Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

This week in your Kitchen Garden.

We had another very productive weekend in the garden.

Started out with a trip down to our local garden centre (it's a family run independant, and just down the road, I love it :)) for 4 bags of manure/compost mix which we've dug into the veg plot.

We've planted 2 rows of shallots so far and have started off borlotti and runner beans inside.
I also bought a couple of asparagus crowns. I love asparagus and I spend a fortune on it when it's in season. I'm not sure how easy these will be to grow but I'll give it a go.

We put some fencing in a few weeks ago (mainly to keep the dogs off the veg plot) and it was looking a bit bare so I've sowed peas and broad beans in growbags against the fence. The broad beans are starting to poke out of the soil, but no sign of the peas yet.

My dig-in mixed salad is doing well in a growbag on the patio :)
 
Any advice on growing squashes? I've decided to grow some butternut squash, and think I'm still just about within the window for sowing squash seeds.
 
fogbat said:
Any advice on growing squashes? I've decided to grow some butternut squash, and think I'm still just about within the window for sowing squash seeds.
Click to expand...

Well within, this is about the ideal time (IMO :)) I sowed mine on Saturday, and Gardeners' World (no less) advised that this weekend was a good time to sow them on Friday. So go for it.

Advice? Standard big plant - a seed about 1" deep in free-draining seed compost in 3" pots, water in and leave somewhere warm until germination.

NB - keep the compost on the dry side (after the initial watering, ie you probably won't need to water again) as squash seeds are prone to rot.

They don't like the cold much, they are voracious feeders (loads of manure please) and need lots of space (at least 10 sq ft/plant ideally). Pinch out the tips (if you can find them...) when 4 or 5 fruits have set per plant. Remove any leaves that are shading the fruit to help ripening. Clean straw under the fruit to lift them off the soil is good to prevent rotting if it's a wet summer. Er, that's it I think.

Grew them last year, very easy :)
 
10sq ft / plant? :eek:

Do you reckon I'd have any success growing them in big pots? I only have a roof terrace.

Oh, and thank you for the advice, btw :)
 
fogbat said:
10sq ft / plant? :eek:

Do you reckon I'd have any success growing them in big pots? I only have a roof terrace.
Click to expand...

Yes, you should be ok - you can make a much richer nutrient density in pots after all. Make sure they are biiiiiiiiiiiiig pots though. And feed them well. You can train them up trellises etc as well, even over pergolas. You have to support the growing fruit in some way (old tights are traditional) but it works very well.
 
I think you can do squashes in grow bags too, eh? That's what I'm hoping to do anyway!

ETA Looks like I may be wrong. :( DAMN! Even MORE bigger pots needed! :mad:

Oh and freespirit - great idea re the perlite for snails!
You may well have saved me a small fortune (was about to shell out on some fairly pricey galvanised mesh for over me strawbs, but will go for some larger holed chicken wire and laying perlite around the outside instead)! :cool:
 
gentlegreen said:
I may end up doing that if I can't make progress in the wild end of my garden. The bamboo is currently defeating me. :(
Click to expand...

flamethrower.jpg
 
My inability to grow basil continues. I seem unable to learn that it doesn't want to be outside until it's really warm, and every time it rains it dies.
 
I'm considering fire of some sort - perhaps pouring ammonium nitrate down inside the canes - but it might just melt the greenhouse glazing bars.

I may see if I can get the right chisel attachment for this :-

DSCN3521.jpg
 
Right - I've bought some of these and am hoping the deep one will do for my melons in the greenhouse and/or squash... :hmm:

060101_400.jpg


Dwarf beans and courgettes to go in some too. Bloody greedy plants. :mad:
 
sheothebudworths said:
I think you can do squashes in grow bags too, eh? That's what I'm hoping to do anyway!

