A Review of 2019

My apologies for the lack of posts over the summer, while I have managed to keep up with the tasks on the plot and get a good haul in the process, time for posting here has been a bit short. Work and DIY does tend to get in the way, along with quite a few BBQ's of course.

The cold start and hot couple of months did cause a few issues but it's fair to say that everything planted put in some kind of appearance and we certainly didn't go short this year.

So here is a rather pictorial update of this years progress.

Love a freshly picked sweetcorn. They did well this year despite a bit of wind damage

50mph winds bent a few of the sweetcorn

The changeable weather meant that the sprouting broccoli put in an early appearance this year

Plenty of tomatoes this year, although the dry conditions did make some of the skins a little tough

Malbec carrots. The first planting had to be scrapped but the second produced a good crop. Carrot fly have been an issue this year

Even managed to get a couple of decent sized peppers

It was a good onion crop this year

Last of the onions strung for winter usage. I'll definitely grow from seed next year as well

Carrots, leeks and parsnips. The leaf miner has hit the leeks again this year but there are still some usable ones. Some kind of protection will be needed for next year

The biggest of 2 pumpkins, large squashes didn't have a great year

And they ended up like this!

A picture from last weekend. Leeks, parsnips and brassicas. Oca covered in fleece in the background. I need to remind myself what to do with them. 

This year I've pickled my own onions, they do have a bite! and even got to like a boiled beetroot

The plot is looking quite tidy. I've manured and covered all the finished beds and I've been working on tidying the fruit bed. I don't think I'll get the strawberries replaced this year but I'll have the bed ready in the spring.

We've had the usual end of season visits from the vandals and they slashed the pea cage netting and Brian's shirt. It happens every year, usually closer to christmas, but at least they left the veg alone.

Hope you've all had a good season.

Happy Gardening Folks!!

Slugs, Pigeons, Rabbits..................and Horses!

The last couple of years we've had mercifully few problems with slugs and our site doesn't really suffer with rabbits like the one up the road. Pigeons we most definitely have a problem with and peas or brassicas without netting don't stand much of a chance.

One thing you don't expect though is horses. There are some living in the field beside our site and of late they have been escaping to our side of the fence occasionally.

When I popped down to water last Wednesday the first thing I noticed were some holes in a dug but empty bed. As there was no soil flung about I wondered if someone had been nicking the topsoil by the bucket full, then I saw the unmistakable imprint of a horse shoe in the clay surface of the un-dug bed one.

It looks like the beast had had a wander round half the plot, including splitting my two rows of carrots into four! Not happy. Somehow he missed every parsnip that has germinated.

I looked up to see the horse merrily wandering around the far end of the site defying all attempts to catch it, or take its picture. Needless to say a complaint has gone into the council who were supposed to replace the fences in April.

At least I haven't put in many of my plants yet, the sweetcorn are due to go in this week, quite happy with these.

I'm glad I waited unlike some who lost more than a carrot or two. Very disheartening for new plot owners.

Happy gardening folks!!

   

Where did the sun go?

Over the Easter weekend I got quite the tan working on the plot, this weekend not so much...

The great weather gave me the opportunity to plant out the summer cabbages and kohl robi seedlings in the brassica cages,  the marigolds in the borders and the beetroot seedlings in the pea cage where the pesky pigeons can't get their beaks on them!

The carrots are up and the rows look good with no big gaps, the parsnips I'm not so sure about, something is coming up in places but I haven't been able to 100% identify them as parsnips yet. This makes the weeding a rather perilous affair.

I put in a half row of radishes, turnips, Tom Thumb lettuces, red spring onions, beetroot and a row each of the pea varieties in the new pea cage. The radishes took a record 4 days to appear!

At home I've planted tomatoes, sweetcorn and chard in pots and had a good germination rate. The tomatoes are on the windowsill where they can get a couple of extra hours of light under the grow lamps, no leggy specimens for me this year I hope! The sweetcorn and chard are outside in the green house.

This weekend I wanted to get the broccoli, winter cabbages, sprouts and kale out too but it's still windy here in Essex and we are due a couple of cold nights this week so I'll leave it for a few days yet.

The red/white onions are now getting a bit big for their cells I don't think leaving them in there until the start of June is a good idea. I have been holding off planting them out until then to avoid the first wave of allium leaf miner but as I don't think they can wait I have invested in a fleece tunnel to cover them instead. I was going to buy one anyway to cover the leaks in Sept/Oct when the second wave arrives. I just need to wait for the wind to drop  a bit more so the tunnel doesn't end up next door.

I've finally made a start on clearing the fruit bed as well. There is a lot of weed clearing to do but hopefully it won't take long to do.  

The first veg crop from this season is not the usual radish, but the asparagus which has just started to produce. I'll waiting to see if the new crowns I put in last year do anything, I suspect they won't and that's the case I'll try growing some from seed next year.

The spuds are starting to poke through now, not exactly where I think I planted them but I'll take it. I've been earthing them up as the overnight temps can still be a bit low.

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!

The Full Salad

Its the big day finally, the full home grown salad is ours. The tomatoes are starting to ripen!!

