Grow Your Own Magazine

Kimbo · #**1786** (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 02:13 PM

I planted the 16 calabrese plants that arrived in the post yesterday quickly followed by fleece over the raised bed.

I have potted on some of my dwarf french beans (keeping in greenhouse for the moment) and planted out my dwarf runner beans (fleece at the ready just in case).

Put copper tape round the beds containing said just planted runner beans and watched two slugs leg it up the side of the bed only to touch the tape and change their minds (it works yipee) - hastily put rest of copper tape round beds containing peas and broad beans.

Planted some kohl rabi (baby veg) and earthed up all my potatoes in pots (started this at 8 this morning)

Now I need a quick afternoon nap and then I will be ready for round two - potting up more french beans

Hazel at the Hill · #**1787** (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 04:05 PM

Just come back from the Hill and - besides getting very wet in the showers - done the following:

Sowed lettuce, carrot and turnip
Thinned previous sowing of carrot
pinched out broad beans as they were showing signs of blackfly infestation
rejigged the canes for the runners beans so that they (a) look less ramshakle and (b) won't fall down (hopefully!)
sowed runner bean and climbing bean seeds
picked radish and a few small potatoes for tea
Weeded everything

Came back via Sainsburys to buy picnic provisions for tomorrow at the Malvern Show, and am now off to bake biscuits and cheese straws then update the blog.

heebiejeebie · #**1788** (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 05:28 PM

Weeded a bit and took some photos of the allotment and garden.
Started a blog!

Mrs Dobby · #**1789** (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 08:08 PM

Today we got thoroughly soaked in the showers whilst dismantling a free greenhouse to bring home for the back yard! We were told it was 6' by 4', with a few broken panes of glass, it actually turned out to be 6' by 8', with 4 panes broken, but otherwise in excellent condition! Took us 4 hours to dismantle, load into the car, bring home and empty into the back garden ready for future assembly! Looks like the small plastic walk in greenhouse we've currently got toms in growbags in will be going down the plot, and the glass and aluminium one being put up in its place! We also got staging and shelving with it for free, so hopefully this will make it a bit easier to grow our seedlings next year and give them a bit more light, rather than being on the windowsills and using staging 2' away from the back bedroom windows!

Tomorrow its down the plot for some planting out and some more sowing!

Waffler · #**1790** (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 09:40 PM

Well I was a bit woos like in the rain, but did plant out 2 cucumber plants, sow sweet Williams and 3 hanging baskets of sweet peas. Also pinched out existing sweet peas. Watered in the greenhouse too. Still no sign of any more chilli seedlings!

shirlthegirl43 · #**1791** (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 09:45 PM

Potted my tomato plants into their final pots. Not flowering yet but the leaves were yellowing and I felt they needed the extra feed in some new compost. They are planted well down and can be 'earthed up' as they grow and require more nutrients. That's about it for today, purple teepee are through though

nick the grief · #**1792** (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 10:08 PM

HAd a bit of a tidy up in the old greenhouse. Planted one side up with Toms (Gardeners Delight, Moneymaker & Cedrico) and the other side with Marketmore cukes & sweetcorn. pricked out some of last years Cacti seedlings and took a few more Dahlia cuttings. The Natch is distraught as she has lost her bedon the staging so I'm going to have to make her a new on I think

Mrs Dobby · #**1793** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 04:19 PM

We spent a good 3 hours down the plot this afternoon, most of it in the pouring rain, but got a fair bit done!

Miss D gave the pond some more attention, by removing some more of the weeds and water plants, as since they were last cut back in March they've gone bezerk and you cant even see the water, looks much better now!

Everything in the Greenhouse was weeded and fed n watered, and a bit of weeding done on the plot!

We planted out 27 Lark and 39 ovation sweetcorns into their 3 sisters beds, along with 5 each of mars pumpkin and carnival squash, the beds being a good 50' apart to help with preventing cross pollination of the sweetcorn.

Also planted out 47 Mini D'or Dwarf french beans into their final bed, and 27 Royal Red dwarf french bean. again the beds are a good distance apart to prevent x-pollination!

