Grow your own dinner 2014

CAFCGirl

Could you maybe construct a fence from some stakes and netting to deter the dogs from going in there?

We dismantled an old fence panel, and have inserted them like stakes along our flower bed border to stop our puppy from getting in there.
Thats worked quite well (looks horrid mind you)..... doesnt stop him from munching the leaves overhanging on my planters but such is....

MandM90

This weekend we dug out a bed, which is about 4 ft by 8 ft. We were so exhausted by the evening but actually had a lot of fun.

Going to dig out a huge long bed about 2-3ft which runs along the sunny side of the garden and get growing.

Hoping to try some beans, carrots, cauliflower, kale and lettuces - not too worried about the outcome as we are just starting out and expecting lots of mistakes!

I love the idea of a vertical pallet bed!

Dizzy_Ditzy

We built two cages at the allotment with gazebo frames that we had in the shed and netting I got off eBay. They look fab, and just in time too for the councils annual inspection lol

zafiro1984

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

We built two cages at the allotment with gazebo frames that we had in the shed and netting I got off eBay. They look fab, and just in time too for the councils annual inspection lol

brilliant

Going to plant my sweetcorn out today and some squash - hope the weather holds.

mollythewestie

I've just found this thread, thought I would join in too and hopefully get some tips for our vegetable garden.

We moved into this house six months ago, the garden had been left to go wild for the last few years, but had previously been owned by keen gardeners who grew lots of fruit and vegetables.

We are still trying to clear the rear borders of weeds (and rubble and broken glass ) so that we can create a long raised bed as it gets lots of sun, but is protected by high fences to the rear.

We have stripped away what was the base of the greenhouse and built 2 raised beds. We have so far had successful crops of radishes and Broad beans, however our peas and runner beans look very sad indeed! The baby carrots and beetroot are just ready, and we have experimented with some purple carrots.

We recycled the old broken water butt into 2 potato planters, which haven't yielded many potatoes yet, but I'm hopeful that they will later in the summer.

We also have a hanging basket of tumbling tomatoes and a few buckets with pumpkin plants that are enormous and crying out to be planted into something bigger!

We have big plans for the house & garden in the next few years, but at the moment we are just seeing what we have and what grows well here.

I might figure out how to put some pictures on later

[Deleted User]

we had a massive and intense long shower of torrential rain and hail, the worst I have ever experienced and now see the consequences. Shredded squash leaves and all my outdoor (16) tomatoes in pots are showing shredded leaves and loads of brown mottling where they were beaten up by hail. Not blight but actual physical damage on all the leaves. The leaves look very poor. The sheltered under cover ones look good. If it isn`t insects and other creatures then it is the weather

The veggie plants under tunnels of net on the allotment look lots better, obviously the nets deflected lots of hailstones

Molly you are doing loads, obviously enjoying it in spite of hard work

zafiro1984

Mollie - wow, so much done already, love the idea of recycling things to get a second life out of them. We tend to spend the summer outside and the house gets neglected, then in the winter its indoors woodburner on, jobs and decorating, seems to work quite well.

3 courgettes, 3 squashes, 34 sweetcorn planted, all watered, - we could do with some rain Kittie, but not hail. DH has pulled out more docks, 11 raised beds planted, 9 more to weed and plant - more than half done in less than a month :j Then it will be the paths turn for some attention, hard work but I'm focused and have to say enjoying myself - ok I know I'm way behind many of you and quite envious of those already picking goodies.

CAFCGirl

I'm number 31 on the list for an allotment! WOOHOO LOL

Kittie - Sorry to hear about the damage to your goodies. How rotten! I hope they can recover from it.

I need to get on with some more planting out, and all round care of things. Taken a few days off from it and now its in dire need before things start dying off!

MandM90

Help! Seasoned gardeners!

I have some Red Ursa Russian Kale seeds I want to plant. All instructions for kale suggest planting in seed beds. Seeing as I'm very late now, would I be ok planting straight out in a partially shaded (it gets lots of sun morning and evening, but "dappled" by the apple tree in the middle of the day) with some netting over?

Happygreen

If I judge from how my kale behaves, you can chuck the seeds anywhere and they will do just fine at any time of the year....if you sow a good load you can thin them out by eating them not very conventional advice - but I hope it helps!
We eat young leaves in salads, later and larger leaves as a cabbagy veg. I leave them over the winter and they are one of the first greens to come back to be harvested. Then they flower and grow seeds for next year - the full cycle in my garden, love it!