously , had spuds that same year , then greens in the next year & your roots in year three .
Thats why we speak of a minimum of a three year crop rotation but if you have the land then go for a five bed rotation ..leaving the fifth bed fallow for a year to allow veg crop soil-borne pests to die out a lot .
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As the weather has started to change, albeit gradual, I have started to sort out the garden patches. Seeds will soon be started off in the tray's, I have high hopes for this year! :)
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Harvested the last of my curly kale today and some early carrots from the polytunnel, so along with the cabbages, ps brocolli and stored / frozen veg we still have plenty to eat which I'm really pleased about. April is the only month where buying veg is tempting.
Got my potatoes in today and mangetout are just sowing through outside - a foot high in the PT :yum:
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Up here our kale, PSB and leeks are still going strong in the tunnel. The carrots outdoors lasted until a couple of weeks ago in the soil and we dug them up then to prepare the bed for this year. They were still really fresh and carroty, much better than the ones we stored in damp sand. Masses of rhubarb so jam to make
Broad beans coming up in pots hanging up in the tunnel (away from mice), lettuce, leeks, savoy and AYR cauli sown indoors.
We had decided at the last minute to fell some old apple trees and plant 4 new ones more suited to our cold climate. They have just arrived, when we had 12cm of snow lying, so there's a rush to get them in tomorrow, now it's warming up
Half the polytunnel is prepared, with various additives rotavated in. Can't do the rest until the brassicas and leeks are eaten.
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Got both plots rotovated last week both have had a covering of 4 year old cow muck , going to sow parsnips at the week end and get green house set up ,
STOP ! .... If you sow any long root crops such as carrots & parsnips in freshly( with six months or more ) manured ground they will all become multi rooted , very few if which will go down to any great depth . Brisels sprouts like the same old ground as the carrots & parsnips too . for the richer recently manured spoil will make them grow like mad 7 not from nice tight sprouts .
They grow best is soil that has been quality manured three to four years previously , had spuds that same year , then greens in the next year & your roots in year three .
Thats why we speak of a minimum of a three year crop rotation but if you have the land then go for a five bed rotation ..leaving the fifth bed fallow for a year to allow veg crop soil-borne pests to die out a lot .
thanks , I will have to have a rethink
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Started on the new 'allotment' on our property. 16 raised beds built then filled with a mix of well rotted horse manure, soil and sand. We're on heavy, non-draining clay so the raised beds should help make a better growing environment.
Planted onions and garlic which are coming up well. Globe artichokes are in along with the early potatoes. Asparagus is in it's first year and just starting to show itself. Planted the peas last weekend after starting on the heat mat in the greenhouse.
Mid and late spuds are chitting in the greenhouse.
The other half of the veg plot currently has 4 weaners working it over and won't be in use till next year.
I've laid out the area for the polytunnel and plan to just cover that with manure and silage sheet for the year then install the polytunnel next spring or later this summer.
Had the tractor and chipper running to get rid of all the spare stuff from laying a hedge and that's now been put between all the raised beds to keep the weeds down and make for less mud underfoot.
I don't know much about gardening so the next few years will be quite the learning experience.
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Just spotted our first early potatoes are up already. :o
I tried Arran Pilot this year and they chitted so quickly I popped them in the ground a little earlier than normal. They have come up in 2 weeks - it has been warm down here (Norfolk) this spring but I've never had spuds through in March before.
Could require a bit of fleece for a good month yet if the weather turns cold.
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Started on the new 'allotment' on our property. 16 raised beds built then filled with a mix of well rotted horse manure, soil and sand. We're on heavy, non-draining clay so the raised beds should help make a better growing environment.
Planted onions and garlic which are coming up well. Globe artichokes are in along with the early potatoes. Asparagus is in it's first year and just starting to show itself. Planted the peas last weekend after starting on the heat mat in the greenhouse.
