Growing organically

Edwardia

tootallulah I don't have an Aldi here There is one in the next town but it's a tad too far for them to bother with leaflets/ads in my local papers I'd have to be travelling past and just chance a visit.

Funky Bold Ribena I'm doing something right then as because my garden is small I never have rows of anything, it's all dotted about, often in pots and sometimes in wall planters.

Kirri - I'd be tempted to sneak up real early and scythe the nettles down and make a batch of smelly liquid plant food with the nettles You could always nick the young nettle tops if unsprayed and use as spinach Sophie Grigson does a great dandelion and nettle risotto !

Kirri

^ I have watched many a programme with cooked nettles but never tried them! Hadn't thought of plant food.. I use a strimmer on them probably once a week in summer, they grow so quick.. They are good for butterflies I believe though.

Edwardia

Kirri wrote: »

They are good for butterflies I believe though.

Well just as long as they aren't Cabbage Whites

Have you not had Cornish Yarg cheese ?
http://www.lynherdairies.co.uk/

Kirri

I get a lot of cabbage whites unfortunately!

Never seen that cheese wrapped in nettles before.. not sure I'd fancy it but I would like to try the wild garlic one!!

My free Phacelia seeds arrived this morning from the Soil Association, I've no idea what they actually even look like when grown.

Kirri

Free Evening Primrose seeds, not organic seeds however.

http://www.efamol.com/about-efamol/evening-primrose-oil.php

Edwardia

Anyone been out planting and sowing ? What have you put in if so ?

Not particularly spring like here today but supposedly 21C tomorrow :rotfl:which would be a leap of 11 degrees.

Mini greenhouse up and hope to get seed trays and pots prepared and done today and tomorrow.

Kinda :jwhich makes me a sad case

Kirri

Feels warmer but very windy out.

Hopefully potatoes and carrots going in this week. Followed by parsnips and onions to start. Soil was still very wet and cold last week however and still quite a big area to dig yet...

Edwardia

Nope, sorry, not volunteering.

Rummaged in my 'shed' this morning - it's one of those sentry box style sheds so more like an outdoor cupboard - out came the non-organic slug pellets, multi-purpose plant food, rose fertiliser <scratches head, never having grown roses in this garden> and in went my organic stuff.

The Burgon & Ball fertilisers will have to stay decorating the kitchen windowsill I fear, as paper bags aren't the most practical thing for sheds.

Now I realise why in days of yore, men had sheds with shelves and lots of (rusty) tins. I keep this tradition going in my outdoor cupboard with F&M tea caddies. Not big enough fer fertiloizer..

Kirri - having distracted myself thoroughly and rambled on I will now get to the point. If you get yourself on the Riverford website before Thursday (closed for maintenance Friday through Sunday) you can get thee 30-40 sq m (total) mixed size secondhand Riverford fleece for 5.25. Any profit made will go to Send a Cow
Thought it might be useful on the lottie.;)

http://www.riverford.co.uk/wash/shop/kitchen_cupboard/useful_stuff/garden_fleece_second_hand/

mansars

Kirri wrote: »

Ah you're good to have around here then ^

Yep do all that with the weeds - my neighbouring plots are awful though - thistle, nettles, all sorts blowing across, it's like a permanent job on it's own, also having to cut down around the edges constantly to keep it off my plot as they don't bother... (oh to have a garden!).

Thats great news....makes sure you use the nettles to make organic fertiliser and the ret of the weeds in the compost.

It may be worth growing some borage or comfrey to make hoime grown organic fertisier.

You could also buy a weed control membrane to control the weeds on your beds and if you can find a used clear poloythene sheet for "solarisation" during winter.

hope this helps

alfsmum

Finally made a start on allotment last week. Depressing amount of perennial weeds to clear so have covered some areas in weed suppressant membrane to give me some breathing space. Need to buy some more rolls to cover other areas before it gets out of hand:(

Concentrating on clearing my two raised beds first as other parts of plot still wet underneath. Planning on trying the no dig method as far as possible this year but will have to use a spade on the worst offenders.

Have sown carrots and spring onions outside in a small raised bed just so that I feel I've achieved something. Tomatoes and sweet peppers which were started off at home have now graduated to the polytunnel to grow on. French beans, runner beans, courgettes, cucumbers, leeks and butternut squash seeds all sown under cover, plus calabrese. Radish and lettuce in pots. Trying to grow things we like rather than things everyone thinks we should grow! Keep being asked why I haven't got broad beans in - OH and I hate them. Apparently we should like them because all vegetarians like beans :rotfl:

Lovely to see green shoots on the fruit bushes at last but the strawberry runners have gone a bit wild as we didn't do any tidying up lat autumn because of the awful weather. Pear tree also showing signs of life, as are the plum and apple tree in back garden. Would like to plant more fruit trees but on allotment fruit is limited to 15 percent of the plot. Not sure anyone has ever measured!

Will be interesting to see how we all get on this year after the cold start and last year's washout. Like Riverford, I still have potatoes lurking underground from last year.

Happy growing:)