Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
the smallest kitchen garden i've ever seen
This week in your Kitchen Garden.
- Thread starter Mrs Magpie
- Start date
the smallest kitchen garden i've ever seen
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
Ron Merlin
Jus de chaussettes
It's about this time - RHS says wait until the stems start to turn yellow. Best snip off those flower heads though as you want all the energy to go into the bulbs.
TopCat
Putin fanboy
Thanks. Have snipped.
Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
We've had a our first crop of potato's this week along with some beans as well. This is only our first full year of growing veg so anything we get is a huge novelty / surprise.
We've also had quite a bit of purple sprouting broccoli lately as well which has been brilliant, I'm not a huge fan of it usually but it's just been so much nicer than shop bought.
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We've also had quite a bit of purple sprouting broccoli lately as well which has been brilliant, I'm not a huge fan of it usually but it's just been so much nicer than shop bought.
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Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Hatful of veg for dinner tonight.
Have eaten all the broad beans and peas, along with the cherries. Really fed up with courgettes. Where are the bloody tomatoes? I have some oddities such as millefleure but still none ready to pick.Also, back in redcurrant torment - 4 large bushes makes a lot of redcurrants (and hours of picking, even with nimble fingered grand-daughter) - I still have jelly from last year. Might just go the cordial route (daughter reckons it's the nuts with vodka ' bleurgh) Beetroot getting gnarly, spinach bolted and shamefully, the leeks are still not even planted. Have had lots of chips (the only time I make them is with my Kestrel).
Back to flowers next year - I have the bulb catalogues out and am planning a thousand tulips. (£7.20 a hundred from Gedneys). Fuck yes!
Back to flowers next year - I have the bulb catalogues out and am planning a thousand tulips. (£7.20 a hundred from Gedneys). Fuck yes!
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Home courgette vs Sainsbury’s courgette... good job we eat plenty of these.
The various squash are also starting to fruit along with the patty pan squash which is just alien courgette.
The wife planted small cucumbers and melons which are still growing but getting there. They’ve also taken over the small palette greenhouse we built so I hope the peppers in there will be ok.
Lots of tomatoes but all very green so far.
The various squash are also starting to fruit along with the patty pan squash which is just alien courgette.
The wife planted small cucumbers and melons which are still growing but getting there. They’ve also taken over the small palette greenhouse we built so I hope the peppers in there will be ok.
Lots of tomatoes but all very green so far.
Ron Merlin
Jus de chaussettes
Nice courgette! My Sungold toms are doing well here (north London) but are still mostly green. A couple are ripening now. Looking good so far.
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Ooh, nice grouping on those 
Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
Here's a few shots of our Tom's, peppers and pumpkin. Still a way off picking yet but certainly getting there.
Mrs motown has made a hammock out of some tights to support the weight of the pumpkin [emoji16]
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Mrs motown has made a hammock out of some tights to support the weight of the pumpkin [emoji16]
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Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
The last of our slightly disappointing potato crop and a load of beans we will probably be eating for the next few weeks[emoji16]
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Utterly broken hearted by the neglected state of the allotment (after a couple of months enforced labout for other people). Months and months of tending to little seedlings, cutting grass, tying, primping, thinning, watering, undone in just a couple of weeks. True, the dishevelled appearance is a constant issue (all those giant rambling roses which are in desperate need of brutal chopping) but I am going to devote the weekend to it in a last ditch effort to rescue the summer crops. I am not ever doing loads of vegetables again - all the cleared long borders are going become stockbeds for my perennials (including the horrendous number of orphan pots filling up the garden). Going fully over to no-dig starting this afternoon...and, for the first time in my life, I am going to draw up a planting PLAN instead of the usual 'find a space, stick it in'method (which has led to this current debacle of chaos. Taking camera and may, if I manage to achieve much at all, do before and after photos for my encouragement and smirking ops for everyone else.
Epona
Radar 2006-2020, Sonic 2006-2022, Jakey 2007-2024
I think with the potatoes, it may be a small haul, but console yourself by repeating "quality over quantity" because those look bloody amazing!The last of our slightly disappointing potato crop and a load of beans we will probably be eating for the next few weeks[emoji16]
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Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
Cheers for that, our overall haul was about double that as we had some out last week. They were pretty good taste wise so can't complain at all.
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gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I'm having another decent crack at salad production in the bathroom.
I got a bit disheartened in 2017 when I failed to get hydroponic watercress to work.
I don't recall alfalfa being so amazingly slow .... the hot and spicy fenugreek and radish grow moderately quickly and hang around a reasonably long time without turning into string.
So I'm somewhat short of milder stuff for my salads.
Light-exposed mung bean sprouts are probably very nutritious, but are moderately challenging as a salad - so I'm trying lentils as an alternative.
I'm also starting off some compost-grown sprouts - initially green pea and black oil sunflower seed from the pet shop - let's hope I don't get e-coli off them ...
I have room for six production trays in the window troughs, and I can stack another dozen in the dark germinating and in some cases deliberately being stretched.
The whole assembly swings out for easy access.
I got a bit disheartened in 2017 when I failed to get hydroponic watercress to work.
I don't recall alfalfa being so amazingly slow .... the hot and spicy fenugreek and radish grow moderately quickly and hang around a reasonably long time without turning into string.
So I'm somewhat short of milder stuff for my salads.
Light-exposed mung bean sprouts are probably very nutritious, but are moderately challenging as a salad - so I'm trying lentils as an alternative.
I'm also starting off some compost-grown sprouts - initially green pea and black oil sunflower seed from the pet shop - let's hope I don't get e-coli off them ...