The other half of the veg plot currently has 4 weaners working it over and won't be in use till next year.
I've laid out the area for the polytunnel and plan to just cover that with manure and silage sheet for the year then install the polytunnel next spring or later this summer.
Had the tractor and chipper running to get rid of all the spare stuff from laying a hedge and that's now been put between all the raised beds to keep the weeds down and make for less mud underfoot.
I don't know much about gardening so the next few years will be quite the learning experience.
Justin , horse muck carries tremendous amount of weed seeds if the horses have been field grazed or fed on weedy hay . Their digestion is not as good as a ruminants so does not get enough acid & enzymes etc to kill off the weed seeds in their guts.
So this year you may get a heck of a lot of weeds appearing where you have used it.
A decent patch of potatoes is a good idea in a newly horse manured plot the canopy of leaves helps suppress a lot of the more delicate weeds in the first year & if they can't grow you won't get so many turning to weed seeds to plague you over the next year or so .
Cow, pig ,sheep, chicken ,turkey, goat, duck, llama & rabbit muck with the associated beddings , all composted well & re-mixed to give a even distribution of everything is about the best natural stuff you'll ever find.
Add add bits of rotted fish or trimmings or add them to water , stir every day for a week or more to get them to rot to make an emulsion & pour that into the compost mix too . As well as a bucket full of worm casts & you'll be able to grow most UK producible crops very easily .
March & April normally see the brandling type muck worms hatch in their zillions in compost bins & heaps .
If you fill a few strong plastic bags with this home made compost and drop a dozen or so worms in each bag & close . Use a zip tie to fold the top over & point the open end down to stop any more moisture getting in . Then place the bags against a sunny wall for a year , this will see most of the compost go through the worms & leave you a with afantastic " Black Gold " fertilizer
But like all composting it should have be started in the autumn last year so it is ready for this years crops
If you can , stay clear of commercially made so called composted manures & soil improver's . Bitter experience has told me time & time again that most are not even worth the cost of the bag they are sold in .
Plus a lot have crap from council waste dumps added ..then you'll never know what toxins or garden chemicals / poisons etc you'll be putting in your garden.
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I've planted all my squashes and pumpkins - 4 of each of 5 varieties of winter squashes, 4 courgettes (less than last year as we were fed up with them), 4 delicata squash (which are the same species as summer squashes but usually eaten as winter ones) , 7 cucumbers (gherkins), some rows of peas and barlotto beans.
Potatoes inside the polytunnel are growing very well so are the salads and radishes.
Sweetcorn is sprouting! Always liked growing them.
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I am running a bit behind at the moment.
I have planted out the sweet corn and am trying a new method of building mounds of earth and putting 3 - 4 corn plants in each mound. I will have to wait and see how that turns out.
I am acclimatising the courgettes right now for planting out later this week and I have a load of tomato plants to put out.
The giant achochas are in the new greenhouse and I am hoping they are gonna explode upwards
:farmer:
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Justin , horse muck carries tremendous amount of weed seeds if the horses have been field grazed or fed on weedy hay . Their digestion is not as good as a ruminants so does not get enough acid & enzymes etc to kill off the weed seeds in their guts.
So this year you may get a heck of a lot of weeds appearing where you have used it.
A decent patch of potatoes is a good idea in a newly horse manured plot the canopy of leaves helps suppress a lot of the more delicate weeds in the first year & if they can't grow you won't get so many turning to weed seeds to plague you over the next year or so .
Cow, pig ,sheep, chicken ,turkey, goat, duck, llama & rabbit muck with the associated beddings , all composted well & re-mixed to give a even distribution of everything is about the best natural stuff you'll ever find.
Add add bits of rotted fish or trimmings or add them to water , stir every day for a week or more to get them to rot to make an emulsion & pour that into the compost mix too . As well as a bucket full of worm casts & you'll be able to grow most UK producible crops very easily .
