Fruit, Veg, Flowers and Slugs

The vegetable patch is beginning to look a little sorry for itself now in November. The Green Manure mix sowed a few weeks ago has really shot up, I possibly sowed a little to thickly, but it will do no harm and does at least add some foliage to the plot at this time year and is of course doing a very important job. I mentioned in a previous post how Green manures stop weeds spreading and prevent nutrients leaching from the soil over winter. With the amount of rainfall we have had at times in October I am very pleased I sowed the mix! The plants will be cut down and lightly dug into the soil come spring.  The Runner Bean plants are pretty much done for with the last having been picked at the weekend. They have been brilliant this year, I have bags and bags of them frozen to get me through the winter. I will leave the plants for a week or two as they die down to let the leaves fall off; makes it much easier unravelling them from their supports. All the remains will naturally be composte

The weather was relatively kind last weekend and I was able to get a few hours in the garden and on the veg plot completing a few jobs that were on the to do list.  I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking of clearing the Greenhouse as the tomatoes were coming to an end. That job  has been ticked off the list. The last of the fruit has been picked and all the plants cleared out and composted. It is always a little sad, accepting that there will be no more Tomatoes to come but also strangely satisfying when the job is done and I am left with a clean and clear Greenhouse to prepare ready for next year. The only things left in there now are the Carrots and Spring Onions as part of my winter crop experiment.  The French Lavender has also been pulled-up and composted. I mentioned in a previous post it has sulked for most of this year, it really didn't enjoy the changing weather conditions, and I have replaced it with English Lavender which I know from past experience will be happ

I have sown a packet of Mr Fothergills Green Manure Autumn/Winter mix on the part of the main veg bed that is now empty the French Beans having finished and the leeks thrown onto the compost heap having bolted.  I mentioned in a previous post what handy things Green Manures are. They stop weeds spreading as they grow so quickly, the seeds I sowed had germinated in just three of four days, and prevent nutrients leaching from the soil over winter. Clovers fixes nitrogen in the soil whilst Rye Grass and Mustard improve soil structure - these are all in this particular mix. Green Manures are also beneficial to a number of insects when few if any plants and flowers are around in late autumn and early spring.  The plants will be cut down and lightly dug into the soil come spring prior to the sowing of seeds next March/April.  If you have never used a green Manure seed mix I would highly recommend them.  On the rest of the plot it is all about harvesting and storing at the moment. The Runner

Over the weekend I was lucky enough to get several hours in the garden, pottering around, doing a little weeding, edging the lawn where it had become a little untidy, moving some pots around and generally tidying up. I also had time to begin the Winter Crop Experiment.  The White Ishikura Spring Onions  have been sown into a trough and the Carrot Amsterdam Forcing 3  sown into a couple of old buckets that I grow the odd thing in and a spare terracotta pot. I have used bulk standard multi-purpose compost bought from the local Horticultural Guild Trading Sheds on Sunday morning. They have all been placed in the Greenhouse and now the waiting game begins. I am as confident as you can be that they will germinate and all being well I will have a few extra crops throughout the months of autumn and hopefully even early winter.   Just for fun, as I am not sure if this sowing will work, I have also sown a line of  Carrot Amsterdam Forcing 3 in the veg patch. This is very late for outdoor sowing

 I have decided to have a go at growing some crops that are usually more associated with summer and autumn for a winter harvest, all being well.  Growing salad leaves for winter harvests isn't that unusual, there are some that are better sown in winter. in fact such as Lamb's Lettuce. I have in the past grown various cut and come again types in pots and even old buckets, sown in late autumn and when the cold weather really hits moved under cover into the Greenhouse, which of course by that time was empty the Tomato plants having long since been removed and composted. You don't get copious amounts but I have managed to grow enough to see me through the winter months - I don't know about you but I don't eat as many salads in December and January anyway.  This year I am having a go with Spring Onions and Carrots!  I have White Ishikura Spring Onions which the packet informs me are tender with long stems and slow to bulb. Usually sown between March and July to be harve

