The great, good and not so good bits about growing your own dinner 2017

Hello Everyone
Lovely day here in Gloucestershire. And things are on the move seedlingwise. Everything but peppers - I might need to buy some as I was very late in sowing.
I'd go with the pumpkin planting Determined do you have a light window sill you could put them on - as you want to give them plenty of light when they germinate. I have mine in an unheated greenhouse - sown about a week ago. I'll keep them in pots until late May and then everything will be outside except for toms, cus, peppers and melon.
The rhubarb is going bananas - I notice it's £6 a kilo in the shops. I might put some out at the gate for sale next week as I won't need all of it and I still have some in the freezer.
Might try and take some pictures if I can remember how to load them up.
All the best.

I can't believe it's nearly the end of March and only now I'm joining this thread.

I took last year off growing my own (mostly) because I bought a house and moved so didn't really gave the time to think if the garden. I did get a few apples from one if my youngish trees and some lovely strawberries but they was the extent of it.

I've been spending this week getting work done on my new garden in preparation for this year. I've put three more fruit trees in the ground that were bought as bare root two years ago and grown in tubs. I'm now up to three cherry, three apple, two plum and a pear all in the ground. I really wanted another two pear and an extra plum to make it up to three of each and each year I've bought the supermarket offer trees but this year the quality has been very poor and I'm almost out of time to get bare root trees. I've even tried three local garden centres and the quality us either low or the price just too high (£45 for a smallish tree).

I've bought seeds for carrots, parsnips, peas, green beans, sweet corn, radish, lettuce, peppers, broccoli, melon and I'm sure there are a few more that I've forgotten. I haven't shown any yet but will be getting it done over the weekend and next week. I have some Desiree seed potatoes and am going to attempt sweet potatoes this year too.

I also need to buy new strawberry plants, blueberry bushes and see what I can salvage from last years raspberry canes and maybe get a few more and my herb garden died off from lack of care with the house move so I need to start that again.

I need to choose an area to start a new compost heap, I've been working on my rabbits run today and dug up lots of worms that have been put in a tub of dirt nice and safe ready to add to my heap.

I'll be spending this evening doing my annual spreadsheet and date planning for the sowing, planting out, fertilising, maintaining and harvesting plus end of season care so I have a decent plan going forward to get the best from my crops.

I'm now off to look for online offers on fruit trees, strawberry plants, blueberry bushes, raspberry canes and herb seeds. Wish me luck.

Beautiful day. Spent a couple of hours on the plot this afternoon. Finished clearing three beds in the tunnels. I've still got fennel, garlic and onions growing from last year. I took a chance and uncovered the new potatoes, they are about 18" high, hopefully it wont turn frosty.

Outside I only managed to pull up the remaining sprouts and give them to the hens, cut some sprouting broccoli and pulled some leeks. I also managed to check all the netting which goes around and over all the beds, it looks to be intact. (I have to cover all the outside beds as we are plagued with rabbits. Baby rabbits can get through the 2" tweld mesh :mad:). We are also plagued by deer but since the area has been fenced to 7' high they can't jump in - unless I forget to close the gates.

Just updated my signature, added in the leeks, sp broccoli and 2 fennel, to my veg/fruit savings against supermarket prices. It's now is £19.55 and I've still got loads in the freezer to use from last year.

The seeds in the house are starting to germinate. If it's a nice day tomorrow I should have time to do a bit more.

just seen your sig CAFCGirl did make me chuckle. I'm in my 2nd year and feel exactly this way!

arrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The most terrible has befallen me Today is my last day of my holiday when I haven't got madam & I had plans of performing small miracles but I came down with something last night and woke up this morning feeling shocking. Have just taken some pain relief in the hope I'll feel capable to do a few things, but right now not feeling hopeful.

I've organised to go and collect manure and someone is taking me so I can use their trailer. So regardless of how I'm feeling I'll be shovelling *** this afternoon! But I had arranged with my friend she was coming to the allotment with me this afternoon and was hoping we'd clear out the shed, work out what's useful and what isn't and do some general clearing up/raking over a 1.5 x 2.5 m bed and investigate the situation under the membrane I've left all winter. Hmmmmm not feeling hopeful at this point. Really annoying as she is super good at tidying, while I am not and I don't know when she'd be available to help again

Might muster energy to pot on some things in a bit. Boo hoo I've been ill so much this year

I thought it related to gardening CAFCGirl. One track mind!