Preparedness for when

mrs-moneypenny

I've spent most of the day pottering and weeding in either mine or my mils garden. The flower beds are looking lovely and aprechiated by the bees, especially the foxgloves and lavender.
Produce wise I've got lots of lettuce spinach and radish, the carrots seem to be all tops but will at least give dd3s bunnies a treat if nothing else. The tomatoes are just coming into flower, the strawbs have quite a few green ones on. Not fair! the ones I planted at school afterwards are full of lush red fruits. The potatoes have lots of foliage but the one I checked only has little tiny spuds on, so I'll leave them a little longer.
I grew some squashes from seed and have 3 really big plants that are just starting to sport yellow flowers-I've never grown them before.
I'd just put some more flower plants in when Mother Nature decided to water them for me so they are all settled in nicely.

GreyQueen

craigyw, the Poondlandia fruit bushes I purchased this January (5 gooseberries, 2 redcurrants) are all growing away strongly and making good-looking sturdy bushes. Very pleased. I shall be after some more redcurrants next January.

They were only twiglets this spring, so I am not expecting much by way of fruit for a couple of years, I will concentrate on building them up to goodly size and giving them some manure when I next take the wheelbarrow over to the common where the travellers have their ponies tethered. Who said there is no such thing as free $ h i t ?!:rotfl:

craigywv

thats good gq,had to come in from watching football its too exciting,we getting beat boo hoo,anyway i think the bushes from my work are great i seen a new type called tayberries came in last week they look like longish raspberries so i might invest in some as i love raspberries and mine are bulging again this year loads of green buds hope they grow. i usually get enough for 2 big or 3 medium pots of jam so tayberries it shall be!

pineapple

Re the EU me I'm ancient AND educated. I voted out mainly because I am concerned about the direction of travel of the EU and the (imo) dishonesty about the extent to which we are being sucked in - for example I understand there are plans for the 'harmonisation of European taxation' - one of many 'tentacles' which will quietly draw us in. Then there is the bad treatment of some countries and the bloated bureaucracy which we are all paying for.
I actually saw some positive stuff on the TV today (yes really!). There has been a little whisper of the possibility of an 'associate' deal where maybe we can reach some compromises.
I think the polarisation of our society is sad. But it was already happening especially the rift between old and young who see the 'boomers' as having stolen their future.

I don't particularly want the EU to fall apart but I would like it to be reinvented as it was originally sold to us plus cooperation on security.

Cappella

Moving forward here, slowly but determinedly.

GreyQueen, inspired by you i planted rainbow chard a short while ago and it is up already :-) Usually just plant green chard, this is much prettier and apparently just the same nutritionally.

Stocked up our tinned and dried pantry goods at Aldi and Lidls this week. Cleaning supplies and loo roll next😊Feeling much happier with full cupboards after using many things up over the past few months.

We have sawfly on our red currants though - never had a problem with currants before. Usually it's gooseberries I have to watch. Anyone else had sawfly on currant bushes?

Also has anyone ever cooked turnip greens? Am thinning ours tomorrow and I believe the leaves are edible. Thought perhaps a stirfry with garlic and onion? Waste not, want not.

Margaret54

craigywv hi yes my dh and I have been following N/Ireland too and we are so impressed at how they have played. They should feel very proud of themselves, even though they were beaten today. I am not a football fan (Ulster rugby fan) but hubby is and we have enjoyed watching them play. The fans are wonderful and how nice that your dh is over watching them too. They will all feel wrecked by the time they are home again I am loving my wee garden too and love to go out each morning to see how much they have grown lol We have planted potatoes, strawberries, peas, beetroot, scallions leeks and tomatoes and lettuce. Hopefully they will all do well. I love to garden and potter about in it and deadhead here and there and also am growing sweetpea this year and the little flowers are so lovely and the scent is wonderful too:)

Margaret54

fuddle lovely to see you on here again and what a great post too. Well said.

GreyQueen

Cappella, I have eaten turnip greens but they are pretty coarse and somehow prickly (to the hand and the mouth) so I wouldn't want to eat the mature leaves but I might give the immature ones a go. I will eat radish leaves raw chopped up in salad, and they're not dissimilar.

Actually, radishes are an excellent plant; 100% edible, fast-growing, can be grown in pots and fiddled in between other crops as a catch-crop.

Besides, I like them as they're pretty, am growing spherical ones called Sparkler 3.

Craigyw, I will have to hang fire on planting more fruit bushes until I get the potato crop off the mid-section of the lottie. I will need to re-inforce the soil there with more spent barley grains and pony-p00. The comparison of the spuds growing there vs the spuds in the two other smaller areas which were grained just before planting reveals that soil is nowhere near as good.

Once I've got the soil improved, I shall be looking at some more fruit bushes.

Quick Q ; how does one propagate lavender? Am growing 6 liddly bushes purchased late last summer and they're coming into flower but there are spaces in the line (my target is a lavender hedge right across the middle of the plot). Would people recommend just purchasing some more bushes to interplant or are they easy to propogate or sow from seeds?

craigywv

hi margaret ,yes it was a shame they were beaten,i am not a footie fan at all just got caught up in it all lol.my mum lives in lisburn too.i love my garden and what it produces too xxx

Cappella

GreyQueen. Thanks for the info.re turnip greens:) The thinnings have young immature leaves, but there are plenty of them so will try a quick stir fry as they're not too hairy yet.
Lavendar is easy to propagate from cuttings, either with or without rooting powder; or if you prefer by pegging the ends of branches down and letting roots develop then cutting them and letting the old branches spring back. Never had much success growing it from seed, but am much further north than you.
Right, off to a Golden Wedding. 50 years!! The thought of being married to my b- in-law for even a day makes my eyes water :rotfl: