Blog 2010

We love this time of year when we actually start getting ready for the new growing season. There are lots of things to do to keep us busy, with the extra veg we want to grow this year and the chickens. We want to grow as much as possible, we are constantly thinking of how we can grow more veg. This year we are going to grow leeks and herbs on the patio in a large containers, see how that works out. Be nice to have fresh herbs at hand just outside the kitchen door!!

March

17th

Planted Red Onions today and covered them with netting to stop the birds eating them.

20th

Unfortunetly went out in the garden today only to find that half my onions had been walked all over and dug up!! I was not impressed, blamed the new puppy Reece but think it could have been the foxes. Looks like we are going to have to fence off the plots now if we are to grow anything.

21st

Now Ian's turned the greenhouse around we've got a new section to grow some salad vegetables in. Just put in some Radish and Spring Onions, have fenced them off to save them from Reece and the chickens!!

April

3rd

Painted the containers we've had from Ian's work to grow the herbs and leeks in, they are about 6 ft long!! Should be able to grow lots of leeks and lots of different herbs in them. They look pretty neat now they,ve been painted too, they look like proper tubs!! Just got to hope Reece, keeps out of them!!

5th

Ian has fenced off the plots today, dug in some well rotted chicken manure and planted up Potatoes, Carrots, Beetroot, Peas, Garlic and re-planted the Onions. The row's of Radish's are coming through but no sign of the Spring Onions yet.

19th

The Onions are coming on a treat now they've been fenced off. Nothing else in the beds are showing yet. The Radish are doing really well and we've got row's of Spring Onion coming through at last!! The Victoria Plum tree is loaded in blossom, so fingers crossed for a good crop this year.

27th

Don't know what is going on with the peas but still nothing is coming through and its been over two weeks. Last year we didn't sow them straight into the soil, we started them off in the greenhouse, maybe should have done that again. Never mind have sown some more in pots in the greenhouse, with a bit of luck they will take, just be a little later with them this year. No Beetroot either, although that has probably got something to do with the chickens, I've just thrown three of them, Shirl, Vala and Carla off that plot this morning!! Might have to sow some more. The Potatoes are just coming through now and we are well impressed with the Onions they are looking really strong. The carrots are just starting to appear, but you have to squint to see them!!

May

4th

We pulled our first Radish today, they are crisp and delicious, not too peppery. There are a few more showing their Radish tops, so we'll soon be able to have a feast with them!! They have grown really well, quick too and not much trouble with them. Just plant and keep well watered!!

10th

Ian's put the canes up ready for the beans and peas, and put some more carrot seed in today, only half the row is coming through, could have something to do with those chickens again!! Nothing still from the Beetroot. Ian's planted out the Sweetcorn and re-planted a few potatoes into tubs that have sprouted in one of the plots from last year, theres always one or two potatoes that get missed!!

12th

We converted a cabinet with glass doors into a cold frame to grow the lettuce in, put it next to the plots away from the chickens. It looks pretty good, the lettuce should be snug in there and away from the snails, although we haven't seen many since the chickens have been roaming around.

22nd

Planted out the Courgettes today. Lettuce is doing great in the cold frame, the leaves are gettting quite big. The Iceburg is doing fantastic, should be kept in Lettuce all through the summer. Planted out the Peas and Beans also today, they look pretty strong.

26th

The Sweetcorn are coming along well now, seem to have had a bit of a growth spurt with all this lovely warm weather we've had the last couple of days.

30th

Put in some more Beetroot and Carrot. Some of the Potatoes are starting to flower.

Planted the Basil, Thyme and Dill into Ian's container he brought from work.

31st

Planted the Leeks in the other container Ian brought from work.

June

2nd

Shirl Houdini has got into the Beetroot and Carrots again!!

12th

Put out the pots of Tomatoes in the veg plot today, attached some string ready for them to grow up.

18th

Put in some more Beetroot and Carrots today, see how long they last. There are a couple of plants that managed to survive.

21st

Picked our first Raspberries today, they are delicious!! Made a Raspberry mousse with them. Been looking at the Blueberry, theres about 10 Bluberries on it, we only had 2 on it last year so we are up!!

