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

fuddle

We've had the rain overnight and again this morning. I have just taken on my plot these last couple of days. I have one bed dug over, this will be my brassica bed for the year.

My job this morning was to transfer my compost container of greens/rabbit manure/wood ash to a pit where I'll transfer the raspberries come the autumn.

I have harvested black currents from a bush already on site and froze and also have lemon balm air drying in the kitchen.

zafiro1984

Just catching up with all the unread posts....... sorry to hear of your loss Smeeinnit as you said some good days some bad.

The weeds are taking over, rain and sun is a very good combination. I need to get out there and do some more planting to keep the crops coming in for the autumn. The cucumbers are loving it and I'm finding new ways of using them - 6 yesterday from just 3 plants.

My peas have been eaten due to a deer which my DH saw coming out of the plot. That will teach me to make sure I close the gate at night.

Fruittea

Afternoon Everyone
Just back from the plot with lots of lovely veg. A huge marrow, courgettes, gherkins, runners, chillis, cavo di nero and tomatoes. Really lovely to see it all.


I best get one with processing the gherkins this pm and will chargrill some of the courgettes to have cold with salad.


Sorry to hear about the peaches Zafiro - it must be lovely to have the wildlife so close but frustrating when something like that happens.


One thing that really annoyed me is I planted what I thought was International Kidney potatoes (aka Jerseys). When I dug one up this morning they are bright red - definately not IKs. So not sure what I have. I guess I need to cook some to find out how they taste and if they're waxy or not.


All the best.

CAFCGirl

Great day up the plot yesterday.
New compost area dug over and the new bin installed. Also did one of those double pallet collar beds.
Thankfully rain the previous night might the ground a dream to dig, and most of the weeds came out pretty darn easy. Not sure I'l get up there again today mind you as DS is struggling a bit today.
Ive decided the new bed will become a winter veg bed so my plan is for some swedes to go in

unrecordings

Sun/rain/sun/rain here which is good. Started clearing away my raspberry canes and managed a sneaky few that the blackbirds & squirrels had missed. Red Duke of York potatoes only just starting to wilt now, so fingers crossed for a bumper crop. I've got garlic, onions & shallots drying all over the place (and a fridge full of scapes, still). Harvested my first lot of Blauwschokker peas on Saturday, and this evening: My first blackberry (from one of the tame brambles)

Kantankrus_Mare

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Just catching up with all the unread posts....... sorry to hear of your loss Smeeinnit as you said some good days some bad.

The weeds are taking over, rain and sun is a very good combination. I need to get out there and do some more planting to keep the crops coming in for the autumn. The cucumbers are loving it and I'm finding new ways of using them - 6 yesterday from just 3 plants.

My peas have been eaten due to a deer which my DH saw coming out of the plot. That will teach me to make sure I close the gate at night.

I have 4 cucumber plants that are now producing thick and fast.
Would you share some of the new ways you are using them?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Finally have one mini courgette growing. Tipped a pot that had been filled with rain on top of good compost into its tub today, as nowt would grow in it now it was more soup than soil.

Gave up with the raspberries and chopped everything to a foot high when stripping the last berries off. Already have the first blackberries ripening and they've exploded over the other half of the garden, so had to do something.

Beans are hanging on, flowering and one spindly runner has already appeared. Lots of pinging of snails involved in getting to that point, though.

Tomatoes are rubbish. Three fruits between two plants and no flowering spurs coming. Two sweetcorn have survived and look rather lush.

Other than that, the green alkanet looks magnificent, the borage is prolific but horizontal from sheer weight and the herbs have mostly died - but the sage is thriving, as are the lavenders, rosemary and hopefully the coralled mint (in flower) and some basil will make it through.

The violas that died off from the heat have seeded themselves in the window boxes, so I'll let them be - half of the plants survived and are flowering quite happily. The Nasturtiums were heavily blackflied, but still hanging on.

But the woodland area looks extremely happy, the sweetpeas are deliciously scented and both bee houses have new tenants.

Just got to hack my way through the rambling roses and I'll be able to do some autumn planting without needing to be rescued from the thorns in my hair - or being chomped on by big fat spiders later in the season.


It's not a success by any means, but it's vastly better than last year.

Fruittea

Afternoon Folks
Just got back from the lotty - did a bit of weeding this morning. Everything looks good but the weeds are growing very fast this year. Bought back a trug full of veg- runners, courgettes, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes and some gherkins. So salad and courgette and potato croquette for lunch today.


Sounds like you're having a hard time of it JoJo but good for you if it's better than last year.


Back in the garden yesterday I sat and sowed a few winter salads and potted on some bits. Still to go in red cabbage, chard. kale, Brussels and spring cabbages- just need to make a bit more space.


All the best everyone

zafiro1984

Kantankrus_Mare wrote: »

I have 4 cucumber plants that are now producing thick and fast.
Would you share some of the new ways you are using them?

I use the BBC food site, link below, of the ones I've tried the one I like the best and can be frozen is cucumber and avocado soup. Shame we can't grow avocados in the UK

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search/recipes?query=cucumber

Miserable here today. They said it would cheer up this pm but it's drizzled all day, my feet are wet

I cut the haulms off all the Red Duke of York potatoes as I'm sure they have blight and I don't need the potatoes yet as I'm working my through my Mayan gold ones.

The tops of the shallots had died so I pulled them up and put them undercover for drying. I only planted 10 so not a big harvest but they store well.

Quite a lot of the red onions have started to bolt but the brown ones are fine, so when I've a minute and it's not raining I'll bring those in and use them up quickly as I've still got a few from the ones I grew over winter and pulled up this May.

I need to go to the garden centre as I forgot to do leeks this year. We use loads over winter - how could I forget!!! :mad: just hope they have some.

Came in with shallots, 2 cucumbers, courgettes, french beans, carrots and beetroot. The good thing about growing your own is that today our meal is totally home grown either fresh or from the freezer - even the turkey is home produced. (hope olive oil yogurt and gravy don't count)

Fruittea

Tut tut Zafiro. I can excuse the olive oil but not the yogurt. Easy peasy to make in a slow cooker overnight. Only joking you do so well.

But if you want to have a go a yogurt use 1 tablespoon of live yogurt to a litre of milk and it works well. I have an Instant pot but others do the same. Just scald the milk first and leave on low overnight.

If you can't find leeks PM me with your address and I can send you some I have a few pots of tiny ones that I know I won't have space for. They are very small as they have been kept in a pot but they would go on.

Everything good here - with plenty of veg. Extra courgettes going into lasagne as layers between the pasta and not too much of anything yet.

I'll be trying the fermenting dill pickles later today as they look ready and will report back.

Meanwhile a couple of paid hours of gardening for me this morning - hope the weather holds up.
Happy growing.