Grow Your Own Magazine

Yesterday I did loads of weeding. Also put wire netting round the pumpkin/squash bed as one of my pumpkins has tale-tell rabbit teeth marks in it

My Mum paid her first visit this year and offered to transplant the rest of my leeks I watered everything.

Harvested my first ever courgette!

Sorry to hear about all the rain you lot had yesterday - I got sunburnt (despite the sun cream!)

What I did YESTERDAY - was enter the village show with my double bed quilt, a jar of gooseberry and elderflower jam, a jar of crab-apple and damson chutney and loads of fruit, veg anf flowers. I decided I would just enter anything I had the right produce for, regardless of whether it looked particularly good. Result! I got 7 Firsts, 5 Seconds and 2 Thirds. Fourteen place cards altogether - and I entered 16 categories. I then got the Handicrafts cup for the Quilt (get to keep these for a year and have your name engraved on them), The Produce cup AND the challenge shield for most overall points. Can't get head in through door now!

Chuffed Flum

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It takes more oil than vinegar to make a good salad dressing.

vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Sept 2nd 2008

Flum
What can we say - a superb achievement, I'm not at all surprised that you are so chuffed. Well done.
Just gonna call the wife who is away with my daughters for a few days break then gonna go and dig up a heap more potatoes as the evening is so pleasnat uip here. Be back on later though.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

[size="1"]Journal updated Tuesday 5th August

Today -I spent half an hour admiring my garden! (plaster comes off the footon tuesdy and then I'm going mad!)

I also picked off and squished a dozen or so caterpillers from the cabbages.

Well done Flummery!

Well done Flummery

Would you mind posting the recipe for gooseberry and elderflower jam?

Congrats Flum - that was a great day's work!!

On Saturday, I spent exactly one hour onthe plot. Mainly pulled a few weeds, dug enough spuds for 1 dinner, took off all the brocolli that was starting to flower (I left all the perfect stuff for during the week), pulled one lettuce (and chucked another that had bolted), found a CAULIFLOWER!!, a small handful of spinach, 4 red onions that had either bolted or lost their stalks and 3 peapods. Gave away 2 heads of brocolli to the girlies in 18A (who were delighted). And looked sadly at my pumpkin/squash patch which is looking very miserable.

Came home and used the veg stock from the freezer to make some brocolli soup (which was very very tasty if I say so myself!!, especially with a spoonful of greek yoghurt at the bottom of the bowl). Also liquidised the veggies from the chicken stock I had just made from the remains of Friday night's bird - that's now frozen and will be made into soup by just adding some milk and seasoning.

Harvested a few more mangetout from the garden. And some more lettuce. But didn't really get time top enjoy the garden as I spent yesterday entertaining OH's uncle for lunch, and then making brocolli and cauliflower cannelonni (a la Jamie) for tonight's dinner.

Yesterday I shovelled large quantities of manure! I had a delivery of horse muck to the lottie and as it was on a communal pathway had to shift it quickly to allow people to pass. OH and I shovelled manfully for ages - then it started to rain so we had to abandon it. Back today to move the rest.

Saturday, I weeded all the beds, removed dead flowers and dead-headed the roses.

I also bought 4 bags of soil improver and spread two of those.

Then, I planted out the remainder of my chitted spuds (variety is a mystery, lost the label, but they're red-skinned and delicious boiled!). I put two in a gro-bag formerly used by an ill-fated pepper and butternut squash and two in a soil-improver bag (looks like compost to me...).

Lastly, I sowed two varieties of carrots, kohl rabi and took a chance with some kale that said seed by end of June!

Yesterday, I watered the lot of it. Harvested ONE broad bean, which I suspect fell foul to the cat being playful (it was on the lawn!).

Today I did a bit of weeding and trimmed the edges of my beds with shears (DH mowed and strimmed)

I removed 'damaged and diseased leaves' from the base of the brassicas too - and a few more squisshed caterpillers.

Havested 1lb Strawberries and 1lb of Raspberries, one spring cabbage for dinner too!

Going back down when Ive rested my foot to get Carrots and courgettes for dinner. Think I might get a couple of beetroot too

Also going to put fleece on the Pumpkin and Butternut squash patch to see if it cheers them up!

I had intended to grow the Butternut in the tunnel but DH - who is supposed to be the labourer and only act on orders - decided to put both of them outside, I now have a marrow in the tunnel in the nice warm spot!

It appears I have onion white rot in at least three of my beds! Bugger!
Some of my white onions and shallots and garlic are all affected. Ahh well, pulled up the affected plants and planted some savoy cabbage plants in one area. I will plant some brassicas in one of the other beds next time I'm at allotment.
Watered all indoor stuff with comfey tea added to water. Did a bit of weeding, pulled up some brovccoli plants that were finished, and planted the last of my marigolds in the greenhouse beds.

Pedalled home a different route and wished I hadn't. Instead of a short steep section there was a long slightly inclined section which drained energy and I was knackered by the time I got home!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Had a Reet Good Tidy Up on the bottom plot in preparation for the judging of Best Kept Allotment. I don't think the top plot will be in the running this year, as we've only had it for 2 months, but I'm well pleased with how it's doing.

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Since the last post i have harvested about 7kg of Yukon Gold spuds, weeded where they were & raked it over ready for the next lot of seedlings to go in (probably the White & Purple Sprouting Broccoli), pulled up & compost heaped my second batch of Pak Choi that had gone to seed even though it was still tiny, harvested my 21 garlic bulbs which are enormous & set them out in the greenhouse to dry, planted 25 leek plants (still about a million to find a home for!), had a general weed around & fed everything that needed it. Also sowed a couple of batches of Swede, more basil and more Pak Choi.

