New Potting Trays

So far this year all I've planted is a row of garlic that started growing in the kitchen cupboard. Leeks, onions, Broads and chili's are on the schedule for this weekend.

In the mean time I've been building myself a couple of these wooden pot holding trays out of pallet wood. Far more sturdy than the thin plastic things that break under the weight of damp compost. Recycling at it's best.

My cleaner is pleased I'll be doing all the planting and potting in the garage this year instead of in the kitchen now I have my work benches.

I've been working on the new strawberry bed when it's been warm at the weekend, pictures to follow soon.

Happy gardening folks!

We're Still He're

This time last year between the date of my last post this year and now I'd written 14 posts. My apologies for the tardiness this year. Its been a funny start to the year for personal reasons, with limited time and weather windows, and to be fair I was too embarrassed to post pics as the grass was a mess, more later. So where are we?

At home we've been planting the usual array of seeds and have even invested in some plant lights to stop the usual leggy plants as most of my window sills face west. Purchased from Amazon and running on a cheap plugin timer.

Purchase from Amazon

It as real mixed bag this year. The sweetcorn, leeks and most of the squashes are looking pretty good although some are a little small, they shouldn't be pot bound yet so maybe they don't like the compost. Hopefully planting them out and a feed will give them a push to catch up. Everything was planted a little late this year because of the cold weather and personal commitments so maybe that plays a part.

The brassicas, kale, cabbage, sprouts and PSB are looking rather small considering how long they have been growing, not unhealthy, just small. I'm not too worried as they aren't really needed until later in the year, they are more winter food to me. Again hopefully planting them out will help.

The tomatoes however are a disaster area. I have no idea why, they came up pretty quickly and the first two leaves were fine, but once the first proper leaves appears they stalled, despite the plant lights. It looks like we'll be buying in standard varieties  this year as there is no way these are ready to go out.

On the plot there is some progress. In bed 1 all the original plantings came to nothing but the second round is fairing better. We have beetroot, radishes, chard, spring onions and some lettuces. There is also Purple Orac, a new one for us. It's a spinach substitute, I've no idea what it tastes like yet but its certainly a pretty looking plant. Flea beetle have got the better of the turnips though.

In bed 2 the garlic and shallots are looking good and the asparagus is having a run away year, every couple of days there is a decent sized bunch, turn your back and its 2 feet high! The 4 new crowns I put in have yet to make an appearance though. At the other end of the bed are the roots. A row of parsnips, 2 rows of carrots and a row of fennel. This year I've tried a seed tape for one variety of carrots, I've heard mixed reviews but wanted to give it a try, hopefully it will save on the thinning. So far only the packet sown carrots have come up.

Bed 3 has the  spuds. Charlottes, Foremast and some King Edwards planted from last years leftovers. The brassica cage has been moved to the end that had the beans last year, hopefully a good source of nitrogen from last years roots which were just dug in. I've just planted out the first squashes, 2 marrow and a spaghetti squash. The pipes hold about 1 litre of water which slowly soaks in around the roots. Courteously of a bit of skip diving!

Bed 4 has the broads which have just started to produce the first small beans and are having their first black fly attacks. The climbing, runner and purple dwarf beans are up. The reverse wigwams are in use again this year. There are also 2 rows of peas planted a few weeks apart. The carpet bombing seed planting approach seems to have worked and with already have one very bushy, healthy looking row. The pigeons are sitting on the netting eating the tops off, but we may actually get some this year. Another project for this year may be a decent sized pigeon proof cage.

Bed 5 is still under cover. The strawberry bed at the end is looking productive, there are a lot of green berries and some red ones their already. The raspberries are also starting to flower.

You may have noticed the wooden frames round beds 2 and 3. I'm slowing putting these in, they will provide nice even sized beds once done and should give us a good 15-20 sq ft more growing space per bed once done. It's just taking a little time to complete as it involves moving some of the paths around.

The grass got very out of control. We have been having some strimmer issues this year which have now been solved by the purchase of a petrol generator which allows me to use my home electric strimmer down there. This  removes the short charge issue from the battery one and the weight/over powered issue from the petrol one. With a money off voucher from Machine Mart at £120 this is a bargain as I can run drills and saws down the farm if needed as well. The £20 off voucher was what finally sold it. It's also quieter and cheaper to run than the petrol strimmer.

Purchase from Machine Mart

Hopefully as the season picks up we'll get the plot under control again and find more time for writing., but for now............

Happy gardening folks!!

Winding Down

Facebook is quite a good gardening tool if you regularly post your plot shots, it likes to remind you of what you were doing a year ago. The other day Facebook showed us a pic from last year and at that time we were still harvesting quite a range of crops, this year it seems things are nearly done.

The courgette harvest is finally coming to an end, friends will soon answer the door to us again and cucumbers are now producing just the sickly looking late season specimens. The runner and French beans are done but the dwarf purple still have a few to give. The remaining sweetcorn are bit tough now but its been the best year for these so far.

One thing I am pleased with is are my pumpkins which I cut at the weekend. The seeds for these came from the pumpkins I bought in Asda last year and these are similar size. I look forward to carving them for Halloween. There is one left which might grow a bit more.

I cut the first cabbage last week, Spring Duchy, so as the name suggests I am harvesting them late. Some have been attacked by caterpillars or slugs but cutting out the damage left plenty for me and they are lovely sweated off in a bit of olive oil and butter for 5 minutes max.  

At home some of the cape gooseberries seem to have ripened, here's the first one. Its not quite as ripe as I hoped, definitely more of a green house crop. I'll pop it on the windowsill and see if it makes it.

So now comes the clearing down. The bean canes will be coming down very and the main spuds will be dug up. There's a compost bin to empty and the beds still need edging. I've finished the new asparagus bed frame and filled it up with soil. As its wider than the older frame I have room for another 6 crowns which I'll try and grow from seed.

There are still some new bits and bobs going in, lettuces, radish, garlic and maybe some more turnips. I can always cloche them if it gets too cold. We will probably try overwintered broads again, but remember to support them properly this time.

Now comes the challenge of finishing everything before the weather turns!!

Happy gardening folks!!!

August Update

There is a certain sad feel to the farm at the moment, if feels like the growing season will end a little earlier this year, probably the result of the freaky weather early on. It will give us the chance to clear it nice and early and to close down properly for the winter, but it seems a bit of a let down.

So here is Augusts update.

Bed 1

Most of the squashes are pretty much finished. The courgettes continue to fruit but are nowhere near as prolific as they were. The winter squashes (pumpkin and butternut) are but picked now, a few remain on the plants to ripen. Heather has been removing the mildew affect leaves so  they all look like they have  had a extreme haircut, not many new leaves are replacing them now.

The parsnips have at least a foot of top growth, I had a dig around the top of one with my finger, it was about 35mm across, I've no idea how long. They have a way to go yet but its still too early. I'm just pleased with 2 full rows.

The carrots are doing well, not huge but very tasty. There is the mouse/slug damage I wrote about before but no sign of any carrot fly. Resistafly F1 are on the list for next year.

The fennel has been harvested, but not used yet and the celery is still growing, but not brilliantly. I think it needed a more regular water supply, the irrigation system I never finished! Its on the list for next year.

Bed 2

All the early spuds have been used. I dug up one plant of the main King Edwards, just to see how they were doing and because I was worried about blight after the tomato disaster.

They aren't very big yet, but there are no signs of blight and it yielded around 15 spuds, so if all goes well they could provide a very nice sized crop. I bought some small potato sacks so I could store and distribute them to family etc.

The spare squashes from Heathers are growing slowly but its too late in the year to expect anything from them.

The asparagus bed has a new frame, I just need to remove the old inner frame and top it up with manure and soil. As this frame is wider I think I'll add a few more crowns, maybe even grow them from seeds from the current plants.

Bed 3

I think we are now picking the last of the runner and French beans, there are no more flowers on the plants. I tried feeding them to stimulate a second round but it hasn't worked. They have produced a fair amount of crop as given the knock they took from wind and sunburn I'm not unhappy with them.

The Amethyst purple beans are still cropping nicely, no flowers any more but they just keep coming, the set rate on these has been amazing, they are definitely on the list for next year.

Our sole surviving tomato plant, a self seeder is doing ok and looking better after a feed, he has to carry the show now, so no pressure.

The courgette plants are still producing slowly.

The best thing in this bed currently are the leeks. All seem to have survived the transplanting and are doing well. I've seen some pics online of people already holding massive leeks, I think we are a way off that yet!

Bed 4

The brassica cage is stuffed. The summer PSB has finally decided its summer and sprouted. I however realised that I've put it at the back of the cage which will make picking it fun. The cage has done well keeping the pests out.

The cucumbers are coming to the end, another 3 or 4 max I think. I''ve been really pleased with these as they produced good sized fruits that kept well and didn't need peeling. On the list for next year.

The sweetcorn have done very well this year, way above the usual 1 per plant average, the cobs were a good size and very tasty. After the problems I had getting a full 2 dozen to actually grow they have come good.

My pumpkins are pretty much ready but as its still early I don't want to harvest them yet, I grew them for Halloween and they'll keep better on the plant than in my garage for 3 months. Just got to hope the mice and slugs don't find them.

The rainbow chard is producing plenty and I'm going to try and protect it better this winter to extend the season.