27th

The Sweetcorn is growing really well, seems to have shot up the last few days. The Beans and Peas are all in flower and there are even a few pods on the Peas. Potatoes are all in flower. The lettuce is doing really well in the cold frame. Red Onions are ready to pull now. The Garlic has recovered well considering the chickens have trashed it three times!!

30th

Oh no, just noticed today that the birds have eaten most of the flowers off the Runner Beans, they must be attracted to the bright red flowers on them, they haven't touched the French Beans or the Peas, few!! Really quite gutted as there were loads of flowers on them. Oh well can't win them all.

July

2nd

The Red Currant was loaded this year, picked all the berries off today, in all there's about 3lb of fruit!! We are going to have a go at making wine with them, try anything once!!

5th

Had a nice surprise today, found half a dozen Runner Beans the birds must have missed!! Will have them for tea tonight!! Peas are loaded with pods and they are swelling up nicely.

7th

Pulled the remainder of the Red Onion, they are not very big but I'm sure they will still taste good. Planted the last few sets we had left, see how they do.

7th

We had a first few Strawberries today, they were quite big and really shiny, very juicy and delicious too!!

11th

Dug up our new Potatoes, the ones we re-planted in pots from last year. We had quite a load off them, a nice size too, still another pot to dig out. The Peas are loaded, they don't seem to be as tall as they were last year but looks like we have done better this time with the amount of pods hanging on them.

15th

It's been really windy today and the Sweetcorn have been blowing around wildly, hope the wind doesn't damage them too much, they are looking strong and healthy with at least a couple of cobs on each plant, so fingers crossed the wind doesn't break them. There are a couple of French Beans ready to pick and a few small ones that will soon be ready, they don't look as loaded with flowers as last year, have to wait and see how well they do. The Runner Beans have got masses of flowers on them, really pleased with them as it's our first time of growing them. Unfortunelty the Garlic has been trashed by the chickens AGAIN, thats about the third time now, they have sat on top of the mesh and squashed it down and ate most of the leaves, just a few inches of green left, have no idea if we will manage to get any but you never know!!

22nd

The gardens had a good watering this last week with all the showers we've had. Everything seems to be growing well. Runner beans have got a bit of an infestation of blackfly, only seems to be on them, can't see any on the French Beans at all. Sprayed them with water with a bit of washing up liquid in it. The second lot of Onions we've put in seem to be coming along now. Gardeners Delight Tomatoe we've got planted in pots are loaded and we have one red Tomatoe!! The Golden Sunrise Tomatoes aren't far behind.

25th

Pulled all the potatoes out had a few on them but not as many as we expected, never mind still enough to make a few meals. Put in some more, see if they do better. Carrots and Beetroot are coming along, the chickens haven't managed to get into them this time!! Courgettes are doing well got loads on them. Picked a few more French Beans and Runner Beans today, the blackfly seem to have gone.

August

4th

Looks like I spoke to soon about the chickens, found them wondering all over the Carrot and Beetroot plot this afternoon!! Managed to salvage them and re-plant them, don't think the chickens had been in there long before I found them, as they hadn't broke the plants, just dug them out. Took the last of the Lettuce out the cold frame and put in some more seeds.

23rd

Sweetcorn is looking good nearly ready to pick and they are all loaded with corn. Just waiting for a bit of sunshine now to ripen them up, they are still pale in colur but a bit of sun and they will soon be yellow. Had loads of Runner Beans and French Beans too, can't eat them fast enough!! Have froze a few. Beetroot and Carrots are coming on well, not pulled any up yet but they were late going in, with the chickens keep digging them up!! The Tomato plants are loaded in the garden, again they are waiting for a bit of sun and then we will be inundated with them. Golden Tomatoes are quite big , had couple off the Gardens Delight, they are lovely sweet and juicy cherry Tomatoes. The second lot of Red Onions are starting to shoot up now and also the second planting of Potaoes are coming through. Courgettes on the patio haven't done so good this year don't why. They started really well but have tapered off now, got the odd one or two on but nothing major. They seem to do better in the plots, they have been quite productive there. Our Blueberries haves have all gone, the few that we had on. Think the birds have eaten them, we know for next year to net them like we did with the Redcurrants this year.