The rondo peas, victorian purple podded peas and carlin peas, plus the mange tout we planted out about 10 days ago have started to come through, as has the rest of the turnips!

Most of the brassicas appear to be doing well, think we've lost 2 cabbages so far, and the late garlic and onion sets we planted out 2 weeks ago seem to be growing nicely! But there's still plenty more to plant and grow, and a long way to go till harvest yet!!

Two_Sheds · #**1794** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 04:48 PM

It's lashing down today so I spent it sorting out greenhouse, ruthlessly thinning out weak seedlings. Germination has been fairly poor overall, so sowed more of nearly everything. Yesterday I put lettuce seedlings on the plot, I expect they've been washed away by now. Off out to Norwich for dinner tonight and some real ale, yum

TonyF · #**1795** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 06:23 PM

Brill day again weather wise, sorry to you folks who are suffering from the rain!

ANOTHER plant fair this morning, last one of the season for me to, getting fed up with them. Was accompanied by the woman who wants me to help with her potager so had a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGG shopping list which we managed to sort quite well.

After I got back home and lunched (used my own CCA for leaves), put in several lots of marigolds and califoria poppies as decoy plants, replaced the cucumbers which have dampened off, sorted plants for new chum etc etc, just generally pottered.

Managed to get into the first fruiting cherry tree this afternoon, the cherries taste superb so dug out my French fruit recipe books for making cherry clafoutis - well my version of it, the one with armagnac in the mix!

Kimbo · #**1796** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 06:23 PM

Today I cleared out some pots from the greenhouses - they had come off the staging during a minor greenhouse distaster (some of the joints collapsed) and I had lost the plants inside but wanted to re use the compost. I potted on some more french beans, strimmed the grass round the raised beds, sowed some savoy cabbage, rocket and snowball turnips. Put fleece over two more small raised beds ready for when my 50 lettuce plants arrive (I think I was having a bit of a seed addict moment when I ordered them). Planted out some kale plants from the greenhouse. Didnt get much else done as it started raining.

Hazel at the Hill · #**1797** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 06:46 PM

Today was the day of the MALVERN SHOW and all you grapes missed a FANTASTIC DAY!

I went with partner-in-grime Jane and met Wellie and Trousers at the showground where they had kindly arranged superb parking for us. We had a gossip and a coffee then went round the show gardens (superb - the GOLD MEDAL winning Chris Beardshaw garden 'the bothy' based on a small holding was utterly inspirational) then round the big flower marquee, and some of the horticultural stores.

Back to the cars for the BEST picnic I have EVER had in my life comprising Wellie's salad leaf salad, home growed asparagus, home sun dried tomatoes, DELICIOUS smoked chicken terrines, various cheese and my cheese straws all washed down with a glass of pino grigio......back to the marquee for coffee and home made abbey crunch biscuits.

EXCELLENT day, managed to only spend £4 on some seeds, and a big thankyou to Wellie and Trousers for making it so good!

Oh, it did rain a bit.

wellie · #**1798** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 07:18 PM

I took Trousers swimming at Malvern, and bumped into two great girls off The Grapevine.... We couldn't have got 'wetter' if we tried Hazel, could we?!
But yes, a really fun day, great company, excellent Cheese Straws and Abbey Crunch Bickies (recipe needed there girlie please?), and I bought a wooden sign saying "Beware of the Cat", as ya do....

Wrung ourselves out back at the cottage, hot soak in the tub with the latest GYO and a glass of Pinot, and Trousers took photos in The Potager, so I've just updated the 'You Know Wot'.....
Thank you for listening,

nick the grief · #**1799** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 07:47 PM

Where are the phot's I say

A sort of weekly update

Planted my Kelsae Onions out ( didn't need to water them in as it is pissistantly rained eversince

Had a bit of a tidy up in the old Greenhouse and planted me Toms up

4 x Gardeners Delight
4 x Moneymaker
2 x Cedrico

also planted 2 Market more Cukes in amongst the sweetcorn

As soon as the little greenhouse is clear I've got some Cream Sausage Toms to go in there ..... Think I've overdone the tomatoes this year I normally only grow 3 plants!