March & April normally see the brandling type muck worms hatch in their zillions in compost bins & heaps .
If you fill a few strong plastic bags with this home made compost and drop a dozen or so worms in each bag & close . Use a zip tie to fold the top over & point the open end down to stop any more moisture getting in . Then place the bags against a sunny wall for a year , this will see most of the compost go through the worms & leave you a with afantastic " Black Gold " fertilizer
But like all composting it should have be started in the autumn last year so it is ready for this years crops
If you can , stay clear of commercially made so called composted manures & soil improver's . Bitter experience has told me time & time again that most are not even worth the cost of the bag they are sold in .
Plus a lot have crap from council waste dumps added ..then you'll never know what toxins or garden chemicals / poisons etc you'll be putting in your garden.
thanks very much for all that, very useful indeed. First crop of potatoes are doing well so far, more going in this week once the frost danger is past. Building up the compost heaps for the summer and see how well it does for next year.
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I've had a busy few weeks on the veg plot (which is most of the garden), built a polytunnel, built some SQM garden beds, built an extension to the fruit bed. Laid a bunch of slabs (you could say bits a waste of ground, but the ground round here is full of weeds, with slabs I can always stand stuff on them)
The metal bins in the foreground are for peas and beans, they have a good thick layer of rotting veg and manure in the bottom.
The four high stacks of tyres are hotboxes for squash, while the threes are potatoes
All I need now is some seeds - i'm having a nightmare with nondelivery from the organic garden catalogue .. i won't be using them again. Having got heavy with them they ere redespatching by 1st class post today (aledgedly). fortunately otter nurseries is just down the road so I have a plan b
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All my seedlings are still in the pollytunel. I would have lost them all if I had planted them out. We have had a week of snow, hail, strong winds and rain. Going to be a late season yet again !
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Nothing much outside - freezing rain, wind, hail and snow for the past few days. The polytunnel is sheltering my outside plants and the hotbed is providing salads leaves and radishes.
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I'm wondering when it will be safe to plant my tomatoes in the greenhouse so that I have room indoors for the next lot of sowing.
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I just got my last batch of toms into the polytunnel. The first batch went in three weeks ago, I have fleeced at night if I suspected frost. The temp in the tunnel has been going down to -1 on a cold night and they have coped. I'm in a bit of a frost pocket but in Norfolk so frosts aren't as cold as in the North.
I used to live in York and a friend who worked in horticulture said a greenhouse should be frost free up there from end of March.
I think keeping the frost crystals off is more important than the temperature, so my potatoes and french beans have coped with -1 without fleece in the polytunnel whereas the potatoes outside are damaged by 0 and below.
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Most of the runner beans have outgrown the propagator so are now just on the window sill. Time to sow the French beans now. And squash if I have room.
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A tip from, I think, Bernard Salt: Shut the tunnel early when frost is expected, so it steams up. The condensation then freezes to form an extra layer of protection, and reduces heat loss by radiation.
We planted out our broad beans today, which had been raised in 4" pots in the tunnel. I grow them in a baker's tray suspended from the crop bars, so the mice can't get them.
We also planted out two types of peas which we had grown in deep guttering, also suspended from the crop bars. You just slide the whole thing out into a shallow trench the same length as the guttering. In the winter I cut lots of pea sticks from hedging brash, and they look perfect along the row. I've never been organised enough to do that before.
I sowed the climbing beans a couple of days ago and this year I have sown a few extra to try them outside. I'm not expecting climate change to smile on me, but I have had outdoor beans work a couple of times before here - usually they are demolished by wind.
:garden:
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Today I have been planting seeds (which finally arrived). Because the weather is horrible I've been concentrating on the polytunnel. In the propagators we have Runner beans Enorma Elite and Firestorm, French beans Blauhilde, and Leeks Hilari and Musselburgh. In the pots we have Squash Spaghetti, Yellow Scallop, and Petty Pan, Corgette Black Beauty, De Nizza, and Golden Griller, Pumpkin Jack Be Little, Tomatiloes, and Tomatoes Gardeners delight and Costulo Fieronino. Out of shot we have Cucamelon, and Cucumber.
