Grow Your Own Magazine

middlefield · #**3676** (**permalink**) 06-06-2008, 09:34 AM

I managed to remember to take my camera down to the plot last night - so I've updated the blog.

It was a beautiful evening for gardening, and I got another five or six buckets of small weeds out, everything is looking really well at the moment. First early potatoes aren't far from flowering, peas and mange tout have loved the rain this week and the brussells planted last weekend have taken really well.

There is still lots to go in though - and I know from my own cost last year not to get complacent with the weeding

Flummery · #**3677** (**permalink**) 06-06-2008, 10:57 AM

Yesterday I planted out my purple sprouts and scarlet kale under an anti-pigeon cage at the allotment. Weeded, hoed the paths, then earned major brownie points by planting up Ma's window boxes and tubs with busy lizzies and lobelia. Planted some toms in her little back garden too. One day I'll be a little old lady and I'm training the younger generation up!

Winged one · #**3678** (**permalink**) 06-06-2008, 03:22 PM

This morning, I did a quick foray into the back garden and made lunch. When I arrived at work, I ordered (another) batch of seeds in the T&M half price sale (I did this only a couple of weeks ago too - but forgot broad and french beans and herbs, so added a few more "want to haves" as well - sterling/euro being such good value at the miinute!!). Over lunchtime (after nibbling my various leaves and pods over emails), I nipped out to the plot.

Pulled a small bucket's worth of weeds (tiddlers, but they'll be big next week).

Covered the broad beans and raspberries with net (and recovered the peas). Damn - just remembered that I meant to use my last net to cover the peas at the back end cos they were being eaten - will go back on Monday lunch to do that (away this weekend).

Pulled the sideshoots off a lot of the tomatoes (left some that are still very small for another day when not so rushed).

Admired the great growth after the rain this week - beans are settled in already, cabbages are getting HUGE (oops, I need to fiinish the spring ones first - maybe I should have put more calabrese than cabbages after all in the summer bed....), tomatoes are getting nicely bushy and the onions are swelling beautifully.

Harvested: 2 cabbages and a handful of onions for MIL (in return for beds this weekend)

3 onions, handful of broad beans and handful of peas for us (onions to last a few nights, peas and beans will be tonight's dinner before hitting the road - oh yum)

Have to water the mini greenhouse tonight before we go, and probably add some mangetout to tonight's haul for the plates.

KellsSimon · #**3679** (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 05:08 PM

I transplanted many lettuce and american land cress, to fill the spaces where my spinach has bolted and where the beans havn't grown yet. Also picked some rocket to go with dinner, but soon there will be more to harvest!
Did some worrying about courgette plants (yelow and floppy), and hand hoed between the rows to keep them clean. also saw that my Pac choi has germinated. Woo Hoo! only took a week

and saw the first bit of green above the ground on my potatoes. Still no sign of my celariac though...

Two_Sheds · #**3680** (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 05:13 PM

well, it's still raining. I haven't seen the sun for a month

. So today I am sewing, not sowing.

shirlthegirl43 · #**3681** (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 09:21 PM

Planted some Golden Wonder tatties where I had given up on the asparagus bed (yes they are late but I forgot I had them). Found 2 asparagus crowns with minor signs of life so they have been replanted in a huge tubtrug - hope they like it better than the bed they had! The marvellous Madmax finished the last bit of the designated Veg Patch (which used to be the bramble and nettle wilderness. Might post piccies tomorrow if we get the cauli and cabbages planted out. Have the first pods appearing on the Alderman peas, first flowers on the purple podded mangetout and the Canoe peas are starting to get hold of the netting and make progress. Direct sowed some Boltardy beetroot (thanks GYO). Think I might as well give up on the tomatoes, peppers and chillies this year, they are not thriving at all. Won't try fibre pots for them next year as they don't seem to like them.

heebiejeebie · #**3682** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 08:32 AM

Cut some hedges, pulled up some brambles...

Potted on the cabbages Copenhagen Market and cauliflower Grafitti into 5" pots, and two tomato moneymaker then ran out of pots. Again.

Weeded part of the near plot - the paths between the beds are a disgrace. I've been looking at them and thinking, "I don't have time to make a real impact on those weeds, I need to come back with the proper fork and do it all at once." However, I've decided that if I spend 10 minutes weeding every time I'm there I'll probably get it done well enough.