I have room for six production trays in the window troughs, and I can stack another dozen in the dark germinating and in some cases deliberately being stretched.
The whole assembly swings out for easy access.
TopCat
Putin fanboy
Grown a lot in the last few weeks.
Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
I've built a small raised planter from timber offcuts and some plywood we had laying about needing a use.
Not sure on the colour but again it was fence treatment we had in the shed so I used it rather than buying new.
Got a few rows of spinach and kohlrabi in it now so will see how they get on.
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Not sure on the colour but again it was fence treatment we had in the shed so I used it rather than buying new.
Got a few rows of spinach and kohlrabi in it now so will see how they get on.
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TopCat
Putin fanboy
Neat job.I've built a small raised planter from timber offcuts and some plywood we had laying about needing a use.
Not sure on the colour but again it was fence treatment we had in the shed so I used it rather than buying new.
Got a few rows of spinach and kohlrabi in it now so will see how they get on.
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Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
Cheers, I was quite pleased with how it turned out. Mrs motown wants another smaller one for the other side of the steps so that's something for a evening next week.
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gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I grew sprouts before, but the focus was always on cooking, and now I'm aiming to eat a salad every lunchtime - super-effective at filling up as well as massively nutritious.
I'm bringing compost-grown sunflower and pea shoots online, but I don't yet know how productive they will be. Sunflowers are the nearest feasible thing to lettuce - being in the same family, but I would guess the cotyledons are much more nutritious.
To my shame, though I grew a lot of lentil sprouts before, I don't remember ever trying them raw.
Wow ! Almost like peanuts, but with a refreshing edge.
Mung sprouts are on the back burner now until I feel inclined to stir-fry again - though any that get a bit leggy go into my evening ratatouille.
My biggest problem now is keeping the sprouting and compost-growing separate - especially since I'm eating my sprouts raw - so I will need to set up a separate container washing facility.
I'm kicking myself for not growing any the whole of last year.
I'm bringing compost-grown sunflower and pea shoots online, but I don't yet know how productive they will be. Sunflowers are the nearest feasible thing to lettuce - being in the same family, but I would guess the cotyledons are much more nutritious.
To my shame, though I grew a lot of lentil sprouts before, I don't remember ever trying them raw.
Wow ! Almost like peanuts, but with a refreshing edge.
Mung sprouts are on the back burner now until I feel inclined to stir-fry again - though any that get a bit leggy go into my evening ratatouille.
My biggest problem now is keeping the sprouting and compost-growing separate - especially since I'm eating my sprouts raw - so I will need to set up a separate container washing facility.
I'm kicking myself for not growing any the whole of last year.
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Damsons are starting to ripen,only a couple ready and so far and still the risk of plum moths to deal with (spotted one this morning, gross)
Kabocha squash plant is going mental, we're going to have so much of these. The butternut squash I tried growing from supermarket one is also flowering.
Toms are stubbornly green but at least plenty of them.
Corn starting to get cobs and peppers flowering so that's going to be interesting to watch.
Cucumbers are thriving, wife picked about 20 of these the other day. Boothbys blonde best picked before to yellow though.
Rather a glut of patty pan to deal with which is main problem for next few weeks...
Kabocha squash plant is going mental, we're going to have so much of these. The butternut squash I tried growing from supermarket one is also flowering.
Toms are stubbornly green but at least plenty of them.
Corn starting to get cobs and peppers flowering so that's going to be interesting to watch.
Cucumbers are thriving, wife picked about 20 of these the other day. Boothbys blonde best picked before to yellow though.
Rather a glut of patty pan to deal with which is main problem for next few weeks...
Boudicca
Seaside Queen
I'm down south so have been harvesting tomatoes for a couple of weeks now. I've also had 5 plums from the tree I planted a couple of years ago, which is quite exciting as I bought it more as a present for the house (all decent sized gardens should have a fruit tree) and thought I might have moved on before it bore fruit.
Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
We have lift off with our spinach and kohlrabi we planted last week [emoji16]
I've also knocked up a 2nd planter (just needs finishing touches) and we can relocate some of our herbs from the main planter into it. Once that's sorted its getting filled with leaks and onions.
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I've also knocked up a 2nd planter (just needs finishing touches) and we can relocate some of our herbs from the main planter into it. Once that's sorted its getting filled with leaks and onions.
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Ron Merlin
Jus de chaussettes
Shaping up to be a very good year for the Sungold toms.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
My first "microgreens" are doing a bit better than I anticipated - judging by all the fungus gnats flying around.
A bit of visible mould here and there ...
Seven days in, the sunflowers are well ahead of the pea shoots - even though for a while I wondered if they'd been heat treated to stop them causing problems when used as intended as bird food.
I may have to make a special shelf for broccoli seeds as it may be difficult to integrate them with the other two types - especially with the pea shoots potentially being "cut and come again".
I suspect I will be relocating my seed jars to leave room for regenerating pea plants.
I'll have to make an evaluation with the sunflowers as to whether I could usefully switch to an inert substrate with all its advantages.
I also appear to be half-heartedly experimenting with peas in the sprouter.
A bit of visible mould here and there ...
Seven days in, the sunflowers are well ahead of the pea shoots - even though for a while I wondered if they'd been heat treated to stop them causing problems when used as intended as bird food.
I may have to make a special shelf for broccoli seeds as it may be difficult to integrate them with the other two types - especially with the pea shoots potentially being "cut and come again".
I suspect I will be relocating my seed jars to leave room for regenerating pea plants.
I'll have to make an evaluation with the sunflowers as to whether I could usefully switch to an inert substrate with all its advantages.
I also appear to be half-heartedly experimenting with peas in the sprouter.
