garethEds Posted May 23, 2012 Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) The past week has seen the first stages of Garden 2012 come into being.... Does anyone else grow stuff and take pride in their garden? SOme pictures for people... Fencing went up a few weeks ago to stop Boy 1.0 getting access to the shed and greenhouse. Little Tykes play set went up last weekend and tonight the toms got planted. My spend this year was an automatic watering kit. I know we don't grow enough to be self-sufficient, but when I retire I will (31 years away?). Got some more veg to get in the raised beds now and I'll be happy. Also need to re-turf the 5x4 square in front of the playset where the rockery was. So let's discuss gardening. Oh, forgot to put my Nemetodes in this evening to kill the slugs. Gareth Edited May 23, 2012 by garethedmondson
jedmondson Posted May 23, 2012 Posted May 23, 2012 We are not allowed to plant much crops in the garden this year after my brother took up 95% of the garden last year. We now have an allotment. Fall and rise of the allotment. - a set on Flickr
woodham Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 Have a look at square foot gardening if you want to maximise yield for space, I’m on year 3 of it and I get a lot more produce from the small 1.5 * 3 meter bed than I thought I would carrots just starting to come through got lettuce / sweetcorn to put in this weekend and toms to pot on along with a couple of squashes and aubergine’s am also trying to grow pepino plants this year as they sounded cool.
garethEds Posted May 25, 2012 Author Posted May 25, 2012 I cannot believe we are the only ones who garden here.
pcstru Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) I cannot believe we are the only ones who garden here. Not the only ones. I'd not describe myself as a rabidly keen Gardner but I like to potter and bit by bit, I usually end the summer with a garden full of produce and flowers. I moved in January though and while the new garden has a nice big greenhouse (14x10?), a reasonable sized veg patch and some nice planting just outside the back of the house, we are about to embark on building work which will probably be ruinous. SWMBO also wants to move the greenhouse which will probably end in tears (mine!). Anyhoo ... some dodgy pics ... including some hot chicks! Looking down on front garden. Inside the greenhouse. Down the path to the back Looking across the sort of cottagy bit to the man cave. This bit is destined to become a pond (the cottagy bit not the man cave). Looking down the back garden The Veg Patch. Ze Girls! Edited May 25, 2012 by pcstru 3
sonofsanta Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 That is a gorgeous bit of land there @pcstru... and the size of that greenhouse! Marvellous The wife is the green fingered one at our house, though I'm picking it up/being roped into it. Sadly all the money this year has been spent/will be spent on the house being renovated and the sproglet due in August, but we have an area set aside for the veg patch already (with lots of black sheeting on to mulch the soil down) and we've got an apple and pear tree already, as well as a monstrous rhubarb plant that came as a surprise in the first year... Moved in at the end of October, chopped down some massive firs, piled the wood everywhere while we sorted through it for the open fire, and when we removed the last pile in the April/May, found an enormous rhubarb plant underneath that, thanks to the covering of dead foliage, had been naturally forced and was delicious.
elsiegee40 Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 I love gardening, but we have a tortoise that was my husband's 7th birthday present rather a long time ago and have to garden according to his needs. That means accepting that some plants get eaten and some get trampled and your garden can only consist of things he leaves alone or are big enough to withstand his attentions!... weeds have to be encouraged as they make good food. I sowed clover into our new turf 1
pcstru Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 I love gardening, but we have a tortoise that was my husband's 7th birthday present rather a long time ago and have to garden according to his needs. That means accepting that some plants get eaten and some get trampled and your garden can only consist of things he leaves alone or are big enough to withstand his attentions!... weeds have to be encouraged as they make good food. I sowed clover into our new turf It took me a while to twig you were talking about the tortoise ... not your husband. :-0 2
witch Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 We have a big garden and every year I try hard to grow stuff but usually end up with a few potatoes, peas, raspberries and sweetcorn. It just gets eaten to bits even if I cover it up. There is a cobnut tree too but the squirrels mean I never get any. mrwITch not interested in gardening and it is tough to do it all on your own. I have peppers and salad on the patio though 1
garethEds Posted May 25, 2012 Author Posted May 25, 2012 @pcstru - What a lovely garden. I'm dying to get some chickens but am not sure of the logistics of looking after them. Perhaps you can enlighten me. GJE
pcstru Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) @ garethedmonson & @sonofsanta - thanks. I hated moving and when I first got here wondered what the hell I'd done (it was winter, cold and the house, it smelled of wee). Chickens are easy to please. A box - to hide in at night and somewhere dark with a bit of sawdust to lay eggs. They need to be penned but only really because they will destroy the garden (good at weeding if you need to clear a patch of ... just about anything). Obviously, there's a Haynes manual available should you ... err ... need to change the ... um ... oil or summat. Biggest problem people usually have is infestations of red mites. They can be a pain and persistent but there are effective ways to control them although it's almost impossible to eliminate them completely. They can be surprisingly entertaining, amusing and ... well, I'm quite fond of ours. The chickens that is, not the red mites. Meanwhile - what's going on with ... are those tomatoes in grow bags in pots in other pots in your greenhouse? Edited May 25, 2012 by pcstru 1
witch Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 I have several friends that keep chickens in pretty ordinary suburban gardens and they say it isn't difficult. I do alright though coz I dont have the bother but I get the eggs!