Mentally made some plans for permanent raised beds in the near plot with membrane & bark chips on the paths

Decided to offer my spare seedlings (wtf am I going to do with 30 tomato plants and 60 lettuces?) to someone on freecycle.

Cloud · #**3683** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shirlthegirl43

Planted some Golden Wonder tatties where I had given up on the asparagus bed (yes they are late but I forgot I had them). Found 2 asparagus crowns with minor signs of life so they have been replanted in a huge tubtrug - hope they like it better than the bed they had! The marvellous Madmax finished the last bit of the designated Veg Patch (which used to be the bramble and nettle wilderness. Might post piccies tomorrow if we get the cauli and cabbages planted out. Have the first pods appearing on the Alderman peas, first flowers on the purple podded mangetout and the Canoe peas are starting to get hold of the netting and make progress. Direct sowed some Boltardy beetroot (thanks GYO). Think I might as well give up on the tomatoes, peppers and chillies this year, they are not thriving at all. Won't try fibre pots for them next year as they don't seem to like them.

I grew Golden Wonder last year disappointing harvest.great tasting spuds and keep forever!!

Garden_girlie21 · #**3684** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 10:02 AM

my parents are so sick of me dragging them out to go and buy pots, so I've been inventive. I'm using butter tubs, cereal boxes, lasagne sheet boxes and sainsbury's bags in hanging baskets to put compost in so I can pot on all my many many many seedlings! I just make holes in the plastic ones, and adapt the cardboard ones, and hey presto! Then after all my efforts, I found some normal pots in the garage.

LOL

Jennifer

Snadger · #**3685** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 06:32 PM

Yesterday I covered all the paths on one of my allotments with woodchippings after first laying teram type material underneath.

I also planted my Kilaton cabbage between my Autumn planted onion sets as I have no more room!

Today was another glorious day (got the sunburn to prove it!) I managed to get all three of my greenhouses planted up with toms, peppers (sweet and chillie), cukes,melons (two types),strawberries, grapevines and Cape gooseberries! All were planted in my own homemade compost. Also managed to tidy the area for my pumpkin and add yet a few more woodchips to the area in front of No2 greenhouse! Sowed Tuskan kale and Scarlet kale for planting out later in the year.

scarey55 · #**3686** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 06:48 PM

Spent a happy hour spraying Bordeaux mix over my potatoes, tomatoes and grapevines. Everything is a very fetching shade of blue now. I saw some blighted (I think) leaves and I ain't tanking no chances

Mrs Dobby · #**3687** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 07:29 PM

Went down to the plot late last night, after a wonderful tea that Mr D had especially cooked for me (chilli con carne - which as he doesnt like hot food was a lovely surprise!), watered the 3 greenhouses and then we spent half an hour patrolling the site for wabbits, as once again they are becoming a major pest - we've lost a lot of seed onions from them, and if our beans, carrots and cabbages weren't under netting, then they would have gone by now also! Managed to bag 2 small ones, which are now in the freezer!

Just in from work now, having a brew then off to the plot to do some more sowing and have a good watering of everything thats growing!

Two_Sheds · #**3688** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 09:26 PM

Wow! Sunshine! I did 4 hours weeding, 2 hrs transplanting and sowing (mostly salads). Squished a few more blackfly ~ they're definitely diminishing in numbers now.

Kimbo · #**3689** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 09:54 PM

Yesterday I sowed some more lettuce, radishes and courgettes, transplanted some lettuce from a tray to a raised bed. Today I was out in the garden at 7.30am, did some watering, strimmed some grass, mowed the grass, moved tomato plants from greenhouse no 2 to greenhouse no 1 as not getting enough light, also moved some aubergines, peppers and chillies from no2 to no1. Moved some of my pots of stuff around to get better sun. Just been out and given everything a good water.

Mrs Dobby · #**3690** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 10:30 PM

Just back from a gorgeous evening on the plot, managed between us to give everything a good water, plant some catch crops of radish, spring onions, beetroot and lettuce, sowed a full bed of carrots (3 rows Nantes, 3 rows Amsterdam Forcing, 4 rows Autumn King, each row being 8' long), harvested some radish and 2 little gem lettuces, and Mr D did a lot of hoeing, so the plots looking much less weed infested! I also managed to get a few piccies, so I'll try and get them online later, after we've had some tea!

rustylady · #**3691** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 10:45 PM

