The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

May I join in? My ambition is mostly to try to keep the toddler in soft fruit - he is a devil for raspberries in particular. We also have strawberry plants looking pretty good. I think we'll grow some toms because they are also good for small children to pick at. Otherwise I'm just plodding on gradually converting our garden to producing food of different sorts. Cleared a large bush from.the front yesterday and I think I will try to get a couple of currants to.go in its place.

The seed potatoes I found hanging around in a tub from last year are not getting a fair go as it turns out, because the toddler also likes to redistribute soil...

I didn't mean to offend anyone with my dandelion love.
I often forget people live in areas unlike mine (urban) so dandelions are much welcome colour and aspect of nature to offset all the concrete.
The chickens I keep love dandelion leaves, Hugh F-W tells me (I'm reading a River Cottage book) to eat them like salad leaves and I also dry the flowers in June time to infuse into oil which I use in lotions, calves and soaps that I make. So effectively they're a crop to me LOL

I am sure you didn't offend anyone CAFCGirl - it's really interesting to hear what you can do with dandelions. Nature is a marvellous thing.

baggins11 wrote: »

We have the same thing with ivy. People are constantly tell me how good it is for wildlife and I am happy for it to grow in the woodland but I don't want it invading my garden area and flower beds.

Yes, my MIL has a similar issue with Ivy. Their back garden backs onto a public pathway behind, lined with trees and bushes and various plants. One of which is Ivy, and it comes through every little gap it finds. If we didn't control it, their whole garden would be Ivy alone. As she and her husband are no longer able to do some of the more manual stuff, DH and I hack it back a few times a year. It still covers the shed roof mind. It's very tall and we can't reach the top of it. I fear it'll just collapse one day.


I have a bigger problem with spiders tbh. I am so fearful of them, but am working hard to just let them be (mostly), and not show DD that I'm afraid (in the hope that she won't be).


And yes, we have lots of other flowers in our garden also. There is a white flower in bloom at the moment. I don't know what it is. We rent this place so a lot of stuff was already here (another reason why we have to keep the lawn in 'good repair' - it's part of the contract). From a quick search on google, I think it's a serviceberry?! Anyway, it's very pretty. There is a very pretty, very tiny, Asian bleeding heart growing in the corner. I think it may have snuck through under the fence from next door. Though DD loves it, and 'harvested' most of those flowers yesterday when we were busy doing other stuff. And there is another plant/tree (?) that grows quite tall, and has lots of lovely, long tall purple flowers on it. I can't remember it's name. It grows prolifically. I have to prune it regularly! lol It grows wild around here also. Toadflax maybe?


I'm a bit rubbish with my flower names knowledge. As you might have guessed! lol

I have just made a total schoolboy error. I have mixed up my Costoluto and my French Black seedlings while potting on, and along with that is the reaslisation that what I marked as saved seed Brads Black Heart is in fact Black Trifele.
I am so disappointed with myself.....Now I have to find some more BBH and start those off, let's hope they catch up....