Story of Hugsville Patch

Smoffi

Roof Patch:
Looking good now the cold has disappeared.. will make mental note for next year.. do NOT put anything up there until chill has gone! (April)

Hugsville Patch:
Turnips: 12 sown out which were started in greenhouse
Turnips: 2 rows extra sown from seed
Watermelon: x 12 sown into pots
Pak Choi: Sown into pots
Coriander: sown into pot
Fresno: sown into pot

Not sure why the previous 4 water melons which were sown directly into the base of the greenhouse have not come up yet... will keep looking into this..

Adding extra section on the floor of greenhouse to grow more directly into flooring..
Adding wood balanced between both sides of shelving to make additional 3ft of shelf!!

Sweetcorn: slow growing in the patch..
Onions: First section planted are growing very well.. should have some to pick soon..
Radish: First load are just starting to pop through the top of the soil.. so close!

Photos of Hugsville Patch, Roof Patch, greenhouses and back room:
To follow......

Smoffi

As you walk around the patch from behind the greenhouse...

Spring Onions - nothing growing as of yet.. (not sure what to do with them...)
Radishes "French Breakfasts" - Enjoying the harvesting.. largest was teh size of a golf ball.. rest normal size.. and still more to grow
Lettuce - First lot looking ok 4-5 inches spread.. rest of them are just starting to grow
Corgettes - 2 looking ok.. plant is 6 inches in length.. no flowering yet
Squash - looking a bit ragged.. still growing slowly..
Beans - Looking ragged and not at all good... plants still only 6 inches tall
Peas - Nice forest of plants.. some are flowering
Sweetcorn - all growing ok now.. some 4 inches tall
Onions - 1st batch.. nice growth of greenery but still very small onions under ground...
Onions - 2nd batch.. smaller greenery than 1st lot..
Pumpkins - 1 plant is a nice size.. the other is appearing to do nothing.. (a decision to be made if possible replant it in a pot)
Tomatoes - 4 on their own.. growing ok.. 4-5 inches tall..
Sprouts - going well.. 3 inch tall growth
Purple Sprouting Brocc - all 3 inches tall..
Carrots - Nothing appearing!!
Kale - massive growth.. now all 6 inches tall
Chard - 4 inches tall
Turnips - (greenhouse started) Greenery is 4 inches tall.. small under ground and not breaking through soil yet
Turnips - sown in ground from seed - 1/2 inch tall greenery
Tomatoes - main patch - all 3-5 inches tall.. supports are in place for the majority of plants!
Swede - growth of greenery 3 incehs
Strawberries - 6 flowers on 4 plants looking ok.. will pot any spread into pots so able to give to others!!
Kiwi - growth of 1-2 feet of vine.. no fruit yet!
Spuds - 3ft of dirt deep.. greenery growth of 1ft on all.

Greenhouse
Still full off seeds growing
Tomatoes - x4 growing ok now 4 inches tall
Watermelon - (one type . cant remember what type lol) started breaking through the soil!! (needs heat and alot of water!)

Step-Daughters Patch
she is watering it.. and looks ok

Church Patch
Not checked it but will have a look tomorrow
Will be digging the spud section up to get ready for planting soon!!

Roof Patch:
All looking ok... will update exactly next post!
Need to work on a simple watering system (pipes from bathroom being idea)

Had an email about the allotment I was going for and was told that I am on the waiting list.. so looking like I have alot of veggie in the greenhouses that I will have to be stuck with an keep planting late into the garden...

Smoffi

Church Patch:
1ft deep x 6ft long x 2ft wide hole dug ready for spuds!!!
Sweetcorn x 10 more put in
(not really convinced anything except Spuds will grow there in the future..as it does not get alot of water.. and no outside tap to water it as much as I want to)...

Hugsville Patch:
Radishes... 1st lot pulled up fully as they are eaten
Radishes... places about 15 of what had not grown into the floor of the greenhouse
Lettuce: Planted out 20
Beetroot: Planted out 20
Aubergine: Planted out 5 into large pots
Dwarf Beans: Planted out 10

Kale has exploded and is growing into a nice size since being planted out
Chard has done the same!!
(Too cook just pull the leaves and boil for a very short time)
Radishes: The first batch have been roughly the size of gold balls and white.. and so nice!

