Basket of Fire ! 09.11.08

Finally....... Welcome back to Reads Retreat - "Our guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds", for what i hope will now be regular updates! You don't know how much we've missed having the internet connected at home. Lucky for me I have these blogs, otherwise would have lost all my garden pics from the last couple of years.
We have installed a brand new copy of windows, and an awful lot of data has been lost forever, but thankfully a lot of it is also safe and sound on flash drives!
I've been wanting to show some pics from the plot, and thought I'd start you all off on this basket of fire. It's my first year of growing Chili's, but this basket of Cayenne peppers have grown and still are growing beyond what I expected. This pic was taken yesterday afternoon, just after I harvested half a dozen fruits to send to D&K. As you can see, there's still a good few more to harvest, and they taste delish.

Dotted around the garden and the raised beds, there's a good few Chard plants. I grew 2 varieties this year: Zilver and Rainbow. Both are performing well, and at this time of year are providing some welcome colour. It's a strange ish taste at first, but we now find it a lovely addition to many dishes.
In the foreground are some lettuce ( v. unknown ) that I bought on my recent visit to the Victoriana nursery in Challock, Kent. They seem to be beating the slugs and putting on great growth. Cant wait to eat them !

Elsewhere on the plot:


My late sowing of Beetroot (v.Boltardy) are still putting on good growth, and are still swelling up. Not quite big enough to harvest just yet, but in the absence of any severe frost / cold snaps, they are still growing on well.
It was a bit of an experimental sowing, simply to use up some spare ground. Ok, it was Matron's idea / advice - so thanks for that. I must admit though, that the sight of empty soil ( after lifting the onions ) was a good time to try something like this.


There's still a fair bit to update you all on, but I'm a tad tired now - I've been up since 0430 this morning, so I'm gonna sign off for now. Don't worry though, there will be plenty more updates this week!

By the way, Secret Squirrel and I are tying the knot: 24th January 2009 at 2.00pm! Cant wait.

Take care all - see you soon.

TTFN

Rained all night ! 04.03.08

Welcome back to another quick update at Reads Retreat, where a quick break in the weather enabled an outstanding sowing job to be completed:
I had a vacant raised bed, just 3' x 3', and this was my choice planting. 2 Varieties that I've wanted to try for a couple of years now.
The Swiss Chard (v. Zilver) is a renowned cropper that with a bit of TLC should get through the autumn and well into the winter, whilst the Turnip (v. Golden Ball) should grow tennis ball sized roots, whilst at the same time providing some turnip tops for use as a nourishing "winter green". What's more, buying good seed from reputable sources can only help with this latest venture. I'm hoping the mild weather continues to aid the germination.
Initially, the Swiss chard was planted around the perimeter of the bed, approx 2" from the boards, and about 2" apart. If all these seeds germinate they can be thinned out later on, the thinnings then being either cooked as baby leaves, or replanted elsewhere on the plot. Next, I marked out 5 rows (about 6" apart ) by pressing a cane into the surface of the bed. This provides drills deep enough to accommodate the Turnip seed, without causing disruption to the soil immediately adjacent. The seed was then sown fairly generously ( 3 seeds/inch) along each drill, then covered with loose topsoil which was then firmed into place. This all followed by a gentle watering to settle the bed.

After watering in the seed, the boards were then marked each end of the drills. This way emerging seedlings can be distinguished from emerging weeds, and the latter easily removed. From what I've read, 1 sq yd should be sufficient for about 30 turnips to grow on, so the drills can be thinned out accordingly as time permits.


The final job of the day was to erect a temporary barrier to the newly planted bed. This was simply achieved by 2 buckets of spuds, which so far seem to be doing the trick! As soon as the bed becomes established, then the buckets can be moved back to their home on the patio.
All in, the whole task took about half an hour, as the bed had been prepared earlier. Time to sit back now and let nature take it's course.

Hope you have found this update both interesting and useful, and I look forward to welcoming you back soon. Keep me posted on how you are getting on. Till then,

TTFN.