The highs and lows of growing your own dinner 2015

Narc0lepsy

Has anyone grown nice radicchio? I know it is meant to be a tad bitter, but mine was inedible last year. I noticed when weeding the leeks today that a few radicchios have come up, presumably from plants or seeds from last year. I tried a leaf and it was too bitter to enjoy.

Did major weeding between broad bean rows today.
French beans (greenhouse grown) had their first outing into the sun.
Some of the mollusc-nibbled peas look as if they are trying to recover.
Lots of stuff repotted in greenhouse, will be glad when it's all out!

lucyvdb7

Can I join in please?

I've loved being outdoors growing things forever, my parents weren't very inspiring with edible things though, so I've worked out how to do things over the years... not that I'm still very good! I've got some chickens, and so in the winter the chickens clear my 3 raised veg beds and greenhouse, and then come the time to plant things out the chickens get moved back to their official run.

This year I've got a few different things in; parsnips, fennel and onion are looking the most promising. The courgettes and squashes are struggling a bit, but I hope that's just because it's so cold and that they'll cheer up a bit if the weather gets warmer! The carrots are being eaten by something faster than they grow, so I admit defeat there. But the swedes have been ignored this far!

I'm trying something new this year - golden berries. They're in the greenhouse, looking happy with life... but I've no idea how they'll turn out, or what to do with them to keep them happy! I thought they were supposed to be in the tomato family, but they don't look anything like the tomatoes I've got out there, so we'll have to see.

All we've had to eat yet is a batch of watercress - but the rest has gone to seed now (which has confused me... I thought it flowered the second year, and I only planted the seeds a couple of months ago..)

unrecordings

First tomatoes (Ailsa Craig) just starting to flower, rescued some Borage seedlings which have popped up where we had a massive Borage plant last year. Yesterday's GYOD high involved travelling across the city to get a pork chop from my favourite butcher - with wild garlic mashed potato (garlic from the woods), steamed broccoli leaves (from the garden), and mini yorkshire puddings with my favourite pudding mix of hyssop, savory, thyme, sage & rosemary (all from the garden). Nom nom !

Happygreen

good evening , all.

Sorry to hear about your plot, Mike. But sometimes if it's become a chore rather than joy probably the right decision.

I had to laugh in the tunnel this morning. The potatoes I planted last autumn for an early crop have started to poke their heads out - 10 days after the outdoor ones I planted a few weeks ago. Won't be doing this again - as I should have guessed - it's not temperature what drives them, it's light. As my favourite gardening youtuber Victoria puts it "It's Trowel and error" lol

unrecordings

Planted out some courgettes yesterday - I ended up with way too many (every single one germinated this time) so i've been giving a few away. Some planted outside, some in large pots in the greenhouse - i've even popped a couple in hanging baskets to see what happens. In other news it looks like the raspberries are starting to flower and my pak choi might be bolting. GYOD moments today; last years blackberries on homemade cheesecake, plenty of marjoram, thyme & chillis to go in a chilli

Dizzy_Ditzy

I've been reading folks but not posting

Scottish Mike I'm sorry to read that you're having to give up your plot

All going well- spuds doing nicely, cabbages in and about to go in, as with brocolli and sprouts. Picking rhubarb regularly. Broad beans are days away from starting to pick, chickens are fab and are all producing daily

Fruit trees all planted now, fruit cage is to go up at some point this week.

I'm gonna have to buy in chilli and pepper plants as mine never happened this year and it's too late to get them started

unrecordings

Just days away from my first (greenhouse) courgette I think - I'm just waiting for it to be large enough to be edible. I can see the onions starting to swell up nicely. Got a bit of a backlog of seedlings to go out. Not many slugs so far. Maybe that's because I left the Nemaslug too late in previous years ?

zafiro1984

Taken my eye off the ball over the last few days. However today I have resown the carrots - just don't know where the previous lot went - One day they were germinating and the next all gone - think it may be due to erratic watering.

Cucumber, squash and courgette seeds sown today, two earlier courgettes (presents) planted into larger containers. Red Duke of York Potatoes earthed up, strawberries in flower (must remember to cover them as I don't want the birds helping themselves). Yesterday dug around and harvested the first potatoes - just enough for tea - variety 'Swift' really pleased :j

Got to sow both French and Runner beans this weekend.

Polytunnel almost ready - I'm going to put the cucumbers in it. but has anyone any ideas of what would be a good first crop. I've thought about peas, beans, salad things and even late planted potatoes. (Toms, peppers, courgettes are in the greenhouse). I was going to use it for caulies, cabbage, kale, sp brocolli, to be ready early next year but I'm a bit stuck for ideas to plant now.

zafiro1984

Who likes deer? - one spotted coming off the veg plot, could be a disaster.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Grrrrr, I had a post all typed up and then lost it :mad:

The slugs got all my carrots first time round :mad: :mad:

I've been eating fresh strawberries since the weekend :j only one a day but still. The taste is something else! We kept them in the greenhouse over the winter, definitely very highly recommended

I have brought home some broad beans from the allotment this morning :j

Only a few weeks and I'll be bringing home potatoes too :j

On Monday next week, I will have been an allotmenteer for a whole year