Strawberry: has started come up!!
Kiwi looking good and hopefully will give fruit this year as they do in about year 2-3

Sweetcorn is looking good...
Onions (Both 1st and 2nd) are a nice size on top.. nice tasting.. just waiting for the actual onion to grow now lol

Cleared another small section by the pond and put excess beetroot and chard in there...

Roof Patch:
Aubergine: Put the 6 up there.. every thing seems to be growing ok up there..
It is now very full up there!!!
Will take pics next time

Lesson Learnt:
Make sure you actually plan the number of thing you sow... and do not bank on getting extra space unless you have it!

I am overspaced by:
35 kale
52 tomatoes
30 chard
35 lettuce

Also will start planting stuff early next year and keep in greenhouse longer and not be so eager to plant out!!! lol..

Plan properly in numbers.. not just space!!

Also dont put so many peas together in the patch...

If your strawberries are spreading beyond your space just get a pot and lead it into it.. then when it is established then cut it loose and you can relocate it... (stay in pot, move to another section or give away! etc)

To be sown in the next week:
Peas
Winter Veg

Smoffi

Church Patch:
6x2ft spud patch filled with spuds... sown today.. hopefully will grow
Onions put out in 1x1ft patch..
The peas have not really got as big as the ones have done at home... but they are flowering slowly...

Just need to speak to the pastor about getting a water butt attached to a drain pipe to give me a water supply when needed!!

Hugsville Patch:
2nd Patch of Radishes are growing fast!! Had 3-4 so far which are about 1-2 inch long nice tasting..
Lettuces put out next to them are growing.. I went for the leafy lettuce not the normal round ones you see in shops this year.. Cant remember the exact name until I get the seed bin out and check..
Sweetcorn plants now 6-10 inches high..
Onions not really getting big yet
Spuds looking very leafy ontop.. I did remove some bricks from the raised bed and check growth but nothing happening yet that I could see..
Rhubarb is huge... leaves taking over everywhere.. still cant eat it this year as it is year 1 ...
Peas looking like a forest and flowering nicely..
Kale is all done.. just have to plant out the excess I have and see if that works well
Chard same as kale...

Sown out some more winter veg into small trays..
Parsnips, Leeks, Cabbage and something else I cant remember what I labeled.. will check and update in next post..

Step-Daughter Patch:
Dug a spud patch..
Planted out more Tomatoes, Kale and Lettuces..

Roof Patch is looking full... still nothing to eat yet..
I do have a cabbage up there which has bolted and grown flowers.. will try and harvest the seeds from it later!!

Really need to sit down and re-think next years planting schedule..
Thinking of the more sensible... plant 20 of each every 2-3 weeks... of course this does not apply to stuff like Rads, Onions etc...

Reason behind this is I have a huge excess of veg which is sitting in pots... and no where to put them... large greenhouse is full.. 1 of the small ones is also full and the other is 1/2 full...

Also if you are applying for an allotment then do not bank on getting it.. wait till you get a definite yes.. THEN plant!! lol

Will have to do some reading this week as well.. there is a few veg I think I made an error with... planting out too early and so forth...

Smoffi

Ok.. unusual post on a Wednesday!!

Harvested all my first load of Chard which I planted out...
5 radishes...
1 lettuce and made a nice salad


Dug a new spud patch.. 1x1 ft.. nothing huge.. just progression with timings so I have a steady cropping through out a few months

Sown:
Okra
Peppers
Parsnips

Built a small bird table.. I got that bored in the sun lol

Roof patch will need some looking at soon... have thought about putting tomatoes up there and fixing the "climbing frame" to teh wall in order to stop it blowing.. will require more thought!!

Greenhouse is full...
Peas in there are flowering
Melons are growing slowly..

Starting to plan out next year now as well..
Also looking at what I need to order (might see what seeds are in sales in shops!)

Smoffi

Today is "Thinning out Day"


After falling into the trap of over sprinkling seeds into a few sections of Hugsville Patch today is back breaking work lol..