garethEds Posted May 25, 2012 Author Posted May 25, 2012 Yes they are tomatoes. I use these Please enable your cookies which protects him a bit. Gareth 1
elsiegee40 Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 Yes they are tomatoes. I use these Please enable your cookies which protects him a bit. Gareth Sorry the "please enable your cookies" made me giggle. I use harrod horticultural too... their spider mite predators are very effective 1
garethEds Posted May 25, 2012 Author Posted May 25, 2012 Oh @elsiegee40 - you've just reminded me to order nematodes for slugs and ants. Gareth 1
pcstru Posted May 26, 2012 Posted May 26, 2012 Yes they are tomatoes. I use these Please enable your cookies which protects him a bit. I'm tempted to try some, do they work?
garethEds Posted May 26, 2012 Author Posted May 26, 2012 @pcstru - I like to think so. I'll take a photo later to show how we do it. Gareth
elsiegee40 Posted May 26, 2012 Posted May 26, 2012 Oh @elsiegee40 - you've just reminded me to order nematodes for slugs and ants. Gareth Hmmm ant nemotodes... I haven't used those, but they might be worth getting for my lawn. I could do with them out front to stop them up-rooting the block paving of our drive, but it's very hot and dry (south facing) and I don't think they'd survive. Might be worth a try if I get them for the back.
pcstru Posted October 4, 2012 Posted October 4, 2012 @pcstru - I like to think so. I'll take a photo later to show how we do it. So how did it go this year? My tomatoes took over my greenhouse with wild enthusiasm, then in about the space of two weeks, blight took all but one plant. Quite depressing really. Salads did well but garden veg was a bit disappointing (at least so far) with some brutally misshapen carrots. All in all, pretty grim. I have just ordered James Wong's home-grown revolution, which I'm hoping will inspire me to get away from the usual garden suspects and start growing something more unusual and worthwhile - perhaps my harvest next September will look like This (yea, right!).
Bromcom_John Posted October 4, 2012 Posted October 4, 2012 So how did it go this year? My tomatoes took over my greenhouse with wild enthusiasm, then in about the space of two weeks, blight took all but one plant. Quite depressing really. Salads did well but garden veg was a bit disappointing (at least so far) with some brutally misshapen carrots. All in all, pretty grim. I have just ordered James Wong's home-grown revolution, which I'm hoping will inspire me to get away from the usual garden suspects and start growing something more unusual and worthwhile - perhaps my harvest next September will look like This (yea, right!). The weather this year was terrible for our garden. Fruit literally rotting on the branch due to the excesive rain at the wrong time. (apples, cherries, pears and plums) A severe late frost all but wiped out the peach blossom. An extremely unusual failure to germinate on the part of the peas, beans and mange tout. A small spurt of sun to bring the grapes along and then a total failure to follow up with anythign more than a few hours of sun meant lots of small unripe bunches. Cucumbers both inside and outside failing. and SO MANY SLUGS!! At one point I had what I like to call Arboreal Snails. One evening I went out and plucked 6 of the blighters out of the upper branches of our apple tree. I need to nematode again next year as we skipped it this year and coupled with the weather it was a proper nightmare. The only "success" stories were the 5 pounds or so of Tomatoes my greenhouse did deliver (this has now been converted into a few jars of homemade pasta sauce) and the bizarrely successful despite everything golden raspberry canes, which have been delivering fruit solidly for about 2 months.
sonofsanta Posted October 4, 2012 Posted October 4, 2012 I think this year could best be summed up as a Rhubarb Year. Was cropping that well into July, got two batches of homebrew rhubarb wine on the go now.
Little-Miss Posted October 4, 2012 Posted October 4, 2012 oooh @pcstru that's such a wildlife friendly garden! I love it!
featured_spectre Posted October 4, 2012 Posted October 4, 2012 John...if possible. Keep a duck or a chicken. They'll demolish those slugs and snails no problem. Our neighbours duck has free reign in our garden and our harvest has been decent because there's been no critters going at our fruit and veg.
Meldrew Posted October 4, 2012 Posted October 4, 2012 So how did it go this year? My tomatoes took over my greenhouse with wild enthusiasm, then in about the space of two weeks, blight took all but one plant. Quite depressing really. Salads did well but garden veg was a bit disappointing (at least so far) with some brutally misshapen carrots. All in all, pretty grim. Me too. Tomatoes didn't fantastic last year (but great the year before) so hoped for better this year, but was a bit of a disappointment. I'd hoped to skin, dice and freeze lots of tomatoes as replacement for tinned tomatoes - lovely in a lasagna. Got loads of pepper plants germinated and growing this year, but just not enough sun to get any actual peppers Outside lettuce did okay and charlotte potatoes did fairly well (in potato bags), but caterpillars devastated my cabbage, broccoli and Brussels. Meldrew
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