Help MBE grow his dinner 2012

Pre-war_babe_33

Not much going on in my garden this year due mainly to the weather plus sciatica and vertigo to contend with but at least I have lots of little green strawberries getting bigger by the day (one should be ripe tomorrow so keeping a sharp eye on it in case the slugs and snails take an interest, plus loads of tomatoes on all ten plants which I pollenated with a little paint brush as there seems to be a shortage of bees around this year and I have only seen one working away all on his own. Only five broad beans on about 25 plants so far although there is plenty of blossom so shortage of bees again I suppose. Only just planted out my peppers but no sign of flowers on them yet.

The four gooseberry bushes have just four fruit between them but last year they did themselves proud and gave me nearly 12lbs so I am not complaining. The raspberries look as though they have a chance - never grown them before so not sure what to expect but they are smothered in flowers at the moment. Rhubarb is also looking rubbish this year - again due to the weather I suppose.

I am now looking forward to a warm dry spell so I can get out in the garden and sow some more seeds. Everything, apart from blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries and rhubarb has to be grown in pots on the patio because the garden is nothing but stones - something I didn`t know about when I bought this house just three years ago.

I am hoping to have some raised beds in the style of Square Foot Gardening but will need help with the foundations before I can go down that route.

annie123

Thames Water will lift the hosepipe ban soon, they've noticed the constant rain too;) and just to make it slightly less monotonous I've got gale warnings now.
*goes off to see how to grow rice instead*

Drea

annie123 wrote: »

Thames Water will lift the hosepipe ban soon, they've noticed the constant rain too;) and just to make it slightly less monotonous I've got gale warnings now.
*goes off to see how to grow rice instead*

Gale and flood warnings here! Oh dear...

Angelfeathers

My chillies (3 bought plants because I couldn't see myself needing a whole packet of seeds) aren't doing anything either. They need potting up into bigger pots, but I need to clear some room in the greenhouse first, which means clearing some room in the flower beds...

Got a load planted out on Tues though, so I'm getting there.

First strawberry looks like it'll be ready to eat in a day or two, if it survives that long! Mine are Elsanta, Drea, so perhaps that's what yours are too? I bought that kind because DS is the main strawberry eater and I know he likes Elsanta from the shops!

Still harvesting radishes - I grew my second lot in an old recycling bin and the lipped edge has kept all the slugs away so these are gorgeously big and look wonderful! - and lamb's lettuce, and yesterday I picked my first spring onion thinnings, which are really tender and lovely. Also started on one of the 'winter gem' lettuces from the greenhouse - also lovely!

I feel like I'm finally starting to get somewhere. :-)

Drea

Angelfeathers wrote: »

First strawberry looks like it'll be ready to eat in a day or two, if it survives that long! Mine are Elsanta, Drea, so perhaps that's what yours are too? I bought that kind because DS is the main strawberry eater and I know he likes Elsanta from the shops!

I'm fairly sure it was Elsanta!

Really windy and rainy here, I'm a bit worried about my runner beans and tomatoes...

Pre-war_babe_33

I have some spring onions still growing from last year. I never pull the bulbs out but just cut off the leaves as I need them and more leaves grow in no time at all - very MSE!

pink_poppy

I really need to get my spring onion seeds sown, I love scally onions chopped up with tinned red salmon in a sandwich :drool: I still haven't managed to get a bigger bit to make the holes bigger in my flower buckets though Was it 8 or 10mm I need, mbe/annie??

I think we have the calm before the storm here ~ I managed to get out & cut the grass earlier but it's spitting now & the wind's picking up. Had a spectacular thunder storm & torrential rain yesterday but it only lasted a few minutes ~ it feels like there's another one on the way ~ batten down the hatches!! :eek:

aliasojo

My spring onions are another thing that have done nothing. Don't understand it, it's like they grew some skinny 3 inch stem then just went into suspended animation. My leeks too. :undecided

hazzie123

My first batch of Competion Carrots seem to have stopped growing but the batch I planted two weeks later are huge in comparison? I've not planted my leeks out yet and not even planted any green bean seeds yet,I'm so lazy.
My Beetroot seedlings are just poking through now,gunna sow another batch this week and get those pesky tomato and pepper plants planted in the borders.
This poor weather is just deflating me even going out in the garden.

djohn2002uk

pink_poppy wrote: »

I still haven't managed to get a bigger bit to make the holes bigger in my flower buckets though Was it 8 or 10mm I need, mbe/annie??

Not MBE or Annie but, anything 10mm or above will do. I put 5 in mine, 3/8" (you can tell I'm old, no metric drill bits in this house :-) , one in the center and 4 spaced equally an inch in from the edge. But be very careful and drill lightly and slowly having put pilot holes in first of about 5mm or the bottom will break.