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This week in your Kitchen Garden.

Melinda said:
Has most of that been transported on your bike, or has your brother been generous with his time?!
Click to expand...

I filled his veggie bed for him :)

Though I bet they'll all die. :facepalm:

Hopefully the next run will be a trailer of stuff to the tip to empty the potting shed I half built in '94, and We'll be able to pick up maybe 4 bags of compost in one trip as I'll have somewhere to put it.

Yes, it is generally a bit of a one-way thing with him - I wasn't much use when he built his extension and he helped me put the whole ceiling in upstairs, and they gave me a week's holiday last year .. we're somewhat different kinds of people, but I think I amused the children a bit. :)

I'm hoping that in retirement I'll be able to invite them to stay with me in France. The youngest will be at uni by then ...

They joked about having me house / children / dogs / chickens sit for a week while they go away somewhere ... :eek:
 
citygirl said:
Yeah I reckon that watering when they're in the ground will be a lot better than in pots.. So i'm gunna try them in the beds instead. I have the space, might aswell use it :D

gunna dig in some cut off tops of bottles for the watering and feeding aswell.. i *think* you're supoosed to start feeding them the tomato feed once the trusses are set. but last year i barely bothered with food and got loads of toms from my little potted one in the back yard
Click to expand...

Sorry, tell a lie - my book says to hold off till they flower up until mid-June but otherwise to stick em in anyway, so that's a great big yes!

My two plants in the raised bed look so much happier (and as I've said out of the ten + plants I have that I grew from seed, the only one that has flowered so far is the one I put in the bed a couple of weeks ago), but iirc, the point of keeping them in pots is that they're less susceptible to blight, so might be worth putting some in some big* pots, too.


*The pots I bought from B&Q which are sold as tomato pots are no way big enough, unless you're cutting the bottoms out to stand in growbags etc... :rolleyes: ...am going to replace all mine with buckets.
 
I started a thread on this that no one participated in :p

5 litre pots surely are for people who want to water 3 times a day.

And 3 plants in a 20 litre growbag would guarantee failure for a reluctant waterer like me.

EDIT :-

correction - 33 litres - but they seem smaller ...
 
I finally have a courgette on one of my 5 plants! :D
The landlord has told me I can refurb the garden so I'm plotting my new veg beds...
Sheo is pak choi easy to grow?
 
gentlegreen said:
I filled his veggie bed for him :)

Though I bet they'll all die.

Hopefully the next run will be a trailer of stuff to the tip to empty the potting shed I half built in '94, and We'll be able to pick up maybe 4 bags of compost in one trip as I'll have somewhere to put it.

Yes, it is generally a bit of a one-way thing with him - I wasn't much use when he built his extension and he helped me put the whole ceiling in upstairs, and they gave me a week's holiday last year .. we're somewhat different kinds of people, but I think I amused the children a bit. :)

I'm hoping that in retirement I'll be able to invite them to stay with me in France. The youngest will be at uni by then ...
Click to expand...

It's ace that you've filled his bed for him though, gg :cool: and he's pretty clearly feeling that too if he's still happily running you about doing your chores while you help with his too.

My bezzer drives me to B&Q if/when she can*, cos she knows I'll be shelling out/hanging around for cabs otherwise.






*She fucking moans all the way around, tbf, but I don't feel bad :cool: - it's a fair swap for all the times she's round mine raiding my biscuit tin and eating all my nuts. :mad:
 
foamy said:
Sheo is pak choi easy to grow?
Click to expand...

I don't know anything much about pak choi, but I've bought some small peat pots and red and green seeds .. to semi-emulate intensive Chinese horticulture - hopefully by next year I'll have something a bit like "night soil" to fertilise it. :D

So far as I can judge, it's the nearest thing to cabbage you can really do in a small patch.

Clubroot may be an issue eventually though .... and the alternative is leeks ...
 
foamy said:
I finally have a courgette on one of my 5 plants! :D
The landlord has told me I can refurb the garden so I'm plotting my new veg beds...
Sheo is pak choi easy to grow?
Click to expand...

Yes! Piece of piss! I've not had them SHOP SIZE cos they seem to bolt before they get that big :hmm: (although that might be cos I've been growing them much closer together and then just plucking out the bigger ones, but that still seems easier to me :D ).

Very quick growers though, too...defo worth while!

Also - apparently they don't transfer well, but I've not found that a problem either, although tbh I reckon the least effortless way is just to stick a load of seeds in a massive planter (I've got some in one of the plastic bag types atm and will DEFO do more that way - it's a very easy crop) and thin them out as they grow once they're big enough to eat, iyswim.

ETA - Think LETTUCE :D really in terms of how fast, how easy and size wise (lots of lettuces planted together would give you smaller plants that bolted more quickly but since it's a fast crop, it's not a stupid way to do it if you don't have bundles of space and you'd rather give the space you do have to stuff that really NEEEDS to be in longer, iyswim)
 
gentlegreen said:
I started a thread on this that no one participated in :p

5 litre pots surely are for people who want to water 3 times a day.

And 3 plants in a 20 litre growbag would guarantee failure for a reluctant waterer like me.

EDIT :-

correction - 33 litres - but they seem smaller ...
Click to expand...

