The highs and lows of growing your own dinner 2015

zafiro1984

Started clearing the greenhouse this weekend, only spent about an hour on it so didn't really achieve much.

Managed to oust the dead remains of tomatoes and peppers, used the spent compost as a base in a new bed for courgettes and squash, now needs loads of muck on top. - another day when it is less muddy.

Swept and spaced out some baby perennials I have in pots, hopefully they will survive the winter. No doubt my daughter will claim them for her back garden as she is trying to get to grips with this "gardening lark"

That's all I managed this week, harvested carrots, parsnips, leeks, kale, Spent most of the daylight hours trying to find where a pesky fox gets in to the hens. It's fenced to eight foot high, trenched to 18" below ground and electrified. I've no idea if it's a fox or something else but something has had two hens this week. I'm wondering if something has managed to get in via rabbit holes or maybe a buzzard - I'll have to get DH to hitch up the Warrenater and deal with it.

unrecordings

With the second frost, I harvested my horseradish this week - a little disappointing this year, but thankfully I still have my 'main' plant in the ground (well, in a chimney pot actually). I've around half a dozen juvenile plants to try again next year in a better place. I'm down to my last few tomatoes now, all except one have ripened. Oca is coming along nicely - the reason I know this is because something dug it up last night. There's an eggshell nearby so I'm thinking foxes, but there are badgers around

Dizzy_Ditzy

We went to plot A today to check on things and it definitely looks like we are having homegrown sprouts for Christmas dinner :j next weekend I'll cut them at the bottom, give the big leaves to the hens and leave them on the stalks until Christmas Eve

Dizzy_Ditzy

Do we want a new grow your own thread for next year folks?

unrecordings

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

Do we want a new grow your own thread for next year folks?

Shirley !

(Leslie Nielsen joke)

Ken68

Yes please Queenie, nice to see how others are doing.
Next major job here is to prune the apples and pears. Long handled thingy.
Commiserations to those who are flooded.

zafiro1984

yes please

Jazee

Yes please to a thread for next year.

I have been very naughty and still haven't got the celery in for soup. But the broad beans and peas are doing well in the greenhouse.

The garlic, peas etc planted outside were doing ok, but a fence came down on top of them last week and we've not been able to properly sort it out yet.

Fruittea

Hello everyone


I posted here early on in the year. Sorry I haven't posted very much but I would like to join the thread next year. It's very encouraging to read through and back.


Earlier in the year I said I would be interested to work out how much money the allotment plot would save me.


Well it's a massive amount around about £304. I compared my veg with Tesco and kept a list of everything. And that's not counting all the runners I gave away or any of the apples I've been given. So I'm very chuffed with that.


Still eating my own potatoes but I've had to buy tomatoes for the first time this week.


Great work you all do.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Is it sad that the thing I'm most excited about for Christmas is that I'm going to go get my own sprouts today? :j

I'm bringing home a Savoy cabbage too - the two I have left are the size of footballs