This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[BoatieBird]

@ sheo - I hope it works!!

Some very exciting gardening news here - we've been given a greenhouse! This has made me very happy. We've spent the weekend sorting out the base (heavy duty liner, slabs down the centre, gravel on either side) and putting various bits together and putting in the glass (it's like a giant meccano set BoatieBloke exclaimed with obvious glee on Saturday morning ). We're about 6 panes of glass short and I hope to sort that out by next weekend.

We've also finished digging over the rest of the veg bed, planted potatoes and shallots and cut the lawn.
I can't wait to get home from work tonight to have a bit of a potter

 

[invisibleplanet]

@BoatieBird - lucky lady at being given a greenhouse

Walked to the garden centre to buy a new tub (for the rhubarb) and succumbed to buying some Charlotte seed potatoes, which I'll put singly into pots on the patio for some late summer potato salads

I've just repotted the rhubarb into a 42cm pot as it's already outgrown the pot I replanted it into after buying it. It's looking very triffid-like, with huge stalks and big knobs of furled leaves at the moment. Can't wait to crop it later in the year.

Last year's rocket, which I transplanted into a different bed, has come up strong again, so I probably won't need to sow more this year. We were somewhat innundated with rocket last year, lol.

Several carrots and a few beets which I left in the ground have survived the winter.

I've already spent around an hour weeding the front garden today, but there's lots to do still ...

 

[mrs quoad]

Have spent today... weeding our two main FLOWER beds, getting 3 tomato grow bags, planting out 9 tomato seedlings (3 different varieties, grown from seed ), 12 African Geraniums (IIRC), 6 fuscias, 12 sweet pea, a hollyhock, and 10 basil seedlings.

There's virtually fuck all variety there, but if the sweet peas come off, the garden's going to look mental

Remaining successes from last year: mint, proliferating like a motherfucker. The two hollyhocks, clinging on, doing ok. Saxifrage.

Planted a few things in fuck-off massive compost trenches this time, as I suspect that some of our crops were shit last year because the soil is so indescribably shit.

Also discovered that we have asparagus spears growing thorugh Thought they were weeds at first, then twigged. Before pulling them, thankfully.

Our potatoes are coming along stonkingly. As are our wild strawberries (all in flower).

I'm sunburnt to fuck, and off for a bath

 

[sheothebudworths]

I am now living in a CAT FREE ZONE!


My bezzer and I spent today erecting a variety of mental looking barricades involving chicken wire, plant pots filled with stones and last, but definitely not least, my inspired and deeply cunning plan of thin posts/nails/twine.
Those motherfuckers will not be shitting in my garden ANYMORE!

Is it fuck, a cat free zone, lol!

It's about 10 - nil TO THE CATS, so far!
It's a proper test of one species intelligence against anothers going down here and the cats are waaaaaaay in front, the utter, FUCKING BASTARDS!!!

 

[tarannau]

Blimey. It looks like one of my cayenne plants, grown from seed, has got its first set of flower buds. That's remarkably quick business.

 

[tarannau]

Is it fuck, a cat free zone, lol!

It's about 10 - nil TO THE CATS, so far!
It's a proper test of one species intelligence against anothers going down here and the cats are waaaaaaay in front, the utter, FUCKING BASTARDS!!!

Heh. You've made you garden look like that and they're still getting in.

Shoot em I reckon. You've tried all the other avenues

 

[invisibleplanet]

Yesterday I spent most of the day cutting turf in the front garden, bagging it up, and lugging it to the huge stack I've been making in the back garden, where it will rot down to be recycled back into the garden at a later date. This new bed will host cucumber and tomato plants, coriander, two types of spring onion, and salad leaves. The main labour was spent teasing out the remaining tendrils of couch grass, which, if not removed, will sprout will-i-nil-i and re-infest the bed. There were alot of lily-of-the-valley bulbs, which I've heeled in for now.

Tomorrow I'm going to plant up some herb pots for the kitchen side (basil, coriander) and then, if the weather is good, I'll tackle the remaining flower bed in the front garden, which is a tangle of giant daisies and an evergreen plant with opposing sword-shaped leaves that has a yellow flowerhead (whose name I don't know!). I'm kinda dreading it, as it's so solidly packed that patience will be required as I gently prise network of plants apart, trying not to damage their roots so they can be replanted in the flower bed in front of the low garden wall - the driest bed in the front garden. I'll probably use the newly freed-up bed to plant the remaining potato seeds, as I'm not convinced that the pots are going to survive any away-time that I have in the future

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Loads of blossom on my quince tree. It also looks like I'm going to have a bumper crop of redcurrants and loganberries and all

 

[fogbat]

Blimey. It looks like one of my cayenne plants, grown from seed, has got its first set of flower buds. That's remarkably quick business.

