A Gardening Update !

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our diary blog for our Fruit & Veg grown in Raised Beds. It's been a while since we posted an update - we've been rather busy with the allotment project! But just to reassure you all that we are still growing at home, here goes!
As is the norm at this time of year, we are spending a fair bit of time nurturing our tomato (v.Moneymaker) plants to their cropping stage. This involves regular watering and weekly feed of suitable"miracle" growth liquid! We have half a dozen in pots on the patio - in full sun, and a half dozen more dotted around the plot in the raised beds. Some of the plants have begun to set their trusses, a sure sign of the delights that await. Every year I intend to grow a different variety - this year being no exception - but we continue to find that this variety - Moneymaker - are great croppers. Why change ?



Nestled into this corner of our patio we have yet more goodies! As well as another tomato plant, we have a tub of Strawberries, which having already cropped is now sending runners out all over the shop. Where possible these are being layered into more tubs to grow new plants. These will be separated from the main plant in about 4 weeks time and will give us a new bunch of plants for a larger crop next year. That and somewhere to plant them all too! We have also acquired some "Hospital" strawberry plants that had been badly neglected. These are sitting in water now, and sending up new shoots. Lets hope they recover!

In the patio border where there used to be a large rambling rose, we now have some edible goodies, including a lovely Tayberry bush (a wedding present from Huw & Jane) and also our one surviving Courgette plant. We've really struggled with the latter this year, as we dont want to use slug pellets in case little Ruby picks them up! This is our last plant of any note at Reads Retreat, and we have only one other which was planted up at the allotment only yesterday. We're green with envy as we see others are well into their courgette harvesting . Maybe we'll get a late crop. Fingers crossed eh !



Despite the fact that the contents of the hanging baskets are not edible, they are certainly beautiful. Wifey has done a great job here, not only in brightening up the garden, but in attracting an abundance of wildlife and especially Bee's to the plot.








The Gooseberry bush in the background here, is the £1 jobbie we got from Wilkinson's last year. The greatest surprise was that it was a Red fruit variety - we were expecting green! We didn't get a massive harvest, but plenty of enough for some seriously nice Mixed Fruit jam.
In the foreground we have another surprise in the form of a healthy looking potato plant. I think this is whats called a "Volunteer" plant, i.e. one that has grown from a previously left behind potato. Not complaining mind you, and soon ready to be pulled up. I'll let you know later if we get much from it!



Our old faithful Rhubarb(v.Timperly Early) continues it's great growth. Having recently been cut right back to provide fruit for our mixed fruit jam, it has grown right back, strong enough to maybe harvest some more. If we get enough, we hope to try making some Rhubarb & Ginger jam, mmmm that sounds luvvly.






And finally, we get to a raised bed!!! As you can see we've erected frames over the beds, mainly due to the large number of cats in the area that favour the good soil in our beds rather than their own backyards to crap in. Grrr it really winds me up. Many a day in this neck of the woods you can see cat poo flying through the air! Why should we clean it up, we don't have a cat! Anyway (rant over), in this bed we have Spring Onions, Lollo Rosso Lettuce (cut and come again variety) as well as some Broccoli Raab. The latter was a freebie on a magazine cover, which promised a crop in 60 days. Well, it grew so fast we forgot to harvest it and it bolted!!! Trimmed it all back and again it's growing on strongly.

The next available bed has become home to our squash project. As well as trying to grow these at the plot, we have 4 plants at home too, which are putting on great growth. Again, they might be planted a tad late, but wouldn't it be great to get at least 1 squash from these. If anyone has any growing tips and tricks, we'd love to hear from you!




Talking of new projects (it must be the year for them), we are having a go at growing some sweetcorn. Having read that they need to grow in a block layout, we used this 3'x3' bed. We planted about 12 seeds, and were a tad dejected when only 4 plants appeared. Nonetheless, they do look healthyand will hopefully provide us with a couple of corns. Is it too late to plant any more ? I guess it is but am happy to listen if you have any advice on this crop, how else will we learn ?




This bed is pretty much full of Beetroot! We've grown a few different varieties this year - with mixed success! Boltardy remains the strong favourite, but we have also tried some Golden types too, if nothing else but to add a bit of colour to the salad bowl. The big thing we've noticed this year with the raised beds is just how much the soil level has sunk - the worms must be working hard! We'll have to replenish the stocks before next growing season! At the back of the bed we also have some seed grown Onions(v.Bedfordshire Champion). I want to grow a larger crop of these next year at the plot, as opposed to the "sets" which never seem to really perform. Note to self : Planning!


