The Veg Plot.

[garynortheast]

An update!

Last week after Sioned and I decided where we wanted the fruit beds to go, I started clearing the bit for the strawberry bed. I kept getting stabbed by the Philadelphus, Buddleia, and flowering currant in the overgrown hedge above me, so I started pruning it back a bit and with one thing leading to another, I ended up completely sorting out this overgrown corner. This is Rosie's plot, named for my first lurcher who died in 2000 and is buried here. It was always a favourite corner of the garden for me, but this was the first time in 12 years I've been able to see the bench here, never mind sit on it!


Rosie's plot by garynortheast

The second pear tree is now weeded, fed with horse muck, and mulched.


Pear trees by garynortheast

My eating apple trees are covered in blossom, despite being riddled with canker. They are next in line for the weeding/feeding/mulching treatment. I'm hoping that it will improve their general health and resistance to the canker.
The area in between the fruit trees is going to become a little wildflower area.


Apple blossom by garynortheast

My heavily pruned gooseberry bushes have fruit on them now.


Gooseberries by garynortheast

The broad beans are growing well and have flower buds on them already.


Broad beans by garynortheast

The potato towers are now two tyres high. I need to go for more tyres this week sometime.


Potato towers by garynortheast

The new bed and walkway is done. The hazel poles for the runner beans are in place too. I need to get more poles put in for the climbing French beans, which will occupy the other half of this bed.


New bed - beanpoles by garynortheast

Some of the stuff in pots on our south facing drive. I found a self sown clump of alpine strawberries growing on a neglected part of the plot. It split up nicely into 15 or 16 plants, which I've potted on. They all appear to have taken ok.
I also have sunflowers waiting to be planted out, a tub sown with mixed salad leaves (don't know if they will come up as the seeds were pretty old), sweet peas in the big tub, garlic chives, mint, and young blackcurrant and gooseberry plants growing on.


Driveway by garynortheast

On the other side of the drive I've got Marigolds germinating, a Boysenberry (which will be planted out on the fruit beds and trained along the fence), and sorrel and rocket.


Driveway by garynortheast

Sitting on the potting bench (as I have nowhere else to put them) are more garlic chives, Romanescu cauliflowers, and leeks. I sowed brussel sprouts in the propagator but not a single seed has germinated unfortunately, and I've no idea why.


Potting bench by garynortheast

My mini greenhouse is still full of tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, and cabbage seedlings.


Mini greenhouse by garynortheast

Finally, some more stuff in pots - horse chestnut seedlings, acorns, and Rosa Rugosa seedlings.


Oak and horse chestnut by garynortheast

The garden is a bit too wet to dig the new fruit beds at the moment, but there's plenty more to get on with.

[Sean_Morgan]

Looking good mate, makes my effort look a bit shabby !!!

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[Sean_Morgan]

I will add, a garden isn't complete without a few pet hens, you get entertainment and eggs, although the Mrs isn't too keen on them wandering in through the back door !!

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[garynortheast]

Hehe! I like chickens. As you say, they are great entertainment value and sociable characters too once they get to know you.

I used to keep quite a bit of livestock back in the 80s in the days when I still ate meat. However I’ve gone to the dark side these days and am a pretty strict vegan, so no more livestock for me. I’d actually struggle to fit chickens in anyway as although my garden is a reasonable size, it’s pretty much all used for fruit and veg.

I do miss having these likeable critters about though.

And there will be nothing shabby about your efforts. Any move towards supporting yourself by growing food is to be applauded. We all do what we can. I’m just fortunate in having the time and space to do what I’ve done.

[Adam Ef]

First two courgettes appearing...

[garynortheast]

I’m jealous Adam! Looking very healthy though. All my courgette plants are still in pots at the moment as it’s too early here to get them out into the beds. We’ve had a few frosts lately and it just caught the edges of some of the tender stuff despite me tucking it all into a sheltered spot, so it’ll be the end of this month before I plant it out.

Sioned and I potted on all the courgettes the other day as they were looking a bit starved of nourishment in the toilet roll tubes. They’re looking a bit happier now.

We also went up and put the poles in for the climbing French beans, and the day before yesterday I transferred the first sowings of peas from the guttering into the veg bed. We’ve now made a second sowing of peas which will get planted out in about three weeks time and will hopefully extend the cropping time.

I had to resow all my carrots and parsnips yesterday as the first sowing pretty much completely failed, possibly because I sowed them too early. The beetroot has done the same thing so I’ll need to resow a couple of rows of that too.