That's astounding!

All of the chillies that I have grown from seed this year are still seedlings

 

[tarannau]

I'm a bit taken aback too. Rewind back to January and I was bemoaning the loss of most of my first ever batch of seeds (let them dry out) and wishing for lights to make them less leggy. Now my windowsills are beginning to fill to capacity and things are looking very promising indeed. Had a bit repotting and moving session this w/e and a couple have made the move outside without much problem. Some big self-watering Octogrow pots will arrive shortly after payday and batches will be spirited off to a couple of greenhouses to give the others more room to flourish

The growing list for 2011: Bolivian Rainbow, Wiri Wiri(red and yellow), Aji Limo, Cayenne, Jalapeno, Serrano, Cheeky, Trini Cherry, Trinity, White Habanero, Orange Habanero, Dorset Naga, Trini Scorpion, Yellow 7 Pot, Chenzo, Numex Twilight, Super Chile, Pretty in Purple, Thai Dragon, Purple Flash, Purple Venuzuelan, Black Pearl and a few others. Most I've kept a little plant or two of, but some are roaring towards the 10" mark now. The purrira has seeds now too Only failures were Rocotos and Nigel's Outdoor really, although there's a marked difference in growing speed between types

Daftly I've got some more plants on the way, preorders when I thought that my little plants would either fail or not be strong enough to justify greenhouse space. I suppose I get to compare my babies against those from various chilli nurseries, but it's a given that there'll be another giveaway or few. If there are any on that list that catch your eye there's a fair chance I'll have a spare...

 

[Brixton Hatter]

The growing list for 2011: Bolivian Rainbow, Wiri Wiri(red and yellow), Aji Limo, Cayenne, Jalapeno, Serrano, Cheeky, Trini Cherry, Trinity, White Habanero, Orange Habanero, Dorset Naga, Trini Scorpion, Yellow 7 Pot, Chenzo, Numex Twilight, Super Chile, Pretty in Purple, Thai Dragon, Purple Flash, Purple Venuzuelan, Black Pearl and a few others. Most I've kept a little plant or two of, but some are roaring towards the 10" mark now. The purrira has seeds now too Only failures were Rocotos and Nigel's Outdoor really, although there's a marked difference in growing speed between types

You are nuts mate! I'm defo coming round to sample some of these when they're ready

 

[fogbat]

If you have a spare of anything, tarannausaurus, I'd be delighted to take it off your hands

 

[tarannau]

Sure that can be arranged mate. I'm sadly coming to terms to the fact that I may not be able to keep hold of all them, particularly now there are more on the way that I ordered ages ago


Still, I'd like them to go to a good home, and the roof garden of chateau fogbat has a fine reputation for the growing of chillies. Give it a week or so until I can repot a little and reassess, but there should be a few spares of varying sizes going.

 

[ringo]

Sure that can be arranged mate. I'm sadly coming to terms to the fact that I may not be able to keep hold of all them, particularly now there are more on the way that I ordered ages ago

I did that a couple of years ago, once they were 30cm tall I realised I just couldn't keep them all going. Fortunately some of the neighbours overlooking the garden took a fancy to them and I ended up supplying chilli plants to a load of Ghanaian, Guyanan and Nigerian families I hadn't spoken to before. Win all round.

 

[tendril]

Things proceeding nicely with this very clement weather.

Courgettes and runners out with some lettuces, carrots and beetroot seeds planted:

The bleeding heart is now starting to finish

and the greenhouse is full of babies ready to go out soon:

 

[tendril]

I'm happy that I have managed to raise everything from seed this year. Have had the cucumbers munched in the greenhouse by snails (bastards) so have now sown my third lot!. Have young chillies to pot up soon too. Spinach and rocket in pots/troughs I think and there are desiree potatoes to go out this weekend and pink fur apple's chitting.

 

[invisibleplanet]

The rhubarb flowered (but that didn't last long as I ripped it's flowery head off); the borlotti beans are coming up; the cucumbers, tomatoes and chillis are very quiet still, but hopeful as ever; the radish, carrot, and beetroot are sown; only two mint plants survived the winter, but that's in a pot and ain't escaping; one parsley plant survived and that's got a beauteous root on it, so it's probably going to be around for a while; the chives have flower heads on them (njom njom, they taste great in salads and look so pretty!); the strawbs are flowering furiously; the walnut tree is looking good (but it'll be a decade or so before I can collect nuts, I reckon); the potatoes are poking out of their pots; the rocket has a gazillion seedlings, and I mean a gazillion!; and I'm going to begin sowing the dwarf beans tomorrow, a row every few days, I think.