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Decimation on a biblical scale.
Ok that might be an exaggeration I have a bit of a spider mite issue. My corn has been hit hard. I am just about to order some neem oil.
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I've planted my sweetcorn out - in the chicken run! Chickens are free ranging untill winter and in winter they will be fertilising the chicken run/plot for nitrogen hungry plants. Next year I'll plant pumpkins in that spot.
Mice have eaten all my squashes seeds from pots, except for one! I replanted seeds and put them on the highest shelf.
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Finally nearly finished transforming the veg garden, for easy access. Sowed runner beans, french beans, toms, squash, cucumbers, courgettes and pumpkins. Almost all are ready to be planted outside, although cucumbers are going to be conservatory grown, I think. Raspberry canes have gone into the ground, so 2 more bushes and then the fruit cage is complete. Really looking forward to this growing season! :)
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The potatoes are coming on nicely. Sugar snaps look well, asparagus is in it's second year so i've not picked any of it. Radishes are up and the spring onions, carrots and parsnips will emerge soon I'd think.
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We've just got up the last of our early potatotes, Lady Cristly, from the polytunnel and they taste amazing. I'm sure they're better than the potatoes I grow outside.
Also just finished planting out 600 + leeks. I've dug the bed over from pasture over the last month so it's been quite a job to get them in but yhey are looking great.
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The rain of the last couple have days has made a real difference to the plot. Runner beans are running up the poles, salad leaves nearly big enough to eat, even the beetroot that I had just about given up on (bearing in mind the seed packet said to use by 2015) have started sprouting. Brassicas doing well. French beans ready to go out, together with courgettes and squashes.
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lots of germination and planting out - onions are all coming up, garlic beginning to follow, have just planted out corgettes, pumpkins and beans. Today i'll be putting manure in the tyre stack hotboxes for the squash.
the only disappointment is the tomato seedlings which are still really small - I think I shall say sod it and buy some
Also my nextdoor neighbour has a greenhouse with a few broken panes and I've just agreed use of it if i repair it for her (with glass shes already purchased) - she'll help with the watering and we'll share crops, which will extend my growing space (as ive already filled my 10x10 ft poly tunnel)
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Almost done the garden. Runner beans, courgettes and squash planted out. Fruit bushes are giving bumper crops, so will have to net them against the birds. More and more veg to be planted out, got more bamboo canes to put out, soon!
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Planted out my squashes yesterday, harvested first potatoes, they grew really nicely in the polytunnel but i will not grow this variety again - no flavour at all! They are called rocket. I don't recommend it. Very pale white flesh.
I'm really disappointed in how they taste.
Sweet corn if growing nicely.
Apple's and plums are growing very well. Peas are doing well.
Planted two beef tomatoes plants outside (someone gave them to me). Rest of the tomatoes are going in the ground in the polytunel.
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I have two minute cucumbers on the tiny plants in the greenhouse which I am watching eagerly. All the beans are now plants, together with the summer squashes. My brassicas - caulis and sprouts are growing well and I have added some broccoli seedlings that I was given. There are also last year's leeks which are going to seed in the same bed. I am going to leave them to flower partly because the are so pretty and mostly because the bees love them. I had started harvesting the salad leaves and the radishes will be used soon. I need to start sowing the next lot of leaves as I find they don't last forever. I still have the winter squashes to plant out and one pumpkin that I was given. The garden is looking pretty packed and my friend just told my OH that she is going to text me as she has some spare plants looking for a garden. Where I'm going to put them is anyone's guess but I'll try to find space somewhere. There's always builder's buckets if nothing else (holes drilled in bottoms).
