This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[free spirit]

been away for most of the last 2 weeks, and returned to find the garden utterly infested with huge slugs and snails last night... had to go on a proper killing spree.

I'm getting kinda facinated now about how they select what they're going to munch though, as they totally demolished an entire tray of pretty mature lettuces, but pretty much left the lettuces that are actually planted out alone. I've also now got a load of runner beans with no leaves below about 2 foot high, but really bushy on top as the snails have eaten them from the ground up.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

I have harvested some quinces today and cooked them in apple juice. Yum.
The variety I grow is supposed to be Cydonia oblonga 'Vranja' but I'm not sure that it is because the flowers are pure white as opposed to greenish pink and it's not meant to be a good cropper, but my tree had a really good crop this year. Also Vranja is meant to have the most fragrant fruit of all the varieties and one in a bowl will pefume the room and it doesn't.

I also harvested some mini plum tomatoes but I have no idea of the variety.

 

[hiccup]

From my five runner bean plants I've had a total of two beans, thanks to hordes of slugs, snails and black fly.

Still got lots of carrots to be pulled, and beetroot. Not sure they'll ever get bigger than the walnut size they are at the moment.

 

[aqua]

Oooo I can join in again this year! I had good intentions last year but events took over so this year I intend to:

back yard:
grow some more chillis - I love growing them and I haven't given them the time in the last couple of years. Thinking numex twilight, and the like
tomatoes - probably back to gardeners delight this year as the other varieties I've had just haven't lived up to them - can anyone suggest any others I might have missed? Happy to try things
some kind of peas again, maybe the mange tout again as it looked pretty and was a good cropper
herbs, lots of them - my tarragon seems to still be alive from last year which pleases me greatly, and my rosemary despite overpruning one year. Also want to have thyme, oregano and parsley again. Coriander just bolts all the time for me (think my yard is rubbish for it) and it's so cheap round here that I'm not going to bother any more! and mint, for pimms
Aloe vera - plant kindly given by felixthecat which is happy on my window sill
a couple of strawberry plants have also survived the winter so will stick with those

NEW ALLOTMENT :
rhubarb, possibly the sole reason for me wanting a plot tbh
soft fruit - raspberries, blackberries etc
not sure what else yet, will see where it is and what the soil is like

 

[Stig]

Yay! I'm going to join you this year aqua, and give my garden the time it deserves!

New things to do:
I'm going to do lots of chillis aswell as they're my favourite,
beans and peas,
carrots,
loads of perpetual spinach (kale),
cauliflower: I loves cauliflower! I'll get them growing if it kills me.

things that survived and will go again:
loads of chives
all the herbs, even rocket is looking lovely out there atm
cabbage (now officially classed as a weed in our garden)
My new apple and cherry tree, and the blackcurrant and blueberry bushes and the grape vine (I had an accident at the garden centre last year, can you tell)

Things I'm not going to bother with at all:
onions: don't understand those, life is too short etc
radishes: but you only get one radish per radish! I'll buy them.
garlic: see onions
squashes: it's a garden not a farm, move out of the way!

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Im going to do

Tomatoes
Beans ( french, maybe runner)
Chillis
Potatoes
strawberries
herbs- get a proper herb garden going
Salad
Courgettes

Not sure what else yet TBH but depends how much I get through gardening wise

 

[aqua]

Yay! I'm going to join you this year aqua, and give my garden the time it deserves!

New things to do:
I'm going to do lots of chillis aswell as they're my favourite,
beans and peas,
carrots,
loads of perpetual spinach (kale),
cauliflower: I loves cauliflower! I'll get them growing if it kills me.

things that survived and will go again:
loads of chives
all the herbs, even rocket is looking lovely out there atm
cabbage (now officially classed as a weed in our garden)
My new apple and cherry tree, and the blackcurrant and blueberry bushes and the grape vine (I had an accident at the garden centre last year, can you tell)

Things I'm not going to bother with at all:
onions: don't understand those, life is too short etc
radishes: but you only get one radish per radish! I'll buy them.
garlic: see onions
squashes: it's a garden not a farm, move out of the way!

I hear you about radishes although the funky looking ones look quite cool - same as the cool beetroot but I fear that's too advance for me this year

forgot blueberry might try it this year in a pot in my yard

 

[free spirit]

I'm putting last year down as another practice year...

so, last weekend I dug over about a third of the garden that I aim to be planting, and have a few trays of various early seeds just starting to stick their heads up on various windowsills and the porch.

hopefully the harsh winter will have killed off as many of the slugs eggs as possible.

 

[hiccup]

I've still got a few carrots and beetroot I haven't pulled up yet. Never got round to sowing the green manure I meant to. Gonna get some compost dug into my ickle veg bed sometime soon though. Been perusing seed catalogues

 

[machine cat]

I don't have a garden, but I've planted loads of herbs and some chillis to keep by the window.

