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This week in your Kitchen Garden.

Just looking out of the rain dripping window at the mass of snails descending on my herbs and musing about how long it's been since I've seen a Song Thrush do that thing where it smashes a snail on the path to get at the little bastard. :D
 
Two beds to put in, one covered with mesh/plastic one outdoor but in the wind a bit. 8x3ft and 8x5ft. What to plant now? So fa in other beds;
mizuna, watercress, baby pak choi, chinese cabbage, heritage corn,
san marzano toms, yellow cherry toms, valencie beefsteak toms, 2 lots of random grandparent donated toms, Sweet pepper plants,
garden peas swiss rainbow chard, Mixed leaf Mesclun lettuce mix
White Lisbon Spring Onions, Lettuce, Chives and basil

No cabbage, would love to do jersey pots or something small but no big crop, strawberries/raspberries? other suggestions? Is garlic worth it? Especially anything unusual, can you do Daikon here, water chesnuts?

And my first crop, 6 tomatoes, from donated plant far further along when we got it than seed so half counting it.
 
newme said:
No cabbage, would love to do jersey pots or something small but no big crop, strawberries/raspberries? other suggestions? Is garlic worth it? Especially anything unusual, can you do Daikon here, water chesnuts?
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Lots of people do "christmas tatties", often in patio pots or similar so they can be protected from early frosts, planted up till about now. Stick a few first earlies in if you can get hold of some. Remember to order seed potatoes this year if you'll want to plant some more in spring though and don't want to be left with the manky dregs from some garden centre.

Garlic doesn't take up much space so again, why not do some if you can fit it in and like it. Maybe some elephant garlic for a bit of difference? (That's usually planted earlier than other garlics iirc, usually they're lateish autumn to early spring depending on climate and variety. I'm preordering mine this week)

If you're looking at putting in fruit, most of that I'd order now or whenever they start taking orders, for the coming bare root planting season (late autumn to early spring again, ish). And if you have lots of space and don't mind waiting, you could think about ordering some asparagus crowns to plant later in the spring for harvesting in future years...

Daikon grows fine in the UK but I've known at least one commercial grower have a lot of issues with cabbage root fly at one point so they may need protection. Beetroot's usually as bomb proof as chard. Kohlrabi? Any (other) brassicas?

It's getting late in the season to be sowing a lot of things now if you're planning to start everything yourself from seed, but salad can do well all year round and it's relatively expensive to buy in shops and you can get some really nice mixes going of leaves you wouldn't usually be able to buy. Keep successional sowing. Some stuff like lambs lettuce (aka corn salad aka mache) tastes totally different from the shit weird-textured stuff you get in shops.

Herbs might be something to think about, especially if you have space to sow a load of stuff and let it go to seed this or next year and then save that to cook with. Basically think about what you like to eat and what would you eat a lot more of if you could pick your own instead of buying from a shop. And have a look at Real Seeds' website if you haven't already! Sometimes growing a variety of a cheap staple that just looks and tastes a bit different and a bit nicer is actually better than trying loads of weird and wonderful things that you might not actually end up liking or being arsed to cook with...
 
Again probably a bit late this year - though I'd be tempted to try a few plants if I had the seed already - but dwarf french and runner beans tend to do well poked in between things that won't mind sharing space in a raised bed, if you don't have room for climbers. Some of the scrambly cucumbers that make a load of smaller fruits without any cordon faff might be good for next year too.
 
iona said:
Lots of people do "christmas tatties", often in patio pots or similar so they can be protected from early frosts, planted up till about now. Stick a few first earlies in if you can get hold of some. Remember to order seed potatoes this year if you'll want to plant some more in spring though and don't want to be left with the manky dregs from some garden centre.

Garlic doesn't take up much space so again, why not do some if you can fit it in and like it. Maybe some elephant garlic for a bit of difference? (That's usually planted earlier than other garlics iirc, usually they're lateish autumn to early spring depending on climate and variety. I'm preordering mine this week)

If you're looking at putting in fruit, most of that I'd order now or whenever they start taking orders, for the coming bare root planting season (late autumn to early spring again, ish). And if you have lots of space and don't mind waiting, you could think about ordering some asparagus crowns to plant later in the spring for harvesting in future years...

