The Frantic Gardeners’ Blog

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and the plants have grown well. The broad beans are flowering, and those sown in situ have all germinated and are growing up. the garlic is growing well too.The apples and pear tree have been absoluted covered in flowers, so hoping for a good harvest in the Autumn.

Sowing

Today I have sown sweetcorn ‘lark’ , climbing bean cobra and blauhilde and dwarf gold bean all in roottrainers, hoping to be not to early and not too late so we can plant  out in about 4-6 weeks. [lets see!] . I have also sown pumpkin [T and M experimental] Courgettes parthenon and … and butternut squash in module, again hoping for 4-6 weeks and out. As a gamble i have sown some watermelon seeds into pots - you never know!! I also sowed a second sowing of pak choi, broccolli romanescu and white cauliflower. only 3 of each, as think i sowed too many the first time, and really should think about when we are going to eat them! Next year I would like to work out how many of each to sow at a time. A second sowing of peas too [twinkle]

Potting On

I have potted on 5 each of the different peppers [inferno, jalapeno, mixed grill] all 6 of the aubergines [mixed] , 2 of the multiple cape gooseberries, 4 of the 5 melons and 1 more of each tomato [sungold, gardeners delight and golden sunrise] to make 5 of each. Hoping this will be the right amount of everything! I also potted up the last of DD 2’s short sunflowers - a week has made a noticeable difference between them and those potted up before we went on holiday.

Into the coldframe

go the brassicas and pak choi, and the mangetout. plan to be into the ground on weds.

Maintenance/DH

DH has finished this eve the first of the marked beds - not quite raised as our soil drains so very freely! but a marked out zone, one each so that we can be putting our chosen plants in.

So, To Do:

Sowing:

locate the runner beans and sow! then see what other wierd and wonderfuls i have bought and if there might be space

Into the veg patch:

Strawberries into strawberry planter and along veg bed wall. artichoke also along veg bed wall

Potatoes - into bags and into the ground

beds 1 and 2 of the 4:

Brassicas - into bed and enviromesh around them

peas/mangetout - into bed and need supporting structure

carrots - into bed if there is space! otherwise consider sowing into pots?

beds 3 and 4:

get ready really, some of the girls plants could go out, tho quite small ? better to pot on further before planting out? never sure of optimal size. DD2’s sunflowers are ready, but not sure whether not too early?

into pots:

dwarf french beans

discuss with girls and DH all their flowers and herbs and where they are hoping to put them!

Maintenance

lots of weeding!!

and the weather is gorgeous. there are a few things i have forgotten to do tho, and so am behind. mostly the chitting potatoes that i forgot that are in the dining room. hmmm. hopefully they will catch up a bit. The brassicas also need a home, and DH bought some strawberries - apparently - which should have been planted. 90 of them!! The toms need potting up urgently too, and we are off away on holiday for a week. eek! SO the potatoes get left in the dining room, the girls heel in the strawberry plants as a temporary measure. I pot up tomatoes and give everything a good water and off we go!!

SO currently everything growing, even DD2 has 2 gourds that have germinated. when i return, i will need to go through greenhouse and take out those things that need an outside bed now, pot up everything that can’t go out, and try and find enough space to empty propagator of the peppers and aubergines so that i can sow the french beans, sweetcorn and cucurbits. will ask DH very nicely to continue to make the beds and also to say where he is thinking the strawbs will go!

I know, I used that title for the photo post as well, but I do like it We have done a temporary bodge job fence around the broad beans, as we have rabbits, bought last year, and perfect for decimating the veg SO whilst we sort out fencing off a small area of garden for them, we thought we should hide the broad beans from their view. The rabbits do seem to be mostly v v fond of dandelions [no probs there!] .

Maintenance

So I am calling the fence bit maintenance Also DH sorted out a cold frame, so peas and nasturtiums and artichokes happily in there now.

Pricking Out

DD1 has done some of her pricking out. She has LOADS to do

i loathe pricking out really, so will usually attempt to sow either a single seed in a small module up to 4 in a large module so that I dont have to prick out, but can pot on. For the reliable seeds, still 1 per module. I still usually have to pot on, but the plant sturdier then, and no wastage. I hate not using germinated seeds, so tend to prick on everything, and then pot on everything, and then wonder where to home everything. So instead I gamble on good germination and low numbers sown. DD1 , on pricking out and relooking at the size of her patch has realised she has grown way too much. Think we will perhaps continue to pot on spares and sell them on the drive for charity - perhaps the local volunteer run library.

Maintenance

well, we have been working hard in the garden, clearing from the veg bed and the greenhouse 2 years of accumulated rubbish and weeds so that we can start again. A HUGE bonfire was had, and we have lots of compost from continuing to compost through the last 2 years, but not used it!

DH has set up the greenhouse with the propagator there as well, as the conservatory has been renovated, and no longer suitable for the mess of potting on ;)  . The previous shelves have been renovated a bit too, so i have a potting and sowing area in there for now, though when we get far more things I will have to lose it . contemplating bubble wrap, and also capillary matting and autowatering.

Planning

we have planned out the veg bed a bit, and the bit nearest the house will have 4 beds which are to be permanent, and one each for us. The girls are really excited, and bought mostly flower seeds, though DD2 has also chosen some woodland strawberries.