The herbs are coming up fine, but not a thing from the chillis

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

time to do some seed planting today... Ive dug half the vegetable patch over for the first time this week. Will get the kids sowing

 

[sojourner]

I quite fancy having a go at spuds this year, and kale and/or cabbage

Got enough chillis in the freezer to last me the next year at least

Not sure I want to live through another tomato debacle, but do fancy having another go at coriander, and maybe some basil cos I use lots of both

 

[pennimania]

I planted some early tomatoes and aubergines yesterday - they are in modules in a heated propagator.

Will move them to polytunnel when they have been transplanted and grown on.

I want to grow lots of salad leaves this year - I think they are such a big rip off in the supermarket.

And gherkins. I love pickled gherkins

 

[hiccup]

Wanted to get the bed dug over this weekend, but its been too wet to play in the garden. The evenings are getting lighter though, so might get it sorted in the week.

 

[Citizen66]

I'm growing mint which hasn't died yet like everything else does. Bought some for use in a stew, didn't use it all so have been watering the remainder and it's flourishing.

 

[crustychick]

well, i'm off to the allotment this afternoon to see what damage it has sustained over the winter... to prepare myself for The Big Dig on Sunday

have ordered me tatties and onions...

hopefully will get my greenhouse tidied up so I can plant some early toms and lettuce

 

[machine cat]

My chillis have finally come up

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Seeds planted ( onion, basil.corriander, beans,lettuce tomatoes, carrots), leeks going direct into the garden in this week, redcurrant, gooseberry and Rasberry canes are busy sprouting in a bowl of water.
Lots of digging over going to be happening this weekend ready for the seedlings when they start growing

 

[prunus]

Planted chilis, sweet peppers, aubergines, tomatoes indoors yesterday - going up to the allotment later today to put some broad beans, spinach, cabbages and lettuces direct into the ground. Potatoes chitting away nicely. Here we go!

 

[BoatieBird]

Cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes sowed and on a warm, sunny windowsill.

All of the cucumbers have germinated, but I'm still waiting for the toms and peppers to do anything.

Should I have covered them with something? (i.e. block out the light until they start to sprout?)

 

[crustychick]

ground was too frozen to dig so didn't do anything

off to tidy up the greenhouse this week to get some things started off!

 

[pennimania]

I'm making some new raised beds for my polytunnel. they look good but it's amazingly how much compost you need to fill them!

 

[Stig]

I put up our four choches / plant tent things yesterday, Looks like a little festival out there.

There are things germinating, things getting bigger, and a generous field of chillis in the bedroom.
I changed my mind about radishes. I found the Giant Black Beer Radish. How could we not? Loads of those germinated, so we're in for oooh about ten radishes? *shakes fist*

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Havent planted anything out yet due to the temp dropping to -5 here
Got our chickens this week!

Yoko ono ( the leader of the pack and bossy- quite appropriately named!),Henrietta, Shelley and Brittney Spears ( cos she has nice breasts)

No eggs yet but Im gonna venture out in a sec and take a peek and let the girls out... They are brill at going over the garden, minimal digging needed at the mo, they are pecking everything on the veggie patch area really well

 

[aqua]

In my spare room I have 2 types of sweet pepper and 1 chilli looking really healthy I also have 3 basil plants making a lovely smell too

Still in propagators are about 11 types of chilli and 4 tomatoes need to get some more tomatoes going soon and some more chillis too

I still need to dig over the plot too, so much cooch grass it's not funny - going to bag it and send it with the green recycling as can't compost it and don't fancy burning it tbh. Have acquired some boys to dig

 

[aqua]

In my spare room I have 2 types of sweet pepper and 1 chilli looking really healthy I also have 3 basil plants making a lovely smell too

Still in propagators are about 11 types of chilli and 4 tomatoes need to get some more tomatoes going soon and some more chillis too

I still need to dig over the plot too, so much cooch grass it's not funny - going to bag it and send it with the green recycling as can't compost it and don't fancy burning it tbh. Have acquired some boys to dig

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

I have some tomatoes and onions doing well in propagators and 'something else' which is something the kids planted, possibly corriander but hey, we'll find out as it grows.. doofuses forgot to label it!

Need to get the veggie patch fenced off from the chooks and then I can start planting stuff out.
Bought a stacking set of trays which will be perfect as a strawberry planter today

 

[hiccup]

Dug over the veg patch, found a surprising amount of last years carrots, so have made soup.

Going to the garden centre tmrw

 

[prunus]

Should I have covered them with something? (i.e. block out the light until they start to sprout?)

No, you should be fine. Tomatoes can take a long time to germinate, two weeks or even more. Just make sure the compost isn't too wet.

Planted 140 leeks in seed trays today

 

[BoatieBird]

No, you should be fine. Tomatoes can take a long time to germinate, two weeks or even more. Just make sure the compost isn't too wet.

Planted 140 leeks in seed trays today

I was just being impatient, they've all come up now.
The cucumbers are looking really good