The highs and lows of growing your own dinner 2015

laurathree

Thank you for that advice! I have started some seedlings (mainly herbs and some sweet peas) on the sunniest windowsill for now, but I am already out of room. Perhaps a blowaway will do this year and then next I can crack on with a more industrially-sized operation.

Right! To check on the seedlings and stare at the lawn with a cuppa. I'm trying to intimidate it into being flat before we start on it...

MandM90

laurathree wrote: »

Thank you for that advice! I have started some seedlings (mainly herbs and some sweet peas) on the sunniest windowsill for now, but I am already out of room. Perhaps a blowaway will do this year and then next I can crack on with a more industrially-sized operation.

Right! To check on the seedlings and stare at the lawn with a cuppa. I'm trying to intimidate it into being flat before we start on it...

I'm getting a blow away delivered this week. My entire dining room windowsill is filled with tomato, cucumber, squash, pea and marigold plants!

Starting to get excited. We're novices but decided this year we're going to try our hands at a few more things, see how it goes and try and save some seed for the first time :j

MandM90

Has anyone successfully grown the Three Sisters? Thought I'd better ask before OH digs up another 3mX3m portion of our lawn! I love the idea! We've started the sweetcorn seeds, then we were hoping to follow with climbing Cherokee beans and crookneck squash (maybe a alternating with few pumpkin plants too, for the winter)

purpleheather2810

Afternoon all, I'm a long-time lurker coming out to say hello. After splitting up with my husband last Spring and moving house I didn't do any gardening last year but this year I've really got back into it. Lots of seeds on the go already and plenty more to come. Mine is mainly a container garden - as this is a rented house I can't change it so will simply have to work with what I've got. The front is a strip of gravel about a metre deep, separated from the pavement by brick wall and railings. SE facing. Small lawned garden at the back, NW facing, with gravel patio. I started with nothing but now have (in pots) a dwarf cherry tree, various herbs, Spring bulbs and primroses, lavender and geraniums which have survived the Winter. I'm very excited and finding it all very therapeutic at the moment...

unrecordings

Thank you QoC - Couch Grass, that's what it is (I've a lot of that)

I had a week off and dug that pond I was threatening. About a foot down are stones and clay, so it was pretty hard going but at least I managed to extract some massive rocks, and didn't manage to bend my post-hole spade this time. Moving back on topic... ...sowed peas today, planted some more thyme, rosemary and lavender earlier in the week and sorted out the beds where my gooseberries live (surrounded by couch grass). Also rescued a couple of brambles that had popped up and replanted them on my boundary with the woods. Very happy to see signs of spring, my cherry plum has begun to blossom, and I can see my blackcurrant and raspberries are budding. Potatoes are sat patiently in a basket waiting for (I think) late March

Jazee

I'm going to plant out my peas today, they're looking very sorry for themselves due to being neglected by me last week. I hope they survive. Tomatoes are doing well indoors. I think it may be too early to plant seed up north even in the greenhouse. May leave that a couple of weeks.

Bee70

MandM90 wrote: »

Has anyone successfully grown the Three Sisters? Thought I'd better ask before OH digs up another 3mX3m portion of our lawn! I love the idea! We've started the sweetcorn seeds, then we were hoping to follow with climbing Cherokee beans and crookneck squash (maybe a alternating with few pumpkin plants too, for the winter)

I've not done all 3 together but did sweet corn and squash together which worked really well. Bit sceptical about adding the beans as worried they would strangle the corn if that makes sense? Although broad beans might work

Mojisola

Bee70 wrote: »

I've not done all 3 together but did sweet corn and squash together which worked really well. Bit sceptical about adding the beans as worried they would strangle the corn if that makes sense? Although broad beans might work

The three sisters method was used in America in much drier areas and poorer soils than the UK. In our climate, the plants put on a lot more growth and there is a risk of swamping the other plants.

Jazee

I was in the greenhouse at 7.30am today. Peas planted out now, will hopefully be ok. Planted three types of radish under a cloche, and in the greenhouse, planted up empty milk containers with coriander, mixed lettuce seeds and rocket. Once these are growing, they'll go outside on a pole on the fence to hopefully keep them away from slugs.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Today I have sown 80 silverskinonions, 6 red cabbages, 6 green cabbages, 6 cayenne chilli peppers and 6 green peppers. Only another 470 silverskins to go :rotfl:

We have now decided what type of hens we want and are off to look at some tomorrow, with a view to bringing some home in a couple of weeks :j