GYO Magazine has teamed up with QVC!

Tune in to QVC this evening (15th June) at 6pm to see the GYO editor, Lucy Halsall live on air, Sky Digital: channel 640, Freeview: channel 16, Virgin TV: channel 740, Freesat: channel 800. Lucy will be featured with Will Sibley who has over 38 years of growing fruit and vegetables and now he’s brought his knowledge to QVC. There’s something for everyone from beginners to expert gardeners.

Last night I cooked a good portion of my freshly dug ‘Rocket’ potatoes. I can say after devouring these, they were truly scrumptious; I can’t wait to empty out other tubs in the coming weeks. Don’t you find there is a certain gleeful feeling about eating your own produce? I’ve planted up 3 varieties of 1st earlies; Rocket, Pentland Javlin and Vales Emerald so I’ll be able to compare the different tastes and keep myself self sufficient in new potatoes for the next few weeks. Then I’ll move on to the 2nd earlies, lol.

I think I’ll have to pot on some of my Tomatoes this evening they are outgrowing their 5 litre pots, I’ll put them into some 9 or 10 litre pots, and these will be their final pots. A few of the plants are now producing flowers so I’ll wait with baited breathe for small toms to start forming. I need to sow some more Cauli, Turnip and Beetroot; mainly for winter storage, sow some more lettuce and radish and spring onions, salad season is upon us!

Harvest Monday

Well I had to do it, the suspense was killing me, I pulled the first tub of Rocket potatoes at the weekend and was thankful to see some lovely sized spuds weighing in at 2lb 3oz. This is my first harvest of the year. As you can see from the picture there were a few decent sized ones and some little ones.

Went to the allotment of Friday evening and started to weed and dig over the overgrown area where the ‘Onion’ group of beds are going to go. Here is where I’ll put in the Squash, Courgette, Leeks and Marrow; the Onions are already in a bed which I built a few months back. Saturday was glorious; I was at the plot from 9.30 am right through till about 5 pm, clearing more of the area, weeding other beds and laying some more paving around various beds. Sunday was awful, it rained non-stop, but I got some planting (Lettuce, Celeriac and Celery) done on the afternoon during the lighter spells.

Brian, an elderly plotter on the main allotment area has some ducks and hens on his plot, one of the hens had become broody so he put a few duck eggs in for her to sit on, well the other day she hatched them, so me and Caleb went to see them, they were so cute, all yellow and fluffy and only a couple of days old.

Catch Up

Apologies for not posting anything lately, it’s been quite hectic and I’ve not managed to find the time to post a blog, but anyway here we are and here is what’s been happening. Plenty of weeding done but this has come to a halt as the weather is awful, downpours of heavy rain for the past four days so it’s very wet, but it saves watering those potatoes!

So all the potatoes are now in the ground, I even managed to get the ‘sample’ spuds in eventually, hopefully they will all grow to produce some lovely tasty potatoes. I’m wondering whether to empty out one of the containers growing the 1st earlies Rocket, still no flowers and still nothing to find whilst rummaging. I think I may have to bite the bullet and empty one to see what is going on if anything. The seaweed/comfrey trials have started; one row of Rudolph was planted on a bed of seaweed and rotted manure, earthed up and watered in with a seaweed drink. I then planted another row of Rudolph on a bed of comfrey leaves and rotted manure and this was watered in with a comfrey drink. Each row had the same amount of potatoes planted and each potato was roughly the same size. To date the seaweed potatoes are the first to start making an appearance, a couple of leaves are beginning to poke through the soil. You can see in the picture below, my 2nd earlies are coming along nicely, the bed in the background is where the early maincrop are planted, the row at the left of the picture is the seaweed potatoes and the row next to that on its right are the comfrey potatoes. There is a row of Blue Danube to the far right and also a mixed row of Blue Danube and Rudolph. I’ve planted up the late maincrop Golden wonder in the area where the wildlife patch will go, things were just getting too tight to have the final bed weeded for them and I’d dug the wildlife area over last summer so all I had to do was pull out the fresh weeds and plant the potatoes, and I thought that the manure would enrich the soil ready for when the flowers/pond can go in when they are pulled up in the autumn. I’ll not get round to planting out the wildlife flowers this year, well possibly in the autumn I can put in the pond and a few plants but I think the majority of the plants will be put in next spring.

The tomatoes are coming along nicely, quite a few are now potted up in 5 litre tubs, these will have one final move to 9 litre tubs when they are ready, I might plant some in the ground at the allotment, if the bottle house isn’t completed in time, if it is, I’ll put some in grow bags or a ring culture in there. My aubergine plant got scorched and wilted beyond recovery one very hot afternoon, so I’ve had to resort to buying a plant from the garden centre. The cucumber plants didn’t germinate so I’ve planted a couple more; these are just starting to peek through the compost. Chilli Peppers and Sweet Peppers are looking good also.

My two over-wintering cauliflowers have produced nice little curds, I’m waiting anxiously until I can pick these, there is a nice cauli and potato recipe in one of my magazines which I’m wanting to use them on along with some of my 1st earlies. Plenty of cabbages, broccoli (green and purple), cauli and sprouts ready to plant out, which I’ll do once this blasted, rain stops.