Went to the lottie with 3 grandchildren in tow, chained two to the fence (only kidding) picked a few strawberries, some more broad beans, overwintered spring onions, did a little bit of weeding, spread a few blue smarties for the slugs. Took the children home, fed them and then went canoeing on the local boating pond. Got absolutely soaked, but thoroughly enjoyed it (ever tried canoeing with an 8 year old and a 3 year old?)

zazen999 · #**3692** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 10:52 PM

Since I last posted on here; loads of weeding
taken all leeks out of garden beds and heeled in ready for eating. Some have been planted in a separate pot for seed collection. Should make a heady display as the pointy hats are already huge.
dug over loads of the lottie, taken out major amount of of couch grass and bindweed. Dug loads of horseradish as it is prolific. Found out we have mares tail so also adding that to the list of 'issues'.

Putting cardboard down, clean soil on top and planting through.
First brassica bed now planted out and a cage around it to keep pesky pigeons out.
Loads of onions taken from garden and transplanted to lottie; if they didn't look as if they would be harvested and eaten in the next month, they went.
sweetcorn and beans planted out on another bed; just a few squashes to go up there in the next few days
put out lettuce, beetroot and spring onions into any tiny space left.
pulled swiss chard, moved fennel, pulling out and using last year's celery.
put moon trial non-moon toms, lettuce and onions into their final growing position this evening. The moon stuff will go in the next 9 days on its correct day, and the calabrese will go to the lottie for the same treatment.
Sprayed all toms and potatoes with Dithane as we had a near miss blight alert, and I don't want to lose them all like last year.

harvested so far of 2008 sowings.
today and yesterday strawberries. 6 so far.
yesterday - furtled around under biggest Rocket potato [only put in ground 8 weeks ago], and found an inch diameter spud; so pleased as the ground was so clayey and weedy and we've been religiously weeding this bed so glad that the spuds are making it through.
today - first tomato from the 8th Jan sowing. Aurora from Real Seeds. And no greenhouse, it was indoors and then outside.
lettuce and beetroot leaves for the last month. lettuces now heading up nicely.

Gary66 · #**3693** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 11:30 PM

Chalk up two more raised beds! These are ones I made from pallets we use at work. I've been waiting for nice, straight samples and brought home six the other week. It's a bit tricky to break them up without bursting the slats, but they are the perfect size for these beds. These two are nice and deep four-tiers, with the three waiting to be sited and filled and when some nice pallets become available, I'll have another couple of beds out of them! I'd been toying with getting some top soil delivered, but it turns out that the big rocky lump at the bottom of the garden, was in fact a big lump of top soil that filled both nicely! Few blisters though... but worth it!

wellie · #**3694** (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 11:51 PM

Planted over at The Lottie from 8am-9.30am to beat the heat. Excellent decision. Got everything planted, bar a few bits'n'bobs at home, so going to be able to sit back and do a bit more relaxing from now on - and really looking forward to catching up on The Vine once again, having largely ignored my friends too much lately....
Thank you for listening....X

Newbie · #**3695** (**permalink**) 09-06-2008, 12:16 AM

After i finished off the painting indoors & the ironing, OH mowed the grass & i edged it, whilst doing so i discovered several little gorgeous Newt families, so have a nicely edged lawn with big missed clumps where i couldn't bare to disturb them! Also couldn't resist emptying the first planted bucket of my Vales emerald spuds which was planted about 10 weeks ago - got a good couple of handfuls of small spuds which were then boiled & served with bbq & salad! My 1st harvest of the year - hurrah!

middlefield · #**3696** (**permalink**) 09-06-2008, 09:05 AM

We were committed to visiting relatives for most of the weekend (why can't this ever fall on rainy weekends?), but got down to the plot for three hours Sunday morning.

Mainly tidied-up with yet more weeding. Got the first of the runner and dwarf french beans in to the ground from pots, and got all of the bean supports in place. Cleared another area which will hold the pak choi and kohl rabi which will go in next weekend.

Our first early potatoes (Maris Bard) are now beginning to flower, so are a couple of weeks away now. My main consternation being that slugs have devastated about 5 courgette/squash plants - I've a couple that were poorly that I was holding in reserve but other than that the crop may well suffer this season. I don't like using slug pellets, so this weeks task will be to look for an organic method of slug control!

Came home, and had a barbeque with friends, but still managed time to sort out the mini-greenhouse and move everything that didn't need to be in there and leave the tomatoes, cucumber and the only chilli plant that survived the gales that hit us over the bank holiday in there to enjoy the warmth.