The highs and lows of growing your own dinner 2015

zafiro1984

Beautiful day,pulled out the last of the leeks, I'll cut them up and freeze them, hopefully there should be enough to last until the next lot.

Onions in modules at the moment, garlic is showing, shallots have yet to germinate.

OH dug me two trenches about 18" deep I have filled one of them almost to the top with muck, going to add some of the soil back and then plant out the main potatoes - Sarpo Mira, there are about 45 of them, It's the first time I've sown main potatoes. I'll do the other trench tomorrow if my back allows it. The earlies are in, Red Duke of York and Swift.

OH had his 68th birthday yesterday, he rode three horses (2 were stallions) this morning and another one this afternoon, now he's on the tractor muck spreading - I wish I had some of his energy.:)

Scottish_Mike

That's impressive! I roe a horse once, for an hour and ached for days afterwards!

I got my first earlies in, chopped down a bushy tree and removed last years dead blackberry runners. Continued digging the main potato bed - it's covered in couch grass and is taking ages to dig. I'm back in work Thurs & Fri, so going to get down there early tomorrow, carry on igging and arrange the final garlic bed.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Scottish Mike I have the same problem with couch grass on a bed that really needs sorting, pretty quickly. We are having to dig a bit, chuck it in the wheelbarrow, pull the roots out of there and out of the ground, then sieve the wheelbarrow contents back into the ground again. It's hard work but it'll be worth it

Well, that's what I keep telling myself anyway :rotfl:

Time to slap on the suncream and get going...I need to go and get a boot load of manure on the way

WantAnOrange

Really enjoying catching up on these threads with a cuppa. Baby #3 arrived mid February so gardening has been abandoned for 6 weeks but the garlic, broad beans and peas that I did while pregnant are doing ok.

Little one slept in her pram :eek: for an hour or so this afternoon so I finally got out there and put in some Pak choi, chard and cauliflower seedlings that DS started off a few weeks ago. Prepared a spot for a pumpkin and put in a rhubarb crown. Absolute bliss to be in the sunshine with the kids and not holding a baby for a little while! She's back in my arms now....

zafiro1984

WantAnOrange:- enjoy the kids while you can - they grow up far too quickly and when they start to give advice that's worth listening to, you know you've done your job!! - in the meantime treasure the time you have with them.

I'm so enthusiastic at the moment about growing things, when you are retired you can do exactly what you like - or that's the theory.
Today - 'Maintenance Day' set fire to a load of rubbish, swept out about a quarter of the greenhouse, used glyphosate on the paths between the raised beds and in the fruit cage as we have loads of nettles (far too many) looked at the glass in the greenhouse - I should be ashamed it's more green than clear but to be fair I haven't used it for about 4 yrs (past mobility problems - now sorted)

Good news - one brussel sprout has germinated, and one greyhound cabbage - also one early potato is poking a shoot above the soil, hopefully more to follow :j - happy days

unrecordings

Had a great weekend - really sunny. Sowed my potatoes (Red Duke of York), tied in raspberries, planted some blackthorn, started moving the brambles I'm trying to tame (I'm trying to move them to my boundary with the woods, whilst retaining a good supply of blackberries). Potted up 24x courgettes (gulp) and some Metro Rouge beans. Picked probably hundreds of sycamore seedlings, they're everywhere this year - i'm wondering if it's because we feed the squirrels...
...strangely our cat seems nonplussed by them. The squirrels will scarper if they see the black & white cat from up the road, but they're happy to eat peanuts on the veranda with our cat watching literally inches away. I suspect cat thinks they're just kittens, while they think she's just a big black squirrel (her tail does tend to get bushy at the slightest noise). Good news, looks like the Lovage is beginning to sprout - there are faint signs of life finally. Jobs to do next weekend: Look at my remaining oca (New Zealand yam) to see which i can pot up, tidy up the bed that until last week had kale in it, get some more rhubarb (any pointers welcome, i've one Timperley, the Victoria bolted and died last year, and i've an old plant that came with the house - with the Victoria gone, i've space for two more plants I think)

Narc0lepsy

Another sunny day and I'm not back at work till Tues.
We had the first rhubarb for dinner last night; lovely. Don't know what breed it is - I think I got it at a boot sale years ago!
I hope the temperatures bring on some of my beans and peas; feel I sowed the broad beans ages ago but no sign. I've just got a few 'extra' peas that need a home, must plan the final sowing area and what will go where. Haven't moved those goji berry bushes yet as still undecided; think I will just work round them till I need the space.

zafiro1984

Another sunny afternoon, sowed one bed of carrots and covered them with plastic, potted up 40+ hawthorn, they were leftovers from a hedge we have planted. Moved the rosemary, thyme and sage to a new bed. Weather forecast is good for tomorrow but the temperature is supposed to drop at the weekend.

Happygreen

I harvested more Kale yesterday, the tops are like purple stem Brokkoli before they open - I'm glad I didn't tidy it up , lol.
Finally there's sign of life with the (late) Broad Beans.
All the digging I did yesterday was to bury me oldest hen

Jazee

HappyGreen, sorry to hear about your hen.

It has been raining here this morning but the sun is out now. Once I've done some indoor jobs I will try to get out into the greenhouse. Lots of seeds to sow. I'm limited in how much veg I can grow so am growing flowers now too.