Went up the lottie this morning at 0800

and picked some spiffing broad beans they are soooooo sweet I ate several pods of them whilst I was there. I don't think they are gong to get the chance to develope in to bigg old tough jobs

Then I took some of the beans & some of my new tattie's over to my mother-in-laws ( I can creep with the best of them )

We now have a patch of blue sky and it's 19:45 !!! Too bloody late to start gardening now .... It's enought to drive a guru to drink ....... now there's an idea

Pippin · #**1800** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 10:38 PM

Well I finally emptied out my old shed to make into a potting shed.

I thought I would treat it to a new bench so I had a go at building the bench from a previous issue of Grow Your own - no close up of the joints though

I`m happy to say though that it fits a treat - more by accident than design though

I was using a corner of my green house and it got so cluttered it became a bit of a pain. Now I can got lots more plants in.

The bench plan proved easy-ish to follow and is great to use, so well done Grow Your Own - I think it was Paul Wagland in the Allotment Gardener section.

Pippin

sewer rat · #**1801** (**permalink**) 13-05-2007, 10:49 PM

Today, whilst nursing the hangover from hell,

I sowed 5 x 30m double rows of Onward Peas, 6 x 30m rows Beetroot Monopoly, sowed 1200 Runner Beans into flexipots, sowed 7 different lettuce types into 54 cell plug trays(1 tray each of Little Gem, Saladin, Green Salad Bowl, Red Salad Bowl, Charita, Clarion and Amorina) Then I started to put windbreak netting along my boundary fence but ran out of cable ties - waiting on more arriving this week - went home, cut the grass, and fell asleep.

heebiejeebie · #**1802** (**permalink**) 14-05-2007, 06:54 AM

Too wet to get any planting done. Went on a murderous rampage last night and again this morning - many many snails are HISTORY!!!!

Flummery · #**1803** (**permalink**) 14-05-2007, 09:06 AM

Had a great gardening weekend. Saturday I put my climbing beans, corn and some cucurbits in the garden and took 3 toms and some french beans and a cucumber to the in-laws garden. They are both 83 and although active, their mobility is not great so they can look after the things once in.
Sunday I put more toms into the greenhouse border, sowed a row of spinach and potted on some peppers and aubergines. Then it started to rain hard and it still is. The water butt is full. Must get another!

madderbat · #**1804** (**permalink**) 14-05-2007, 04:45 PM

Today I re-potted the last of my tomatoes. They seem to have gone on forever. I was afraid at first that none of them would grow, but we have been giving them away all over the place. Repaying freecyclers with a gift of three or more tomatoes seems like a good thing to do, and all our neighbours have at least one plant!
Ive still got more than i can reasonably keep, so the local Community Assn can have some to sell next weekend.
I've put three courgettes in the plot, and have several others up at home, waiting until the end of the month. Having said that, the ones in the ground seem fine, one is sitting on top of a bucketful of osspoo and is loving it. I'll do that for the others I plant.
Pippin, I love the potting table, and have asked BW to build me one similar. I have great faith in him.

wellie · #**1805** (**permalink**) 14-05-2007, 08:47 PM

Honestly, cross my heart - it just wasn't possible to take phots yesterday at Malvern.... Why won't peeps believe us Haze?! Completely knee-deep in droplets of the rain variety, and hugely brave to return to camp to report back on the event in the first place at all if you don't mind!!! Phots next time. (Wellie, liar liar pants on fire....). So:
Today, I hadn't planned on turning up after The Wedding, but they needed me, and who am I to refuse. Lots of tidying up to be done, and the rain finally held off about lunchtime to attempt that.

When I finally got back home, I got Trousers to work in the garden, weeding the Wellie's Workshop Strawberry Planter (which he cannot quite believe how the fruits are swelling now with all this rain), and pinching the tendril-squirly bits off the Sweet Peas, which have just started flowering, and Trousers took some lovely 'extra' phots for yet another update, because the sun was shining and it made him feel good.... (see cat and me smiling), and then I got TOLD OFF !! because I never told you what's in the trug that he picked for our dinner. Bad Wellie. Go to bed with no pocketmoney? Ooh, I'm scared...

TonyF · #**1806** (**permalink**) 14-05-2007, 08:51 PM