All caught up

I finally feel as if I have caught up with everything; all of the fruit and veg I had planned to grow this year is now underway... some of it a fair bit later than previous years, but who says those dates are rigid anyway?

Today, I finally sowed carrots (nantes 5 & autumn king) and parsnips (albion). I also came across an unopened packet of butternut squash which had a sow by date of 2016; there were only 5 seeds so I thought I may as well sow them all.

To mark this momentous day, a couple of cucumber seedlings decided to make an appearance.

I am making some configuration changes this year, moving a few beds around and still haven't decided where everything is going to go, but as a result the poor raspberry canes have just been sat in the original packaging I brought them home in for over a month. So, I made the executive decision for this year to grow them in sacks alongside the potatoes. I have no idea how this will work out, but the roots looked quite healthy so fingers crossed.

Whilst I'm mentioning potatoes, they have put on some good growth since I planted them at Easter. The ones in buckets are doing just as well as the ones in the sacks.

Might start sowing flowers this weekend.

Herbs

Social media reminded how pleased I was with my herbs during my first growing season; 8 years ago today I proudly posted this pic.

This prompted me to give my herb wheel a bit of care and attention; (most of) the weeds have been pulled out and the empty sixth has been re-sown with basil seeds.

Hopefully I will be smelling as well as seeing vast improvement in a few weeks. 

Something fruity

The weather today was glorious, so I took pictures of the various blossom as it looked particularly pretty...

Pear

Cherry

Blueberry

I did actually do some fruit based gardening today as well. The strawberry planters were looking really sorry for themselves; full of leaves and last year's woody runners weren't helping, so I removed all of the debris, leaving just the healthy plants, topped them up with fresh compost and then planted out some new plants amongst them to fill in the gaps.

Just waiting for the apple and plum blossom to show up, but I am already really looking forward to the fruit harvest this year.

A very productive day

I spent today working from my favourite office...

... and a very productive day it was too.

The shop-bought tomato plants have romped away; shirley and sweet million in particular have been potted on into their final pots.

Lagging waaaaaay behind are my home-sown red pear and gardener's delight; these are the only tomatoes that germinated so I am determined to keep them healthy so that they produce well later in the year.

In other late germination news, I have one cape gooseberry seedling... it's teeny tiny at the moment, but again, I will do everything I can to make sure it grows.

Hopefully we are over the freezing cold weather now, so things will start to warm up and therefore speed up.

The first of the cucurbits appeared a few days ago and there are now four courgette seedlings, but sadly no cucumbers yet.

I have gone back to the original varieties of peas, beans and sweetcorn that I grew in my first year; these modules and pots contain golden sweet yellow podded mange tout, cherokee trail of tears beans and double standard bicolour sweetcorn.

I also sowed a few of my favourite 'heading' lettuces, lollo rossa and little gem as well as a variety of mixed salad leaves including rocket, mizuna, mesclun and a spicy mix, so will soon be picking rather than buying lettuce for the dinner table.

Outside, the onions, shallots and garlic that I planted out a couple of weeks or so ago are starting to show signs of growth.

But there is no sign of the beetroot or leeks that I sowed direct at the same time... maybe due to the frost that followed shortly after, maybe not... it might just be too soon.

I also got a fair bit of sorting and tidying done; including going through all of my seed packets and disposing of the partially used sachets from 3+ years ago. I feel as if I have almost caught up with where I need to be at this point in the season... long may the good weather continue!

The plan was...

So, an absence of little green seedlings in the potting shed meant that I had planned to get a couple, one or two plants just in case my re-sowing also produces nothing.... a couple of garden centres on Easter Monday later I am the proud purchaser of five tomato plants

a small forest of chillies and sweet peppers

and eight strawberry plants

 

I also need to replace the raspberry canes so whilst I was there thought I may as well get them as well 

I did stick to the plan where the potatoes are concerned, to get them 'in the ground' at Easter and they are now planted in the usual sacks but also a few buckets; just thought I'd try something new this year.

Re-sowing will have to wait for another day. Hopefully the weather will stabilise over the next few days as I really need to sort out the raised beds and would prefer a decent period without rain.

Nothing, nada, rien

Absolutely nothing has germinated in the potting shed...no tomatoes, peppers, chillies, cape gooseberries, aubergines or strawberries; in almost 7 weeks!! Well, I say nothing, there is a little weed in one of the pots but that does not count. So, I have come to the conclusion that it has been far too cold.

It is starting to warm up now, so my plan of action is to re-sow over the Easter weekend, but I might also pay a visit to the garden centre and procure some back up plants just in case. I also have a long list of other crops to sow as it is almost the end of March which is usually the busiest sowing month and I have not made a start yet.

Apparently, the weather is going to be rubbish... wet and miserable but I must get the chitting potatoes planted - it's tradition to do it at Easter. I also need to get the garlic and onion / shallot sets in the ground so hopefully the bed is not too wet.

So much to do....

Shopping, chitting and waiting

Today's gardening activity was mainly spent in the garden centre. I needed to get some aubergine seeds (now sown) so thought I'd pick up a few other things too.

I went for bonnie potatoes again this year, a very reliable second early; they are now chitting alongside the sown seeds in the potting shed. This should provide 6 sacks of delicious spuds later in the year.

 

Red onions, garlic and shallots have also been purchased; bit too early to plant out though and the bed I'm going to put them in isn't ready yet anyway... might tackle that next weekend if it stays relatively dry this week. 