The cucamelons I planted are still looking very spindly although they are climbing the supports. I havd noticed a bit of extra growth round the bottom so maybe they are putting out more shoots. Time will tell.
Enjoying planting up my herb garden in pots. I have a small section of decking that is rotting, so that is coming out tomorrow. I do know there are steps underneath but no idea what state they're in so it maybe that more decking is needed. More expense but now I can't do it myself, I have to get someone to do it for me. As it is, I do an hour's gardening and then go and sit down for another hour so it's a long process getting jobs done.
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Bit of hoeing on plot one this morning. These plots get so much easier to handle once you tame the buggers.
Things look nice with netting off and easy to work but it wouldn't last long unnetted. Red cabbage, kale and cauli
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4231/35028612586_f62eae8f37_c.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4281/34681065440_a9ceb0db87_c.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4275/35028628606_581e2a43dd_c.jpg)
runner bean patch and plenty of cardboard for the slugs ;D
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4262/34681089870_cede657867_c.jpg)
these things need to stop going mad
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4215/34225019604_af48607651_c.jpg)
dwarf beans and out door toms
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4205/34937350001_7a91c744bb_c.jpg)
few broadbeans
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spuds looking good now
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4200/34904353522_71e1875e13_c.jpg)
goosegogs hopefully they don't all drop off before they ripen like last year
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4207/34225052234_73e1c91d01_c.jpg)
looks like I should have pruned me raspberries last year
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4199/34681115950_605f038e5f_c.jpg)
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Looking good, Captain. Mine is coming on well under the nets. Need to get under there myself to do some weeding.
The decking came out to reveal beautiful smooth steps so my herbs are now mostly in pots nicely arranged and looking good on there.
I have a good crop of figs coming on the tree that went in last year. There were 30 but a few have dropped.
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Nice pics captainhastings. It's great to see someone else who grows on the flat :D . Are you a follower of Geoff Hamilton, with all the water pipe hoops? His advice is as good now as it was back then.
I picked our first cucumber today :yum: . Small but delicious and perfect with looseleaf lettuce (mazur). Our tomatoes went into the tunnel soil a few days ago - they're a bit stretched having had to wait until warmer weather (now 3c forecast for tonight) but I know they'll green up and get a bit sturdier. I grow sakura which usually reaches to 8', and shows some resistance to and tolerance of blight.
I'm a bit behind though with planting out the runners, which are living up to their name and wrapping around eachother while still in pots. Good job I'm used to untangling yarn ! I sowed a 2nd tray of modules of beetroot ages ago - a single plant has come up. Oh well, the first 2 lots are doing fine outside. Squashes and courgettes are still in pots but they will catch up as soon as I can get them out in the soil. I do have a couple of outdoor raised beds, as an experiment to see if they are easier to cultivate than ground level crops (for me, they're not). One is half full of a very neat crop of chick weed obscuring the onions, some from seed, so that will be a lovely job for tomorrow :garden:
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First red tomato today, a Garden Pearl, hopefully the other varieties will mature soon. Been munching on strawberries over the last week too.
Onions and early tatties are far enough on for me to start selling veg boxes again this week, with calabrese, broad beans, salad, turnips, carrots and kale all suddenly flourishing. Nice to be making an income again off the veg plot.
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(http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z363/vfr400boy/IMG_3858_zpszxprlacg.jpg) (http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/vfr400boy/media/IMG_3858_zpszxprlacg.jpg.html)
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vfr400boy , I noticed you have a tremendous amount of greens .
Do you find you cannot eat all the greens before they get too old?
I'm only sowing a maximum of eight brassica seeds per 10 days to give me a better succession of crops in the warmer weather ( :idea: what warmer weather :roflanim:??? . Though I'll be putting in bigger crops of over wintering & spring greens when the time comes for sowings .
It's also reduced the amount of net coverings & bug sprays I needed to use to keep the cabbage whites off & freed up ground for other crops .