What was wrong with THIS thread?!? :mad:


Although I think I read it, tbf. :D :facepalm:
 
I've started looking at pak choi because of how impressive it's been in salad mixes compared to the other mustardy things - and I had a lovely Innocent Thai curry last night - in fact I think I need to pop up Tescos again
 
sheothebudworths said:
Sorry, tell a lie - my book says to hold off till they flower up until mid-June but otherwise to stick em in anyway, so that's a great big yes!

My two plants in the raised bed look so much happier (and as I've said out of the ten + plants I have that I grew from seed, the only one that has flowered so far is the one I put in the bed a couple of weeks ago), but iirc, the point of keeping them in pots is that they're less susceptible to blight, so might be worth putting some in some big* pots, too.


*The pots I bought from B&Q which are sold as tomato pots are no way big enough, unless you're cutting the bottoms out to stand in growbags etc... :rolleyes: ...am going to replace all mine with buckets.
Click to expand...


Righty dokey. In the ground they go!! :)
 
gentlegreen said:
I filled his veggie bed for him :)

Though I bet they'll all die. :facepalm:

Hopefully the next run will be a trailer of stuff to the tip to empty the potting shed I half built in '94, and We'll be able to pick up maybe 4 bags of compost in one trip as I'll have somewhere to put it.

Yes, it is generally a bit of a one-way thing with him - I wasn't much use when he built his extension and he helped me put the whole ceiling in upstairs, and they gave me a week's holiday last year .. we're somewhat different kinds of people, but I think I amused the children a bit. :)

I'm hoping that in retirement I'll be able to invite them to stay with me in France. The youngest will be at uni by then ...

They joked about having me house / children / dogs / chickens sit for a week while they go away somewhere ... :eek:
Click to expand...
Uncle GG! :cool:

Just had a lovely meal sitting outside and lots of it from either my or friends' gardens. Large salad with thinly sliced pork ( soy/ ginger/ garlic/ honey dressing) and mashed potatoes. Also a side dish of stirfried pak choi, onions, garlic and chilli.

Im going to sow lots more pak choi in the next few days, I dont think I could have enough of it, its so delicious and effort free. I took a fat leaf from all the plants and they should continue growing.

My cherry and almond frangipan cakey/ tarty thing is still in the oven.
 
gentlegreen said:
.

And 3 plants in a 20 litre growbag would guarantee failure for a reluctant waterer like me.

EDIT :-

correction - 33 litres - but they seem smaller ...
Click to expand...

They hold water pretty well - I've got 3 grow bags going and I don't seem to have to water them very often - certainly not every day even in this weather.


Btw, my beetroot are poorly. Everything else is growing like triffids but the beetroot look sad:(
 
One of the pints of snails I picked up the other morning!

I was delighted to find an old mate who I had marked with masonry paint back in March. He must have made it along the driveway, over a fence and through a hedge! He's only the third snail of 50+ to have made it back into the main garden.





The snail graveyard. The roof of the garage!

 
An anvil, what for?!

Can't say Ive ID'd any thrushes, but Ive never noticed so much bird activity- mainly tits, robins, black birds (are they the ones with the orange beaks?) and parakeets. Almost all the trees have nests in them.

Wood pigeon?



Do you think the easy access snails meant they were less tempted by the cherries?
 
Melinda said:
An anvil, what for?!

Birds, like a lot of other creatures are apparently limited to certain kinds of food ...


darwin_finches.jpg


http://biology.unm.edu/ccouncil/Biology_203/Images/PopGen/darwin_finches.jpg

I suppose if they land with a bump, it opens up opportunities for atypical snail eaters.

Thrush anvil :-

http://www.dawlishwarren.co.uk/birddecember09.html
Click to expand...
 

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Ah- understood now.

Lots of the our dead shells have perfectly circular holes in them, so clearly the predators are adapted to the task.
 
I've picked my first mange-touts - only a handful of plants - not a serious crop - amazing how they seem to appear from nowhere. :)

I'm starting to be over-whelmed by cucumbers. :hmm:

I must work out the best way to harvest them with no risk of nicking the main stem ...

One solitary runner bean has popped up so it will be a little ahead of the ones in the cupboard that are just starting to show themselves.
 
I noticed this evening that I have several full-sized borlotti bean pods already :cool:

They're on small, spindly, not-at-all-robust plants :D

Have just repotted the final bean plant into a mix of compost and manure. I expect that particular one to do me proud in terms of cropping.
 
Well Ive more or less moved outside ;)

My trusty A-frame hammock has had its material replaced.
Little ice bucket for my drinks.
BBQ smoking waiting for my coriander chicken kebabs to go on, pitta bread, salad and condiments all at the ready.
Waiting for the Archers to start.
 
I ought to go and immolate the shrimps that have been hogging my freezer compartment, but I've done too much grazing already. :p

I was thinking maybe I might pitch my small tent out there - but my neighbours are a bit noisy.

I've got powdery mildew on my courgettes.
I'm trying sulphur powder ... :hmm:
 
:oops:

Speaking of evening fragrance. my very first nicotiana affinis flower has opened.:)
I will shortly be the talk of the street. :cool:

I need a jasmine too - saw one at the garden centre this morning. Unfortunately I couldn't carry it home on my bike . :p

I was looking at the honeysuckles too.

There was a stunningly fragrant sweet pea there which is definitely on my list for next year. :)
 
We spent this evening garden planning: we're setting aside a 4 metre square section for veggies just have to decide what to grow now!
Will have some more herbs in the boarders to join the sage and marjoram too.
It's all very exciting after not having had a garden for 2.5 years :D
 
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