Rootin shootin

I have shoots, they started shooting through at the weekend and are now a few inches high. I was told today that I don't really have to worry about manuring the earth this year as it is virgin soil, meaning nothing has been grown in it before. Next year it will need to have a good mulch over.

If they're looking this good in ten days, what they gonna be like next year!

These are the onions, look at them will you, go on, look at them, good eh!

Not that I'm too excited, that would be sad wouldn't it? Whoop whoop whoop whoop

Nothing to report

There is no more news from the veggie site at the moment as there is nothing to do, apart from wait, and wait. Keith has not yet started on the cold frame, nothing has started to grow yet, well it wouldn't have would it! I hope to go down at the weekend and plant another few rows of garlic and onions. I will have a weed and a light water maybe. The exciting bit will start in the spring, that's when all seeds and sets an plants will go in, then it should get exciting :o)

Watered

Very special update - Jack watered my onion and garlic sets yesterday ...

How does your garlic grow - Part deux

What a glooorious day. I went down t'plot, and I raked it all over again. Ooh the earth is so gorgeous. Why does everybody have an obsession with gloves, I keep getting asked that. No, I don't wear gloves, I love to feel the earth between my fingers. How can you gently pick up a 'lil caterpillar and put it to one side (I hear Gem's screeches of kill it, kill it) when you have a mamby pamby pair of gloves on. I cut all my nails down to stubs for this task. Dedication. There's no grass or no weeds coming through, at all, I must have done such a good job first time round. I filtered out anything odd looking, stones, cat poops, caterpillars, and raked it all over smooth. I then dug a bit of a trough and filled it with compost improver, don't ask me why, it might help, and I then planted my onion thingies, and my garlic thingies, about 5" apart, 3 rows of each. The green sticks indicate the end of each 3 rows. I have saved half a packet of which I shall plant in about 3 - 4 weeks time. It's rotation you see, I don't want 400 onions in one month, I need to spread it all out. (here's hoping). I did break sticks and put printed tags on them, courtesy of a superb plastic tag making machine that my uncle has, and these will label what I have planted and where. I didn't need to put dates on the labels cos I'm keeping record in here. Up there for thinking, down there for dancing. So next job is planting the rest of the packets in about a month's time.

I have just asked Keith if he wouldn't mind making me a cold frame, and to my absolute surprise he said he would. I have a huuuge sheet of perspex in a frame, long story, don't ask, all he needs to throw together is some sort of base, made with some sort of wood, which I have already managed to pillage, and hinge the perspex lid to it. Sorted. The reason for the cold frame is to nuture the seedlings and harden them, they have a much better chance of growing strong and healthy once put in the earth, do you think, maybe? I am hoping it will look something like this

Hmm, the perspex is about the same size as this, I'll print this out and leave it lying around, he's usually pretty good with his tools.

How does your garden grow ...

08 October 2008

How does your garden grow ...

Well to be truthful I haven't done anyting on my plot since the last posting, apart from lug the 4 bags of compost improver down there, and place my garlic and onions neatly in the corner, waiting for planting. The weather has been attrocious, I mean nasty, really nasty. The forecast is good today, so if it does turn out sunny I am going to try and speed ahead with my work at home and sort the garlic trough out. I may do a bit of weeding, and finish off the rest of the digging over. As it has been raining for a few days it should be nice and soft. Fingers crossed for a warmer day. It seems I am not an all weather gardener.

Gem's Tips of the Month

Gem's Tips - Simple advice from one who knows:

Plant nasturtiums in between lettuces, killer pillers (caterpillers) will be attracted to them instead of your lovely crop. And check under all the leaves regularly for eggs and squish them all. Miss the eggs, you can lose all your crop overnight.

Put sticks or twigs at the end of each row and label with what you have planted, if you're going as crazy as me with the veg you will forget what you planted!

Sew seeds like lettuce every three weeks so you have an all summer crop

Get a dibber, I don't know what for yet, I didn't ask

Save yoghurt pots and inside of loo roles for planting seeds, if you are lucky enough to have a partner/husband/friend to make you a cold frame then the toilet roll insides can be cut down, filled with compost, seeds can be planted and they can be kept safe and sound in the cold frame until frost has passed, and then planted straight out in the garden, cardboard 'n' all!

How does your garlic grow ...

29th September 2008

How does your garlic grow ...

Well yesterday I bought 4 bags of compost for a tenner. And a bag of fertiliser pellet thingies. A big box. I was assured by the shop assistant that this would be fine for growing my garlic in. I was going to go dig up the rest of the weeds today but it's raining, I'm not sure it's possible to do gardening in the rain??

I will go and clean up my wooden trough, and if the rain eases I will plant the garlic, which I bought as well, not just plain old supermarket garlic, proper garlic, from the garden centre and I will choose my onion plot, cos I also bought some onion sets, proper onion sets, wter growing ones, from the garden centre. There is 50 each pack, for £1.99, 50 onions for £1.99, is that good? I find myself comparing the cost of his project to the cost of value veg from the shops, but it's not all about the cost is it, it's about taste, the joy of living from the earth, the satisfaction and of course saving the pla

OCTOBER CALENDER

I'll try and make this as straightforward as possible, remember, I haven't really got any idea about what I am doing. Click on each heading to read info on how to get started, I have chosen the information that I have personally found easiest to understand, in other words info that has omitted the PH balance of soil, the temperature of the soil, the specific nutrients of the soil etc etc blah blah, I can't be doing with all that, I wanna plant and go ......