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I do give a lot to family and friends I buy them in packs of 20 for a pound form car boot sale , that picture was taken last week there growing like mad now with all this rain ,
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Planted out a whole load of tomato plants, now just need to mulch them and tie them to the canes, to stop them from falling over ::) More beans need to go out into the garden, along with pumpkins, courgettes, squash and more tomato plants. Everything is just growing so fast, here's hoping for a bumper crop this year! ;)
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Not enough. Had a look yesterday and all my carrot seedings are gone, guessing slugs or birds. And I have 1 parsnip all on its own. :'(
The sheep got out into the veg patch and are apparently quite partial to sweetcorn seedlings, they have been decimated. The geese got out into the veg patch and they are apparently partial to chewing on onion tops and pulling up garlic. :'(
We're creating the outdoor beds for the first time this year and I realised I had more seed potatoes than space in my potato bed so a bunch are still chitting away. ???
And the new fruit bushes are covered in sawfly. :'(
But on the upside the polytunnel is doing ok. Tomatoes are looking great and we have a few fruits set now. The cucumbers are setting fruit too as are the courgettes. Thinned carrots are tasty and the lettuce is ready for harvesting. My aubergines and peppers don't seem to be doing much though and I utterly failed at some seeds as I left the seed tin in the polytunnel for a bit, been waiting for these seeds to sprout but I think I cooked them as it's been a month now and no growth at all :'(
Ah well I keep telling myself better luck next year!
Dans
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I completely sympathise [member=25651]Dans[/member] it is really awful. We had, a few years ago, sheep, a farming neighbours, decimate everything in the garden. Since then very few good crops due to high winds, slugs/snails, bullfinches pulverising tomatoes and rabbits eating the beans. This year the wind is destroying the beans, so will have to find a solution for that. I hope things work out for you this year with the garden. Sadly not every year is really good weatherwise and I think in the past 4 years or so we have really experienced effects of climate change... Sending big hugs to you :hug: :hug:
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I lost all my carrot seedling too.. guessing slugs and despite bait they destroyed 2 courgette plants. Stuff in the greenhouse has been slow too particularly the peppers
Outside the birds have started eating green cherries and with the one late frost we had there's no early apples and way down on both apples and pears and plums..except for damsons.
At least my currants, goosberries and blueberries are doing OK.
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I've harvested about 10kg of new potatoes! Now putting lettuce and mustard seeds in their place.
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Everything seems to be growing very well. I've netted the brassicas but not seen any cabbage whites yet. Has anyone else?
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I've been doing successional sowing with my lettuces, to give a continuous supply. Lots of lettuces ready (too many of course) and more coming on. Today when I was halfway through munching away on a large pile of lettuce leaves, I noticed a greenfly crawling up my arm to make its escape. It's a bit like finding half a maggot in your apple - you know you've eaten the other half. Ah well, the rest of the lettuce was too good to waste........ :yum:
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I've seen a few cabbage whites over the last couple of weeks down in Norfolk and did harvest a single caterpillar on some broccoli. V few cabbage whites though this year. And I'm really pleased not to have had the influx of diamond back moths this year, all my Brassicas look great (except my cauli's which lost their netting in storms a couple of weeks ago and the pigeons got to...
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We had diamond back moths last year, or maybe the year before, and I was expecting total destruction of my brassicas. There was hardly any damage to be seen though. This year, there's far more damage to my caulis caused by sparrows - very holy leaves :garden:
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I've seen a few cabbage whites over the last couple of weeks down in Norfolk and did harvest a single caterpillar on some broccoli. V few cabbage whites though this year. And I'm really pleased not to have had the influx of diamond back moths this year, all my Brassicas look great (except my cauli's which lost their netting in storms a couple of weeks ago and the pigeons got to...
I've had pigeon damage on the three sprout plants that I had to fit in spare spaces so are not netted. There are people near here who keep racing pigeons so always more than enough around.