A handy tip for anyone who is thinking of thinning out and is concerned about damaging them.. follow this easy tip
Get a tub full of water, not too cold, and then soak the clod of roots in it for a few seconds and then you can gently pull the edge ones off and if you continue this you will loosen all of them apart...

Also get a few tub of soil to sow any excess plants into them so they will grow later than the rest..

Kiwi bush has been pruned back so hopefully it will produce fruit
Spuds have been trimmed back
Tomatoes need to be thinned a little as well

I will be taking pics today and then posting them up tonight!!

On a good note a woman at church thinks a 1/2 patch will be coming up soon next to her 1/2 patch.. so hopefully I get it!! lol... too much to keep here!!

Smoffi

Update....

Hugsville Patch:
Kale: Harvest a whole carrier bag of them today (will look at freezing it!)
Lettuce: Harvested 3 and have 3-4 more looking almost ready.. these have been a good thing to grow
Lettuce: Planted out more little ones in spare space
Cauli: Planted out 15 from pots to patch
Swede: Harvested 1 and it is bigger than a tennis ball (will leave the rest to grow)... NOTE: Water ALOT and cover up the swedes when they start poking through the ground
Peas: Harvested 1 load for dinner earlier this week.. rest will be ready soon!! I have planted more in pots in the greenhouse to replace them. NOTE: Make sure you have about 4ft poles for them to climb up and space them out 10 cm between each..
Sweetcorn: Going very well.. now nearly 2ft tall
Toms: Spaced out more into other sections of the garden I have "acquired"
Peppers: 4 plants from pots to patch

Roof Patch:
Cauli: Had to remove 8 as they bolted and have not taken to growing in large pots well
Courgettes: Growing ok.... flowering at the moment.
Toms: Tumbling toms flowering but not spreading alot....

Church Patch:
Spuds: Need covering as they have grown well...
Not sure on everything else as I looked in passing this morning..
We are having "Bring a Spud to church week" which means I am being inundated with spuds to grow and give to the homeless shelter...
Next year this will be a huge operation as I will start earlier during the year..

Lessons Learnt:
Kale: do not grow more than 5 at a time.. spread a month between sowing (unless you want to eat Kale every day)
Cauli: Best grown in the patch not in pots (this may be just for me)
Roof: Use own those vegs that spread (will try peas next year I think)

Will be checking the greenhouse later to see what is growing and plan some more winter veg to grow

Plan your growing even when you put them into the patch.. Things spread! :rotfl:

Smoffi

Had a good walk around a friends allotment and talking to the regulars (some have been there 30 years) and looked at how they are laying things out and so forth..

One said to me it is a VERY good idea to place netting over all your crops.. (not draping but build a tent for them) and allowing them space to grow within it...

It keeps cats out and butterflies and so forth.. netting can be bought from any pound shop..

I have done 1 section of mine so far and will post pics later this weekend!!!

Smoffi

Todays update....

Harvested all my 1st batch of peas and ground is clear for the next lot to go in (next few days)
Managed to get 2 1/2 ltr tub full of peas

2nd batch is in the greenhouse which was sown about 1 1/2 months ago..

Whilst driving around with the family I noticed a nice skip with piles of wood in it.. Stopped (on the way home) and asked the owner if I could recycle what I could carry. She said fine
So now I have enough wood to start the building of caged area to stop birds and so forth eating before I do!!
Also stopped at the 99p shop and bought 2 lots of 4x5m netting!!
total cost of building all this will be £2.00
Pics of this will be posted when I have finished it!!

Recycling is good!!

Lessons Learnt:
Make sure you support them properly (about 5ft high)
Do not over bunch them (about 10 inches between each plant and row)

Smoffi

Pics of garden:
1st is of the wood (free) and netting (1 lot cost: £1.00)
I am still to build the full frame but you can see the general idea...

Other 2 pics are of smaller versions and the netting was obtained from my daughters old bed covering.

http://img710.imageshack.us/i/dscf2406z.jpg/
http://img638.imageshack.us/i/dscf2407.jpg/
http://img202.imageshack.us/i/dscf2408o.jpg/