I’ll get some up to date pictures tomorrow.

[Sir Trev]

Gary - try sowing your beetroot in tubes or newspaper pots in your mini greenhouse. Although a lot of my directly sown seed has come up this year (for a change) the ones set off on the bench and planted out are romping away.

Runners were sown in pots in the greenhouse today and the pumpkins sown likewise last weekend have given me four good plants already, which is all I need for the bed they'll be planted out in, probably in two weeks time. Maincrop spuds just pushing through so they got earthed up today, parsnip seeds have germinated fairly well this year, and the onion sets are all doing well. We'll be eating my lettuce from this week too which is nice. I do like this time of year in the veg patch.

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

Gary - try sowing your beetroot in tubes or newspaper pots in your mini greenhouse. Although a lot of my directly sown seed has come up this year (for a change) the ones set off on the bench and planted out are romping away.

I'll give it a try Trev. I have done a lot of stuff that way this year but I didn't think about doing the beetroot that way.

Lots of stuff happening on the plot.

My broad beans are flowering and the bees are very happy about it!


Broad beans in flower by garynortheast


Broad beans by garynortheast

First two rows of peas are in. A row of sugar snaps "Norli" and a row of "Kelvedon Wonder".


Peas and peasticks by garynortheast

Planted my sweetcorn out this afternoon.


Sweetcorn by garynortheast

Potato towers are getting taller.


Potato towers by garynortheast

Mabel on guard duty, making sure nobody tries to steal our spuds!


Mabel on guard by garynortheast

The bean bed is now ready for the runner and climbing French beans. I'm going to wait till the end of the month though just to be on the safe side as I lost a load of my runner beans to a late frost in the final week of May last year.


Bean bed and poles by garynortheast

Resowed the carrots and parsnips in the bottom bed. Onion sets are growing on ok but none of the onion seed has germinated.


Resown bottom bed by garynortheast

I have fruit growing on my pear trees, and the trees are looking healthier than they have looked for many years, after being fed and mulched.


Pears by garynortheast

My gooseberry bushes have fruit on them too, despite being hacked back to less than a quarter of their original size.


Gooseberries by garynortheast

Lots more stuff to be planted out yet - leeks, Romanesco cauliflowers, courgettes, cabbages, runner and climbing French beans, sunflowers, and gooseberry and blackcurrant cuttings.


Stuff to be planted out by garynortheast

More in the mini greenhouse too - cucumbers, more cabbages, tomatoes, poached egg plants.


Still full by garynortheast

More on the potting bench too - cabbages and caulis, garlic chives, and a lavender I've just been given.


And more.... by garynortheast

I still have a lot of earth moving to do yet. The new fruit beds need building as do all the footpaths, and I also still have several piles of stuff waiting to be gathered and put in the compost bins.
I have an area at one end of the plot waiting to be cleared and levelled ready for a polytunnel later this year.

While I was carrying a trug of stuff up the steps to the compost bins a couple of days ago, this chap or chappess jumped out of the grass, bounced of my hand and landed on the step. I picked it up in cupped hands and took it on to the veg garden intending to put it somewhere safe where it wouldn't get either stepped on or fall prey to something. When I opened my hands to let it go, it just sat there looking at me. We sat like that for probably 3 minutes before I gently pushed it off my hand and into the safety of a space behind a board leaning against the edge of one of my beds.


Common frog by garynortheast

The front garden is looking good at the moment. I sowed it with wildflower seeds last year to fill the gaps between the permanent stuff - roses, hydrangea, cornflower, osteospermum, and geraniums. This year all I did was weed out the grass, and prune back the roses and hydrangea. This all came up without me doing any more. The white flowers are sweet rocket and the scent from them is fabulous, especially in the evening.


Front Garden by garynortheast


Front Garden by garynortheast


Front Garden by garynortheast


Front Garden by garynortheast


Front Garden by garynortheast

[garynortheast]

Some of the cabbages are now planted but I've no room left to plant more atm. Caulis are going to wait till next month. We put a few more purple sprouting seeds in to fill the gaps, planted two new rows of Flamingo Pink chard seeds, a row of lettuce seeds, a row of spinach seed and a row of spinach beet (perpetual spinach) seeds. We also did a row of spring onions, and sowed two different types of beetroot into tubes, and four more pots of leek seeds.

I need more growing space!

[shiftin_gear98]

Looking good Gary.