This weekend saw the first bowl of toms heading for salad, the Lidl, Choc Cherry and Gardeners Delight are delicious. A few have split thanks to all the heavy rains but they still taste good.

In fact not a bad harvest all round and to top off  today I had the first of the sweetcorn, Ambrosia F1. A two tone number with good sized kernels and good sized cobs, also a good cropper with 2 or 3 cobs per plant. Sweetcorn and home grown salad...result. This is when all the work pays off.

I love this time off year, tomorrow sweetcorn and new potatoes!

We have a quiet weekend coming up so if the rain holds off we'll get a few hours in tidying the farm which looks a little neglected, however productive.

Anyone need a courgette!!!

Happy gardening folks :O)

July Update

Today was like Wimbledon on the farm, a few strawberries, started with sun and finished with us being rained off.  To be honest social engagements and rain have meant it has been pretty much picking visits only off late, just trying to keep on top the crops. Luckily the weed prevention measures are keeping those largely at bay. The harvest is in full swing so here is July's update.

Bed 1

Also known as the Amazon squash forest. 

The courgettes as you can see are showing no signs of slowing down, anyone who gives the slightest hint that they like courgette gets one! Along with courgette brownies, fritters and stir fries we are just about keeping on top of them.

The marrows are slow but steady, only 1 has reached full size so far but with the recent rain I don't think it will be long before we see some more.

The Uchik Kuri pumpkins have runners about 18 feet long and half a dozen fruits per plant, they are making a break for the plot next door so the growing tips will have to bee nipped soon which will also allow the plant to concentrate on making the fruits bigger. Heather stores these for winter consumption.

The Butternut squash we bought don't seem to have produced anything yet, a few flowers, nice long runners on one, but no sign of fruit which is a little disappointing, maybe a big shot of feed will help.

The carrots are about 4/5 inches long so just getting to be a useful size. No sign of carrot fly damage so far which is great. I roasted some whole Sat night with a little white wine, butter, sugar, salt, a splash of water and a shake if cumin. Cover and roast for about 45 mins at 200 degrees. We seem to have some daisies growing in there too.

The fennel is doing its thing and I've no idea if the celery is going to be ready anytime soon as its the first year.  

Bed 2

The Rocket early spuds have been ready for a few weeks now and I was worried if we left them in the ground much longer they might start to fall apart when boiled, but no signs of this yet. We have about a row and a half left so I'll keep on an eye on them. You don't get many to a plant but they can be huge, jacket spud sized.

I haven't investigated the King Edwards yet but curiosity will get the better of me soon.

I've started the new frame around the asparagus, rain stopped play on that one. Once finished I'll top it up with top soil. We might grown some more from the seeds the ferns are producing to fill the gaps left by this frame being bigger.     

Bed 3

I give up on peas...... we weeded, replanted, watered and feed, so far we have about 10... I give up..

The runner and french beans are getting going now. They don't seem to be as prolific as last year but they are different varieties. The Bluelake French variety are stringless and not bad, but not as good as the Cobra from previous years. The Amethyst purple dwarf are nearly ready, looking forward to those! 

The leeks have taken nicely, all looking healthy.  There are courgettes and lettuces in here too that are happily doing their thing.

Bed 4

This one is rammed, not a bit of soil to be seen. 

The brassica cage is doing its job, the fine netting is keeping the butterflies out and there is no sign of whitefly. All the plants look healthy and the weed control fabric means no weeding so far. Which is good because its crowded in there and a clumsy person like me could do some damage with the size 12's! 

We are loving the Burpless Tasty Green cucumbers, even when they get to a foot long they don't get bitter and don't need peeling. They are pretty heavy croppers too. I used to grow Marketmore but I think I'll stick to these. 

It looks like we are getting a good crop of spaghetti squash this year they are winding in and out of the sweetcorn and there is another one every time we look.

Talking of sweetcorn, they are 8 foot high and have 3-4 cobs each. The tassles are just starting to brown so another couple of weeks and we might be lucky.

We have 2 large pumpkins hiding in the corn too, I'm quite pleased with these as they came from seeds in my Asda bought pumpkin last year.

Bed 5

The beetroot are all coming good now, they seem to have taken an age this year but at last there is more than one at a time. The turnips are getting large, I haven't used many for some reason. the big news here is that finally the spring onions are big enough to harvest.... finally, these things have defeated me for years!! Wahoo.

With the recent sunny weather the tomatoes are just starting ripen, all 4 varieties are on the turn. The choc cherry are nice and sweet so I'm looking forward a nice tomato salad soon. 

We also have a few chillis and quite a few cape gooseberries, how these will ripen as the days shorten we shall have to see but for a first attempt at the CG's I'm pretty happy. They somewhat more bushy than I expected so could have done with a little more room.

 

And finally... the reason I grow so much more than we need is because I enjoy giving it away. I actually think its important. We are so much a supermarket culture and used to the small number of varieties and types of veg available that people know so little about their food. Handing over something different and seeing peoples faces is something I like a lot.

This was Fridays picking being divided up for distribution.

Happy Gardening Folks!!