Friday August 8th 2008

Just for a change from vegetables a few pictures of the lillies in the garden.

Wednesday 9th July 2008

Have taken a new batch of photo's, not to pleased with the results as I don't think I have managed to capture the scale and size of growth on some of the plants.
The first photo is of the five hanging baskets of tumbling tomatoes, they cover the back wall of the covered area completely. Between the plant on the left and the tomatoes on the right should be a central aisle. It has got to the stage where I have to almost fight my way through to get to the greenhouse.

This picture is the greenhouse from the outside. As you can see it is well full, mainly with tomatillo, cucumber and pepino with a few tomato plants for good luck.
This next one is another one of the tomato baskets.
And the tomato baskets taken from the other end.
Inside of the greenhouse showing the tomatillo, plant just on the left is a pepino. Don't know how big tomatillo fruit grow thw ones in the green husks are about the size of a large grape still green at present.
One of the cucumber plants with a nice cucumber ready for picking. It is an Italian one Slangen di China, or something like that.
One of the new rhubarb plants which has put on a nice amount of growth. Will be planted out into final position in Sept/Oct.
Out on the lottie, This is the achocha and although it has grown well there is no sign of any fruits as yet.
Another unusual plant is this rats tail radish. Has produced hundreds of fruits, but I have found limited use for them. Don't think I will grow as many next year as they are very uncontrollable, and I don't need that much of a crop.
Winter sprouts and kilaton cabbage, both should be a good size by the time winter comes. Only hope they don't mature before winter gets here as they are already starting to form hearts.
Red cabbage interspersed with mares tail which is quite abundant throughout the lottie. Just learn to live with it and keep it under controll so that it does not interfere with veg growth. Red cabbage are forming some nice hearts and I should get a good crop.
Raised carrot bed, with no sign of any carrot root fly, have been harvesting carrots for about 6/8 weeks now and there will be enough now to see me through till next Mar/Apr. Size at the moment is slightly thicker than a large finger. I think there is about 8 rows going across the picture. All different varieties, the autumn king look to be doing the best.
One of the strawberry beds, have two at the moment and intend to make another one for next year. The ordinary strawberries have finished now but in the front of this bed is alpine strawberries which were grown from seed this Jan, they are just starting to flower, and should give a good crop.
Small narrow bed between the strawberries, filled with leeks and lettuce.
The tomato house on the lottie, you can just make out some of the tomatoes with some of them at full size. Don't know if it is possible to make out but this is the one with all the leaves curled up.
The bean bed with runner and french climbing beans. Have had 4 good sized runner beans so far. May be some more by now but weather has not been good enough to go and have a look.
Tried to get a picture of the seed sown onions. Hasn't really rorked as you can't see the size of the bulbs. They are Buntons showstopper and I am impressed with them. Have just sown some Hi-Keeper onions for over wintering. May get some Japanese set to overwinter as well and see which ones do the best.
And finally for this session of photo's one og the potato beds. There is Pink Fir, Charlotte and Sarpo Mira in this bed. Pink Fir on the left have produced plenty of growth but no potatoes yet. In the centre is the charlotte which I have started to harvest, which is why there is a gap there. The Charlotte have been very proliffic with an average of about 5lbs of potatoes per plant. In the foreground is some winter cabbage I needed to get into the ground.

Sunday 22nd June 2008

Well into the season now with plenty of success and some failures.
Potatoes :- Had some nice early ones grown in tubs and managed to almost follow on with lottie ones. Need to have some first earlies next year and plant a few mid Feb. Charlotte have cropped very well and the first of the sarpo mira look to be good, the pink fir are very slow and to date there is nothing under the haulms. Well now have potatoes right through the summer and well into winter.
Peas :- flowered well but just would not fill out, only just getting some peas now. Need to space them better for harvesting.
Carrots :- great success with carrots and starting in greenhouse in pots definitely gets an early crop. The pot sown ones are also doing well and we are starting to use them. Have been using thinings for about a month now, There are some decent sized carrots now and will be able to have carrots whenever we need them now.
Parsnips :- Tops look really great and if bottoms are as good as tops it will be a bumper crop. Could maybe have done with sowing another couple of rows, but time will tell if there is enough.
Cabbages :- spring cabbage have seen us through the last few months, summer cabbage are not doing to well due to club root. Will have some for harvesting in a week or so but they are small. Red cabbage are doing well and don't seem to have been affected by club root. Have planted out some of the winter cabbages including kilaton, will see how it does. Kale and summer PSB have been a complete waste of time and space. Sprouts are planted the last lot went in today. Some early ones are doing well and should give us sprouts in Sept.
Onions :- Seed sown doing very well, sets are a big dissapointment. Shallots are almost a total failure and I noticed today that the few that there is have stared to get mildew on them. Leeks are doing well and about 3/4 have been planted so far, just waiting for ground now to get the final lot in. Continuing to plant the spring onions, will be trying to overwinter some under covers.
Salad Items :- easy to grow and no problems with any salad stuff. Just need to remember to keep on sowing. Have sown some winter radish today. Rats tails are producing profusely. Have had some beetroot already and will be picking some this week.
Strawberries :- have cropped very well and are continuing to do so. Well make another bed for next year and get some late crop strawberries.
Raspberries :- have not started cropping yet but not expecting a big crop with the change over of beds. Autumn fruiting ones are putting on plenty of growth and should give some raspberries this year.
Rhubarb P:- only gave a med crop so will probably lift in Oct and replant. Two new crowns to go out as well.
Fruit Bushes :- new bushes of gooseberry, red and black currants, goji berry and blackberry are all growing well. Will expect a small crop from them all next year.
Beans :- broad beans have done well both overwintered and spring sown ones. Will only do spring sown next year as they both started cropping about the same time. Dwarf french have not done very well and are poor looking plants. Need to nurture and get them to a better plant before planting out next year. Or cover with fleece to start with. Runner and french climbing are doing good although yard long beans failed to get going and had to be replaced.
Spinach and Chard :- both difficult to grow early on due to bolting but we have had a few meals from them, continuing to sow both for autumn and winter use.
The lottie is full and as space becomes available the is stuff to go in either seed or plants. Harvesting has well started and we will hopefully not need to purchase any veg for some time now. Will do another update in the next day or so on the greenhouse.