OCTOBER - WEEK 1

Plant Garlic - (I'm doing this in a wooden trough)

Fertilisation & Crop rotation - I may have to go and find a bag of farm animal poo, I wanted to avoid it but it seems my veggies will need it. For years I have passed these bags of manure on the side of county roads, for sale, for a few bob, when driving through the countryside (not for pleasure, it's the only way to get to the shopping centre) and wondered who on earth would want to buy them, now I understand, it's going to help my garden grow. After some research it seems a bit of a dig in with the manure, and then a few weeks before sewing or planting I need to use a fertiliser. All veggies have different needs. I think I should be ok using a general purpose fertiliser, maybe something like this! Only a few quid, nice and easy (ha!) This Link should make things clearer. I guess the important thing is planning, sketch a plan of where each veggie is going, and prepare that area of soil accordingly.

OCTOBER - WEEK 2

Just potter about I guess, tidy up, weed, have a dig over.

OCTOBER - WEEK 3

Winter onions - I have read on many sites that onion sets (baby onions bought from garden centre etc) can be planted from August onwards. I have prepared the soil, it seems onions do not need the manure bit, so when preparing the soil in the first week of october my onion section was just fertilised using a packet of fertilising thingy from the garden centre (you can tell I am experienced)

OCTOBER CALENDER

I'll try and make this as straightforward as possible, remember, I haven't really got any idea about what I am doing. Click on each heading to read info on how to get started, I have chosen the information that I have personally found easiest to understand, in other words info that has omitted the PH balance of soil, the temperature of the soil, the specific nutrients of the soil etc etc blah blah, I can't be doing with all that, I wanna plant and go ......

OCTOBER - WEEK 1

Plant Garlic - (I'm doing this in a wooden trough)

Fertilisation & Crop rotation - I may have to go and find a bag of farm animal poo, I wanted to avoid it but it seems my veggies will need it. For years I have passed these bags of manure on the side of county roads, for sale, for a few bob, when driving through the countryside (not for pleasure, it's the only way to get to the shopping centre) and wondered who on earth would want to buy them, now I understand, it's going to help my garden grow. After some research it seems a bit of a dig in with the manure, and then a few weeks before sewing or planting I need to use a fertiliser. All veggies have different needs. I think I should be ok using a general purpose fertiliser, maybe something like this! Only a few quid, nice and easy (ha!) This Link should make things clearer. I guess the important thing is planning, sketch a plan of where each veggie is going, and prepare that area of soil accordingly.

OCTOBER - WEEK 2

Just potter about I guess, tidy up, weed, have a dig over.

OCTOBER - WEEK 3

Winter onions - I have read on many sites that onion sets (baby onions bought from garden centre etc) can be planted from August onwards. Click here for more info on planting. I have prepared the soil, it seems onions do not need the manure bit, so when preparing the soil in the first week of october my onion section was just fertilised.

September 28th 2008

Today I have started to prepare the earth, the first dig over. It's a back breaking job, lots of well established weeds & roots. I have managed to do about 4/5 of it, but due to having two severley torn 'hang' nails, as the grass got thicker and tougher I could not pull it out as it was catching on the broken nails (typical woman)

I have now come home and cut all my nails down to nothing, I must be serious, my hands look like a man's, my neatly manicured beautiful long nails are no more, all in the duty of doing what one must to save the planet.

As far as my research has gone I have figured out the earth needs to be turned over as much as possible, and all weeds must be banished. It must then be fertilised, the best fertiliser being farm manure. So I will spend the next couple of motnhs turning, weeding and fertilising. The earth itself is actually very nice, I am surprised, it feels rich, it looks rich, it's not chalky, it isn't clay like, which I thought it might be being so close to the sea, I don't know why. I am observing where the most sunlight is and where the most shade is, and when i get to the point of deciding what is to be planted where I guess I should have to take that in to consideration.

Not a bad job for a couple of hours work!



Useful Site for Preperation info

SEPTEMBER 27th 2008

This is my 16.5' x 4.5' plot, good huh. It's not getting an amazing amount of sunlight but I can only try!

Grow your own

Hello, my name is Lynn (otherwise known as sparkx) and I am 37 years old. I am a wife and mother of two boys and live right beside the seaside in the southeast of England.

With the growing recession and rising costs of food I have decided to take the plunge and grow my own fruit, vegetables and maybe the odd flower or two, as best I can. I have absolutely no idea about how to grow vegetables, I have no lush green garden, only a square decked area.

My first hurdle was to find a plot. Allotments in this area have a 10 year waiting list, and I'm not sure I could handle an allotment, all I need is a small area of which to have a play. After asking around the family I was offered a small peice of my uncle's garden, approximately 16.5' x 4.5', just perfect enough for me to manage. Next hurdle is to find out where on earth to start, how to prepare, what to grow and how to maintain, and of course with little or no expense, else it would defeat the object.

I hope to enoucrage my children and maybe their friends to get involved. On first mention they show absolutely no interest whatsoever, all the hard work and prepeartions will be done by me. I am curious to see whether as time goes on and things start to grow they will start to take an interest, here's hoping. If they don't help grow it then they won't help eat it ...

So here goes, the beginning of what will hopefully be a long term, easy to manage, beautifully tasty crop of food. It may be that everything gets eaten by slugs, it may be that there is not enough sunlight, the birds eat everything, ot it may be that I end up with the most brilliant crop of foods, only time will tell.

I hope you enjoy the adventure as much as I do, and most of all I hope it might inspire you to have a go :o) (Or if it fails miserably it will make you feel better about not trying it)

The dates in the menu are not consequetive days.