I’ve made some bean frames (see below) ready to have the Runner and French beans planted against, these are in the process of hardening off at the moment. I’m going to make a wigwam of canes for the Borlotti and Flangelot beans to climb. The Squash, Pumpkin and Courgette plants are putting on growth, these will need planting out shortly, and I’m going to plant some with the beans, some with the Sweetcorn and hopefully some on their own, the Sweetcorn is also hardening off ready to be planted out hopefully over the weekend, when the weather is forecasted to warm/dry up.

Caleb and I went on a course this weekend just gone - Beginners Guide to Chicken Keeping. It was really good; we got to learn about their habits, food, shelter etc. and we even went into a large coop/run and handled them. Caleb though they were brilliant, so now he can’t wait for the chickens to arrive, I’ll have to hurry up and get their coop and run built, job number 624, lol.

Rounding off with a picture for you, have you seen the size of the root on this thistle which I dug out the other day!

Glorious Glorious Glorious! - Oh and the Spuds are In!

Can you believe the weather we’ve had over the last few days, it has been glorious to say the least, not the kind of weather you want to be digging in, but needs must and digging is what I have done. Eventually I have planted the Rudolph, Blue Danube and Golden Wonder potatoes; I must say that it’s a weight of my shoulders that these are finally in the ground. I’ve got a couple of ‘sample’ potatoes (Pink Fir Apple, Markies, Nicola and Cara) which I will plant over the next couple of days and definitely by the weekend, I’m not overly worried about getting these in as they aren’t my main choices, just tasters really so I’ll put them in little areas of soil that have already been dug over and weeded but are ear-marked for flowers or other types but not where potatoes will be planted over the next couple of years so as not to risk spreading disease etc. It’s been 10 weeks since I planted the first tub of my 1st earlies so I had a little feel around in the compost, I can’t feel any potatoes yet so I’m a little worried, is disaster looming? There is plenty of foliage but no flowers so I may give it a couple more weeks before emptying out the first tub.

My tomatoes are fast outgrowing their 5 inch pots so I’ll be potting them on into slightly bigger pots shortly, I’m not sure if they will get into the bottle house this summer or not, but as they are varieties suitable for either outdoor or indoor growing I’ll not worry myself about it too much, same said for the cucumber, aubergine and chilli plants, some of which I can grow on in the ‘plastic’ and ‘walk-in’ greenhouses if I need to.

I’ve planted out some broad beans and lettuces, sown four varieties of carrots and have Turnip (Snowball & Purple Top), Kohl Rabi and seed onions ready for planting out. My French, Borlotti, Flangelot and Runner beans are all making appearances peeking though the compost in their 3 inch pots, they look lovely.

Having spent all Thursday, Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday (until the heavens opened) at the plot and having all that lovely weather I have been able to observe the position of the sun during the course of the day. Most of the plot gets the sun all of the day except where my shed is, which is what I’d hoped when I re-sited it in its corner, the only disappointing bit is the flower area I’m wanting to plant up in front of the shed sits in the shade most of the day also, getting the sun from around 3pm on the afternoon so I’ll have to find some shade loving plants to go there. The good news is the area where the wildlife section is going to go gets the sun for most of the day, shaded a little on the morning but in full sun for most of the time, so I’ll be able to plant lots of sun loving, bright coloured big nectar rich plants there. I’ll also have to build a shade ‘shelter’ for the chucks when their run has been built so they can hide from the sun when they want to as they will be housed in that area also.

On a final note, we’ve been granted permission to plant an orchard on our little community bit, so that is something to look forward to, lots of fruit trees and we are also looking into having some beehives put there.

Catch Up

Thought I’d give you a catch up as I haven’t posted anything this last week, it’s been hectic at work and with one thing and another at home I haven’t had the time to post an update, so here goes.

My gate and fence at the plot have been moved/re-built, it really looks good, in a previous life the fence had been knocked over by a manure truck so it stood a bit lop-sided, but with the new fence standing nice and straight and running up to the container it really tidies up my plot. The second end frame of the bottle-house has been built and also one of the doors, I’ll be taking them down to the plot to attach to the posts over the weekend. Still plenty of bottles coming in.

I was caught by the frost, again, but after reading a lot of other blogs, I’m not the only one, still it is annoying. Not too much damage, a bit of blackening of the leaves on the 1st earlies, the 2nd earlies haven’t started to come through yet so they escaped damage and I’ve not got round to planting out the maincrop yet! Most tomato plants in the little greenhouse escaped without too much damage, a few were looking sorry for themselves.

