Thunder & Lightning 07.08.08

Welcome back to a soggy but otherwise ok Reads Retreat. our guide to growing your own veg in raised beds.
Slightly "off topic" boy did it rain last night. Being a fan of a good old storm, we lay in bed, curtains and windows open watching the lightning light up the night sky, with the heavy thunder roaring all around and raining, like it's going out of fashion. Brilliant.
When I ventured out to the plot this morning, the air smelt lovely. Furthermore, i was greeted by the delightful sight of all 5 rows of Turnips; planted just a few days ago, germinated and pushing their seedlings up to the light. A bit more of a wander found the small row of Radish have germinated too. Sadly no pictures today, I've been a tad busy. I have to admit to "borrowing" todays pic from auntie !

Pop back tomorrow for a more detailed update. 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.

Roast Lamb & Veg from garden 03.08.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat - the home of How to Grow Veg in Raised Beds.
Todays update is less about actually growing veg, and more about actually enjoying the fruits of labouring on the veg plot.
Our sumptuous dinner today was Roast Leg of Lamb, cooked with fresh Garlic & Rosemary from the plot. This was complimented by Rhubarb Chard, a mix of Runner Beans and French Beans, as well as some freshly dug second early spuds. I have to admit we had some roasties too, but it was sheer bliss to sit and eat what was mostly our home grown veg, the taste is out of this world.


Regular readers / subscribers will know that I planned to plant some more seed today. Unfortunately, the ground was so hard, i could not dig sufficiently ( partly due to my ongoing back problem ) to prepare the ground for new sowings. The good news though, is that its pouring down as I write this, so first job for the morning will be to get that planting done. The bed I will be using is only 3' x 3', but I'm planning on planting some Organic Zilver Chard around the edge, and if possible about 30 Turnip seeds in the middle. I'm hoping this will provide further cropping late into the autumn, and can maybe use the turnip tops too as some winter greens.

Time permitting, I might get round to planting a further batch of Kohl Rabi ? We'll see.

Thats all for now. See you soon.

TTFN.

Start 'em young ! 02.08.08

Welcome once again to Reads Retreat, where we not only grow veg in raised beds, but we nurture new gardeners too! After a small outlay at Wilkinson's for a wheelbarrow and garden tool set, there is now absolutely no way I'm going to keep Ruby out of the garden! What a great way to start - for £7.00 you get the barrow, a rake, a spade, a roller, bucket, shapes for "making" things in the mud, and a watering can. Just a shame I cant get the same outfit in adult size for a similar amount.
Back on the veg front, I planted a small row of Radish seeds today (v. Scarlet Globe), and also spied that the 2 rows of Chard / Leaf Beet planted just a few days ago have started to germinate. No sign of the carrots yet, but don't expect them for a few more days yet. I've still a lot of planting planned, and hopefully tomorrows list will include Turnips and Kohl Rabi.

And if you are left wondering what to do with all this fine veg you are growing - fear not ! Today I have added a new list of Chef's websites. The list will grow as I root out more site addresses, and if you have any favorites you would like me to add, then drop me a line. Emails please to:

readsretreat@hotmail.co.uk

Thats about it for now, but we'll see you again soon.

TTFN.

Pumpkin Growing Tips 01.08.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat - your one stop shop for topical and timely info on growing your own veg.
This year I've been trying my hand at growing some pumpkins, and have to say have been finding it difficult to track down useful growing tips. I have found a pretty good site and added it to my sites of interest.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we planted some tomatoes in the spaces around the runner and french beans. I've just popped out with the camera to show you what i mean. It looks really nice to see the contrasting Deep Red flowers on the Runner beans with the bright yellow of the tomato plants. I'm sure we're going to see much more colour shows like this as the growth continues.
The runner and french beans both seem to have responded well to the feeding with liquid tomato fertilizer, with buds / flowers forming all over the place. Looking forward to pick enough to grace the dining table.


Continued thanks go to Jen, this glorious show of colour greets me every time I step out onto the patio. Who would have believed it , a veg grower like me loving flowers too. Is that whats known as natural progression. Not sure really , but they do look great. The Nasturtiums are also looking good, but the night scented stock is yet to flower - maybe its too early.






My Tomato (v. Tomazing) is now full of well formed trusses of lovely little fruits.
Up until yesterday, there was a further truss of bright orange toms that were very nearly ripe. Then Ruby discovered them, and now they've been picked and put on the kitchen windowsill for further ripening!
The other toms around the plot are either in flower or full of green toms. I'll be thinning out the non productive leaf shoots over the next few days, to let the sun get to the toms to ripen them off. I've got 2 further varieties arond the plot: Moneymaker & Gardeners Delight. I'll bring you more pictures of these as they start to ripen off.

Thats all for now - enjoy your gardens and come back soon.

TTFN.