Story of Hugsville Patch

Smoffi

Here is the latest update for me....

I put a small pond into the garden a few months ago.. it got slightly neglected and I have had my mother come up to see me this weekend.

she has a pond and has bought up some pond plants and will be bringing up some oxygenator plants for me to help me out..

its a basic design and will have to clean the water out soon as it was not cleaned previous...

Here is the start of the design.. I have placed a basic set of bricks around it and there is alot more work to do!!!

http://img31.imageshack.us/i/dscf1725y.jpg/

Smoffi

Woke up this morning and discovered that some of my toms are rotting on the vine... ?i have lifted them all of the ground (as some were laying on it) but its also others up the vines..

did a quick search and came up with these answers..

Blossom End Rot of Tomato

Blossom end rot is a troublesome disease, familiar to most gardeners who have grown tomatoes. The disease is often prevalent in commercial as well as home garden tomatoes, and severe losses may occur if preventive control measures are not undertaken.

Symptoms may occur at any stage in the development of the fruit, but, most commonly, are first seen when the fruit is one-third to one-half full size. As the name of the disease implies, symptoms appear only at the blossom end of the fruit. Initially a small, water-soaked spot appears, which enlarges and darkens rapidly as the fruits develop. The spot may enlarge until it covers as much as onethird to one-half of the entire fruit surface, or the spot may remain small and superficial. Large lesions soon dry out and become flattened, black, and leathery in appearance and texture.

This disease does not spread from plant to plant in the field, nor from fruit to fruit in transit. Since it is of a physiological nature, fungicides and insecticides are useless as control measures. The occurrence of the disease is dependent upon a number of environmental conditions, especially those that affect the supply of water and calcium in the developing fruits. Factors that influence the uptake of water and calcium by the plant have an effect on the incidence and severity of blossom end rot. The disease is especially prevalent when rapidly growing, succulent plants are exposed suddenly to a period of drought. When the roots fail to obtain sufficient water and calcium to be transported up to the rapidly developing fruits, the latter become rotted on their basal ends. Another common predisposing factor is cultivation too close to the plant; this practice destroys valuable roots, which take up water and minerals. Tomatoes planted in cold, heavy soils often have poorly developed root systems. Since they are unable to supply adequate amounts of water and nutrients to plants during times of stress, blossom end rot may result. Soils that contain excessive amounts of soluble salts may predispose tomatoes to the disease, for the availability of calcium to the plants decreases rapidly as total salts in the soil increase.

Control

Control of blossom end rot is dependent upon maintaining adequate supplies of moisture and calcium to the developing fruits. Tomatoes should not be excessively hardened nor too succulent when set in the field. They should be planted in welldrained, adequately aerated soils. Tomatoes planted early in cold soil are likely to develop blossom end rot on the first fruits, with the severity of the disease often subsiding on fruits set later. Thus, planting tomatoes in warmer soils helps to alleviate the problem. Irrigation must be sufficient to maintain a steady even growth rate of the plants. Mulching of the soil is often helpful in maintaining adequate supplies of soil water in times of moisture stress. When cultivation is necessary, it should not be too near the plants nor too deep, so that valuable feeder roots remain uninjured and viable. In home gardens, shading the plants is often helpful when hot, dry winds are blowing, and soil moisture is low. Use of fertilizer low in nitrogen, but high in superphosphate, such as 4-12-4 or 5-20-5, will do much to alleviate the problem of blossom end rot. In emergency situations, foliage can be sprayed with calcium chloride solutions. However, extreme caution must be exercised since calcium chloride can be phytotoxic if applied too frequently or in excessive amounts. Foliar treatment is not a substitute for proper treatment of the soil to maintain adequate supplies of water and calcium.

Although differences exist among varieties with respect to susceptibility to blossom end rot, no varieties as yet have commercially useful resistance.

Also a good tip...

do NOT plant any herbs straight into the patch.. always keep them in pots!!

Smoffi

A bad update!!! Due to a hectic last 2 weeks I forgot to keep an eye on things and now is the time of CABBAGE BUTTERFLY!!! horrid things...

I just had a spare hour before work and have noticed that I have lost 7 out of 10 cabbages!!

When the cabbages have grown enough to plant out (if you start them in a greenhouse) or if you have them straight outside then make sure you cover them with netting stright away!! this WILL save you alot of hassle.. Hence to say I have now covered 90% of the whole patch which is at the side..

Grapes are still growing along the trellis,, still no grapes yet..

Raddishes i planted out 3 weeks ago are now huge! and most are ready to eat

toms are slow in going red.. and not looking forward to when season has finished as they all have to be burnt and the whole area redone..

Planted more peas straight into the ground by the kiwi bush...as an experiement on how they grow straight in the ground..