 

 

No green shoots yet from last week's sowings but hopefully something will appear soon; am patiently playing the waiting game.



A good day!

Today was a good day to start sowing, so I did; 4 varieties of chilli, 2 varieties of sweet pepper, 4 varieties of tomato, cape gooseberries and strawberries. The sun has gone in now, but fingers crossed the potting shed is warm enough for the seeds to germinate in the next couple of weeks.

I don't think I have ever successfully grown strawberries from seed, but I do recall sowing them in the past... maybe 2016 is the year?!

I'm not planning anything particularly radical or new this year, just hoping for an abundance of produce to keep us well-fed, the freezer well-stocked and enough to make some chutney along the way.

Hopefully 2016 is also the year that I keep up with this blog and don't let it become neglected, again.

Ready, Steady, Sow

My 2015 season has finally begun, I've never made it to March before without sowing anything so today I brushed away numerous cobwebs in the potting shed and got on with it, just managing to beat the rain... might not look like much now, but in a few weeks these little pots of black compost will be sprouting a fine selection of seedlings (hopefully)...

To be more precise, kaibi round and orange bell peppers; fatalii, hotscotch, basque and ohnivec chillies; moneymaker, san marzano and red pear tomatoes, pot black aubergine and cape gooseberry.

I also had a go at microgreens for the first time, so in 2-3 weeks I should be garnishing my meals with tiny, colourful bursts of intense beetroot flavour.

This year I will only be growing one variety of potatoes; I opted for Bonnie, a second early that I have grown a couple of times before. They are both reliable and delicious. The seed potatoes are chitting away and should be ready to go into sacks around Easter.

Finally, I pulled up the last of the carrots, apart from a few holes they were pretty good so leaving them in the ground this long hasn't done them any harm at all.

Will need to get sowing the next batch soon.

What's fruiting?

The strawberries have come on leaps and bounds in the last week or so... all of a sudden the plants have shot up; this was a couple of weeks ago...

... and this is today

Strawberries everywhere!! I also spotted a tiny cucumber or two making an appearance; these ones are passandra

I've got a good feeling about this season.

Busy busy busy...

Well, it's been go go go for the past couple of weekends in the garden... I finally feel like I have regained some type of order; the raised beds around the back have been weeded and are now planted up or sown with a variety of produce

 

 

Around the front, the first sowings of carrots and beetroot are coming along nicely (in spite of next door's cat thinking the raised beds are there for his benefit!!)...

... and the courgettes I planted out over the bank holiday have done well without the recommended week of hardening off. Treat 'em mean I say, makes them tougher!

In the background, the greenhouse has been cleaned out and hopefully all slugs & snails have been eradicated from their little hiding places... just need to keep on top of it now so that they don't get a chance to take over again.

Where on earth have I been?

It's been ages... not posted since January; so far this year it's been a slow process but hopefully things are looking up with the weather and it shouldn't take too long to catch up.

So, what's doing well?

I have a fine selection (if a bit slug & snail munched!) of courgette, pumpkin & squash in the greenhouse; some of the larger ones should be ready for planting out soon.

Cucumbers and a couple of watermelon plants are also coming along nicely.

 

 

Tomotoes are coming into their own after a very slow start.

There is a very fine tray of various lettuce needing to be planted out...

... a few peppers and a couple of cape gooseberries coming up behind everything else.

The potatoes (for Easter) clearly didn't arrive in time, but they are looking quite healthy; I doubt they will be ready yet, but I might have a bit of a rummage in the sacks to see what's there.

And finally, there are loads of flowers on the strawberries so hopefully that means there will be lots of fruit.

 

 

There is still a lot to be done though; haven't sown any peas or beans yet, only have a few brassicas, sweetcorn germination was very poor so need to resow, not sown any leeks, parsnips or turnips either as it's been too cold... I am going to be very busy for the next few weeks!

Let's get this sow(ing) on the road!

It's been quite a nice weekend, apart from the torrential wind and rain overnight on Saturday (when I wouldn't have been doing much gardening anyway!)

So, got started with a bit of sowing; 3 each of moneymaker, gardener's delight, red cherry, green zebra and cream sausage, along with some mustard and cress which surprisingly I have never grown before.

I also purchased seed potatoes; maris bard & bonnie and set them out on the kitchen windowsill to chit until ready to plant in the spring.

Strawberry plants were delivered. A couple of weeks ago, the fruit bed was cleared out as I am relocating soft fruit elsewhere in the garden, so I ordered some new plants at the same time; 6 of the variety vibrant are in in the potting shed with the roots covered in moist compost until I plant them out.

Let's hope the last of the snow has fallen and I can continue as I have started.

First Job Done!

What a difference a day makes... yesterday was dark, miserable, near torrential rain, yet today was absolutely delightful; it might have been a little bit chilly which is to be expected for January, but it was dry and the sun was shining.

So, finally got the first job done this morning, planting my early, early potatoes... I usually do this around March or April time, but this way the plan is to have them ready to eat around March or April time; not sure if I'll achieve that but I'm giving it a go!

The 15 swift tubers that were chitting on the kitchen windowsill are now out there on their own to flourish... well, with a little bit of undercover support. This was the first sack before I covered them over

and this is all three sacks on location in the greenhouse (which is quite warm when it's sunny) for the next couple of months

The other thing I have done which is a bit different to normal, is fill the bags up with compost rather than wait for shoots to appear and do the topping up thing; I've always wanted to try it this way to see if it makes any difference. Roll on spring!