As predicted, I haven't been keeping up with the blog. Since my last post back in June the garden has been growing nicely and I have harvested quite a bit. Radishes and lettuce mostly, with a fair amount of zucchini.
We have harvested all of the peas located in the first raised garden, and today I sowed a second round in the same position. I am hoping that it doesn't exhaust the soil too much, but I did put in some more compost and some fertilizer (organic, naturally). I wonder what the outcome will be.
I will be putting a second round of lettuce and mesclun mix in soon, but I fear that the weather is still a little too warm, as it is in the high twenties.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Harvest!
Today I am very excited as I have harvested my first crop. I pulled approximately 10 radishes from the ground, leaving a couple in to grow for a bit longer. This is pretty early (for me) and I am very excited as it means that the earlier hard work appears to be paying off. They tasted very good, but I feel that I probably left them in the ground a bit too long. Never mind.
Radishes are a very easy crop to grow, which tempers my excitement slightly, but everything else in the garden is looking pretty darn good, with peas beginning to grow, as well as apples and pears. Can't wait to start harvesting the lettuces and the mesclun mix, which looks to be next.
Radishes are a very easy crop to grow, which tempers my excitement slightly, but everything else in the garden is looking pretty darn good, with peas beginning to grow, as well as apples and pears. Can't wait to start harvesting the lettuces and the mesclun mix, which looks to be next.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Showers in May
May so far has been pretty rainy, which is a good thing, I suppose, as April was fairly dry and keeping the new seedlings moist was pretty tedious work. Anyway, the garden now looks a little bit like this:
The netting is mainly there in order to keep the cats out otherwise they think that I have provided them with the biggest cat litter tray in the world.
The individual beds are as follows with the plants embedded in them described:
This bed contains a zucchini (there are two in the middle but one will be thinned), lettuce to the left-hand side which will grow in the space to be taken over by the zucchini, leeks in the two bottom right-hand squares, lettuce in the two squares above that, onions in the top middle right square (to the right of the lettuce) and mesclun mix in the two remaining squares.
Moving left to right and top to bottom, in column one we have spinach, turnips (just planted when this was taken), beets and turnips; in column two we have eggplant (under cloche for protection); column three is beans, and column four is peas.
This bed looks a bit messy, but that is due to the green manure currently rotting on the top. Anyway, this bed consists of corn and I have planted peas around the corn to wind up it as they grow, and also two pumpkin plants which will smother weeds with their leaves when they grow. Well, that's the plan.
Ok, this bed consists of basil in the bottom left-hand corner, with onions, scallions and swiss chard completing that row. Above the swiss chard we have (in ascending order) kale (just planted), lettuce and carrots, and on the top row we have two squares of radishes. These are a temporary planting to use the space that the zucchini (in the middle) will eventually grow in to.
This bed is a bit of a jumble at the moment as it will eventually be one of my tomato beds (when the plants are ready to move out). In the meantime there is garlic on the left-hand side and an assortment of other spare plants in the middle. I will pot these out over the coming days.
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The netting is mainly there in order to keep the cats out otherwise they think that I have provided them with the biggest cat litter tray in the world.
The individual beds are as follows with the plants embedded in them described:
 |
This bed contains a zucchini (there are two in the middle but one will be thinned), lettuce to the left-hand side which will grow in the space to be taken over by the zucchini, leeks in the two bottom right-hand squares, lettuce in the two squares above that, onions in the top middle right square (to the right of the lettuce) and mesclun mix in the two remaining squares.
Moving left to right and top to bottom, in column one we have spinach, turnips (just planted when this was taken), beets and turnips; in column two we have eggplant (under cloche for protection); column three is beans, and column four is peas.
This bed looks a bit messy, but that is due to the green manure currently rotting on the top. Anyway, this bed consists of corn and I have planted peas around the corn to wind up it as they grow, and also two pumpkin plants which will smother weeds with their leaves when they grow. Well, that's the plan.
Ok, this bed consists of basil in the bottom left-hand corner, with onions, scallions and swiss chard completing that row. Above the swiss chard we have (in ascending order) kale (just planted), lettuce and carrots, and on the top row we have two squares of radishes. These are a temporary planting to use the space that the zucchini (in the middle) will eventually grow in to.
This bed is a bit of a jumble at the moment as it will eventually be one of my tomato beds (when the plants are ready to move out). In the meantime there is garlic on the left-hand side and an assortment of other spare plants in the middle. I will pot these out over the coming days.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Garden Update
This week the weather has been beautiful in the evenings and so I have had the opportunity to do some more gardening, especially with the long evenings stretching out before us. On Monday (April 13th) I transplanted my garlic from the pots in the plastic greenhouse to one of the newly-created raised beds. The bed was intended to have tomatoes in, but they are suffering quite badly at the moment, so I am sure that I can utilize the space for garlic. So far only one of the eight that I transplanted appears to be suffering from the move but I will keep an eye on them.
