The ups and downs and ins and outs of growing your own, 2018

Gem-gem

Just been upstairs, another runner bean seed had germinated. That is two out of twelve, yay! I have moved it to the window sill next to the other one.

Jazee

Gem-gem wrote: »

I am green with envy. 12 days since planting, nothing. What is your secret?

No secret. I just hope for the best each year. It’s the reason I planted so many. I didn’t expect them to germinate.

Gem-gem

Went down to the garden centre and bought some 1/2 hoops to put betting over to keep the butterflies, birds and cats off my seedlings.
Also bought 6 money maker tomato plants. Reported them in when I got home. They are now positioned inside by the patio doors.

unrecordings

Had a nice bonfire today and got rid of several tubs of stuff that was drying in the garage. I was worried the the Poundland fruit trees I got in January were dead, but the the cherry is coming into leaf and I can see buds developing on the two apple trees. Meanwhile a robin seems to have nested in the garage in a cubby hole surrounded by oil cans

zafiro1984

Moved most things into the greenhouse; the one with broken panes, covered everything with fleece and hoping. I thought I'd use the greenhouse to do my pricking out and potting on - that was until yesterday morning!!!!

I have a potting bench and next to it was a bag of compost about two/thirds full. As I reached into it something flew out - a robin had made its nest in there and laid six eggs. Now everything is being quietly moved into a polytunnel and I'll have to buy more compost.

I was going to spend most of yesterday afternoon potting on and pricking out but ended up helping DH mend the fencing around one of our fields so we can move all our youngsters into it. Should be fun moving them as they are an unruly bunch.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Finally stuck some beans, herbs, spring onions, courgettes and cabbagey things into coir modules; not much point doing it earlier, as everything has just been too wet to consider planting out - it's so wet, I'd expect it to take a good fortnight of proper spring weather to get from sodden to merely a bit soggy.

Spuds are busy looking monstrous on the windowsill - I think I'll shove them into the bed with the raspberries, as nowt else gets a look in there; I think spuds will be about the only things capable of holding their own.

I MUST order some compost. But not for the next week, as the OH is away and I need him here to accept the delivery.

Kantankrus_Mare

Had a lovely four hours or so at the allotment today. Just me and the radio. Sun was even out for the first part!!

I have 3 beds of straberries which were looking very sorry for themselves with dead leaves and runners going all over the place.

Have managed to give them a good prune and they look loads better.

Did a bit of weeding.......always weeding to do.

Then I decided to give the shed a bit of a tidy. Got rid of some broken glass and other bits as there was a skip at the entrance to allotments.

Tidied out some tubs and hanging baskets and replenished them with some new compost.

Picked some rhubarb and will make a crumble in the morning.

Still have a few leeks in though they are a bit thin. Must clear that bed next time I go.

Sown some beetroot and left them in the greenhouse. Never really had success with beetroot before so fingers crossed.

sazzlebgood?

been to a very wet under foot allotment, i think we will have to give it a couple of days to dry out before we put any pots in. Been and watered greenhouse, which is full of seedlings, Got out broad bean plants to harden off. Pulled out kale and kalettes as they were trying to flower. Harvested PSB, lettuce and forced rhubarb. Sowned carrots in raised bed as it was the only piece of ground not sodden

CAFCGirl

Some glorious weather happening here. Annoyingly though I have to be incredibly careful in it so as to not trigger my sun allergy.

Allotment isnt looking too shabby at the moment. I've put radishes, spinach, chard, leeks, silverskin pickling onions, shallots and onion sets in. Sunflowers got inter-planted with my peas. Hoping there's been some progress on the beetroot. This is my 3rd year of attempting them and I've never managed to get them to pop up!

Seedlings at home seem to be doing well. The Moneymaker tomatoes seem to be a bit blah though. The gardeners delight and oxheart are doing well. My early sweetcorn will be ready to go out soon. They are going to be inter-planted with the yugoslavian finger squashes I've got going on. Courgettes got potted on till I ran out of compost at home - opps!
I've sown some more sweetcorn, some mixed lettuce and some calabrese.

Just need to get a new cover from the mini growhouse in the garden sorted and some more compost - the never ending need for compost.

Our wormery seems to be doing ok. They're pretty quick little movers in there! I've started giving them the veg peelings from the kitchen now so they're moving up. Apparently it takes 4 months to produce a tray's worth of compost.

sazzlebgood?

CAFCgirl we had a similar problem with beetroot, we now sow some in pots and then when big enough transplant, soil and seedlings into a hole and fill in. First lot of pots went in yesterday OH said ground was still really wet when he dug one spade depth but they need to go in. Just another 9 rows to go. Picked PSB and made broccoli welsh rarebit on toast. Think PSB will flower this week with heat which is a shame as its only just started producing. Sown mangtoot. Very hot in the greenhouses hoping the seedlings cope with the heat.