28th

We are in the process of digging up three plots the Courgette, Potato and Beetroot and Carrot plots because of the trouble we've had with the chickens. It was a shame too as the Carrot and Beetroots were coming on well. Managed to get one Beetroot out of the plot that was ready. Seems like we were never meant to have them this year. The Potatoes were just starting to grow too and the Courgettes we have had a few off, so can't complain about them. Probably would have had a few more off them but the chickens needs are greater. We are going to put a couple of plots over by the others for next year, we will have only lost one plot so not so bad.

September

1st

Some of the Tomatoes are ripening up now. Had another load off the Plum tree, that has done us proud this year. Picked the last few Runner and French Beans, don't think we'll get much more from them. Leeks are looking really strong and we've picked a couple of the Sweetcorn, the rest will soon be ready but they are so delicous.

8th

Picked half a dozen Sweetcorn will have a couple for tea tonight. They are really plump. There are still a few that don't look quite ready yet, will leave them a little bit longer. Had a few Tomatoes off, there are still a lot on although the plants are not looking too well at the moment, they look like they may have blight.

11th

Tomato plants look terrible, all the leaves and stems have black splodges on them. Pulled them all out, saved some of the Tomatoes from them but a lot of them are no good. Probably all this wet weather we have been having of late and its gone colder.

15th

Pulled all the Sweetcorn up today because it looks like they are going off. Had about another half a dozen off that were not too bad but there are a few that the corn has not formed properly and looks like the rain has got into the cobs, some of them are going off. Think the change in the weather done them in. Looks like its the chickens lucky day, they love Sweetcorn!! We are really pleased with how well we have done with them this year, will be planting some more next year for sure.

25th

Leeks are looking terrible, dug over the tub and pulled most of them out and salvaged a few but most of them have been eaten by little black slugs. All the beans have finished now and the second lot of Red Onion have not been very good. Potatoes in the tubs have died off now and we have got quite a few Potatoes on them, a nice size too.

October

2nd

Been tidying up the garden today, cut back all the Raspberry canes and there's still a few on them although they don't have as much flavour or are as juicy as they were at the height of the season. The plots are looking a bit bleak now its the end of the season.

12th

Planted some garlic today, planted them in the tub the remaining leeks are in and planted some on the patio in tubs. It takes a long time to grow, it will be ready next August. At least we will be able to see something growing through the winter months.

18th

The few remaining Leeks we have left are looking a lot perkier since I've planted the Garlic in with them. Have read planting Garlic fends off slugs and snails as they don't like the taste.

30th

Pulled all the canes down from the Beans and been tidying up the plots. Another growing season finished, waiting on spring now to start all over again. Another year down, another year wiser we hope!!

Greenhouse 2010

March

15th

Been busy sowing seeds, Dill, Thyme, Basil, Cucumber, Courgette, Sweetcorn and Sweet Peppers. Also sown lots of Swiss Chard seeds just for the chickens, they love it and it's full of calcium for them.

24th

Sown cherry Tomato's today and some sweet peas to give a bit of colour to the garden and they have such a lovely scent.

April

5th

Most of the seedlings are coming through. Still waiting on the sweet peppers, no sign of them yet. The courgettes are looking strong and starting to develop their next set of leaves. The sweetcorn is coming along well too. Today i've put in some chilli peppers (hot mix), see how we do with these. We did well on the cayenne chilli peppers last year, so fingers crossed we will have a good crop of these too. Put in another herb, flat leaf parsley, now that we've got a big planter to fill. Also put in some french climbing beans and runner beans, I like to start them off in the greenhouse first instead of sowing them directly into the plots. Sown some iceburg lettuce too as well as some cut and come again lettuce. We had more success with the latter than the iceburg last year but will give it a go again, we don't like to give up!! We've bought beansprout seeds for the first time, see how they go, sown those today they only take a few days to shoot. A couple of the sweet peas are just about starting to shoot.

19th

Decided to have a go with the Aubergines again this year, so sown just a couple of seeds, see how they go. Finally got some Golden Tomato seeds, they were nice last year so put a few of those in today. Also put some Summertime Squash in, we've done well with them in the past. Made lots of soups with them last year. Re-potted the Dill and Basil into bigger pots, they are coming along strong and healthy.

24th

Don't seem to be having much luck with the Tomato plants, so far none have come through. Have sown some more seeds, a different variety, Gardener's Delight, we did well with those last year. The Beans are looking strong and it won't be long before we can plant the Sweetcorn out, they look great. Our leeks are coming along nicely, we have loads of them.

