Grow your own dinner 2014

the_worm

I am using a few of last year's Charlotte potatoes in bags.. but I will be using fresh certified seed in the allotment...sprouts and parsnips from the plot today for dinner

grandmasam

Visited db's allotment this morning, and his broad beans are all flowering!!
Mine are still lurking and still deciding whether to grow up !

Caz

sparrer

Started the second batch of mushrooms today. The first batch is already beginning to show tiny ones, looking forward to tasting them

suzeesu2000

Spent a wonderful time this afternoon looking at reviews for home grown veggies. Have chosen the varieties I am going to grow and where to buy them from for the best value. Really enjoyed that.

Has anyone used the general compost from Wilkinsons? 15 litre bag is £1

Wish this blimmin' weather would sort itself out so I can get going, so frustrating. But.....apparently we are in for a very hot summer this year (pretty please not too hot or I shall melt) it's all to do with the gulf stream and El Nino, so we shall be on standpipes and hosepipe restrictions come August!!

mothernerd

Too wild to do anything outside but lettuce, leeks, cabbage and swede seedlings are poking their heads out on the front room windowsill.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Hope everyone has managed to keep their gardens/Lottie's as damage free as possible

I came scarily close to a log going through my greenhouse. It came to a stop on the frame, but half a cm either way would have been curtains :eek:

I spent £60 today in lidl/aldi on gardeny things

I now have to electric propagators, and I couldn't resist a couple more trees either. Bought some seed compost in lidl for £1.49 for a 20L bag so am itching to get my chillies and peppers started

suzeesu2000

I've been a naughty person and ordered all my stuff for the new "grow it and eat it" adventure. I have got a couple of those plastic tomato grow bag houses, might need another two, have got lots of very big pots for my veggies and some grow sacks for the spuds.

I am planning to get four patio fruit trees from an Internet place, they have apple, pear, plum and cherry with pots and compost and fertiliser for £39.99 which I though was pretty good value. Even so, I have bought an extra plum tree as well.

Have also gone for four propagators so I can start my seeds off.

This gardening is really exciting! Thankfully we did not suffer any damage even though there was lots of water all around us!! Hope everyone else is ok.

seemasfriend

sparrer wrote: »

Started the second batch of mushrooms today. The first batch is already beginning to show tiny ones, looking forward to tasting them

What type of mushrooms are you growing? And in what medium? I am unsure whether to grow exotic mushrooms and need to make up my mind soon.

seemasfriend

suzeesu2000 wrote: »

Best deterrent for cats is citrus. Put some Orange or lemon peel in your compost pile and the cats will keep away.
Also put some slices of lemon in your electricity meter box outside and it will stop ants nesting in it.
And....hang a bunch of fresh mint just inside your back door or kitchen window and you wont get any flies come into the house. And they do work!!

Love the idea of fresh mint hanging in the house. Maybe worth splitting my pot of mint to increase supply. Not sure what variety it is but the crop is usually a bit sparse. Any ideas for growing prolific quantities of mint? (Love it in tea)

suzeesu2000

seemasfriend wrote: »

Love the idea of fresh mint hanging in the house. Maybe worth splitting my pot of mint to increase supply. Not sure what variety it is but the crop is usually a bit sparse. Any ideas for growing prolific quantities of mint? (Love it in tea)

I have always found mint to be a devil in the garden if it's planted straight into the soil. I always grow mine in pots, I think just having a good multi purpose compost, regular water and nice weather is all you can do.