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Newbie,
keen but clueless

Last night, I hardly believed it when I came in, but I had spent over an hour and a half just pottering around (productively engaged) in my pocket hankerchief of a back garden.

I needed to get the bag of knife, trowel, suncrem, kneeling mat etc out of the shed, and grab the tray of brocolli seedlings that I had never planted out (the ones I did plant out a few months ago are now well into their cropping!! But I hope I might get a further crop from these ones later as they are pot bound but still quite healthy) to put into the car for bringing to plot during lunchbreak today.

As I had the bag out, I tied up the tomato plants and climbing beans. And then side-shooted the tomatoes. Pulled up the last of the cos lettuce (as it was bolting) in the small bed on one side of the patio, and another couple of Little Gem lettuces in the flower bed (same reason). Then I planted out the 3 coffee cups of peas into the space left by the cos. And 3 large modules of chervil where the little gems had been. Harvested another handful of mangetout (I had thought those vines were getting close to dying 3 weeks ago, but they are still going strong). Pulled a few weeds around the place. Tidied up my "two sisters" pot (peas growing up some sunflowers) and got rid of loads of slugs around the garden. The whole place needed a good watering then, and I cleared up all the stuff into the compost bin. And then I picked another 6 sweet pea flowers for the kitchen worktop (I am amazed how many flowers I am getting from just 2 plants as it is my first time growing them).

And then, I actually put the other bits into the car, before sitting down to a very well deserved cup of tea and slice of choccie cake (the toddler does good baking!!).

Yesterday I weeded my sweetcorn and found myself amazed at how a courgette can practically double in size after only two days!

Also discovered that I have at last got a flowerhead growing on my aubergine plant!

Then I went to the pub!

Today, at lunchtime, I took a trip to the plot. I intended being there half an hour, stayed almost 2 (oops - luckily no one saw me sneak back to my desk!!).

Pulled lots of weeds so now I can find almost all of my brassica patch. Also pulled the stalks of 4 cauli plants (they actually gave some form of cauli each, despite not doing well on our site - small but edible!!). And 2 calabrese plants that had also finished. After I had cleared the weeds in the area, I planted out about11 brassica seedlings that had been surplus to requirements at the original planting out time (when the ones that have just been pulled were planted out, in other words). Surprisingly, they seemed relatively happy to stay stunted in their modules and, despite being very pot bound, seemed healthy enough to plant into the holes left in my brassica bed to see if I get some extra crops (I think that they are mainly calabrese - yay - but there could be 2 types of cabbage and also some cauliflower in the mix, as I was consolidating trays a while back (after planting out some and giving away more seedlings) and lost the labels).

I pulled more weeds around the broad beans (damn - just realised I forgot to put slug pellets there - did do them for the new brassicas) and also my attempt at carrots (I found 2 sets of leaves out of 2 rows!) and a late sowing of spring onions. Checked my various climbing beans - all are growing well and the climbing french should have some to eat by the weekend.

Then I harvested (well, had already taken a supermarket bag full of calabrese and 4 small caulis), 4 Sharpe's Express potato plants (plenty for at least 2 nights dinners), a small handfull of pea pods (yipee - I was despairing of getting any this year), the last of the japanese onions and a few red onions that had flopped, and a nice looking lettuce for tomorrow (the butterhead type ones are all threatening to bolt at the mo). Should have a nice dinner woth those tonight, and probably make some more brocolli soup, and maybe more broc and cauli canneloni at the weekend (even OH liked those, although there was one muttering about a lack of meat!!!).

Back at the desk now, really thirsty and sweaty as it was very very hot up there. Need lunch and a good cup of tea!!

Watered all indoor stuff and some of the outdoor stuff too. Haven't needed to resort to mains water up to now this year but my 1000Ltr tank only has about 100 Litres left!
Harvested some early tatties, broad beans and jap onions along with a few garlic.
Tomatoes seem to be starting to change colour now and a few of the gardeners delight were ripe (now eaten!)
Also had an allotment feast of raspberries,redcurrants and whitecurrants.

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Got to allotment after more than a week away (no rain to speak of). Nothing wilted, all absolutely fine.
A couple of lettuces bolting, chard too.
Weeded lots, gave the tomatoes a liquid comfrey feed (got chased by flies); picked for dinner loads of Frenchies, beetroot, spuds, PSB, carrots, lettuce.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Well done Flummery - you always seem to have good advice and you surely deserve it.
Like the carrots, Frana!
Today it was annoyingly hot and stuffy so I only managed to remove closed pollinated flowers from the new courgettes and do a little more cucumber stringing. O, and picked a couple of pods of peas for immediate consumption, yum!

I've been eating salad leaves and radish and herbs i've grown, along with some mackrel that I cought off of the big pier... Tasty! Also done some weeding, and chopping down of the flowering bits of my roquet.
(well done Flum')

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Simon Of Kells

Lots of picking soft fruits today, plus courgettes and onions and a raft of other bits so tommorow may well see a major jam and chutney making sesion.

Today we took our trophy for having the third best lottie in Leicestershire back to our site chairman as somebody else will be awarded it this year. However, later in the year we will collect the one for having the second best lottie in Leicestershire so we are still improving which is nice to know.

Later in the day I will be sowing winter brassicas and lettuce. The lettuce dont like hot temperatures when germinating so they will be kept on a cool windowsill till big enough to prick out.

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated at last - Saturday 9th at 2040hrs

Well done Flum!

Well done Pigletwillie, and good luck Sarzwix!!

Today I will be mostly harvesting and weeding, not been able to get to the plot for the last few days, but toms are beginning to ripen now, and Mr D took the disappointing spud harvest up on Thursday (total 55lb from 40 tubers) after noticing the first signs of blight!

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Blessings
Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 3rd September 2008 - updated balance sheet!