Sowing

Today i sowed the peppers - jalepeno, inferno and red grill, some from a mixed aubergine packet and physallis. These are obviously planned for the greenhouse. Later i will be sowing melons and tomatoes and that should fill it up! I also sowed some broad beans into a module, as that area of the veeg bed not quite ready yet. All are out into the propagator in the greenhouse, which is a home made job with coldframe on the top, and the individ trays get those seed tray lids on as well. It is the first year that the propagator is in the greenhouse, so i do hope it stays warm enough at night. Hmm, think tomorrow may add bubblewrap to make sure!

SO, nice to be back after a 2 year break.

Last year was mostly a write off in the garden, for one reason and another. 2009 was a bit ropey as well IIRC. 2010 will be much better

So a list to start:

1. Finish clearing the area at back of stable, greenhouse.

Finish cutting down the Fig.

Put down black sheet

Prune back the holly some more now berries gone.

2. Clear out greenhouse

Give it a good clean

Fix cracked/broken glass

Fix door

Fix roof openers (struts don’t hold them all open)

3. Put in some sort of elec supply to GH

4. Sort out large propogator onto it’s own stand

5. Sort out other staging - better trays for plants to stand on.

6. Clear:

Brambles etc. at back of greenhouse/vegplot fence.

Elder trees at end of veg plot

regrown back brambles etc. from wall side of veg plot

Clear rubbish from vegplot area, esp wall side

7.  Have bonfire and then black sheet rest of veg plot to stop weed regrowth

8. Construct 4 family beds at the top of veg plot (material? wood plastic?)

9. Put edge down on wall side of main ‘path’ to form bed, so strawberries at least can be planted there.

10. Tidy up/weed and  mulch sheet onto fruit bed whilst most weeds dead. Cover weedy strawberries and leave for this year.

Not much then

yes, this is our major harvest/glut. we are freezing some so that at some point i can pull out and make jam or smoothies! yes - the 4 of us can’t keep up. the peas are plumping up, by the end of next week we will be harvesting those! i spy baby courgettes as well.

i think this is the most organised this garden has been since we moved here. i must add some piccies into this blog. certainly the investment in mulch and clearing has worked, and i am trying to regularly hoe. i have also been pruning the bay and yews - well, starting anyway.

it is clear that we need to put bed structure in though, so that we don’t compact growing areas.

sadly, a plum minarette appears to be dying. it is dying back from the top and growing brown. no idea why?

oh yes, we have been away for a holiday, but things are moving on!

planted out: runner beans; french beans; courgettes; squash; sweetcorn. actually the beans were planted out by M-I-L, who seems to have planted the squash up the poles too. oh well, i am sure i can transplant!

harvesting: strawberries [yummy]

Need to do: sow some more beans, weed [actually this might be a crisis!], final pot up toms [another crisis!] and sow some salady bits.

its still under black membrane wraps, but the peas [celebration not hopeless endeavour] neeeeed to go out, as do the caulis and brocolli [so that i can then do a second sowing! I desperately need some more cardboard boxes, and some timeto do a spot of weeding! it is MUCH easier to do sowing and potting on with children than sorting and weeding. even if the sowing is ‘unusual’ and somethings don’t recover from the potting on!

the greenhouse also needs a bit of a sorting out, as i have potted on some of the toms again, and the yard long beans need to think about climbing up some permanent sticks! only 4 peppers, ah well.

oh, and the propagatory totally backed up! the artichokes have been potted on, as have some of the sunflowers.

for germination - we have had 100% of all the squash family [including the butternut squash from supermarket!] and the runners and celebration [but a solitary endeavour - will try sowing direct]. runners will soon need to go out [protected] and the squashes potted up.

for sowing, today i sowed the first lot of climbing bean blauhilde and cobra in roottrainers, the runner bean sunsomethingorother - to look up! I also sowed the sweetcorn - butterscotch and a supersweet.

beautifully chitted!! we have planted charlotte and pink fir apple. we don’t need to do much in the potato line, as a farm on the edge of the village sells so many diff varieties. infact, we have that many farm shops that we are spoilt for local grown organic [though not yet able to be labelled as such] produce.

We have planted through cardboard again, as that seems to be reasonably successful, and we are hopeless at weeding!

I am looking at the caulis and brocolli and peas and thinking they are also ready to go out. hmm, they’ll have to wait a bit!

toms have been happy with the repotting, and getting a move on. the yard long beans at least haven’t sulked too much!

the first of the squashes are already germinating - butternut from the supermarket. the girls always like to sow some saved seeds.

have sown the toms - tigerella, gardeners delight and ilidi [a yellow cherry] with the girls. hopefully will get a good germination rate! Also sown the peppers - big banana, a black coloured one ?poblano - must check. they are late, so here’s hoping! also jalapeno. and also late, artichokes! the girls seed sowing technique means a very variable depth, but most things seem to survive.

Must now revitalise the propagator though. As the science experiments the girls have done show, warmth and water are the essentials.

chris has dug over the fruit bed, awaiting arrival of raspberries and of goosegogs. [the blueberries will go in the tubs]