On Wednesday I put a fence around the garlic bed to ensure that the cats stay out as far as possible, and I planted a lot more seeds. This included a mild mesclun mix, a spicy mesclun mix, bedfordshire champion onions (the early planted seeds are not really working), two squares of leeks (one Scottish Leek and the other Durabel), and two squares of lettuce (both Marvel of Four Seasons I believe).
So far all of the seeds that I have sown in the garden are making an appearance with the exception of the spinach that I planted some time ago. I have, therefore, made another sowing of Bloomsdale spinach in the pre-existing square, and today I transplanted my beans to one of the beds. Having not quite enough transplants to fill the required space, I planted about 6 more Maxibel Filet beans to make up the difference.
I have also moved the sweetcorn that I planted a couple of weeks ago into the plastic greenhouse as we are having some good weather at the moment, and I think that the earlier I get them out there then the easier they will be able to handle the variations in the weather. We'll see.
On Wednesday I put a fence around the garlic bed to ensure that the cats stay out as far as possible, and I planted a lot more seeds. This included a mild mesclun mix, a spicy mesclun mix, bedfordshire champion onions (the early planted seeds are not really working), two squares of leeks (one Scottish Leek and the other Durabel), and two squares of lettuce (both Marvel of Four Seasons I believe).
So far all of the seeds that I have sown in the garden are making an appearance with the exception of the spinach that I planted some time ago. I have, therefore, made another sowing of Bloomsdale spinach in the pre-existing square, and today I transplanted my beans to one of the beds. Having not quite enough transplants to fill the required space, I planted about 6 more Maxibel Filet beans to make up the difference.
I have also moved the sweetcorn that I planted a couple of weeks ago into the plastic greenhouse as we are having some good weather at the moment, and I think that the earlier I get them out there then the easier they will be able to handle the variations in the weather. We'll see.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Garlic
Today I planted, or rather transplanted, garlic into one of the beds, notably one of the beds for tomatoes. I am not too sure about the success of this as I have heard that garlic is not agreeable to being transplanted. I guess I will just have to cross my fingers and hope.
In other news, the corn that I planted appears to have shot up very well, and the pumpkin sprung up very quickly indeed. I have moved it into the plastic greeenhouse as I am not expecting any frosts over the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow I will plant some beans and peas.
In other news, the corn that I planted appears to have shot up very well, and the pumpkin sprung up very quickly indeed. I have moved it into the plastic greeenhouse as I am not expecting any frosts over the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow I will plant some beans and peas.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Some More Beds Finished
Today I finally managed to finish off two more beds, meaning that I now have four raised beds finished. I have now got two beds left to finish but, unfortunately, that consists of completely building the beds, including the digging and the sifting of stones which is the most tedious.
We are coming up to the last frost date, which is pretty exciting. On April 1st it snowed, although it didn't really settle. This week has been pretty hot, and I think that I killed off a lot of my seedlings, which is unfortunate. I have discovered that I am extremely impatient, which is something that I need to start working on. Having said that, a lot of my plants are happily staying in the plastic greenhouse overnight and have done for nearly a week, meaning that they should be hardy. I will start to plant some of the seedings out, especially the garlic and the beans.
Today, I planted some more onions as the other onions have really been massacred. On top of this I planted some sweetcorn and a couple of pumpkins seeds hoping to get them off to a good start. Last year I planted the sweetcorn in June and they didn't really have enough time to mature, but this year I am going to get them in the ground earlier and see what happens.
We are coming up to the last frost date, which is pretty exciting. On April 1st it snowed, although it didn't really settle. This week has been pretty hot, and I think that I killed off a lot of my seedlings, which is unfortunate. I have discovered that I am extremely impatient, which is something that I need to start working on. Having said that, a lot of my plants are happily staying in the plastic greenhouse overnight and have done for nearly a week, meaning that they should be hardy. I will start to plant some of the seedings out, especially the garlic and the beans.
Today, I planted some more onions as the other onions have really been massacred. On top of this I planted some sweetcorn and a couple of pumpkins seeds hoping to get them off to a good start. Last year I planted the sweetcorn in June and they didn't really have enough time to mature, but this year I am going to get them in the ground earlier and see what happens.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Outside sowings begin
After working on a couple of my new raised beds I decided to do some outdoor sowings. The peas that I had previously sowed outside have all germinated and started to grow and so I felt it was time to do some more, especially since it is now only two weeks to go until the last frost date (April 15th). I sowed a square of Lutz Beets (16 plants), Champion of England Peas (8 plants), bunching onions (16 plants), Lucullus Swiss Chard (4 plants), Marvel of Four Seasons lettuce (4 plants), and two squares of radishes (32 plants).
