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cedarblue
Apr 29th, 2007, 09:25 AM
well done marrers - you'll be able to sit now and survey your 'land' in the summer!

there are literally MILLIONS (i'm not joking) of red worms in my compost bin - can you ever have too many? I tear up toilet roll tubes and kitchen roll tubes to go in there too with kitchen waste, grass cuttings and shredded paper, seems to be working. just waiting for my two extra ones then i'll leave #1 and start on another one.

potted on some tomato plants yesterday in the glorious sun, where there were two or three to a small pot, also the butternut squash and brocolli. my brussel sprouts have sprouted and my magnolia tree has three lovely red/purple flowers on it (will get a photo).

Robert
Apr 29th, 2007, 09:43 AM
We decided last year to grow those vegetables that cost a fortune at the shops at home as far as possible. Now we do not have the largest garden in the world but have managed to put up a decent sized greenhouse (built from reclaimed materials) and currently I have a good crop of Italian salad greens in there. These will need to be thinned out later today (second thinning and some edibles there now). I might just plant in the tomatoes, aubergines, chillies and pepino while I am at it as the salad greens should mature before they really need the space.

The herb garden (which is struggling still) has Welsh onion, peppermint, pineapple mint, chives, parsley, 3 types of basil, chervil, thyme, Greek oregano, marjoram and green perilla (if you have not tried this you are missing out - like a fruity basil) in it. Most as seedlings so there will be some potting on required today.

The Welsh Onion has flowerheads on for the first time and I am not sure if I should allow it to flower or pinch them out - any ideas?

Risker
Apr 29th, 2007, 04:50 PM
I was thinking of growing some stuff on the roof of my garage since it gets alot of sun and gives me extra space to the stuff I grow in the garden. Whatever I grow would have to be very low maintenance since access to the roof involves the use of a ladder, any ideas?

emmapresley
Apr 29th, 2007, 04:53 PM
nasturtiums grow like mad, looks interestingish, don't seem to need attention and you can eat the leaves and flowers..that any good?

apart from that, i have no ideas..you've seen my above posts..my gardening skills are poor :o

Risker
Apr 29th, 2007, 05:31 PM
Yeah, thanks :)

Do you know if they need much watering? As again, that would involve much unwanted ladder climbing. I'm definately after things that can be eaten rather than just look nice, but doing both is fine!

emmapresley
Apr 29th, 2007, 06:54 PM
no..i think they actually thrive better in drier soil. i neglect mine totally..infact i planted some seeds about 3 years ago and they come up every year and just do their thing..they grow quite speedily..good ground/roof coverage ;) ..i'd recommend planting some for sure

Kevster
Apr 29th, 2007, 06:58 PM
Some of the little chard plants are starting to come along a bit. We've got a bed of leeks as well and i'm watering them to try and hurry them up so i can put some sprouts and kale in there for autumn/winter.

There's a few lettuces coming up too, which is a nice surprise.

Marrers
Apr 30th, 2007, 12:08 AM
Risker can you see the garage roof from any windows? Just thinking it would be useful if you could keep an eye on the health of the things you are growing without any climbing!

I have no suggestions on what to grow but couldn't you get one of those lawn sprinkler things set up to a short length of hose with the other end at ground level? If you attached one of those clips that link two bits of hose together you could just snap you hose on to water without leaving the ground!

Risker
Apr 30th, 2007, 12:34 AM
Risker can you see the garage roof from any windows? Just thinking it would be useful if you could keep an eye on the health of the things you are growing without any climbing!

I have no suggestions on what to grow but couldn't you get one of those lawn sprinkler things set up to a short length of hose with the other end at ground level? If you attached one of those clips that link two bits of hose together you could just snap you hose on to water without leaving the ground!

Nice idea, I can see the garage roof from one window, I could even climb out of it onto the roof if I was so enclined (But it would be easier to use the ladder)

I think a sprinkler might be an idea if I covered the entire roof with soil but I've no idea where to start with that - So I thought large pots or troughs would be the way to go.

I'm now thinking that wild strawberries could be good, they seem to grow perfectly ok on their own at my last house.

Marrers
Apr 30th, 2007, 05:15 PM
Those lawn sprinklers would probably still work for pots. You can adjust how far the spray goes by how much water pressure you have (how much you turn on the tap!) and they can be put in the middle and flip from side to side or be positioned at one end and set to be static.