May

4th

Didn't take long for the Beansprouts to shoot and grow, we are not keen but the chickens love them.

10th

Ian's dug the borders and mixed in the soil from a few growbags. I've planted the cucumbers and put up string ready for support for when they get taller. The Sweetcorn are in their plot now, that gives me some extra room. Peas are starting to shoot and the Runner Beans and French Beans are quite tall now, just have to harden them off before they go out. Sweet Peppers have half a dozen leaves now, they will soon be strong enough for me to plant in the greenhouse borders. All the herbs are a decent size, just really waiting on some warmer weather, before hardening them off and transplanting them into the container, Ian brought from work.

18th

Put the Bean, Courgette, Basil, Thyme and Dill outside to harden off, got more room inside now. Planted the Sweet Peppers, now they are big enough and another variety of Cucumber in the border.

31st

Potted up remaining Chilli pepper and Sweet Pepper plants in the borders and a few in tubs to keep inside the greenhouse. Most the plants have been planted out, so the Cucmbers and Peppers should have plenty of room to grow, fingers crossed!! The Tomato plants are coming along at along last, they will soon be ready to go outside in pots.

June

9th

Planted Tomato plants in tubs, give them a couple of days in the greenhouse and will then put them outside in the the veg plots, in a shielded spot, so as they don't get blown around too much if its windy.

22nd

A couple of the Cucumber plants ar not looking too clever, all the leaves have lost the colour and gone crispy. Not sure if it's been too hot in there as we have had some scorching hot days. Put up a little bit of shade, so as they are not in full sun all day and watered them vigourously.

28th

Cucumbers look a bit better, they have got a couple of new green leaves on them. Been keeping the soil well watered as it is drying out so quick in this scorching heat we're having. I've got lots of flowers on the other two Cucmbers, they look pretty healthy. The Sweet Peppers have got a few little buds appearing, they are doing well in the tubs as well as in the borders. Chilli Peppers are not doing so well in the borders as they are in the pots in the greenhouse, maybe they will get a spurt on.

July

5th

Everything seems to be growing quite well, although the dodgy looking Cucumbers still are'nt growing very fast, not like the other two, got a few more leaves on them but still a way to go before they will produce anything I think. Have to wait and see how well they do in the end but they are a long way behind the others which are growing fab, they have loads of flowers and tiny Cucumbers on them now. The Peppers are all doing well except for those three Chilli Peppers I planted in the border, they don't seem to be growing at all, I bet the other Peppers are about a foot and a half tall but these are real stunted about 4 or 5 inches tall. I'm thinking of re-potting them into pots see if that helps any.

7th

Decided to re-pot the Chilli Peppers and leave the pots in the greenhouse, see if that helps them to grow a bit. The other Chilli's I have already in pots, have been doing a lot better than these, I don't know whats up with them unless it was the growbag soil in the borders because it didn't look that good when we dug it in, not one of the best sort of growbags we've bought, so maybe it could be the soil.

15th

There are loads of flowers on the Sweet Pepper plants and noticed, we have a Pepper, whoo hoo!! Our first one, its not very big just forming but thats cool. The Chilli Peppers that were re-potted look like they have started to grow a little, hopefully they will catch up now. Looks like one Pepper in the border is wilting, it might be too much water, the rest of them look fine have to stop watering it for a bit see if that helps. It's hard to tell if its because of over watering or lack of water as the leaves look limp either way. Have to keep my eye on it. Noticed there are a few tiny white fly in the centre of some of the plants, sprayed them with water with a bit of washing up liquid in it to kill them.

22nd

Put some new compost round the two Cucumber plants that are still not doing very well, have no idea what's wrong with them. The other two are massive and loaded with tiny Cucumbers. Have about 3 Sweet Peppers on one plant now and lots of flowers on all of them. A few flowers on the Chilli Peppers but no fruit as of yet. Few flowers on the Ramiro Peppers too, hoping they will do well as they were grown from seeds I kept from out of a Pepper we bought from the grocers, thought I would give it a go see if anything came from them. Aubergines have got buds on them and one is actually flowering, a nice purple flower.

25th

Still see a few whitefly on the Peppers, keep spraying them with water and washing up liquid, there are not many just a few right in the centre by the buds. Put some new compost in the borders around the plants, see if that will help improve the Cucumbers.