I have been pretty useless updating the blog recently, my apologies for that. I have though been busy on the plot with plenty going on.  What a crazy year so far with the weather. We've had late frosts, baking sunshine and temperatures in the thirties, torrential downpours and near gale force winds at times all in the space of a few days! The mid-month heatwave meant the UK had its fifth warmest July on record but we'd also had the wettest May as I understand it and June was simply all over the show!  It has certainly kept me busy and meant some harvests are going incredibly well whilst others are struggling.  I have a Parsnip that has gone to seed, honestly the first time I have ever seen that in August and the Sonesta Dwarf French Beans (yellow) have been a disappointment thus far with lots of misshapen beans and the slugs have had a real go at some of the plants. There is hope though with some nice looking beans coming through now. The  Amethyst Dwarf French Beans  (purple

Firstly, sorry for the title but I do love a poor pun.  I managed to get a few hours in on the plot Saturday morning in the lovely sunshine which is always a bonus. I was down to my vest and shorts at one point, nice for me, not so nice fof the neighbours!  The Runner Bean seedlings have been planted out into the bed, some were significantly bigger than I had thought, and all look well and healthy as I write on Monday. They were given a real good soaking and I will continue to keep them well watered throughout spring and summer as they are thirsty plants.  The  Sonesta Dwarf French Bean  (yellow) seedlings have moved from the conservatory to the greenhouse as part of their hardening off programme and all seems well with them. The  Amethyst Dwarf French Beans  (purple) sowed direct into the bed have clearly failed - it was pretty ambitious on my part sowing them in March - and I have sowed a number into pots now which have taken the place of the Sonesta seedlings in the conservatory.  O

Sorry for the delay in this post, it has just been a bit manic down at mine one way or another and finding a few moments to sit down and compose some content has proved mission impossible. The good news is, the British weather being as it is, you haven't missed that much!  The best of the Tomato plant seedlings have been selected and planted out into the beds of the Greenhouse this week. So far so good as they say and they appear happy in their permanent home. I have a number of seedlings left over which will be grown on in their pots for now in case disaster strikes in the Greenhouse; I have a couple of friends and work colleagues who already have their name on a few and the spares will eventually be distributed appropriately. Sharing any spare plants remains a greats way to stay popular 😃 The Runner Bean seedlings were moved into the wood store to harden off around 10 days ago and shall be planted out into the bean bed this weekend with the forecast being warm and sunny for my

True to form it was certainly chilly for the Bank Holiday weekend but the worst of the weather never reached me down in the south-east and I was able to get a few things done out on the plot.  I have planted out three rows of the Leek seedlings into the raised bed to be used for veg this year. As I am trying to stay off the soil as much as possible a scaffold plank is laid across the bed which I crawl along slowly and surely. Whilst balancing on my board I quite simply poke a hole every six inches with a piece of bamboo cane, marked at six inch depth so each hole is roughly the same depth and width apart, and drop the seedling into that hole, very gently working the soil back in around the seedling. I do this for the entire row before then watering in well to settle the soil. It is a somewhat time consuming job but once you are focused in on it it is a pleasant little task and the rows look like a proper veg patch all the seedlings in a line straight as a die. I have talked of the Runn

I mentioned in a post last week that I planned to get in the Greenhouse this weekend and get to work preparing it for the season ahead and I am happy to report I was able to on Sunday afternoon - in fact I managed to get three-and-a-half hours out in the garden on a lovely if slightly chilly afternoon.  The beds in the Greenhouse have been weeded, as I mentioned before it beggars belief where and how weed seeds get to but bugger me they get everywhere. The soil was then lightly turned over before a decent helping of blood, fish and bone, chicken manure pellets and some new fresh compost was scattered over them in turn; each scattering receiving a light turning over to mix in nicely with the soil. Finally the beds were given a thorough soaking to help get all the nutrients breaking down and getting to work.  Having completed the main job of the day the six Geranium cuttings (Pelargonium if you're posh) that I have been looking after through the winter having taken them from plants

 The Runner Bean and Tomato seedlings are growing on strongly in the conservatory, pretty much every seed having germinated. I do have two beans that appear to have failed but I will give them a day or two yet to pop their heads up or the contents of those pots will be consigned to the compost heap.  I will be preparing the greenhouse at the weekend, washing down the glass and a bit of general weeding of the beds, it's surprising how weed seeds seem to get into anywhere, plus I will be adding some blood fish and bone to the soil. It's a job I actually quite enjoy and all being well with the forecast weather being fine it should be a lovely hour or so under the glass getting some warmth into my old bones as well as the soil. There is something about working in the greenhouse in spring with the sun shining that just makes you feel better. Apologies in advance to my neighbours for the singing along to the radio.  I will be keeping an eye on the weather forecast and providing the n

