The great, good and not so good bits about growing your own dinner 2017

tootallulah

Toadlet heaven in my garden today the birds are having a feed day, I hope a few survive!

Jolly cold today I think I will leave everything in the greenhouse for at least the next couple of weeks looking ahead things don't seem to be getting much over 12 degrees round here. Garden is looking lovely scabious out, gardenias out it just needs to get a wee bit warmer!

Fruittea

Lovely to read all the wildlife stories - I'm a bit of a wimp around rodents though - can't stand them scurrying about. I have 5 pet chickens. One about 7 years old - she's a sweet little thing and can only see out of one eye - so you have to approach her from the left side or she jumps (quite literally). So occasionally we get a couple of rats appearing. Last week one of the cats caught two - they were on the small side but where there's one there's more. One of my cats has a thing about slow worms - so they don't seem to survive for long. Last year I regularly saw one (nicknamed Stumpy) who I managed to save but he lost his tail in the process. I only have a small garden and a river at the back of the house - so the chickens are in the front - consequently no much of a garden out there.
I'm going to slow up on the sowing for a bit and think about succession - I always sow far to much and then forgot about it and have gluts and shortages. So definitely no more lettuce for a month.
Happy gardening.

Jazee

Evening all. I managed to spend some time out in the garden this morning between showers. Watered the seedlings in the greenhouse and moved the fruit bushes in pots out to the garden. They have their own shelf now, and seem well established so I think they'll be ok.

Had a bit of a move around of bits and pieces but still more to do and lots of weeding including in the patio.

Also need to plant my spinach seeds.

CAFCGirl

Good morning all,

Another long day at the allotment yesterday for me.
My peas are finally in!
I had to dig over a new section and move the trellis as a load of random bleeding potatoes have started coming up! I thought Id got them all but obviously not. At least however it makes it look like i'm growing a crop in that area as the leaves are quite obvious.

So peas are in, weeded out my cabbage seedlings which are dong ok-ish. My companion nasturtiums I sowed alongside arent doing too well, only got 4 out of about 30 seeds that went in. Theres also a bed with beetroot seedling that needs weeding but my beetroot arent really big enough to see that clearly and knowing my luck I'll pull them out as well as the weeds!

Pulled back the plastic that was covering a large 3mx3m section that did have brambles all over it. They were cut off two weeks ago so decided to pull it back and get at the roots. Grass was all dead and could just be raked out. It was pretty compact though.
Wondering, does anyone else work with a mattock/azada? All the plot neighbours (non-native English speakers from all over the world who grow some fab interesting veg), use them but the old boys seem set on forks and rotavators.
Considering investing in one.....

I now have quite large areas dug over and now I need to really decide on whats going where!

I still have my onion sets!!!! I dont even know if there's still time with those?

tibawo

Well, we bobbed up yesterday in the drizzle for half an hour which turned into slightly more [as you do]. I have a feeling the former tenant borrowed things, hid them/never returned them as a couple introduced themselves and then spotted their water container, one they use for their caravan. Even had their name on! They also told me to contact the council to move the larger plastic house etc.


Whilst moving the pallets I have also seen a large fork which i will rescue today. I am going to move some pallets to the communal area and put a 'free to a good home' on them. If not gone by end of long weekend i will shift. I am hanging onto a few but if i laid them out side by side they would cover most of the plot!


We walked round a bit yesterday looking at what other had done to theirs and will pinch some ideas that suit our personality.

Fruittea

Morning Everyone
Overcast here in Gloucestershire. No gardening updates from me as I had a lazy day yesterday. It looks as though CAFCGirl and Tibawa have been busy. Still time for onion sets - they will just be a little later - I always want to get them in early or over winter them as I need the space but if you have plenty of room it's not a problem.

I use an azada - if you get one go for a wider blade as you can cut a trench in no time. My plot is 4.5 metres wide and it took me just 10 minutes to cut a potato trench across it. I also have a narrower one which is great for a quick deep hole for bulbs etc.

Great you're tackling things Tibawa - it's amazing what people leave behind - sometimes sheds, greenhouses, tools. I still see a lady on my plot who retired her plot about 10 years ago - she still visits and comments on what the 'new owners' are doing and where they are going wrong.

It will be a quiet day for me as I'm dog walking - so will just pop down to the lotty to water.

determined_new_ms

opps I couldn't tell you CAFCGirl! Boo it's been raining here and forecast not so good so no allotment for me today. At least It'll give the plants some water and me a chance to spend some time in my own garden & greenhouse.

just had a walk down the garden and the chard is germinating. only 3 dwarf beans so far - hope the others are just slow! and potatoes needed earthing up again.

I've got a few hours to spare today so will do some sowing and potting on. Have also spent some time thinking about what to plant where

smeeinnit

Not a lot to report today, very windy here, did some weeding however and planted a few bulbs and flower plants...but everything is ticking over nicely :j

zafiro1984

Not done anything for a couple of days except water. I had quite a bad bash in the face from one of our mares, she wasn't being naughty she just caught me by accident, I much prefer dealing with the boys (stallions) they are much more predictable with their one track mind. I've got some really impressive bruising and it hurts when I bend over.

I suppose I'll have to make some effort tomorrow as there is so much to do on the plot and I'm determined to catch up.

determined_new_ms

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Not done anything for a couple of days except water. I had quite a bad bash in the face from one of our mares, she wasn't being naughty she just caught me by accident, I much prefer dealing with the boys (stallions) they are much more predictable with their one track mind. I've got some really impressive bruising and it hurts when I bend over.

I suppose I'll have to make some effort tomorrow as there is so much to do on the plot and I'm determined to catch up.

jeez zafiro! That sounds horrid, glad you're on the mend x

well just small gardening plans for the day as we have plans with family later today. I want to go to the lottie for an hour and I'll either do some raking or digging a small area. I also want to tackle some marestail in the pathway between mine & my nieghbours plot. I also want to plant up a raspberry plant I got at the bootfair last year. I think it's an autumn fruiting variety yesterday I potted on 1/2 of what I need to, so hopefully will get the rest done today :T Yesterday I started hardening off the sweetcorn minipop

annoyingly I haven't marked what my seedlings were and I now have 6 cucumber plants, 2 of each variety and 1 is a greenhouse all female plant so shouldn't be grown with others I think I have worked out which one it is but I may have got it wrong. Similarly I have mixed up the tomato varieties

today I also hope to sow some sprouting broccoli, more salad leaves, raddishes & beetroot

yesterday I sat down planned out my allotment beds. I think I have got it sussed now :T

Ok better get on if I want to get these done