Garden photos and veggie update

The garden this year is looking good. Perhaps it's the extra long and cold winter, but the roses are really blooming and everything just looks lush and full of life.



The section of ground directly to the side of the kitchen conservatory was just a glorified plant dumping ground last year! A place to put plants that didn't have a suitable place elsewhere to grow. At the beginning of the year I thought this area would be ideal for a herb garden, but now, seeing how beautiful my "dumping ground" is, I'm tempted to have my herbs elsewhere. I had a little gap with nothing growing and some left over tomato plants, so the two seem to go very well together.



The actual veg plot is finally doing its thing. It's taken its time though with the bad start to the year and I know I'm not the only veggie grower to notice a difference with the produce this year.
This photo shows the peas (I finally managed to grow a successful second crop - took three attempts), a couple of lines of parsnips still at the very baby stage and raised bed in the background with chilli and spring onions. Both bags of free seed potatoes did well - both now harvested and thoroughly enjoyed! Also in the plot are two rows of garlic, which have been extremely disappointing (so far all very tiny), two rows each of spring onions and leeks.

2010 here we come!

Actually, veggies for 2010 started on 12th December. I've just been too lazy to update the blog. Actually, that's not true, I was thinking about forgetting this blog, surely it'll just be a repeat of last year. Then I thought about it and realised the reason for veggie blogging is purely to help me keep track of the best times to start the seed process, do the garden chores, to harvest a crop and of course any additional wonderful veggie or outdoor thing that may happen during the year that's different to the last!!

So, I'll kick off by saying the garlic is neatly sowed in two strips along both lengths of the plot. Doing a rotation thing is quite difficult I find as there's only certain veggies I want to grown and eat each year and three of them are all from the onion family! Anyway, I think this is a new spot for them; it may overlap a little from last year but who's being picky ah!?

I've gone for Taylors Garlic Marco and have planted the lot (that's an awful lot - 3 large bulbs in a small plot). We're still enjoying last year's garlic so hopefully we'll have double the bulbs this time next year.

The plot has been under a blanket of snow since before Christmas. At this time of year that area doesn't get much, if any, sun so it's taking its time to budge and this afternoon the snow has started to fall again. I've no idea if the garlic will survive, but seeing as how they need to be sown by the end of December, I'd imagine they're pretty hardy.

The only other veg in my plot is the winter broccoli that was planted in the summer, eaten by the caterpillars except for two leggie green things. They're still big and green and I'm reluctant to dig them up incase sometime in the not too distant future broccoli decides to appear!

Other fab news this week, Georgie our bantam, has laid her first egg of the year! Both hens stopped producting probably around the end of Autumn so this egg was a welcome sight.

Tomatoes, Runners, Garlic and Chilli update

Yesterday and today I had the joy of cooking a meal using several veg harvested from our own garden - fabulous.

Here's a photo update:

Garlic, Spring Onions, Pumpkins, Runner Beans ...

... all coming along really well. Have picked lots and lots of peas (the more you pick the more you get) and have started picking runners too now.


These are the type that wind themselves round the bamboo poles right to the top (and now wanting to go higher) - lovely red flowers. The dwarf variety are at the front of the poles and have pretty pink flowers.



I've harvested all the garlic now. I wasn't too sure when to actually start taking them out of the ground; the book stated when the stalks start to yellow and begin to bend over. They certainly were going yellow, but not really bending. The reason I pulled them was that a few I did pull had mildew on them and definitely weren't healthy. Once the sun came out for a prolonged period I decided to dig up the rest. Have a huge crop with just a small amount of dud ones. This fabulous hot weather has been brilliant for helping them dry out (on a garden bench); they're now hanging in an equally hot spot in the conservatory kitchen to finish off the process.



Spring Onions in the pot and in the ground have grown so fast this year and are all more-or-less ready for use. Have noticed a bit of "rust" on a few and the cats seem to enjoy laying on them too!



I can certainly vouch for whoever said to grow pumpkins in last years compost (Monty Don I think) - they're going berzerk! Under all those lovely large leaves there's alot of gorgeous flowers and alot of mini pumpkins beginning their new lives. Hopefully we'll be able to get at least two out of that lot for Halloween.

Progress ... outside

The beans have been added to now so there's three different variety of beans in there. One lot are dwarf from last year's supply and the other two varieties are from a friend so not sure what they are! I grew quite a few seeds indoors which turned out to be the perfect amount in the end as I had to replace a couple that had been completely destroyed by something or other - most probably the hens. This is why the "keep out" netting is back around them. Although I've just finished planting these out, the second lot are exactly the same size as the first lot. Hope they liven up soon - perhaps the ground is a little too cold for them. At the end of the row I've put in a couple of tomato plants as they were surplus and I didn't have the heart to get rid of them!


Planted out two pumpkins which had started off indoors. Had to replace one of them as it was looking pretty dodgey. Luckily I had a healthy spare still on the windowsill. Both have grown quite well since the wetter weather. These are planted in a thrown together raised bed with last year's compost, which I've read they love. Their leaves are going a bit yellow (I've noticed this with the first lot of beans too) - will watch what happens.


Look at these pots and plastic bags of potatoes - all doing fabulously - just need some flowers now. Wonder if they'll be white or purple.


Peas are gradually climbing, they are now up to their fourth line of supporting string. Getting lovely white flowers now too.


Garlic is looking good and strong and the spring onions, sown between the rows of garlic and also in their own section, are beginning to look more settled in their new positions.

Garlic and peas update

The garlic is doing extremely well and is look very healthy.

The peas grew exceptionally fast in their first seed pots and quickly needed planting out. The hens immediately focussed on the new seedlings and starting pecking at them! Had to construct a very makeshift fence to keep them off!

Digging, raking and planting the garlic

The time bomb was ticking, just like last year. All the books say "garlic does best sown before Christmas", so I wrapped up warm, took the children out into the garden too, and got digging and raking and sowing. Actually, to be fair, Katie did most of it. Anyway, three huge bulbs split and sown. Can't wait for the rewards later in the year.


Also took the opportunity to give the two tomato plants a good trim. I can't believe we're still getting tomatoes from it as the conservatory can get pretty cold these days! It's looking much better now I've trimmed it into an small arch.