The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

Jazee

Raining here too, but I now have some more compost so should at least be able to do something in the greenhouse.

unrecordings

Pablosmummy wrote: »

If we get a break in the rain for.long enough today I think I'll put my cucumbers and pumpkins out aswell, they're all getting quite big now and I'm worrying about damaging them when carrying them in and out the house.

I struggled with this for years until I realised an empty wine box from the supermarket is ideal for moving leggy stuff around outdoors

euronorris

Hi All!


Hope you're all well. We were away on holiday last week, so I didn't check in. Had a neighbour water the garden for me a few times (glad I asked her as it didn't rain once here the whole week!). She did the veg trug brilliantly, but unfortunately forgot my strawberries, so they suffered quite a bit. They have sprung back, but I think we will lose the first batch of strawberries.


The veg trug has gone mad!! I took a photo before I left, and another yesterday and the difference is vast!! I harvested a carrier bag full of lettuce as it went absolutely mental! Everything else is coming on nicely, and the tomatoes are showing their first buds! How exciting! The herbs have all taken off too, so I harvested plenty of parsley, dried and crushed it to store. And the peas have their first flowers! Blueberries growing nicely, no sign of flowers on the blackcurrant yet, but plenty of green. I had to refill the water butt for the self watering system when I returned as well, as it was almost empty!


And then last night it rained! And it rained hard! The lawn desperately needed it though. We also seem to have won the battle against the dandelions in the lawn. Still loads of moss, but am less bothered by that. Also, one thing at a time! lol


There is a plant/bush thing that has flowered, which I don't recall ever having flowered before. But, no idea what it is! lol


Oh, and my chilli plant I left at work for colleagues to look after/water/cross pollinate. The watering happened, but the cross pollination not so much. So, the one I pollinated myself before holiday is now a healthy looking chilli, a few flowers are dying off as they were never pollinated, and I have pollinated the remaining flowers that have arrived. Still lots more buds coming in. The runt chilli plant is still looking......runty. lol. It has grown some, but not much it looks a bit anaemic. I'm really not sure it will amount to anything, but I'll persevere for now.

-taff

You don't need to get a brush out for them, just give them a good shake to imitate wind ruffling them, they're self pollinating.

Suffolk_lass

I got back yesterday from a long weekend away and just had a damp walk around the garden yesterday. Weather still a bit mizzly and miserable so I foolishly decided to do some housework. OMG. I am going to adopt the Top Tip I saw at Dunham Massey -

Top Tip - always keep several 'Get Well' cards on the mantel. That way, if unexpected guests arrive they'll think you have been unwell and unable to clean! - adopted! :T

...As opposed to being a slovenly and lazy housekeeper!

My house is so bad I have had to stop for a while as the dust and cobwebs are making me so wheezy! It might have stopped raining in which case I can do an hour's weeding and write some cards later and pretend it will go away.

Karmacat

SL, thank you for writing that :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: :A

Primrose

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Top Tip - always keep several 'Get Well' cards on the mantel. That way, if unexpected guests arrive they'll think you have been unwell and unable to clean! - adopted! :T

...As opposed to being a slovenly and lazy housekeeper!

My house is so bad I have had to stop for a while as the dust and cobwebs are making me so wheezy! It might have stopped raining in which case I can do an hour's weeding and write some cards later and pretend it will go away.

Oh I just invite people to write their names in the dust. Saves having to keep a visitors book !


Actually I've got long past the stage where I feel I have to apologise for the state of our house. We're busy people and have different priorities. I feel it's a bit of a sad life if your priorities centre around permanently plumped up cushions and surfaces without a spec of dust anywhere. At least the spiders in our house know they have long term security of tenure.

Suffolk_lass

Me too Primrose - the cat has been a valuable duster for years - getting into gaps and collecting cobwebs. The trouble at the moment is that my eyes were recently laser-treated (follow up to catarract surgery) and now it is all a bit more obvious and it is making me wheezy.

Back to the garden today - the sun is shining and the weeds are growing.

All the Pak Choi is going to seed even though they are small and have put on hardly any leaves (any suggestions for why this might be?).

I picked my own salad leaves and radishes for the first time last night. I must get around to using the remaining SM veg before mine all kicks in!

Today I shall be tackling the big front bed with ground elder in it - it is on the verge of flowering and I figure the first day after the rain gives me the best chance of lifting it before it seeds. Then I shall spray any that comes back. My cousin is coming over to help me for a couple of hours so I am hopeful we can hit it hard this morning.

Does anyone grow asparagus? I have a relatively new bed that we picked from for two weeks this year (none in Y1, one week in Y2, two weeks this year) and the spears are now 2-3 feet high. We have been picking off the side shoots from the main stems while weeding and they are delicious raw. I am hoping we are not undermining the crowns doing this - so for the time-being they are a snack but would seriously enhance a salad. Does anyone here have any experience of this please?

Primrose

Suffolk Lass, I think your pak Choi has probably gone to seed due to dryness. Even if you have watered around the roots the dryness of the general atmosphere in which they are growing will have played a part. My garlic and some of my salad crops are showing signs of the same problem.

unrecordings

Hopefully back in the saddle today, with repotting top of my agenda. Then maybe some deadheading of stuff that's bolted (in previous posts I've alluded to doing this to keep a small supply of leaves going for use in ramen, rather than just hoiking the plant out - and some of the blooms are still providing forage for bees I notice). Looks like the weekend will be too hot for me, so we'll see how far I get