2023 - the good, the not so good but hopefully not ugly of growing your own!

leftatthetrafficlights

Other than the leeks and the herbs, we potted on/planted out all our stuff this weekend! 🙌 can't explain how happy it makes me feel to go into the garden and see all those little plants in the veggie beds 😁

Kantankrus_Mare

Made the most of the sunshine yesterday and got more weeding done. Put all my tomatoes in their final positions in greenhouse and planted a few trailing ones in the containers they will eventually occupy outside. Was going to put out the sweet peas which look really healthy but looked at weather for our area for next week and its wet wet wet but then settled after that so will wait just one more week.

My sweetcorn look forlorn. Not sure if its too much watering. My leeks dont seem to be very thick either. Hmmm. Ive two weeks before we fly on holiday so really want everything in place.

alicef

Well, tomatoes are all potted up in final positions in the polytunnel.  Only 15 degrees here, but it was like a sauna in the tunnel.  I had had enough by 3 o'clock. Couldn't face doing any pricking out.  All my clothing went into the washing machine and I had my second shower of the day.  

carinjo

Sowed the purple climbing french beans today. Probably a bit early, but done some waterbottle cloches, so fingers crossed.

KajiKita

Sowed peas and runner beans this evening (Mr KK was kind and cooked tea ❤️) - tucked up in the conservatory as we are awash with field mice here and I don’t think direct sowing would actually work! 😂

Potted on verbascum and aster seedlings as well and moved the baby mid sized sunflower plants into the conservatory as well 😊

KK

peewhyeff

£stretcher have half price seeds......got lettuce cos little gem for 40p. Saved me spending £1for 4 packs veg seeds@ Lidl...didn't have a cos lettuce anyway.
I did also buy a 6pack of red onion 'plant's reduced to 20p. Not grown onions before......when I plant these, do they produce just 1onion apiece, or a cluster?

KajiKita

peewhyeff said:

£stretcher have half price seeds......got lettuce cos little gem for 40p. Saved me spending £1for 4 packs veg seeds@ Lidl...didn't have a cos lettuce anyway.
I did also buy a 6pack of red onion 'plant's reduced to 20p. Not grown onions before......when I plant these, do they produce just 1onion apiece, or a cluster?

Can I suggest you share a photo of the onion plants? At this time of year they will probably look like incredibly skinny spring onions - each one of those individual wisps of not-very-much creates an onion. You can plant in clumps and get small onions (can be useful for stews etc) or plant them individually and get bigger onions. 

KK

Suffolk_lass

All my squashes are germinating and something munched a couple of cucumber seedlings, so all the little pots are under cloches again in the greenhouse. I need to plant beans really, but too much stuff in the way. Bees very time consuming too.

The 12 sad strawberry plants really revived in the greenhouse and the fresh compost and plenty of water got them bushing and perky in ten days, so they are now in their raised bed. We will need to net them though as loads of greedy birds this year. Loads of rhubarb and a modest amount of asparagus are the main crops, along with salad cut and come again in a window box in the greenhouse. Onions are growing well - a whole bed of shallots and individual onions, all grown from sets.

Blackcurrants and gooseberries have set fruit and will need netting too. All the apples, cherries and crab-apples are in flower now too.

MissRikkiC

I’ve dug out a grass type plant this week that was teaming with snails and overcrowding my blueberry bushes. I felt bad tearing down the snails home but it felt necessary so that my children can pick the fruit this year. 

I’ve taken more marestail shoots from various places and in doing so likely disturbed the roots on my garlic and red baron onions. Hoping they survive the rumblings around them. 

Peppers don’t seem to be doing too well but I asked in the garden centre today as to if I could do anything different and they said essentially the growing season is a few weeks behind due to the cold. I hope they perk up a bit. 

I’ve bought another roll of greenhouse tape to fix the window (again) as I just couldn’t find the roll I’ve previously bought and used. It definitely wasn’t finished so not sure where I’ve put that but now can sort another garden ‘frog’ that I’ve been meaning to sort for some time. Even without the window pane in, it’s still warmer than outside so things like my tomatoes and peppers should really be okay so maybe the GC staff are right. 

Whilst at the GC I got myself a new watering can, a birthday present to myself, some cacti potting mix, 2 sorrel plants, a pineapple sage, rosemary as I didn’t have much success growing it last year and some blood fish and bone. 

Need to stay away now really 🤣

ancientmum

My local Wilko is giving away 10% off vouchers with a £5 spend today.  The vouchers run from 15th-26th May.  Instore only and some items like baby formula and stamps are excluded.  Handy if you are thinking of making a big purchase