Having run out of room (again!) in the raised beds, we have these 3 sturdy Aubergine plants in a nice sheltered spot in the garden. I do like growbags, they offer that extra space just when you need it! And as a bonus, the spent soil can be added to the plot later in the year.


Part of the reason for running out of room this year is that we've given one large bed up to grow our own Asparagus(v.Jersey Knight). These 1 year old crowns are all doing well, 9 out of 10 that were planted are flourishing. Sadly, so too are the weeds, and vie for constant attention. We're getting there though, and maybe next year we'll be able to harvest a small crop ?

So, as you can see, we've not been idle here at Reads Retreat. Always lots going on! We'll try and post more regular updates as the season progresses!


We hope you are all enjoying your plots and veg growing, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon to Reads Retreat.

Take care all,

TTFN.

Olympics - What are they ? 10.08.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat - our diary blog about growing your / our own veg in Raised Beds.
No time to sit and watch the telly here at Reads Retreat, far too much to do in the garden and home! As reported a few days ago, these Turnip seeds that were planted straight into the raised beds last weekend, germinated with just 3 days! This picture taken this morning shows that they continue to grow at a fast rate. The planting lines are clearly visible thanks to my method of using a cane to mark out the sowing drill. This coupled with the warm weather and plentiful rainfall has given these plants a great start. Very soon i will have to start thinning them out. I hardly used any of the seeds, compared to the estimated contents on the pack - 1500 - and only £1.09. At a later date I'll explain how I store any surplus seed, which despite claims on the packs, last for ages.

At the same time as I planted the Turnip's, I also planted some Chard, which you can just see emerging around the edge of the bed. These took longer to germinate as I expected, as the seeds are much larger. You can speed up germination of large seeds by soaking before planting out.

My Courgette plants seem to be recovering well. The problem was I think created by me, over watering ? The plants seemed to be dying off, and the leaves didn't look too healthy. This was followed by heavy and prolonged rainfall which compounded the problem. Therefore, I just "neglected" the plants for a few days, and one of them has revived itself, and is bearing fruit again, and they're growing quickly too. Cant wait to harvest more from this plant. I read that I should expect about a dozen from each plant, and so far we've had about half a dozen, so looking forward to a few more yet ! We'll see. Might grow some yellow varieties next year ?

My Raspberry root that i purchased from Wilko's, is finally starting to add some growth. Like the Blackcurrant that I purchased at the same time, they were both planted in shallow soil in pots to get them established. Hopefully they will continue to form a good root base so that I can plant them into their growing positions late autumn / early winter. I must admit that despite the price of a couple of pounds each, I am dissapointed with how badly / slowly they have grown. I may attempt some cuttings if i'm feeling confident, as i dont want to keep on spending when funds are so tight elsewhere. It would be nice to get some from from the plants this year. Maybe we will, we'll have to wait and see!

It's a very similar story with the Gooseberry bush. Purchased from the same place, it's taken an absolute age to get this far! I have fed and watered it consistently, but still the growth is slow. I'm really keen to get this going; my grandfather - i remember - grew these in his garden at Clacton, and I would love to do the same here. I maybe will buy some better stock for planting out next year. After all, you get what you pay for , and not much more.


And now the good news ! Look at these 2 towers of lush green foliage. The lighter green ( as you may have guessed ) is the runner beans. These have been grown year on year from seeds saved by Grandad. I was down to 5 seeds this year, as they just didn't want to germinate. Now though they have recovered well. We've had a few small picking's, and are looking forward to many more! The darker green is the climbing French Beans (v.Blue Lake). Again, these seemed to take ages to get going, then suddenly they sprang into action. We've had several picking from this too, harvesting the bean pods at about 4" long. They taste delish, and will deff be grown again here at Reads Retreat. To the left of the pic is my clump of Toms (v. Moneymaker) which are also doing well.

Another great and unexpected success this year have been my Chili Peppers (v.Cayenne). We've got them growing everywhere we can find space to put them, even in this hanging basket alongside Beetroot (v.Boltardy). There's plenty of nearly ready to pick Chili's already, and still more are forming. We've had less success with our sweet peppers, but we are persevering to see if we can get a crop.

