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

maisymoo5

I've got the same problem as I am growing everything in pots as i don't have a veggie patch. Just hope the pots are big enough for the butternut squash to flourish. I've planted some of them out now though so we shall see. I've also planted out my rock cress and some french beans, a runner bean, some sprouts and some carrots. Lots more flowers to go out in the front garden when I get round to tackling the Spanish bluebells who have taken up too much space. I'm going for a wild cottage garden effect but there's wild and then wild! Happy growing everyone

zafiro1984

Glad to see you up and about Fruittea, I thought you would be still recovering from your accident.

Overcast all day here in Hampshire and even a spot of rain. Having said that I spent the afternoon doing a lot of watering, nothing really planted out but more bits and pieces sown for succession growing.

Only growing what we eat this year and trying to stretch the seasons has been one of my goals - so far it's gone quite well.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Oh my word. The green patch of weeds/lawn is two and a half foot high. I keep losing the Idiot Cat. I swear they were about six inches high yesterday afternoon.

Anybody got a scythe?

Fruittea

Spent a couple of hours at the allotment today - and has luck would have it a neighbour needed some help and repaid it with a couple of pallet collars. Thanks Zafiro I am doing very well with the exercises and managing to garden on my knees. Can't drive just now but I think I should have a go by the end of the week.


The allotment is looking a joy. And happy to say all the neighbours have plenty of veg and some flowers. Happy days.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Rediscovered the Sweet Peas by the shed and ran some twine up to the rambling rose to give them something to cling to.

Everything else is just getting on with growing - even the corn seems to be quite happy.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Has everybody decided to camp out at their allotments?


We've just acquired Jackdaws in the area for the first time. And some of my plants have been upturned/pulled out overnight.

These things may or may not be related.

Fruittea

Evening Everyone
It's just too hot to suddenly. Glad to see you posting JoJo I think everyone else is having a cool wine and staying under cover. I popped down to the allotment to water but that was about it. Over the weekend I will place all pumpkins but that's about it.


May shouldn't be this hot so take care and take it easy out there. Great for the chillis and hot stuff but no point in trying to sow any lettuce. But with the rain predicted for the weekend everything will bound on.
How about using old cds Jojo - I string them up and the flashing upsets the birds and can deter. Worth a go anyway.
This week has been all about asparagus and artichokes. Asparagus soup - who knew! The tough bits work really well. My first artichokes tonight - wonderful and all grown from seed.
Happy growing.
All the best for growing this Bank holiday.

Suffolk_lass

MissPop wrote: »

Wow, looks like you'll be feasting on that lot!

Got my tomato plants in the raised bed yesterday, and the first of some French beans - even though I planted them as close as I dared, there's not a lot of room left in the bed :eek: No idea where I might be able to squeeze my squashes (:rotfl: ), I gather they need a lot of space!

They do but you can grow some of them vertically - obviously not the really big ones(!) but we have built some rose arches to form the basis of a frame or arch between two beds so they can grow up and over (hopefully). We stole the idea from a local grand house after a late summer visit last year and they did it with beans, melons, squashes and cucumbers so here goes...

CAFCGirl

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Has everybody decided to camp out at their allotments?

I think I need to, so I can dig into the night and rise with the larks!

Saved a spinach seedling from destruction by a snail having his breakfast, little blighter.
Everything is now starting to 'decline' a bit being in pots and needing to get planted out. I'm hoping most can hold on till Sunday so I can spend tomorrow getting their beds ready. I need to dig out the pumpkin area and cover that with some membrane which I plan on planting through.

My sweetcorn seedlings which came up quickly I think are on their way out. The leaves have gone a very murky mould green colour. Not sure what has happened I've only got 4 that still look ok out of 20 .

I must say though I am incredibly impressed by a tool we ordered from Mr T - a mattock? Or azaeda - i think is the other name for it. A lot of the non native English speakers on site use them, and they manage to clear such incredible areas with them so got chatting to them and they told me what to look for. The African ladies even gave me a lesson in how to swing it. Now I've used it a couple of times I'm wondering why the heck I was ever using a fork to clear land. So much better on the back and knees
Gotta love those moments when we all share knowledge, especially across cultures.

Suffolk_lass

CAFCGirl wrote: »

I must say though I am incredibly impressed by a tool we ordered from Mr T - a mattock? Or azaeda - i think is the other name for it. A lot of the non native English speakers on site use them, and they manage to clear such incredible areas with them so got chatting to them and they told me what to look for. The African ladies even gave me a lesson in how to swing it. Now I've used it a couple of times I'm wondering why the heck I was ever using a fork to clear land. So much better on the back and knees
Gotta love those moments when we all share knowledge, especially across cultures.

We've got a couple of those - a hand one and a big one we picked up in France about ten years ago - all the people we saw working their garden veg plots were using them for exactly the reason you say - much easier on the back and knees. I've never been shown how to use one though - that is the advantage of a lottie over a big garden plot!