With next week off work there is alot of work to do... still to turn compost

More updates due next week.. stay tuned :P

Smoffi

Whilst clearing a bit of rubbish in the garden late last night I noticed a bit of a thud when moving stuff.... looked down at the ground and noticed a new friend.... Hugsville Patch has its own slug remover!!! Spikey the Hedghog (as named by my daughter)

Smoffi

This week has been a very productive week so far!!!

First of all removnig all strawberries from the old patch.. they 3 years old and really do need new ones there! (Read somewhere strawberries only last 3 years...)

Put in some new edging for the patch at the side.. Thankfully donated to me by my mother as she won them and has no need for them Free is good

Compost has finally made some to use lol...
Heres the image of that section.. I will post another once I have totally finished that side!

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/1037/dscf1945.jpg

Now move down to the shed and if you look at one of the first images it shows you how overgrown the hedge is.. *cough* WAS!!!

It has opened the garden loads and now I can start getting it ready to increase the patch down that fence ready for next year!! wwoohooooo

Image below
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/2550/dscf1948pla.jpg

Well...... on a very good note...

Dinner tonight was made from:
Potatoes (from garden)
Mint
Peas
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Peppers
Spring Onions
Red Onions

VERY nice stir fry mmmmmm

Also I am eagerly waiting for the cucumber to grow.. its about 8 inches and not very fat.. think I need ot feed it every week!!

Well more updates later on in the week as holiday from work is great

Smoffi

Well spent today removing the rest of the prickly hedge ..ouch..
Hint: Wear a long sleave jumper :P

Now here is a question to you all.... I have a brick shed attached to the house..
Nice flat roof i am getting a couple of pallets to put on the top of it..
Raising the middle so I can put a vegepatch on it and still be able to collect the rain fall as it drifts through the pallets on the roof ... follow? lol...

Now what I need is some material like plastic to use as a base ontop of the pallets to form a raised bed... It HAS to allow water to drain through it slowly so not to flood the vegies!! I cant think of anything at all...

I shall include pics of the roof section in next update

Also the Mrs has said I can have more of the garden next year.. so preperation is really moving on in the next few months to get it all ready..

I have also learnt planning is a hugely important thing.. I have made a map of the garden so I can plan it out.
Also a database of the seeds I have, dates and notes on planting and pitfalls I have come across
(This I will post on here in the future)

delerium

As a novice gardener I have read your "blog" with interest especially the stuff about the grapes. If it's not too forward how far south are you that you are trying grapes. The only thing I can rely on is the rain!! so wondered if it would be a little chilly up here in scotland for them!

Note about your pond...a bit late this year but get some tadpoles for it next year and they will grow into lovely slug munching frogs who are habitual so will return year in year.

My first year has been much like yours in no planning and just planting anything I can get my hands on. Peas are the only thing that haven't taken.

Slugs were a problem til I learnt about beer!! Caterpillars are now my downfall, so I have taken to cutting the leaves they are on putting them in a box and taking them to my daughter's nursery...that'll teach them!!

I will continue to read with eager zeal

Smoffi

I am basing my decision on grapes o that of my mother.. She has grown grapes land she lives about 100 (driving) miles from me further south

Tadpoles are planned

Here is the first rough layout for next year... This I shall keep updated as well..
http://img26.imageshack.us/i/gardenf.jpg/

Database of seeds I have so far and any notes for you to download below (This shall be updated as I add new things as well)
http://ul.to/cj09yf

Smoffi

Last day of holiday and I've been busy....

A picture of the patch getting ready for next year..
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/7043/dscf1950.jpg
Manure is dug in..
Also you can see the log edging which is not fully built yet.. got another 8 or 10 feet to go of logs!

Also in previous posts I mentioned about putting pallets on the shed roof and looking for something to hold the dirt so I can plant up there as well...
A problem I came across was, pointed out by the Mrs, was the sheer weight of all the dirt on the roof may not be a great idea...
So back to square one...whilst in the shed I found some old shelving and have many bricks.. as no one was going to see the set up on the roof just the veggies 2 and 2 became 4 :P and here is the result!

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1286/dscf1951j.jpg

Sweetcorn will be planted up there next year!! will eb agreat view out of the bedroom window on a summer morning

Yes I have thought about watering issue (my seven year old already quizzed me)
Yes I have thought about picking whats up there.. A ladder or hang out the window..
Only going to place crops up there that are not quick cropping :P

Smoffi

WARNING: When putting tomatoes or anyother plants on a roof.. be sure you dotn get high winds.... Came home to find 2 plants blown over and 1 hanging off the edge of the roof.... will let you know what I will do with that space after this weekend