The Veg Plot.

[garynortheast]

Well the veg plot has exploded with growth. Broad beans have been eaten and I’ve cut the plants down but left them in the ground as they help to fix nitrogen in the soil. Several of them are sprouting from the base again so we may just get a second small crop of beans.

French and runner beans are sprinting up the poles. Quite a few of them are flowering and I noticed a couple of tiny beans on the runners yesterday. I’ve had to tie them all in well as it’s been really windy here, and they are being blown off the poles.

Our sugar snaps are absolutely covered in loads of mangetout sized peas. I’ve had one picking of them for a stir fry. I’d like to leave them to fatten up a bit before picking any more but I may not be able to resist. The main crop peas are also doing really well, the plants are also covered in pods, and the second sowings of both types are growing away strongly with flowers already coming on them.

I’ve been eating great big handfuls of cut and come again Salad Bowl lettuce, rocket, sorrel, and chives for a couple of weeks now. Tomato plants are looking good, both the ones in the veg beds and the ones in containers. I recently rooted a load of the side shoots that I’ve been removing from the plants. They were potted on the other day so I now have about twenty tomato plants in all! I may have to put a few up for adoption.....

I’ll get out for a picture update this week.

[garynortheast]

Another picking of the sugar snaps, which went into a pasta sauce this evening, as did the first two courgettes. Yum!

[Sir Trev]

Nice. Have been eating a lot of lettuce before it all bolts in the warm weater but the early spuds were very poor due to the dry spring. First lot of beetroot are ready though which will be nice. The pumpkins are going mad with the damp/warmish weather of the last couple of weeks but my runners are being attacked by blackfly so I had to spray them, which I don't like doing...

[garynortheast]

The spuds in one of my towers are flowering now so I shall probably harvest them next week sometime.

Turned the compost in bays 1 and 2 into bays 2 and3, and took the opportunity to chop up into smaller pieces all the woody stems and prunings I’d thrown in without reducing them in size. Had to relocate about a dozen slow worms from bay 1 into bay 3. Very satisfying job and one I’ve been trying to get done for the last week.

[Sir Trev]

Dug up the last of my early spuds this afternoon - having some for dinner tonight. Yum. Hope yours come out well Gary.

Turning the heaps is a job I need to do as well. Bay 1 is pretty full and bay five is empty so I will have a go at it in stages over this week after work each day.

[Sir Trev]

Lifted my onions today and laid them out on the bench in the shed to dry. Only lost a few to bolting so a nice haul this year. Stinks in the shed now of course...

[garynortheast]

My onions were a total failure this year. Rest of the garden is going mad though. Brassica bed has been fab, we're drowning in cucumbers and courgettes, French and runner beans are covered in flowers and little pods now the sparrows have buggered off. Still picking a few peas and broad beans too.

[Sean_Morgan]

Not exactly veggie plot but, the new hen coop and run is up in their temporary home, in the orchard and the chicken run has been cleared and turfed.
They don't spend very much time in the run so the new grass, once it has settled in a few weeks, will survive, they spend most of their day loose in the garden

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[Adam Ef]

Not had the most successful crops of anything this year.


The one thing that seems to have done ok though is our pumpkins. We have a competition on in our family and with my brother in laws family. Everyone had one seed. Including our dog, who is currently winning!

[garynortheast]

That’s a useful looking chicken coop there Sean and nice looking pumpkins Adam!

Had a fair bit of work on over the last week or two and consequently not been on the vegplot as often as I need. I need to get up there with the strimmer as the grass and weeds are growing a bit too big for my liking.

So far I’ve harvested the spuds from six of my towers with the results being from ok to good. I’ve cut the foliage off the last two towers and I’ll harvest them this week. Very tasty spuds though.

Runner beans are covered in flowers but still very few beans. The purple podded French beans are cropping quite heavily though with most of them going in the freezer for later in the year. Courgettes are doing - well, what courgettes do, and producing like there’s no tomorrow. Had some broccoli and cabbage this evening too and the kale needs picking again.

So strimming and weeding is on the agenda for this week.