August

4th

Cucumbers are looking a bit better, there are a few new leaves appearing slowly. Too late to get any Cucumbers on them I should think though. The other two Cucmbers are doing really well, they have loads of leaves and quite a few Cucumbers formed, although they are still not very big. Aubergines are still flowering well, but no sign of an Aubergine yet. Have a couple of Ramiro Peppers just starting to form, they are long sweet peppers, they look like giant Chilli's!! Still spraying them as there are still a few whitefly or greenfly not really sure which they are. Sweet Peppers are absolutely loaded, I accidently broke one off while I was trying to re-arrange it so it had more room to grow. There are a couple of Chilli's on but they are really tiny at the moment, they don't look like they are going to be very big at all. They look like they might be the size of Birdseye Chilli's the way they are going. They are a Hot Chilli Mix so they could be anything!!

23rd

Been looking at the Aubergines this morning and their may be one forming, fingers crossed. Still a few flower buds on them. One Sweet Pepper plant has got a Pepper big enough to eat on it but I'm waiting for it to go red. Noticed this morning though that a bit of the skin is going a tiny bit wrinkly, so might take it off tomorrow. I've got one big Cucumber finally. Still a few little ones but they seem to be way behind. So pleased with the Ramiro Peppers they are absolutley loaded and big, just waiting on them to go red too. On one Chilli Pepper plant, I counted 6 Chillies this morning. They are getting longer but are still quite slim.

24th

I couldn't resist, I've cut the Sweet Pepper off. Will have that in a curry tonight!!

30th

Finally won the battle with the whitefly. Took some pictures of the peppers they are on the photo's page. Still not red yet though, can't be long now before they turn, surely.

September

3rd

The Ramiro Peppers are still not going red, so took off to try. Actually they taste nice and sweet, so going to eat them green. I can't see them turning red now, it's getting a bit lateand if we don't pick them soon they will be going off. They are absolutely delicious though!! Chilli Peppers are doing great, all the plants are loaded, taken a couple off to try tonight. Cucumber plants are finally producing some decent size Cucumbers, although they are a bit late!!

12th

Still nothing on the Aubergines, just flowers no fruit. Maybe its not hot enough for them. Tried the Chilli's the other day and they are hot!! With the amount of Chilli's we have should keep us going for a while, we might have to freeze them.

24th

Picked a couple of Cucumbers, still quite a few on. Peppers still not red but all doing well.

October

2nd

Everything still looking pretty good, we've had quite a few Chilli Peppers, some are mild and some are very hot!! Still lots of Ramiro Peppers, we are eating them green, as they still haven't turned red, maybe they don't I have no idea but they are lovely, crisp and sweet. Will definetly grow them again next year, I would say out of everything in the greenhouse they have been the best. Still got a few Sweet Peppers, they are still green too, we had a few curries with them!! I'm still amazed a the Cucumbers, they are really quite late but still quite a few growing. Unfortunely we still haven'y managed to grow an Aubergine, the plants look healthy and they have had loads of flowers on, even looks like an Aubergine might appear but still just in the bud stage, no fruit. We will definetly have another go next year, third time lucky!! Never give up!!

12th

Still lots of flowers on the Chilli's, probably have more on them if we had heat in the greenhouse, but unfortunely we don't, not at the moment anyway. Still quite a few Chilli's on, keep us going for a bit.

18th

Looking at the Aubergine today, it looks like it may have fruit starting to form, bringing it inside the house, incase we have a sharp frost. See how we get on with it, fingers crossed we will actually get an Aubergine, haven't managed that yet!!

30th

Had no luck with the Aubergine after all, the change in temperature bringing it inside didn't do it any good, the buds died. Oh well we tried better luck next year. The frost has taken everything in the greenhoue now. Cleaned it all out ready for next year.

Blog 2009

This Year

This year we are growing, potatoes, baby beetroots, carrots, french dwarf beans, peas, onions, sweetcorn, squash, courgettes, parsnips and for the first time leeks and jerusalem artichokes. These 12 veg will be split up between the 8 plots that we now have in the garden, only the jerusalem artichokes which will be planted in a plot on their own and will stay where they are every year unlike everything else which will follow the crop rotation system.

