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

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  • Welcome to the thread LoveKnittingSocks :j

    Was hoping to get to the allotment today to get some more digging done but it looks like rain on and off all day.

    Ah well ...will have to get the more mundane parts of life sorted...i.e food shopping.
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  • Fruittea
    Fruittea Posts: 956
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    Morning all
    Nice day but chilly here in Gloucestershire. If I'm lucky I will get a lift down to the allotment and check out the greenhouse later today. I want to allocate all the tomatoes I want for me and the gardens I do and then sell the rest - as it's a Bank Holiday! That should make me a few £s.
    Glad to hear that the weather hasn't affected us all too much but keep the fleeces over everything until the end of the week. Sounds as though you were lucky Fosterdog and the snow just passed you by. Here by the river Severn the weather has a mind of its own and the forecasts are pretty useless. It's because I'm in the Severn Vale and the weather climbs to the Cotswolds escarpment - usually holding all the water and then dumps it down when it reaches the top. Shame about the Blood fish and bone. Sounds very odd.
    Good advice on the mini greenhouse CAFCGirl - one of mine blew away last year and is confined to a storage area now. I've bought myself a heavy perspex one but I have to get rid of a shed first. Plans on hold for that at the mo. I also raid the garden centre recycling area for pots and usually find something useful.
    LoveKnittingSocks would you happen to have a pattern number for some walking socks - something I could knit with thick wool. I'm thinking now would be a good time for me to learn how to make some.
    All the best.
  • zafiro1984
    zafiro1984 Posts: 2,445
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    We didn't get any snow at all over the 2016/17 winter so it came as a complete surprise yesterday when the heavens opened and snow fell.

    I've been quite busy over this last couple of days but I've set myself a goal of 2hrs every day on the plot come rain or shine - so far so good and it doesn't go dark now until 8.30pm which is a bonus.

    Monday just watered, turned over three beds, un-netted the sp broccoli and kale and fed the remains to the chickens. sowed some bits and pieces mainly salad cut and come again things in the tunnel.

    Yesterday - planted some raspberries I found lurking in pots behind the greenhouse plus a couple of gooseberry bushes. Gathered together enough bailer twine to make the 'wires' on my tomato frame as I grow my toms in large pots against a frame as I find it takes up less space and is easier to keep them from becoming rampant and taking over.

    Today on my list is -
    feeding the overwintered onions and garlic.
    weed the now empty kale and sp broccoli bed.
    my DH made me a new raised bed as the old one was rotten so I need to move the rotten wood off a path so I can get to the beds on either side - big job, may not finish it all today.

    Going to get rugged up before I start as it's cold out there, definitely a gloves day.
  • Not able to get to the lottie the last few days due to commitments and how cold it has been when I've been free but I am ecstatic to announce my squash seeds are germinating! Yippee!
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  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,306
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    My sweetcorn is going for it. Far too early yet to put it out (bed not even prepared!) At this rate I will have to pot them on... where are those toilet rolls?
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  • Fosterdog
    Fosterdog Posts: 4,948
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    Well done on the squash seeds determined

    Suffolk Lass I have the same dilemma with my sweetcorn, it has shot up considering I only planted the seeds last weekend they already almost 6in tall, I don't know where I'll put them until they are ready to plant out next month.

    Lots of lovely buzzy bees busy working around the garden for me today, let's hope all of their pollinating efforts are not wasted.
  • Thank you for the advice re the mini greenhouse CAFCGirl - DH didn't get around to it yesterday, Tuesday was a day of sleety showers here. I didn't spot any snow on the mountains in Snowdonia today but when DH went to work this morning his car was frozen so I'm glad I listened to expert advice about bringing my baby plants indoors.

    Fruittea - I've sent you a message about the knitting patterns, its the first one I've sent so I hope its worked.

    I'm itching for the weekend to arrive so I can do some more planting. I'm going to try some leeks, more onions, beetroot and mixed salad leaves. I've got some garlic that's past its best in the fridge so I'm going to pop it in a pot and see what happens. I've also got more seed potatoes on the way and two bags to fill. The four bags I have already planted are doing really well but my chilli plant is looking very sad and wilted. I re potted it at the weekend and now it doesn't look too happy.

    Only four of my Brussels sprouts seedlings have survived this far - I think I over watered the first batch but these four are hanging on for dear life.

    Our new lawnmower arrived yesterday - I managed to kill the old one on Sunday so I'll have fun trying this one out over the weekend. Most of our garden is inaccessible at the moment but we have a small lawn at the side of the road that needs to be kept tidy.

    DH has hidden his Black & Decker because I have a habit of breaking anything mechanical so he gets the job of drilling holes in pots this weekend!

    I almost forgot, I also have runner beans to plant but I'm not sure if its too early for those yet?

    I hope everyone has a good day tomorrow and the weather warms up a bit.
  • I'd be interested in that knitting pattern as well, IlKS :)


    We got hail this afternoon. And some of my pots, old secateurs and a glove have leaped from the shelving (an old mini greenhouse without plastic covering - the company had changed the dimensions when I needed to replace it :mad:) ten foot onto the lawn. Although that may be due to bird investigations, as we seem to have have some rather bored crows around here - at least they're not digging up the garlic to see what I've put there again. But they have had another good 'beak' around the red onions. :cool:

    The courgette seedlings still look too long and a bit sad, but no worse than before I put them out under thick glass.


    And OH has decided the new compost heap location is too awkward. It's now going to be in the scrappy corner nearest the kitchen door, cunningly hidden by the courgettes, apparently.


    Got some more compost and two bags of top soil coming tomorrow evening, as I cannot plant anything else without them - and I feel like I'm about to fall into Wonderland with the holes in the grassy bit of weeds where I tried extricating some of the dandelions. Don't worry, I left plenty for the bees around the edge, we can manage without all of them.

    Oh, plus I *might* have added some giant sunflowers, purple sprouting broccoli and dill seeds to the same order when I was supposed to be getting 48 tins of cat food, 2 bags of crunchies and a thing of dishwasher tablets. Oops. Well, I did need to get it to the minimum order value :whistle:
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  • It was soooooo cold here yesterday that at 6pm I ran down to the greenhouse and brought in my tomatoes, courgettes & squash seeds as I was worried the cold was going to kill them off!

    Not going to get a chance to do much today or tomorrow as am working but must pot on 6 aubergines, 1 tomato & 2 comfrey plants as we go on holiday on Monday so need to get things up to date by then. I might even take madam down to the lottie after work just to have a look, dig up any marestail that is sprouting and stitch together the netting I have erected.

    Hope you all have a good day x
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  • CAFCGirl
    CAFCGirl Posts: 9,122
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    Sun is shining here and although it as a tad bracing on the dawn walk with the dog, its warming up nicely.

    I potted on my son's 2 pumpkin plants he was given by our plot neighbour, and they've embraced the new amount of space wholeheartedly. I need to get the same for my tomatoes I think as they have truly stagnated around 2 inches high! I'll then use their tray to get some sweetcorn sown today - when I can find the seed packet!
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