I have become very despondent over my previosu sowings and now feel that everything is too leggy to be worthwhile, and the onions seem to be doing poorly. I haven't got proper grow lights and I guess you really do need the right equipment to do this properly. Lesson learnt for next year, although I will keep on tending to the seedlings to see how they progress.
The weather looks like it is going to be pretty miserable for the upcoming week with the chance of snow mid-week. After that it will still be pretty miserable but with the temperatures heading north it looks like the last frost date will be exactly that.
I have become very despondent over my previosu sowings and now feel that everything is too leggy to be worthwhile, and the onions seem to be doing poorly. I haven't got proper grow lights and I guess you really do need the right equipment to do this properly. Lesson learnt for next year, although I will keep on tending to the seedlings to see how they progress.
The weather looks like it is going to be pretty miserable for the upcoming week with the chance of snow mid-week. After that it will still be pretty miserable but with the temperatures heading north it looks like the last frost date will be exactly that.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Seedling Update
Today I sowed some Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch kale seeds and some zucchini seeds.
Above is an image on some of the seeds that I have previously sown. The left-hand side shows some basil and thyme, as well as garlic that I planted to replace the bulbs that rotted during the Winter. The middle tray is tray number three with the back up sowings, and the right-hand side is mainly beans that I replanted after killing the earlier plantings by leaving them out overnight in sub-zero temperatures.
It should also be noted that it has been raining and cold all week. Last week I managed to get the plants outside in my plastic mini-greenhouse, but I haven't risked it this week as I am erring on the side of caution. It's supposed to be sunny again this weekend, in which case I shall continue putting up my raised beds.
Above is an image on some of the seeds that I have previously sown. The left-hand side shows some basil and thyme, as well as garlic that I planted to replace the bulbs that rotted during the Winter. The middle tray is tray number three with the back up sowings, and the right-hand side is mainly beans that I replanted after killing the earlier plantings by leaving them out overnight in sub-zero temperatures.
It should also be noted that it has been raining and cold all week. Last week I managed to get the plants outside in my plastic mini-greenhouse, but I haven't risked it this week as I am erring on the side of caution. It's supposed to be sunny again this weekend, in which case I shall continue putting up my raised beds.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Back-up sowings
Today's update is about making back-up sowings. Basically I have been a bit disappointed with the progress of some of my previous sowings and so today I made some back-ups just in case. Therefore today I made some more sowings of lettuce, swiss chard and spinach, as well as replanting beans.
Essentially the seedlings of those previous sowings got a bit too leggy before I put them under a light, and so now they are very droopy. At first I assumed I am under-watering, which may still be the case, but I think legginess might be a bigger problem, hence the new seedlings. Also, I rushed the season with the beans and put them in my mobile greenhouse. All was well for about a day before a frost finished them off.
Since I am feeling a bit down on the progress of my seeds I also planted some radishes (English Breakfast). This time, as soon as a shoot appears the entire tray is going under a light to see if I can solve this problem. On the plus side, since these vegetables are relatively speedy growers I haven't lost too much time and, who knows, maybe the first batch will work out fine.
Essentially the seedlings of those previous sowings got a bit too leggy before I put them under a light, and so now they are very droopy. At first I assumed I am under-watering, which may still be the case, but I think legginess might be a bigger problem, hence the new seedlings. Also, I rushed the season with the beans and put them in my mobile greenhouse. All was well for about a day before a frost finished them off.
Since I am feeling a bit down on the progress of my seeds I also planted some radishes (English Breakfast). This time, as soon as a shoot appears the entire tray is going under a light to see if I can solve this problem. On the plus side, since these vegetables are relatively speedy growers I haven't lost too much time and, who knows, maybe the first batch will work out fine.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Grow
Picture is of my bean seedlings which are sitting on top of my washing machine.
March has to be the Christmas eve of gardening. Every weekend I am out in the garden, frantically preparing and planning. Whenever I get a chance I review my seed collection wondering what I will plant this year and in what order I should start my seedlings. Those seedlings that I have already planted are sprouting up and growing towards the ceiling in what seems like amazing speed.
I check the seedlings and wonder what the year will bring each evening before I go to sleep. The anticipation of beautifully red tomatoes hanging over bushy basil plants or the carrot tops mixed in with a collection of tasty lettuces feels just like it did when I was a kid on Christmas eve. The only difference is now the anticipation is spread over a few months.
Now I am a grown up (most days), I know Santa clause doesn't circle the globe in one night but I still like the feeling that wondrous evening brought. I'm glad there is a grown up version of the same joy.
Happy gardening everyone!
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