Over the winter I finished the two new raised beds on the veg patch to match the three already in place in which I grow Strawberries and Raspberries. They are pretty simple constructions, I certainly did not inherit any of my old Dad or Grandads carpentry skills, they are simply big old railway sleepers cut to size and held together together with six inch nails! Word of warning for anyone thinking of doing similar, railway sleepers take some cutting by hand! I am a fairly hefty bloke but it is a fair old workout sawing through them even with a decent well looked after saw. You may want to hire a chainsaw or similar power tool unless you are a glutton for punishment like me.  Last weekend I sowed some Parsnip seeds, Gladiator F1, and the first row of Dwarf French Beans , a purple variety called Amethyst, and thankfully it has stayed relatively warm and sunny here so all being well over the next few days the first of the beans may pop their heads above the soil. I will sow further rows

It was a quiet weekend for me with the weather still too cold to really get going on the veg patch. The temptation was to direct sow some seeds into the plot on Sunday, the sunny days of early March can trick you if you aren't careful, but it can still drop to freezing or less overnight and has done a couple of times here recently. Many gardeners refer to it as 'fools spring' a few sunny afternoons lulling you into the belief the spring has sprung only for old Jack Frost to show up and burn your fingers, and any seedlings, in the blink of  eye.  The Tomatoes that were sown in pots are coming along nicely in the conservatory and the Runner Beans sowed just over a week ago are just beginning to poke their heads above the compost. They are currently situated on the conservatory table with the Tomatoes on the tumble dryer - I doubt I am alone in running out of space indoors for seedlings.  In the Greenhouse the Sweet Peas sown last autumn are growing strongly and I have nipped

 As mentioned in the post regard the Runner Beans I do like to try and get a jump on old Mother Nature and get things started a little earlier perhaps than many people would. The tomato seedlings are coming along very nicely in the conservatory I am happy to report and all being well there will be plenty to enjoy throughout the summer.  This year I am growing two new varieties to me Santanio that should yield red, cherry sized plum like fruits and Limoncito which will hopefully supply trusses of yellow mini sized plum tomatoes. I also have a stalwart for me Gardeners Delight , I cannot be without them, and the massive (hopefully) Gigantomo that I grew for the first time last year. They are real showstoppers growing to ridiculous sizes. Last summer I used them for BBQ's with a single slice of the fruit plenty for a burger; an individual tomato can get to 10 inches wide and 3lb in weight!! The only difficulty in growing them is the arrangement required to hold the fruit on the pla

 I am trying out a new Runner Bean (for me) this year in the shape of Benchmaster , purchased from Thompson & Morgan. The seeds were sown last weekend, Sunday 21st February, which is actually a little late for me, and currently reside in the conservatory. Described as a top quality, red flowered British-bred variety producing pods of over 40cm in length. Abundant crops of pods hang in clusters and are fleshy, but slender, smooth and straight. My fingers are crossed for a bumper harvest.  I honestly believe you cannot consider yourself a veg gardener unless you are growing Runner Beans on your plot. My Grandad grew them, my Dad grew them, and they are a standard for me, the one crop you can be sure will be in the ground every year.  Easy to freeze for storing, just last Sunday the roast pork was accompanied by runners that had been grown on the plot in 2020 and frozen for use later; stores are running a little low now, but I should have enough to see me through until this years harv

Welcome to the blog and my first post on  Fruit, Veg, Flowers and Slugs . I write sitting in a conservatory that at the moment looks more like a greenhouse with pots full of seeds and seedlings all around me. I am terrble for trying to get the jump on old Mother Nature and have tomato seedlings galore straining for the light, the heater in the conservatory doing overtime recently in the cold snap.  Right now not much is happening in the garden, there a signs here and there, and the first few spring bulbs are bursting into life with Crocus and Snowdrops popping up in the beds and that always makes me feel good, spring and summer are just around the corner.  Hopefully over the coming weeks and months I will be able to share with you my gardening triumphs, and no doubt a few disasters..............but that's all part of the fun and joy of gardening. Not everything works and sometimes things work better than you could have hoped.  For now here is a picture of a three headed tete-a tete