The even bigger and better and hopefully not lower bits of growing your own in 2022!

Raincoat

Hi all, I often lurk and have decided to properly pop in. I have some spinach, sorrel and chard growing in my garden currently and have a few plans for the spring. All entry-level veg growing as I don't have the greenest of fingers but I absolutely love it

Definitely have a slugs and snails problem, its a never-ending battle chez Raincoat.

Suffolk_lass

Welcome to the "team" @Raincoat - some of us are new to veg gardening, others of us have been trying for years but as Monty says, always more to learn and try. Join in, offer advice or ask for it, we are a friendly bunch!

carinjo

Ms C and I spend an hour or so yesterday clearing out the pallet compost bin (which became a weed collecting bin!), weeding the onion&garlic bed and the raised tulip bed.
Also harvested half the cavolo nero, most of the leaf beet and chard. Actually surprised at how well they doing, so left some in the ground for later. The PSB still trying, so put the net back over it, will see what happens. Harvested all the leeks, some a bit soggy and none turned out as big as the package suggested (musselburgh), but will try again this year.

Suffolk_lass

We also harvested most of our leeks and they are pencil thin. Really poor but partly where DH planted them. He thought ooh, a space, about two days before I planted the squashes in those beds. They were so small I didn't realise until the third bed. He needs to look at the plan and I need to be more specific!

bluesooz

Can you just slice and freeze leeks?  I've still got quite a bit to harvest and don't think they'll all get eaten in time.  I tend to only use them for adding to my mashed potatoes, after gently frying in butter, so don't get through a lot.  Perhaps I need to find more leek recipes.  I've had fat and thin leeks from same patch although most of the thin ones were from a early variety

carinjo

Absolutely @bluesooz. You can blanch and freeze them and just grab what you need. Freeze the dark green bits to use in stock. 

Suffolk_lass

carinjo said:

Absolutely @bluesooz. You can blanch and freeze them and just grab what you need. Freeze the dark green bits to use in stock. 

and don't do what I did and blitz the dark green bits in, strain them out. I let some through into a mega batch of soup yesterday and they are being picked out and left on the side of the plate

Cheesy leeks (saute in butter then stir through a cheese sauce and bake or grill until it goes delightfully brown on top) is a brilliant supper dish with crusty bread and butter

leftatthetrafficlights

Peppers have germinated now - just waiting for the chillis! Next weekend I'll start off my tomatoes and aubergines- got some tumbler tomatoes for this year so need to get some brackets put up for hanging baskets - going to have them at a height that means my grandbaby can just munch as he wants 😉

carinjo

Lovely mild morning on allotment. Ms C carried on sorting out the compost bin and tidied the shed. I managed after a lot of effort to remove the cheap netting from the row of gooseberries. Never again. Lesson learned: leave space around for the new growth if you doing netting and frame properly. Letting netting lie on bushes full of thorns is just a bad idea. 
A stroke of luck: parked the car next to a skip and the builder was around, got some thick pieces of wood can use for border and a piece of carpet to put on the compost bin to keep everything from blowing away. 

MissRikkiC

Hi all! 

I joined the 2021 thread last year and made 5 raised (knee height) beds which were all filled with things which the garden centre were selling at the time. These were mostly ‘spring’ varieties of veg which made me realise at the grand age of 30, that the time they’re harvested is where these veggies get their name from 😂 please don’t laugh at my stupidness! 

That said, I planted them all (white sprouting broccoli, cauliflowers and spring cabbages, spring onions and I think 1 more that I can’t think of the name of) around maybe September time (they were quite tall little seedlings at this stage 🌱) and other then meticulously remove cabbage white eggs all throughout September and October, I’ve hardly done anything else with them at all. Are they likely all dead now? 

I really haven’t inspected them much and I actually have a bit of anxiety about doing so incase they’re all ruined but maybe I have to so I can take a picture and show you lovely bunch here who know their stuff to see if they’ve all had it! 

I also had a few cut and come again lettuces as well as perpetual spinach, these were all cut back and used last year but again I’ve not done much with them since. Can I assume they’re all done with now? 

Thanks in advance all. I’ll pop a picture on tomorrow if it’s needed to see the damage! 😬