I was thinking you might have lots of window boxes or make up frames in a squarish or rectangular shape. Make sure the roof can take the weight of all the wet soil though, including any heavy pots you might use!

veganbikerboy
May 6th, 2007, 03:02 PM
Ok, about time I put some piccies up of my garden:D

General view of the beds
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7012.jpg

my strawberries (in flower) and asparagus

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7011.jpg

Stuff growing:D

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7009.jpg

more stuff growing

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7010.jpg

chives, alpine strawberries and a new asparagus crop.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7008.jpg

jerusalem artichokes

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7006.jpg

wildflower/wildlife area by the pond just starting to flower and some seeds just starting to come through

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7007.jpg

veganbikerboy
May 6th, 2007, 03:06 PM
compost area.

to large composts i built from old pallets

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7013.jpg

3 compost bins i use for kitchen waste. also the drums are full of liquid green manure (comfry juice + seaweed)

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7014.jpg

and my renewable supply of comfry:D

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/veganbiker/IMG_7015.jpg

Risker
May 6th, 2007, 04:14 PM
Looking very good VBB, very organised and looks like it's all thriving.

The first picture you linked to is tiny! What are the plants in the 3rd and 4th pictures, the 'stuff'?

veganbikerboy
May 6th, 2007, 04:30 PM
i had real problems with that first image, first it filled the screen then it disappeared??? thats why i did a link:D

in those two beds so far we have spinach, corriander, parsley, american lettuce (or something???) onions, a red salad leaf of some sort, broad beans probably other stuff i cant remember.

the lady that helps me had some seeds left from last season so i'm not 100% sure of everything that has gone in.

thinks there's rocket somewhere too??:D

Risker
May 6th, 2007, 09:19 PM
I was pleased to discover my first goldenberry growing today :)

coconut
May 6th, 2007, 10:42 PM
The garden looks great VBB :)

Pisces
May 10th, 2007, 08:52 PM
Your garden looks fantastic, VBB. Excellent use of the composts too. :)

Ginger
May 11th, 2007, 01:57 PM
Your garden is looking great VBB :) I'm very impressed.
Today on the allotment I planted my red cabbages, cauliflowers,brussels sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli all under their very own netting frame. I did some weeding (bloody couch grass again) and got rained on but I now feel a great sense of achievement and although there is still loads to do, I feel like I'm winning.
Hubby and me put up the shed I scrounged from my brother at the weekend and it's great to have somewhere to store stuff and shelter from the rain :D

emmapresley
May 11th, 2007, 05:47 PM
*quite envious of vbb's garden*

am intending to hack mine up some more this weekend. :)

good news on the compost front tho..it's starting to rot down more..definately weeing and stirring and watering it has helped..as well as some activating stuff from a shop.

ginger, your allotment sounds like it's coming on great..will be worth all the hard effort when it's harvesty time (i reliase i have absolutely NO room to talk as i am doing here!!)

cedarblue
May 11th, 2007, 08:47 PM
its the sameevery year - the slugs looooove my sunflowers :(

next week is the time for me to plant the sprouting brocolli, sweetcorn, mini corn, butternut squash, and to pot on some more tomato plants.

i planted two raspberry bushes recently and hope to put in a blueberry too.

the copper tape to put off the slugs seeeeeems to be working, we'll see how well after the rainy night tonight though.

Ginger
May 12th, 2007, 07:30 PM
Planted some runner beans, strawberries and sweet peas this afternoon on the allotment. It was still really windy but the sun was shining :) . Will try to remember to post some pics soon.

cedarblue
May 15th, 2007, 07:50 AM
hmmmm. still battling against the slugs who seem to have crossed the copper tape and are nibbling at the radishes. i picked them off yesterday and stopped counting when i got to 30 :(

auntierozzi
May 15th, 2007, 06:33 PM
Kevster - how long did it take for your chard to come through and what did the leaves look like? I planted some a couple of weeks ago but it doesn't look as though any are showing yet. Some shoots are coming through but they have leaves like hawthorn..which is maybe what they are.

Also, does anybody know anything about growing bamboo shoots? We have got some bamboo that breaks out in all directions sending up enormous shoots in no time. Could we eat them? Are all bamboo shoots edible? My husband mows over these triffid like shoots and I think it seems to be making them stronger. It could be my imagination though.

Kevster
May 15th, 2007, 06:58 PM
Two weeks should be enough for them to start coming up, it's quite good to start some in pots so you can recognise them, they do look unweed like tho.
Quite 'green' strong looking little leaves...

auntierozzi
May 15th, 2007, 08:30 PM
Thanks Kevster,
I planted some more in a sunnier spot on Sunday so hopefully they will do better. I should have done some in pots..I will next time. Glad yours are looking good :-)