Plot 1 Potatoes
Plot 2 Baby Beetroot & Carrots
Plot 3 Dwarf Beans & Peas
Plot 4 Red Onions
Plot 5 French Dwarf Beans, Sweetcorn & Squash
Plot 6 Courgettes
Plot 7 Parsnips & Leeks
Plot 8 Jerusalem Artichokes

The "Three Sisters" as it is known is a native American technique of companion planting that combines corn, squash and beans. The theory is that you plant the corn first which acts as a cane for the beans to grow up and the squash is planted as a ground cover to prevent the growth of any weeds. We put this into practise last year and were impressed with how well it worked.

Plots

April 2009

We are busy re-potting plants we have grown from seed. The tomato plants, courgettes, cucumber and beans are looking strong and healthy. We have planted the courgettes in their plot, now its just wait and see if we have better success with them than we did last year. This year we are planting up plants near them that will encourage bees and butterflies, to help pollination.
The potatoes are looking strong and healthy and the Jerusalem artichokes are just starting to come through.

May
Squash, beans, sweetcorn, leeks and peas are looking strong and healthy and will soon be ready to plant outside. End of May - time to plant out the dwarf beans and peas in their plot. Planted some peas in tubs on their own too. The weather has been glorious this last weekend, plenty of heat and sunshine, that should help the plants come on well.

June
First week in June and we are still having glorious weather although it has cooled down a little. We have been busy planting out the "three sisters" sweetcorn, beans and squash in their plot. Planted out the leeks in the plot with the parsnips. We have also extended the garden at the back so we have got an extra 20ft to play with. It's a little shaded but we have planted up some more potatoes, squash and courgettes just have to wait and see how well they are going to do. At the moment they are coming along quite well, fingers crossed it will suit them.

July
We are a bit disappointed with the potatoes in plot 1, they were coming along strong and healthy but the last couple of weeks they dont seem very good. Looks like something has trampled them down, maybe it could be the foxes. The sweetcorn is coming along well, just starting to see the flowers coming up through the centre. We have had our first couple of carrots and dwarf beans and we have done really well with the peas this year had loads on them but now they are coming to an end. The summertime squash is loaded but nothing as yet on the butternut squash, that was an experiment though, I used the seeds from a butternut squash I had bought and planted them up to see if they would do any good. The plants are looking healthy and strong but no flowers as of yet. We have just picked our first couple of courgettes, after a slow start they seem to be thriving now although we are still having trouble with some of them not ripening fully, and are deformed a little at the ends. The Jerusalem artichokes are about 5ft tall and doing well, and the leeks are looking strong but the parsnips are a bit hit and miss.

Greenhouse 2009

February 2009
Started sowing - tomatos, cucumbers, peppers, aubergine, melon and peas. Just need to wait and see if the greenhouse is warm enough to start them off, if not we will bring them into the house until it warms up. If all goes to plan it should be a couple of weeks before we see the first shoots of the new season.

April
Today we have been busy sowing French climbing beans, Dwarf beans, peas, sweetcorn, squash, sweet pepper, aubergine, leeks, courgettes, spring onion, lettuce, corinader and flat leaf parsley. We have also been sowing the following bedding plant seeds ready to sell for this coming summer.

Marigolds
Verbena
Antirrhinum (snap dragon)
Lobelia (crystal palace)
Mesembryanthemum (livingstone daisy)
Sweet pea
Begonia

We have also sown the following.

Hollyhock
Cornflower
Stock
Larkspur
Cornflower

To encourage the butterflies to the garden we have been growing a selection of butterfly mix.
Potted individual tomato and strawberry plants.

May
End of May - have been busy planting the tomato, cucumber and melon plants directly into the borders of the greenhouse instead of growbags this year. Mixed in the growbag soil in with the original soil, now just wait and see if they do better that way or in growbags. Have also planted marigolds in the borders to help ward off blackfly. Now most of the plants and bedding are planted up the greenhouse is looking less crowded.

June
The tomato plants are starting to bush out and some are flowering. Been planting up begonias in trays of 6, now they are big enough to handle. Thats the last of the bedding.

July
The tomato and cucumber plants are bushing out and flowering, most of them have fruit on them. The melons have plenty of flowers but no fruit as of yet and the pepper plants have lots of flowers on them and are bushing out now too.

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