Timperley Early showing thru'

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our blog guide to growing your own Fruit & Veg. As you can see in the picture, our 3 year old Rhubarb is going great guns. Last year - at about this time - we "forced" the growth on this plant, and got some great results. Not sure if we'll do the same again this year, as I don't want to put too much strain on it. Might be better in the long run to let it grow at its own pace, and enjoy the harvest even more when it's ready. For now have added a mulch of fresh compost to help it on it's way.
Thats it for now, pop back soon for more updates from the garden plot.

TTFN.

April Snowers ! 6.04.08

Welcome back folks to Reads Retreat, my guide to Growing your own Veg in Raised Beds.
Forgive me the title - it's not a typing error! Having just glanced out over the plot I can tell you it's snowing. Not blizzard-esque conditions, but it looks like we might get a fair covering. The sky looks full of it! A call from the outlaws 30 miles away in Strood informed me they've had a good few inches overnight , and it's still persisting.




Hard to believe really when you consider Thursday peaked at 18C, while i toiled away on the plot:

I started by partially clearing the Raised Bed that was planted with curly kale. Removing the mulch fabric I was pleasantly surprised to find the soil virtually weed free. The Curly Leaf Kale was all uprooted and replanted at one end of the bed. The rest of the space was then raked over, and followed by a dusting of Fish, Blood & Bone, which was then raked into the surface.

I then planted up my onion sets, consisting of 3 rows of Stuttgarter Giant, 1 row of Leeks ( v. Musselburgh grown from seed), and 3 further rows of Red Karmen. There's still room in the bed for a couple more rows of Leeks, which I will be planting later in the week. The transplanted Kale have all seemingly survived being moved, and are all doing great - no drooping leaves! The whole bed was then well watered, and has now been left to settle. It's important to remember over the next few weeks to weed on a daily basis, so that the onions have no competition for moisture. I use a hand hoe for this, taking great care not to disturb the sets.

The strawberries in the hanging basket are flourishing, lots of new shoots and strong growth. Let's hope these are a success!

Rhubarb (v. Timperley Early) is now open to the elements, as I have now removed the forcing bin, and is putting on some strong green growth as it toughens up. I have read elsewhere that you can continue forcing a crop, but i dont want to weaken the crown - it's still only a year old. The second crown I planted a few weeks back (v. Holsteiner ) is not doing much yet! The leaves have not died away so I guess it is putting down roots ? Hope so.

No show on the newly planted spuds yet, a bit soon maybe ! Hope to plant some more up this week, and get my barrel ready to plant the second earlies in.

Next main job was the first cut of the lawn. The nitrogen rich trimmings went straight into the compost bin, together with some compost accelerator. It's full of worms in there - a good sign.

The other small task i completed on the plot was to sow a "thick" row of Marigold seeds next to the Broad Beans. These are planted mainly to deter the blackfly, but as already stated in a previous posting, the flower leaves are edible and brighten up the salad bowl a treat. And as a bonus, there will be a spray of colour amidst the greenery!

Meanwhile indoors:

• The Savoy Cabbage seeds have still not germinated, and my hopes for these are dwindling. Very soon I will have to go and buy some "plugs" of cabbage, but i will still sow more seeds.
• My Flat Leaf Parsley seeds are all now germinated, as the propagator was moved to a warmer spot! Putting on good growth now, and the lid is removed daily so that more light reaches the emerging seedlings.
• All potted on seedlings continue to put on good growth, the toms especially will soon be ready for hardening off / planting out.

I'm a bit behind in some respects i.e. have yet to get my Runner / French beans planted up. Maybe i can find an hour to get this job underway ?

Still loads to do, and my 12 days holiday finish today. Back to grind 6.00am tomorrow!
Hope your gardens are still going well. Drop me a line or send a comment, it's always nice to hear from you.

Till next time, take care all and enjoy your gardens,

TTFN

Finally it's here - British Summer Time 30.03.08

Welcome back to my weekly update at Reads Retreat, my guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds.
Awaking to sunshine with a bonus of a dawn chorus - what a great way to start the summer. After changing all the clocks, it was time to crack on in the garden - so much to do and so little time !