Bed 5

We have lettuce, turnips, beetroot and spring onions still happening in here, as well as some dormant radishes that have popped up now its cooled off a little.

The lost tomato plants have given more room and light to the cape gooseberries but while they have plenty of the paper cases there doesn't seem to be much of a berry in them. It was worth a try and I'll do them again next year as I suspect the cold snap early on has meant their growing season is too short this year.

The chillies are not tall but have a good few fruits, I leave the heat test to Heather but they aren't too bad.

The strawberries look pretty healthy, they didn't do well this year but with all  runner being cut off regularly they will hopefully get a good start as strong plants next year. 

General

My pallet store shed is finally nailed together. It will be used to store all the heavy stuff like bricks, slabs  and chicken wire that make the plot look untidy but which don't really belong in the shed. It also provides height for the water butts to get a good head for the irrigation system next year.

I've still got the bed frames to do as part of the winter shut down, if I can get those done I'll be happy and we will be in a good place for next year

Happy Gardening Folks!

Stop the Clock!

We have reached that glorious moment when you stand up, straighten your tired back and think 'done it', for today is the day that everything is finally out of the dining room and into the ground!

All the plants have been released into the big wide, (and currently very windy), world to fend for themselves. It took a couple of weekend sessions to get it done, but with the exception of the leeks that aren't big enough yet, or in the dining room, we are finished.

I shoved Heather up on the shed roof again to take a couple of aerial shots (she'll buy me that drone I want soon if I keep doing this). As you can see all the beds look pretty busy now.

Beds 2/3 

Beds 1/3/4/5

There is of course the small matter of weeding, feeding , watering, mulching, grass cutting, protecting, pruning, picking and successional sowing but it feels like a victory to us and we can worry about all that next weekend can't we. For now we just look forward to the fruits of our labour as it were.

This one of the Sierra lettuces that was planted from seed under the cloches in late Feb, it has taken a while to get to this size, but its worth the wait.

As a reward I invested in these. All the planting has pretty much done for my old metal ones so why not. On sale in Tesco £2.40 each.

The only nagging question is, did we cheat just a little bit, by buying a few plants?

I guess this depends on your point of view. The great allium disaster of 2017 meant that we have half a bed spare far earlier than planned and my cabbages and kale just didn't take off, I don't think they liked the compost. So I'm taking the view that given the late planting date for replacements, a couple of butternut squash and a tray of kale and cabbages from a garden centre is not cheating, but a wise investment. Ironically for the windy conditions this week one variety was called Hurricane.

Jono over at Real Men Sow recently wrote a couple of posts on the advantages of buying seedlings which are work a read. Click HERE to have a look.

I'm thinking that next year more plants may come from external sources. don't get me wrong, I like growing from seed, but space is an issue and this tends to lead to leggy plants that have been a deprived of light. It would be nice to plant out a tomato that didn't have 9 inches between leaves! I give this one some more thought next year.

Happy gardening folks!!

We've Bean Taking A Risk

Apologies for another bean pun, I'm sure it won't be the last.

The runner beans went in a couple of weeks early and had got rather out of hand, it was turning into a right old cats cradle and they really needed to go outside. So we've taken a risk and they've been released into the wild this weekend.

I've read a couple of times about building the bean wigwams upside down, poles leaning outwards at the top. The reasons for this make sense, (see the pros and cons later), so I decided to give it a go.

Here is my bean support. I got a couple of bike wheels for free and mounted them on poles hammered into the ground then added the poles and secured them to the rim of the wheel using plant ties.

The beans, still in their cardboard tubes are planted 2 to a pole, 1 inner ring, 1 outer ring and trained to the pole with string. To help with watering a couple of small coke bottles with the bottoms cut off have been sunk in round the sides. I may add a couple more. You can see how scrappy they had got.

  

 

Finally I added a bit of protection from the wind with the micro netting that we normally use for the carrots. The plants had already suffered a little windburn during the hardening off process

We checked the next day and they seem ok, I expect they will suffer a bit of transplant shock though.

Next year we may just plant direct in mid May, I've always done the indoor planting in tubes before, but we will be doing this with dwarf beans shortly and if it seems to suit our site it may a good idea to save space indoors.  

Pros:

(The official ones)

Less crowding at the top of the poles

Better airflow around the tops of the plants

Easy to pick the crop 

(Mine)

Less ground space used - The base of the canes are closer together, with the wheel size I could fit 3 of these in the space I had 2 traditional wigwams last year.

Easier to mulch - Last year clearing weeds inside the wigwam was a pain, this year I have filled the base with grass cuttings. Also as the foot print is smaller less are needed.

Cons:

The plants are close together - They will complete with each other for water etc.  

Stability - Its fine at the moment but once the plants reach the wheel and produce beans there will be a large area for the wind to hit. I may need to add some guy ropes.