I’d sown a lot of different types of bean in pots last weekend and during the week and have kept these in the little greenhouses at home ready until next month when hopefully it will be safe to plant them out - Borlotti (Firetounge) Broad, Flangelot, Runner, and French. I’ve sown some sweetcorn ‘minipop’ and will sow a batch of ‘applause’ this weekend. More lettuce, some beetroot and some sprouts done. I’ve got some Turnips (Purple Top and Snowball) which I have been hardening off over the last couple of weeks and some Kohl Rabi and Celeriac ready to plant out over the weekend. Some broad beans and peas also ready to put in, I’m going to chance direct sowing of the rest of the peas (mangetout and sugar snap) as I’m never going to be able to gather enough toilet rolls to sow them in. All roll donations will now be put into storage for next year. I’ve also started to sow my courgette and squash seeds, which will be planted out later next month along with the new batch of leeks after that pesky mouse ate most of the first ones.

I’ll finally be able to plant out my early maincrop this weekend, the bed is just about finished and baring a thunderous typhoon IT WILL be sorted, then it’s just the late maincrop to get sorted. I’ve put in a few days holiday next week, then that weekend and then with the weekend after this should see me get them all planted and sorted with very little time to spare, it’s definitely going to be a tight deadline to have them all in the ground by the end of May which is the time limit I have set myself to give a sufficient growing time of 20-22 weeks before the first frosts are expected.

Lots of hard work for the weekend ahead I suspect.

Caught off Guard

Oh dear, I was caught off guard last night, we had a frost and a few of my 1st earlies have had their leaves blackened. I’m hoping it won’t do them too much damage. I’m annoyed with myself as I usually check the weather forecast just to keep an eye on it but with the last couple of days being nice, it’s gone out of my mind. They say you only learn by your mistakes.

Bottle count is coming along nicely, plenty of people are bringing them in for me, but the only downside is they are being stored in every nook and cranny until put into use. I’ve got bottles in the spare bedroom, in the hallway, in the boot of the car and in the back yard. Job for the weekend; start to get them onto the canes and onto the frames!

Off to the plot tonight to get on with the early maincrop potato bed, hopefully this should be just about done and dusted by the weekend. Then I’ll sort out the late maincrop bed. Does it ever end?

TWO Posts and My Shed!

Well the holiday weekend was mixed weather wise, there was sun, rain and on occasion hail! I bought the fence posts on Thursday evening, 4 @ 3”x3” x 8ft and 2 @ 4”x4” x 8ft. The wood man asked what I was doing with them as he was loading them into my car for me, his face said it all when I tried to explain, probably thought I was another eco-warrior, environmentally friendly loony.

Friday/Saturday I managed to plant up all my 1st earlies - Pentland Javelin into patio potato tubs, the 1st earlies - Rocket which I’ve had stood in the greenhouse over the last couple of weeks are coming along very nicely. I’m hoping a couple of nice days over this coming weekend will allow me to get the 2nd earlies in the ground at the allotment, a few will have to go in the remaining tubs, this will be a good test on whether soil or tubs are better for 2nd’s. I’ve put in some parsnips and radishes in one of the back yard beds. Carrots are coming through nicely. Plenty of tomatoes, kohl rabi, cauliflower, and lettuce seedlings are geminating. Cabbages and peppers are just beginning to peek through. I’ve been given a load of strawberry plants so these will be planted up in the fruit area ASAP.

On Sunday I drove to the allotment, Caleb in tow. I’d asked him to give me a hand building the bottle house, “I like building things” he says, good I thought I’m going to need your help. First job was to cut down some growth from the bushes hanging over from the neighbouring plot, and clear away some of the leaves and overgrown grass from the ground. Caleb watched. Then I started to measure, AGAIN, just to be safe, no point in getting it wrong and being unhappy once the posts have gone in. Again, Caleb watched. When I started to measure out I changed my mind where the house was going to be sited AGAIN. I wasn’t happy with the amount of growth (from next plots bushes) at one end so now its going to run 10ft flower bed, 10ft fruit (raspberry & strawberry) bed, then the bottle house (16ft), then another 10ft fruit bed and then what’s left (approx 12ft I think) I’ll decide what to do with later, possibly plant some fruit trees (apple, plum or pear). I also changed my mind on its dimensions, its now going to be 5ft wide instead of 4ft; I don’t do things by half!

I started to dig my first hole, Caleb watched, I turned my back for one minute, Caleb had gone, I found him chatting to Sid who has the plot opposite mine “he’s ok with me” Sid said, so back to the digging, ALONE. Next thing I know Brian (from further down the lane) had come over to have a chat with Sid and so Caleb then decided he wanted to go to see Brian’s hens and ducks, so that was it Caleb was off. So back to the digging of holes, ALONE, I sawed the bottom off the posts, making sure they stood in the holes straight and were both at a level height, all done and two posts in the ground, nice and secure. What a happy chappie I was with myself. I went back to check on them last night and to my amazement they were still standing, I must have done something right! I’m hoping to get another post in tomorrow night, and maybe the rest all in by Sunday, then I can start to work on the frames and creating the sides (this is where the bottles come into play).

Yesterday I received a phone call from the DIY store saying that they had mistakenly sold my shed and that the only one they had left was the store display model, so with some haggling (another 15% off the price), and them agreeing to dismantle it for me, I’m off to collect the shed for the chicken coop on Friday night. More building, ALONE no doubt!