It's been a busy and productive week, and i've loads to tell you about! In no particular order:

Seedlings:

• I potted on my Gardeners Delight into 3" square pots. Having sowed the usual 40 or so, i was somewhat surprised when they all germinated ! I guess I can add these to the list of plug plants I will be giving away! Some colleagues at work have already put their orders in!
• The tray of brassica's are nearly all germinated and putting on good growth, the only no shows from the seeds planted last week are the Savoy Cabbage (v. January King) and I'm wondering now whether I have a bad batch of these? This is my second planting to no avail. I may have to opt for buying plugs of these but would rather be growing my own. Let's give them a bit longer, and see how we get on.
• My sowing of Flat Leaf Parsley has failed to germinate. I'm guessing this may be because they are in a cooler location than I would have preferred. I will move these today and see if we can get them going.
• My Pot Marigold's ( another ebay purchase from "Premier Seeds Direct" ) have all germinated and are putting on good early growth, and i'm looking forward to having these out on the plot this year. I will probably sow a few more batches of these, as time and space permits.

New sowings:

With the weather only just starting to warm up, i am still a bit restricted on indoor space! I did however manage to plant a few bits up for outside:

• After a recent visit to S & T's (you know who you are ! ) I decided to plant a hanging basket with some strawberry plants. This seems like an ideal way to grow them, as the fruit will be less prone to ground based pests such as slugs, and I'm hoping the fruit trusses will cascade over the basket for easy pickings. Let's hope the birds don't find them first! I don't eat these myself ( seems I'm allergic to them ? ) but it's a great way to get the kids interested in and into the garden. I chose 3 different varieties ( 1 of each ) to crop at different times throughout the summer. They are: Pegasus ( June ), Hapil ( July ), and Pandora ( Late July - August ). I'll keep you posted on how these go.
• My first batch of spuds were planted up (v. Aaron Pilot FE ) in buckets on the patio. I know that last year I had great success in the raised beds, but this year the space they were going to occupy has now been taken up with onion sets. If you read / hear the news, you will know there is an expected shortfall in supply for onions this year, due to the bad weather, so I've given one of my large raised beds purely to this crop. I've read up on planting spuds in containers, and it seems there's no reason why they wont grow successfully. Therefore, the First Earlies will all be going in buckets, and I'll plant them up with a few days gap between plantings to get a successional crop. Later in the month of April, I'll be planting my second earlies into large tubs formed from an old plastic barrel.
• My stepdaughter has recently indicated a bit of interest in my gardening exploits, and with that in mind we planted some seeds for her. With her pocket money she bought packs of Oregano, Chives, and Curly leaf Parsley. I added to her haul with some Sunflower & Morning Glory seeds. They have all been duly planted, and their germination is eagerly awaited!

Recent Purchases:
Wilkinson's has a lot to answer for ! Seriously though, they have some great products at great prices, which i just could not resist :

• Fruit bushes at just a pound each. I bought one each of Raspberry and Blackcurrant. I had a little chuckle to myself as I noticed the spelling on the packaging - Rasberry & Blackcurrent !!! The plain english lobby would have a field day!
• How about 5 x 6" Pots for £1.29 - How do they do it ?
• Lawnmower Blades for my Qualcast mower - 20 for a quid.
• 15Metres of heavy gauge plastic coated garden wire for 69p
• 100 Plastic coated wire rings ( for plant support ) 99p.

A trip to the local Garden Centre yielded the following :

• Aubergine Seeds ( v.Black Beauty )
• Nasturtium seeds (v. Jewel Mixed ) A purchased inspired after reading Matron's blog.
  
• A new trowel for £1.50 - cant remember last time i bought one !
• 8' Canes - 8@40p each. These were 30p each last year ?

Recent Harvests:
You may think I'm a bit early to be reporting harvests but i cant resist:

• We had a second cutting of Forced Rhubarb, made a lovely crumble! I've removed the plant cover now, as I dont want to weaken it too much.
• We have a nearly red chili (v. Winter warmer) to pick one day soon.

To do list :
This seems to be growing at a rapid pace, and its hard to know where to start:

• Plant out Seed potato's, French & Runner Beans, Build wigwam supports for beans, plant aubergine seeds......

I can see I'm going to have a busy week! I hope you are progressing with your gardens and wish you all every success. Pop back soon as I intend to add some pictures when I get any time.
Take care all,

TTFN