Now to pray for no frost.... !!

Happy gardening folks

Broadly Speaking There's Bean a Disaster

There wasn't a lot of time for plot visits this week but what I did find on my visit wasn't too pleasing. We have had some high winds and the broads that were overwintered and are now quite tall didn't take too kindly to them. Several of the plants had limbs snapped and were lying on the ground. I've put in some canes and used string to patch them up and provide support, most don't seem to mind it but one was too far gone to be saved. My fault, my notes for next year already say to provide support, I just hadn't done it last year. If I decide to overwinter this year I'll make sure it gets done.

To make up for it the first row of Kelvedon Wonder are starting to come up and we seem to have a few Resistafly F1 carrots coming though but no Early Nantes or Chanteny yet. Some of the rainbow chard is just starting to poke though and this year I might actually see a spring onion, something that defeated me last year!

All the potatoes have survived the frosts but the asparagus has taken a knock in a hard frost that turned any above ground spears rather mushy. I composted them and await their replacements. I've taken some of the cloches off now as its going to be warmer for a few days, it does makes the watering/weeding somewhat easier but I'll be on standby for a late frost for a couple of weeks.

At home, I didn't transplant the sweetcorn in the end, but popped a another seed in each of the vacant pots and put them in a warm cupboard. This worked and I now have the full complement of 24 that I planned for. We got a germination rate for 32 out of 56 planted in the end, not brilliant but I'll plan better for it next year allowing for the this.

 I must have got my bean planting dates confused this year and put the runner beans in too early. They have reached over a foot high now and are still in their tubes on the kitchen windowsill. Its too early to plant out here (one neighbour has lost all his to frost already), so by the time I can in a couple of weeks I expect it will be a bit like untangling the pesky xmas tree lights.

Some of my cabbages have also decided to stall/die, I suspect I may have overwatered them, or it could just be the soil based compost which won't be using again. I'm only growing them as an experiment so I'm not over worried, it just annoying.

Apart from that the only issue seems to be a Zuchinni which is coming up roots first in some kind of botanic breach birth fashion.

Time is short this week but hopefully a good few hours of plot time will present itself soon and I can crack on with all the projects I need to do before the planting out season is upon us. I trimmed up all the border timber last week to remove any rot. It would have taken hours by hand but got it done in 45 mins with the chop saw.....

Happy days and the joy of power tools!!

Timber!!!

The free kind not the tree kind...

A piece of advice for any new plot holder is to become a keen recycler... AKA a skip diver. If offered anything mildly useful looking, grab it, and take it to the plot. Most allotment sites look like the scrapheap challenge on a good day, pallets being a favourite.

This week has been a good week on the recycling front, 3 major finds for use on the farm.

First a load of decking someone wanted to get rid of. Heather spotted it on the local free cycle type community Facebook page. The guy was looking for someone to quote him to take it away, a quick visit later it was mine and he gets it taken away for free, a win for both of us! I've been looking for wood to make edging for a while so a good score, and it includes all the heavy stuff from the frame. A bit of cleaning up of the ends with the chop saw and it'll be perfect.

Next was a pair of bike wheels, free from the shop where I bought my road bike, as easy as popping in and asking if they had any going for scrap. These will be mounted on pole to make inverted bean wigwams. I've been wanting to try this since I read about it in Diggers Diary.

And finally, a folding shower screen a neighbour was about to dump. It has 4 hinged glassed sections and makes a perfect double row cloche. Well pleased with this one. the white sticks are there to prevent any chance of it deciding to fold flat and squash whatever is underneath, it's pretty heavy. At least it won't blow away.

 

A great recycling weekend, happy diving peeps!!

Hi I'm Bob

This is Bob, Bob was following me round the farm today for a couple of hours as I weeded out the onion bed, a long over due task.. As I dug out the weeds he bobbed along, hence the name, cleaning up the bugs and taking a few bits of grass and twig for a nest. He got within about 4 feet for a while and even shouted at me to go faster. It made the weeding a far more pleasant task. His mate Robin even showed up for a bit, I assume they headed off for a pint after.

Four hours on the farm today, it was never supposed to be that long but it was a great evening and I was enjoying myself.

The onion bed is finally clear of overwintering weeds. It looked far worse than it was, mostly large leafed weeds that had not got a deep root system in place in the capped over clay soil. While it looks good I can't help wondering if disturbing the soils solid surface is inviting more weeds to take root. I'd better get the mulching done sharpish.

To help with the mulch production I got myself a new toy, a good old fashioned push mower. I'd been watching them used on eBay but in the end went for a new one as the price was so similar. It's light and easy to use and while the edges still need to be sorted by other means as it doesn't do well on one wheel, but it certainly improves the look of the place.

Bob's smart, be like Bob....