The even newer good, bad and ugly of growing your own in 2021!

carinjo

-taff said:

Possibly.Garlic should really be planted in November or December. If they're just a little bit soft, i.e. they've lost a bit of moisture you can still try them. If by soft you mean they're like a banana soft, then yes, it's too late.

Thank you @-taff , i'll give them all a gentle squeeze to check! And you are right about the planting time, but i read that one can still try, by sticking them in the fridge for a week before planting, so fingers crossed.

MovingForwards

What is the deal with onion sets?
I planted them last year, there's lots of lovely green growing but the bulb part has had the life sucked out of it, do they fatten back up again or something?
Only reason I can see them is because they appear to be rocking in the hole, showing no signs of losing grip in the soil, not that I tried to pull one, OH / me keep closing the hole up.
- I have got another lot of sets and seeds, just in case.

My garlic seems to be doing well, established over winter and the green shoots are making me proud.

Suffolk_lass

MovingForwards said:

What is the deal with onion sets?
I planted them last year, there's lots of lovely green growing but the bulb part has had the life sucked out of it, do they fatten back up again or something?
Only reason I can see them is because they appear to be rocking in the hole, showing no signs of losing grip in the soil, not that I tried to pull one, OH / me keep closing the hole up.
- I have got another lot of sets and seeds, just in case.

My garlic seems to be doing well, established over winter and the green shoots are making me proud.

I'm not sure but lots of top growth and no bulb can be because it has been too warm or planted at the wrong time. You say you planted in autumn so there is a possibility of attack by a soil based worm parasite too. 

We planted ours yesterday. Also our garlic - late as always! Still getting frost here. I also potted up some sweetpea seeds (great for attracting pollinators to the veg garden)and various other bits. 4 types of tomato, two kinds of chilli and a few hollyhock seeds (on my window sill in the kitchen, the latter with bags around the pots to increase humidity. I need to do a few herbs today. 4/10 beds fully prepared but only the onions, some broad beans and (last winter's) leeks (and asparagus) in the ground. Too cold for everything else

carinjo

Ms c and i finishing off the broadbean bed today so the seeds can go in. Last couple of days got gifted beetroot seeds and parsnips (last of the crop). Dug up 2 berry bushes and gifted one to a new neigbour. At home the small greenhouse went up yesterday and tidied the shed.

MovingForwards

@Suffolk_lass frost only hit my garden last month, but my onions have been like this for months. We've had lots of rain, which is to be expected up here. I'm lothed to give up on them just yet, we seem to have turned a corner with the weather and will see what happens over the next month and I will get my new set in elsewhere and try seeds.

It's all a great learning experience!

the_cross_rabbit

been busy sowing lots of future meals today. All need to go in heated props though, chives. basil, sprouts, cabbages, leeks, cauli's, lettuce, kohlrabi, celery, celeriac and indoor cucumbers. Probably too early for cues  but last year we could have had them in the greenhouse by may with the heat we had, only sown 4 so no great tragedy if they don't work out. Last of the new raspberries and strawberries are in too. Just taken the kale out as it is now trying to bolt. Only edible veg/salad left on the plots are a celeriac, winter salad and a couple of winter cabbages. Waiting for the psb and cauli's to start producing, so having to eat out of the freezer at the moment. Hope your all enjoying the sunshine
CRx

Suffolk_lass

Just lots of weeding here. B****y creeping wood sorrel; oxalis corniculata - so invasive

bluesooz

great to read everyones updates

Weather here definitely turning springlike.  After months of what seemed like continuous rain we now have sunshine and dry weather.  

Have aubergine, chili, red cabbage, onion and lettuce germinating and have just sown some sweet pepper seed.  I've been rationing my seed sowing such that I get my seed fix without sowing too much too early, but as it's March tomorrow there will be lots more sown soon.

Raspberry, strawberry and asparagus beds weeded before plants get going

PSB growing strongly and broad bean seedlings, planted last year, are starting to grow well.

Harvesting leeks and the last of the red cabbages.

My winter lettuce look to be a failure this year, but will leave them there a bit longer to see if the remaining ones come to anything.  The coriander though seems to have come through winter ok and still green.  

I have winter peas growing in the greenhouse which are in flower already, so looking forward to fresh peas soon.  I don't grow many as they are used as snacks rather than cooked!  I also found some old saved seeds from 2018, which I sowed earlier this month to see if they were still viable and every one germinated, so have stuck them outdoors on some wigwams.

Looking forward to being able to spend more time in the garden now everything is drying out!

carinjo

Lovely afternoon on the allotment. Broadbeans in, finally. Ms C had a burst of energy and tidied up ready for a pickup next weekend. The bonfire was a bust though, the gooseberry cuttings not dry enough. 
Sounds like everyone had a busy weekend!

-taff

Haven't done anything much, just pottering tidying up. The strawberry runners survived the winter in the greenhouse, they're kind of cross between wild and cultivated so bigger than a wild but smaller than a cultivar. I chucked in 4 garlic cloves from a bulb in the kitchen that had sprouted, we'll see. Even if they don't split I'll still have a lump of garlic [ however small] to roast or throw in something.

I'm quitr surprised that the geranium, or more likely, pelargonium has survived over the winter and was still flowering up until we had the bout of freezing temperatures. It's actively growing now which is also a shock.

I love aubergines but they never grow well for me, I might try to find some smaller varieties to grow this year and I have ordered Green Hokkaido seeds too, so thanks for that!