Daikon grows fine in the UK but I've known at least one commercial grower have a lot of issues with cabbage root fly at one point so they may need protection. Beetroot's usually as bomb proof as chard. Kohlrabi? Any (other) brassicas?

It's getting late in the season to be sowing a lot of things now if you're planning to start everything yourself from seed, but salad can do well all year round and it's relatively expensive to buy in shops and you can get some really nice mixes going of leaves you wouldn't usually be able to buy. Keep successional sowing. Some stuff like lambs lettuce (aka corn salad aka mache) tastes totally different from the shit weird-textured stuff you get in shops.

Herbs might be something to think about, especially if you have space to sow a load of stuff and let it go to seed this or next year and then save that to cook with. Basically think about what you like to eat and what would you eat a lot more of if you could pick your own instead of buying from a shop. And have a look at Real Seeds' website if you haven't already! Sometimes growing a variety of a cheap staple that just looks and tastes a bit different and a bit nicer is actually better than trying loads of weird and wonderful things that you might not actually end up liking or being arsed to cook with...
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Yeh ordering immediately was the idea, I have a bulk of mulch and logs to shift before I can get in a bulk bag of compost/top soil in. Got 40l of compost bagged and huge amounts that was my open air 40ft long dumping ground for grass etc for years that I can take from where we don't have things growing. I have huge amounts of apples dropping off that I can't be bothered with cider this year which apparently works great for composts.
Daikon I just don't buy cos its pricey for large ones so I figured why not grow my own, will be under double layer cover with mesh. Can't do brassica at all, love mustard tho. Beetroot we just don't eat like that, Mrs has it pickled and I can't be arsed with that. Lambs lettuce I had in shops and would be good addition esp if its better homedone. Herbs I have a few rosemary well trees now, had to cut it back with shears. basil inside, thai basil would be useful I suppose, do have 3 cupboards of herbs/spices/mixes in bulk so something to look at. Got a load of chives in which I use a lot, but our plant clive the chive is doing fine so far, its a 2ft sq patch I sowed outside lol. No wonder that guy is selling herbs at the shop, 50p a bag for basically whatever lol one reason I haven't bothered too much, got anything you want, more than enough for one meal, 50p, hard to beat. Good on spices too better than supermarkets. Proper sized packages not tiny things.
 
newme said:
FIL gives us beans, peas and tomatoes most weeks cos he got too good at it basically, their garden is tiny. His setup is homemade and awesome tho for the size.
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I’m pissed off because our tomatoes are rotting on the vine with this rain. At least the beans are thriving so good for them 🙂
 
RubyToogood said:
My runner beans are doing well. Not the ones I planted this year so much but some that overwintered themselves as roots and then unexpectedly sprouted again this spring. This is good as the flowers are a pretty shade of coral that matches my garden furniture :handbag::pinky:
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So loves these things, we are buying 2kg a week plus from her dads garden lol. Not pricey but quality has a limited shelf life. Need to get a massive surplus then find a good way to store. Freezing seems the best long term? (for anyone?)
 
I'm finding that I'm getting into this gardening. I almost bought a magazine about kitchen gardens yesterday.

When we move next year a decent sized garden to grow stuff is very high up the list. Space for a boat and very close to the sea to catch fish for dinner also important.
 
dessiato said:
I'm finding that I'm getting into this gardening. I almost bought a magazine about kitchen gardens yesterday.

When we move next year a decent sized garden to grow stuff is very high up the list. Space for a boat and very close to the sea to catch fish for dinner also important.
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It's, weirdly addicting lol, even tho the garden has been massively overseeded with clover of various types I now have opinions about cylinder cut lawnmowers? Space being made for composting, things actually grow and you can eat them its weird. I only ever grew drugs before so it seems like I am somehow doing something wrong with a large crop of salad lol. Goes from every bit of vegetation being rubbish that needs to go into, well I could make a hugelkutur/living hedge/compost that. I actually want grass clippings instead of wondering where to put them. Relaxing tho especially working from home, go wonder about the garden, pick some stuff, fix something, it looks different after you did something. Unlike my laptop which remains shite regardless of the hours on it.
 
