Grow your own dinner 2014

Jazee

I think I've heard that you need to compost leaves separately as they take longer or something, but I'm ready to be corrected by someone more knowledgeable than me. I'm only just starting out on this veg growing lark so will have lots of questions.

Dizzy_Ditzy

I love days like today

I've planted up / moved on 12 new aloe plants and repotted my monsters into bigger pots

I've just been in the greenhouse doing onion sets- they were starting to sprout in the bag so after a bit of googling, I read that it's ok to put them in modules in an unheated greenhouse so that's what I've done :j

100 onion sets on the go now, but about half of them will go in my parents garden during the last week of feb. Well, it would be a shame to waste a week off :cool:

My experimental new potatoes seem to be doing ok, and I've just put more compost in. The garlic hasn't died off yet so it looks like I did the right thing planting them out.

Next is starting chillies off from seed, but that'll be another week or so yet

Is anyone growing lemon eucalyptus? I've got 3 pots in the greenhouse but I can't find much info about growing them through the winter and wondered if anyone had any advice please?

sparrer

Not a lot going on this week as it's so wet but I've thinned out the strawberry bed, turned the compost and hung baskets on the fence ready for tomato planting.

Most growing is done in pots, troughs and baskets but I have a small area of garden 2 feet deep by 6 feet long which I'm thinking of turning over to square foot gardening. I'm reading up everything I can find about it and could get quite excited about it - how sad is that?! But it seems perfect for a single person and could hopefully give me veg for most of the year if I choose the right ones.

the_worm

Picked sprouts and dug parsnips and leeks.dug last carrots..made soup and veg for dinner tonight

zafiro1984

I really must start or the season will pass me by

mansars

its been very slow for me, the wind and rain has put pay to any plans for this weekend...and with a yellow allert over us for tomorrow cant see much else happening

sadly I was dragged round the shops today as a result of the above....however, on a brighter note while in poundstretcher I found 10 seed potatoes for £1.49 so bought a bag of maris piper, desiree and charlotte......I also found out that lidl are doing 1.5kgs of first earlies from thursday.

bouncydog1

DH trimmed all the last batch of onions today - I reckon we've got 50 lbs so plenty for the next few months. He's also planted some cherry tomatoes - uses seeds from fruits one year for next.

zafiro1984

bouncydog1 wrote: »

Are they true free range - if so that's an admirable number - if not could you reduce numbers so they are - free range eggs taste so good!!

Totally free range.
I have just over three and a half acres in three separate areas fenced to 8' high and trenched into the ground 18" plus it's all electrified. I only keep them in houses of 100 or less and have enough houses for 650 if full. In this fenced area is a 1 acre wood plus hedges on all the boundaries, a couple of cider apple trees which the hens get to and spoil before I can collect, and quite a few large conifers. Legally I could keep 2000 birds on this amount of land and still call myself 'Free Range'

About 20 of the dears chose to roost in the trees, they are my early warning system - just in case a fox gets in, which hasn't happened since it all went electrified. I can go in a pen and have to shout them as they are so busy in the wood, under the trees or sunbathing (in the summer)that it looks like there are no hens at all. Oh, almost forgot, I also have 3 alpacas in with them as they are notorious for chasing foxes.

Yes, it's a sort of small business, I sell at the gate, have 4 pubs (plus a waiting list) and supply a Michelin restaurant. All that said I do enjoy my hens but have to be careful not to do too much so it becomes a chore not a pleasure as I am supposed to be retired and need to have enough time to do all this veg growing as is the name of this thread

niftythrifty33

Please can I join in with this thread?

I might have posted before but can't remember. I usually use the MFW and OS boards.

I managed to get my father in law an allotment after 8 years of waiting. He's enjoyed it over the last 5 or 6 years but it's very big and he's struggling to cope. Our friend is currently using a small section. FIL was talking about giving it all up this year but I couldn't bear this as he does really enjoy sitting there in the summer pottering about.

So, Dh and I have taken over the main part. Its split into 3 large sections, with greenhouse (some glass/plastic needs replacing) and 3 small sheds. DH and I went last week and got rid of tons of rubbish so it's looking better. It all feels very daunting but I really want to make this work. The only downside is parking is a real problem!

What can I be getting on with now? FIL says nothing as it's too wet but I'm sure I could be doing something. I want to grow veg, fruit and cut flowers. Thanks in advance

jem132

Hi we have just got a allotment we are so exited it has lots of fruit trees in it although we don't know what they are lol .

We are doing raised beds .