Wednesday 28th May 2008

Some sort of solitary bees nest, as yet unidetified, size is slightly smaller than a golf ball and the colour is teracotta. Reason it looks white is that it is in a well shaded place and the automatic flash came on.

Tuesday 27th May 2008

Seems to be that I am going to be updating about every two weeks, obviously at this time of the year a lot happens in two weeks. The weather has been quite bad the last few days with heavy rain and very strong winds. The wind has flattened and snapped off about half the globe artichokes, still I did want to reduce the size of the bed. It has also snapped three of the tomatillo but high enough up that they should regrow from lower down. Also snapped off one of the new shoots on the goji berry, still stuck the new bit in a bit of compost and with a bit of luck it will root.
The robins managed to finally raise a family after the first nest was raided by a rat and the babies eaten. Below is one of the four babies, would not recognise it as a robin if I didn't know the parents.

Green house plants are doing alright, although I have lost about half the cucumbers due to low temps and wet soil. Still have 6 on the go so still plenty for two people. Tomatoes are doing very well and should have some set in the next week. Below is the five baskets of tumbling toms, both red and yellow. As you can see flowers are starting on them
Below is picture of one of the remaining cues, also in the picture is an achocha just right of centre, and in the foreground some aubergines, as yet no flowers on them.
Two tomatillo with flowers.
Someone on the GYO forum was asking about potatoes in tubs. Below is a tub which should be ready for harvesting in about two weeks, the foliage is about two feet above the top of the tub.
Trays of brassicas waiting to go out once the potatoes on the lottie make room for them
Spring sown garlic, which looks a lot healthier than the autumn sown garlic. However no swelling of the bulb on these where as the autumn sown ones have some plump looking bulbs.
One of the brassica beds with summer cabbage early sprouts and some kale. At the far end is some courgettes
The other brassica bed with hispi and greyhound cabbage, summer PSB and two types of red cabbage.
The bean bed with 6 rows of beans 3 climbing french and 3 runner.
Home made tomato house with 8 tomatoes 5 aubergines a cape gooseberry and a golden berry.
One of the new beds with pumpkins and climbing pea beans. At top just out of picture is currant bushes, goji berry and huckleberry.
The carrot bed with January sown carrots furthest away, they are ready for a little thinning which will be usable as a veg (about the thickness of a pencil)
Far end of the bean bed with 3 rows of peas, furthest feltham first, middle jaguar and closest kelvedon wonder. In foreground is some dwarf french beans.
Picture of one of the red cabbages kalibos which is a new one to me.
Root vegetable bed showing some parsnips, doing very well. Lets hope there is something underneath when we come to harvest.
Some of the potatoes are doing well, my big problem was that I planted to close and have had problems in trying to earth them up.
Solved the problem to a certain extent by using collars (tubs with bottoms cut off) and earthing up inside the collars with compost, in other words growing in bottomless tubs. Seems to be working alright.

Well I think that is enough for today.

Have had some really warm dry days but back to rain the last two days. Still it had got to the point where we need a bit of rain. If nothing else it will make the weeds grow even quicker.
Pleased to have recieved some decent goji berry plants and after a couple of weeks in a pot I have planted the most vigorous one out on the lottie picture below. The other two I will keep in pots for the time being.
The carrots continue to grow well and as you can see from the picture below the ones started in pots and then planted out will not be to long before I can start taking a few thinnings.

Peas are now well in flower and one row has a few pods formed so they are only going to be a few weeks now before we can start picking. The ones in the centre of the picture are feltham first and just in the fore ground you can see a row of kelvedon wonder. In the background is the three bean frames which are all planted up now. There are three varieties of french climbing and three of runner bean. Am also growing a couple varieties of dwarf french.

Have two beds of brassicas growing at the moment, in the one closest is greyhound cabbage. some early sprouts. Some perpetual spinach and some courgettes. In the far bed are hispi cabbage, two varieties of red cabbage, a summer solid type cabbage, summer PSB and some ironman broccoli. The fleece is over the cabbages mainly to try and keep the pests off.

Greenhouse veg are going great guns although reading the forum I could have been just a shade earlier with the peppers and aubergines. The picture below is one of the baskets of tumbling tom, I have both red and yellow this year. Three baskets of red two of yellow. They are just starting to flower, so not to long before tomatoes. Cucumbers planted out on the lottie and a couple in the greenhouse. Tomatillo are just flowering. Achocha have been planted out on the lottie and are about two foot high.

Third tub of potatoes have been harvested, result below. Enough there for two good meals and well worth the effort, will definitly increase the number of tubs next year. Will now have to wait a few weeks before any other potatoes are going to be ready. Want to make sure that next year I have a more appropriate potato for early growing.

Al in all this is, so far, a very successful growing year with less than usual fatalities. Have had at most half a dozen plants dampen off, have had one row of swiss chard go to seed which we had for tea tonight. Onion sets are not doing as well as the seed sown onions so will do more seed sowing next year. Shallots not doing to good in that they haven't split at all well, with some still as a single bulb, and most of them have thrown up a seed stalk which means that they wont keep.