My peanut seeds have arrived. I’m thinking I might wait till September before planting them. I’m looking forward to gathering my own next year.
 
750 kilos of compost coming tomorrow, sweet peas, alpine strawbeeries, artichoke, broccoli, bressuels, carrot, celeery,. cucumber, eggplant, french beans, rocket, onoins, oea, pepper, radish, red beet, ret pepper, rhubarb chard, spinach and my 6th lot of tomatoes arrived lol. Better get more beds sorted asap. I know growing season is off for a lot but it was for other things and now I am harvesting faster than we can eat. May as well bung it in and see what happens. I have time but not patience.
 
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Finally! Not even had much bad weather up here but I was beginning to think these fuckers would never ripen. I'll be pinching most of the tips out this week, just a few plants that're behind for various reasons which I'll leave a bit longer and use for green tomato chutney if they don't ripen in time.

Let's not mention the weeding I keep putting off :oops:

IMG_20230807_212255.jpg
 
newme said:
750 kilos of compost coming tomorrow, sweet peas, alpine strawbeeries, artichoke, broccoli, bressuels, carrot, celeery,. cucumber, eggplant, french beans, rocket, onoins, oea, pepper, radish, red beet, ret pepper, rhubarb chard, spinach and my 6th lot of tomatoes arrived lol. Better get more beds sorted asap. I know growing season is off for a lot but it was for other things and now I am harvesting faster than we can eat. May as well bung it in and see what happens. I have time but not patience.
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This sounds as if you're starting a market garden!
 
cesare said:
This sounds as if you're starting a market garden!
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I drunk purchased a large variety starter pack lol, has like 6000 seeds. Theres some of those that I don't even like but it was offer and well worth it for what I do want. Rest can go in the local trust based outdoor stall thing people setup for some charity or other if the community garden doesn't want them.

Compost is coming today, I feel sorry for the delivery person as it says they have one person in the truck and thats 15 bags. Bloody stupid it was half the price of getting a dumpy bag of even topsoil tho for some reason and free delivery. I am tracking the truck so I can go run out and help, have deployed a wheelbarrow, if they want a picture its going to be weird as Idk how thats all getting piled anywhere in the front garden in one place without putting it on gravel, which seems a bad idea.
 
Turns out its actually 8000 seeds lol, helped the guy move everything in, now I reek and the dog is ridiculously interested in smelling me. Also ordered two more beds and covers it seems.
 
cesare said:
That's a lot of seeds!
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I do tend to assume everything will die and massively overplant, ever planted 3000 lettuce seeds in one raised bed? This dumbass did. I also see problems with the 60 tomato plants already growing in my future, today is setting up another bed and 8ft wide trellis work (slightly covered by 1inch overhang on shed and out of the wind) with jute string lol.

edit, forgot I had a huge metal grid already that previously covered a pond. That should make it easier
 
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Mad dash to get stuff ready for the village show earlier but managed to scrape together a few entries - cucumber, marrow, beetroot, collection of six items and some french beans for the "any other veg" category which are the only thing anywhere close to the usual standard of stuff I'd enter. Purple streaked beans on the left are a new variety for me this year - Brighstone from the heritage seed library - but definitely going to be growing them again. Interplanting dwarf beans with the cucumber cordons has worked really well, too.

Picture of vegetables in the sunshine against a wooden background. There are potatoes, peas, green french beans streaked with purple and other french beans which have bright yellow pods.
 
My FIL is now giving us so much veg I might as well not have bothered lol. 1lb of runner beans, another half lb of tomatoes and greeny/yellow chillies, 4 massive cucumbers (parrots like em no one else does lol), I don't think he even likes chilis but seems to have decided to grow them anyway. Same ones the local kebab place uses. There will be more on Friday, think
 
If anyone in the London area is facing a glut of veg that might otherwise go to compost, I'd be grateful and happy to collect!
I can't offer much in return but if stuff is going to be wasted otherwise...
 
We don't have foxes here, so I've been trying to work out what's been digging up my tatties and I think it's the bastard ducks :mad:
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I can only assume it was foxes, although it could have been the squirrels. They do like to behead my sunflowers :D
 
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