 

[invisibleplanet]

I've probably left something off that list ....

 

[fogbat]

Your garden looks amazing, tendril!

All the tomatoes I grew from seed went a bit weird, so I picked up three different tomato plants from a house down the road, that sells various plants on their garden wall each year. I'm hoping to get a good tomato harvest...

 

[invisibleplanet]

Sowed two types of dwarf bean (green and yellow, for simplicity's sake, lol); some more tomato seeds (gardener's delight); some more coriander; some more basil; some sorrel (French Large); some marrow; some mangetout; mowed the lawn. All in all a glorious day in the garden, around 24 degrees. Didn't go indoors until after the sun set.

 

[geminisnake]

The bleeding heart is now starting to finish

Finish?? Mine last most of the summer. Isn't it meant to??

 

[sheothebudworths]

The peas and sweetcorn are coming up (only two of the sweetcorn mind so did some more in pots - which are just starting to poke through - in case that's all that comes up in the beds), pear and peach and blueberries and strawbs all flowering (doubt I'll get any pears and peaches mind), still cropping the psb but not for much longer (no bad thing cos I need to get the three plants out to get more stuff in the beds!).

Courgette seedlings still haven't come through but tomatoes (gardeners delight and a tumbling variety), aubergines and peppers have all been potted on (but still to go in their final pots, iyswim).

I have salad leaves too which, as usual, I've been ignoring for far too long - need to get them eaten this week really and do some more. Raspberries coming on ok.

I want to get some beans in too but still haven't got round to getting seeds...

OH! Was going to do some squash in big pots too, so need to get on with that!

Will probably be putting some spinach and beetroot in the last bed - and something else - can't remember what!

Am defo going to do psb again, but just two this time (the bed is divided into four and two will take up one quarter). I really thought I wouldn't get anything from them cos they were wrecked by cabbage butterflies but it's been fine, so really useful to know I don't need to worry about that!

Lots of flowers coming up - I can't wait till summer to see how the new border looks with some summer colour. I've got sweet peas growing all along the ugly fence too, so that should hide it somewhat.

Am steadily patching up places where the cats have broken through and they definitely don't bother so much now - had a few days of the usual shit/plant destruction after they'd figured out a couple of new ways in but nothing at all now for a good week!

Mowed the lawn yesterday too so it's all looking fairly neat at the mo.

 

[invisibleplanet]

I want to get some beans in too but still haven't got round to getting seeds...

I'm popping to the garden centre this aft to buy another variety of climbing bean, else there'll be an overabundance of borlotti beans. Was given 5 seedlings of a purple flowering/podded variety (Empress)- should look very pretty
These new bean seeds must climb all over my fence, and they must be pencilpodded (i.e. fine beans, not flat ones).

 

[sheothebudworths]

SO pretty! Isn't nature CLEVER?!

 

[toggle]

some bastard is eating my sunflower seedlings off one a night. i've moved the remaining 2 pots, but hopefully, i can keep them and get some more to catch up.

trying to work out how to keep these safe, because last year, i lost all of them when they were nearly 2 foot high

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Found an ancient jar of linseed at the back of the kitchen cupboard. Flung it about the garden with gay abandon, partly to feed the birds that scuttle around on the flowerbeds and also to have flax filling in the gaps.

 

[invisibleplanet]

Found an ancient jar of linseed at the back of the kitchen cupboard. Flung it about the garden with gay abandon, partly to feed the birds that scuttle around on the flowerbeds and also to have flax filling in the gaps.

WOW. Consider yourself a trendsetter, Mrs. M. I'm following suit. I want linen in my lawn! LOL LOL

 

[tendril]

some bastard is eating my sunflower seedlings off one a night. i've moved the remaining 2 pots, but hopefully, i can keep them and get some more to catch up.

trying to work out how to keep these safe, because last year, i lost all of them when they were nearly 2 foot high

Get some anti-slug copper tape (cheap off of ebay) and put it round your pots. Humane slug deterrant (stops them climbing up). It works a treat

 

[tendril]

Finish?? Mine last most of the summer. Isn't it meant to??

I'm not sure. This one had finished flowering by the summer last year. Carried on with foliage until autumn then died back.

 

[invisibleplanet]

SO pretty! Isn't nature CLEVER?!

Yes, very clever I'm thinking the green, yellow and purple dwarf beans are going to look very pretty this year
It'll be a shame to pick and eat them, but salads will look very pretty with weird coloured beans in them
I want to ensure there's the same visual pleasure from the climbers too!