ETA Looks like I may be wrong. :( DAMN! Even MORE bigger pots needed! :mad:

Oh and freespirit - great idea re the perlite for snails!
You may well have saved me a small fortune (was about to shell out on some fairly pricey galvanised mesh for over me strawbs, but will go for some larger holed chicken wire and laying perlite around the outside instead)! :cool:
Click to expand...
it's not perfect, but it does seem to deflect a decent proportion of them. Best used in conjunction with beer traps and midnight slug killing missions IME - good job you reminded me last night as there were millions of the fuckers probing my perlight defences, with a couple already through, and several munching on stuff I'd not et protected... I could have lost the lot I reckon:eek:
 
I bought some cucumber and tomato seeds, some peas and a seed tray. I'm going to get them started now and hope to be able to plant them out soon. What d'you think, is that optimistic?

Saw a couple of tiny tiny shoots from my beans which made me very happy.
 
Advice needed please!

Firstly, is it stil too early to put herbs outside? I haven't grown them seeds - they're already little plants that i got from the garden centre.

Secondly, I've been growing courgettes and green beans from seed indoors. Have been away for a couple of days and just got home to find them all sprouted :cool: Roots are coming out of the bottom of the pots and the leaves are about 2 inches big. When should i be putting them outside? I was concerned about the roots getting squashed in small pots, so i've re-potted a few of them in bigger pots. Should i just be putting them outside now though, and just leaving one plant in the one big pot where they're going to stay? :confused:
 
Mine are in quite a sheltered position, so I'm taking the risk on a couple of basils and seeing how they get on. Frost shouldn't be a big issue, he said hopefully.

Otherwise the majority of other common herbs should be fine outside at this time. Thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, bay, oregano, mint and the like are fine.
 
Thought my basil was a gonner after Sundays rain but it seems to be trying a comeback.

Come on Basil
john_cleese_basil_fawlty.jpg
 
Basil's a sod isn't it ?

In theory I have perfect conditions indoors under lights, but it's dead slow getting going - but then I'm studying it in minute detail ...

It came up very quickly though - once I'd learned not to cover and putting it in a polythene bag with a bit of light ....

I'm not sure if it likes being transplanted ...
 
I've always grown basil on a sunny windowsill, since having a whole crop destroyed overnight by slugs / snails. Does perfectly well there.

Shifty - might well be worth trying the peas outside. I grew some really half-hearted peas last year and have just found a pea plant growing in one of last year's planters. It must have dropped into that pot sometime last autumn. It's outside, not at all protected from the elements, and it's thriving :cool:
 
It IS exciting, tbf!!! :cool:

I have another question! Can I use my washing up water to water my flowers/fruit/veg? :hmm: I use Ecover if that makes a difference?
And if I can, do I need to dilute it with some clean tap water first - and to what ratio - and is there anything that I really shouldn't use it on?
I'm on a meter and the water butt has been empty for a week or two, so atm I'm using a fair old amount in the garden and anticipate my bill rising somewhat if I have to carry on like this!
 
sheothebudworths said:
It IS exciting, tbf!!! :cool:

I have another question! Can I use my washing up water to water my flowers/fruit/veg? :hmm: I use Ecover if that makes a difference?
And if I can, do I need to dilute it with some clean tap water first - and to what ratio - and is there anything that I really shouldn't use it on?
I'm on a meter and the water butt has been empty for a week or two, so atm I'm using a fair old amount in the garden and anticipate my bill rising somewhat if I have to carry on like this!
Click to expand...

Yes, no problem. I personally wouldn't use it on seedlings (although tbh it'd probably be okay, I just get paranoid about my little babies), but on established plants, no problem at all - been doing it for years. No need to dilute.

e2a: Bathwater, too :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

danski
Baby fox in garden
2
Replies
56
Views
2K
cupid_stunt
cupid_stunt
danny la rouge
Show us your kitchen cupboards
2
Replies
45
Views
1K
MrCurry
MrCurry
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Egg in my garden.
Replies
18
Views
565
hash tag
hash tag
T & P
What’s your kitchen drawer’s fork-knife-spoon-small spoon ratio?
2 3 4
Replies
99
Views
2K
newme
newme
story
Coffee making accessories for the coffee wanker in your life
2 3 4
Replies
104
Views
3K
Happy Tree
Happy Tree
Back
Top Bottom