That's about it for todays update, there's still loads more to tell you about, including a new project indoors, but sitting here typing is making my back ache, so please excuse me for now.


Take care all, get out into your gardens as the weather permits, and enjoy yourselves!

TTFN.

Snow ? We'll see 21.03.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, my guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds.

I hope that wherever you are, the weather is being kind to you. As i write this update today, there are forecasts of Snow and Sleet for the majority of the country, though going by the current Met Office forecast, we should miss the worst of the wet and just suffer the cold instead. Either way, I'm glad I opted to leave my outdoor sowings for another week!

I've had a fairly busy, and productive week, and will have to wait 4 days to carry on, as I'm working over the holiday weekend.
My week got underway on Wednesday this week, with the planting out of my newly acquired Gooseberry bushes. These were a total of £5.00, from Wilkinson's DIY, and I'm hopeful they will grow well in their new homes. They were planted with generous layers of sieved compost together with some granular growmore fertilizer mixed in. The location on the plot was the area where I tried to grow new potato's for Christmas day. Whilst the spuds were none too successful - the tops wilted and died in the autumn frosts - i did decide to fork over the bed before planting the fruit bushes. Lucky for me that I did, as I managed to harvest about a dozen new potato's, which I'm glad to say had overwintered well, and went straight to the table for tea ! Therefore, thats either very late earlies, or very early earlies !! I'll let you decide. The main thing was, it's my first harvest of the year, and it was delicious.
Elsewhere on the plot, there's not a great deal happening, due mainly to the inclement weather of late. My overwintered Broad Beans are still putting on healthy spring growth, and are looking good. Fingers crossed that the blackfly stay well away! This year has panned out very different to last, as most of my gardening seems to be indoors. Its an old adage i know, but "Good things come to those who wait", and I'm hopeful of the weather improving in the next couple of weeks. Indeed, i have some time off work at the beginning of April, and hope to be busy gardening.
These 4 little gems were acquired on a recent trip to the local Garden Centre. I'm hoping these box cuttings (that were 50p each) will grow sufficiently to make a nice hedge in the front garden. Not sure how long they will take to grow - if they do grow that is ( another rescue from the hospital rack ! ) - but they have a nice tinge of yellow to the leaves, and I think the growth will be worth waiting for. As i stated above, they were 50p each. Originally they were in 3" pots, were completely pot bound, and the roots were waterlogged. I've transferred them now to 6" pots, together with more growmore and fresh compost. They're only about a foot tall at the moment, but if they put on some good growth, maybe I can plant them out in the late summer / early autumn. That delay will give me time to prepare the ground and get some manure in. I love these longterm projects!

The next activity for the day was more seed sowing, and potting on of my seedlings. I planted a seed tray of Pot Marigold ( Calendula ). These will be planted around the plot, not only for decoration, but also because the flower petals are edible and will add some fresh colour to salads. They are also great companion plants to Tomato's, helping to keep the whitefly away. Plant these with Basil , near the toms, and you should be ok.
I also planted a seed tray of Flat Leaf Parsley ( sometimes known as French Parsley), for its many and varied uses in the kitchen. I've still to plant many more herbs, and will keep you posted on mine and their progress.
The other job of the day was to pot on the 40 or so seedlings of Sweet / Chili Peppers into individual pots. A task made more time consuming as I always sieve the compost. It takes longer at this stage, but the results are usually worth the effort.


So that was a busy Wednesday ! and today was pretty busy too.I sowed trays of the following:

• Savoy Cabbage (v. January King )
  
• Brussel Sprouts (v. Red Delicious )
• Cauliflower (v. All year Round)
• Cabbage (Green Acre / Primo 2 )

I've had limited success with this group of veg, but am persevering as i know the rewards are great. I'd be especially pleased if the red sprouts were a success, as I've heard they are a bit harder to grow than their green cousins.

And that's about it for this weeks update, as I said earlier - I'm working all weekend - so thought I'd get in early on the blog front.

I hope you and your gardens manage to escape the worst of the elements. If you would like to receive my updates in your email inbox, simply enter your email address in the subscribe box on the right hand side of the blog. As and when I update my blog, the update will be emailed directly to you. Simple ! Alternatively - just bookmark this page, and I hope you will come back soon.

Take care all.

TTFN