The ups and downs of growing your own dinner 2016...

Dizzy_Ditzy

Two months ago we put in a pond at the chicken plot

Today we find an actual, real live frog in there :j :j

Jazee

Morning all. All going well, still supplying the village with tomatoes.

The radishes and winter lettuce patch planted a couple of weeks ago doing really well and the chard has recovered. Am planning to spend some time in the garden at the weekend but I have just got a new puppy who thinks its great to pull up the plant labels. I'll just have to remember whats what.

Fruittea

Morning Everyone
Good to hear from you Jazee - Lovely to hear you have a new pup it most be fun - what breed did you go for? Really jealous about the tomatoes. For the first time ever I've had to ditch mine because of blight. So I think I'll have to buy tomatoes after about two weeks as I eat so many - such a shame but what with all the work on the house I had to put them at the front and the temperature is so erratic. Hopefully next year they can have their usual place and do better. My squashes are all looking good - I knocked one of the pumpkin munchkins off of the vine last night (by mistake) so I'll roast it over the weekend and see what they're like.
Nice to have the cooler weather here in Gloucestershire - I hope none of you are suffering from too much rain.
Shopping this week included rocket, mushrooms, strawberries and carrots costing £5.65. Produce from the allotment £34.90.
All the best.

Dizzy_Ditzy

If I was to count up the hypothetic cost of wine made from my allotments, say at £5 per bottle, I've got £180's worth in bottles ready to drink and £120's worth fermenting away in the kitchen :j :j :j


:beer: :beer: :beer:

zafiro1984

Fruittea:- Shame about your tomatoes had to ditch some of mine for the same reason.

Queen of Cheap:- tried your beetroot and chocolate recipe, fabulous and so easy to do. Great excuse for growing more beetroot as I'm the only one in this household that likes it as a cooked vegetable.
Quite jealous about the amount of wine you're producing - quite an inspiration, it's something I've never really tried to do, maybe I should give it a go as we quite often have a glass with dinner.

Jazee:- New puppy - exciting times, what have you got?

Definitely feels like Autumn, I moan when it's too hot and moan when it's cold - sad.

All the brassicas are now well and truly in the ground, and some in the tunnel. Leeks are looking good, Jerusalem artichokes are now about 10ft high. I cut the haulms off the potatoes yesterday as they looked a bit manky, apparently I'm supposed to leave the potatoes in the ground for about 3 weeks - does anyone do this or shall I dig them up now and store them.

Courgettes or should that be marrows have gone to the chickens, I need to get rid of them quite quickly as that area is going to be my new fruit area and DH has decided to build me a cage - if I wait too long he may go off the idea so it's 'strike while he is offering'.

Supermarket fruit/vegetables - mushrooms, bananas, plums, pears, apricots
Does anyone grow apricots, I'm thinking of having a go as you can get dwarf trees growing to just 10 foot high.

Turkeys arrived last Friday.

moneyistooshorttomention

Sounds like we're all going round Queen of Cheap's for a party:beer:

What's the excuse for one? Who cares? We could have one anyway....:rotfl:

Dizzy_Ditzy

If any of you are on Facebook, there is a group called "allotment life" which is quite good

Jazee

Hello, sorry for delay in posting. Puppy is a cross breed (mini Schnauzer/jack russell) and she's growing quickly enought that she can now climb in plant pots and dig.

Getting lots of lovely salad from the garden, think the tomatoes will be finished this week. And went out at the weekend to get blackberries and made blackberry jam. I may get myself a thornless type for the garden, had one at my old house and much less painful at harvest time.

Got the results of the garden competition - 3rd place in the fruit and veg section.

Will be browsing seed catalogues tonight, and may join a local-ish gardening club this week if I'm brave enough.

zafiro1984

Jazee wrote: »

Got the results of the garden competition - 3rd place in the fruit and veg section.

Brilliant - well done, looking at the state of my plot I think I would be thrown out if I had an allotment. Note to myself - must tidy up.

Life is a bit busy at the moment, nearly 300 chickens, the turkeys have arrived - 20 in a 2 acre orchard. Turkeys do not put themselves to bed at night, first you have to find them, then act as a sheep dog to put them to bed, chickens are so much easier.

I'm trying to make jam, chutney and freeze everything. I am quite determined to preserve as much as possible as it should be handy over the winter and perhaps even save me some money. Already made plum and cinnamon, pear and clove and crab apple and rose hip jams, Going to go with chutneys next week as I've loads of ordinary apples and home grown onions waiting for something to happen not to mention tomatoes, peppers and those overgrown courgettes.

Mushrooms have started, I think they are field mushrooms but I'm not that brave to try them, I think I'll ask my neighbour what they are. the sweet chestnuts need picking but the hazelnuts have disappeared I'm afraid the squirrels got there first. The medlars are looking good but not ready yet, I don't really like them but my OH does so I suppose I'll have to make the effort.

Beans have finished - chickens enjoyed the remnants, spent courgettes will go the same way. last of the summer carrots eaten but fortunately I also grew 'eskimo' a cold weather tolerant variety and that is the next patch to be used. Potatoes need digging up.

So apart for the crops still in the tunnels I'm onto the winter stuff, none of which is really ready yet. Fortunately the tunnel is still supplying toms, pepper, fennel, loads of salad things, peas, beetroot, yellow wax beans so I'm still not supermarket shopping.

next job is to plant onions and garlic, some bits and pieces can still be sown/planted in the tunnel and then it's the big tidy up and muck spreading. Adding the cost up has gone out of the window lately, so I'm not sure what is what but I'm not buying any vegetables at the supermarkets at the moment just grapes and nectarines so I have to be saving.

Have fun everyone.

Jazee

Hello all. I'm presuming the lack of posts means you've all been busy in the garden/on the allotment etc.

I have loads of strawberries just ripening which shows how mad the weather is. Glorious day today, so I have been lifting the peas and tomatoes and am now cleaning the greenhouse which is one of my least favourite jobs. Not sure I'll be cleaning the pots.

Have lots of salad stuff at the moment which I planted end Aug/early September, should be ok for another month or so.

I may plant some garlic today, I may not.