Today in the Garden

[Aradia]

Thanks to my friend's help, my polytunnel is now clear, weeded and sown with salad crops.

I've just set masses of seeds to germinate ... aubergine, celeriac, sweet peppers, chilli peppers, tumbler tomatoes, dwarf French beans, fennel. I'm going to bring them on and plant them out in about 5/6 weeks when the risk of frost is over. In the next few days I'm going to direct sow some spinach, carrots, more fennel and celeriac, lambs lettuce.

I'm getting really ahead of myself in the garden. It feels weird ... like somebody else's life!!

I'm going to be really organised this year. Set up bins around the place so I don't end up with junk everywhere.... wash pots as I'm finished with them .... write everything veggie related in one book instead of loose bits of paper and various books that I can never put my hand on when I want them.

I'm going to become a Stepford Gardener!

[cedarblue]

[COLOR="Red"]my sunflowers have popped up about a thumb's length. today has been so lovely i've been seedin away. seeded;
7 types tomato
yellow & green courgette
peans
dwarf french beans
rainbow chard
3 types chilli
purple, red & orange peppers
leeks
sweetcorn
aubergine

calendula marigolds

i still have to do;

fennel
runner beans
more peas & french beans at intervals
radish
parsnips
carrots
perpetual spinach
rocket
lots of assorted salad leaves
brocolli
swede
spring cabbage for next year

i forgot to buy some cuke so will get some tomorrow.

we are putting a nice 6' fence at the bottom of our garden next week and our polytunnel has been despatched so looking forward to getting that.



p.s. aradia, can you transplant fennel? i thought it had to be planted in situ??COLOR]

[Aradia]

Wow, you've been a busy gal!

Sunflowers - I haven't done any. Is it too late to plant some seeds now? I put the seeds to one side too, what a dolt!

Yes, fennel can be transplanted. Leave them in the pot until they get a reasonable size and then put into final position. Apart from giving them a head start, it also means you can plant through weed supressant fabric, which is an absolute must where I am (very rural, lots of seeds flying through the air at just the wrong time).

What are you most looking forward to harvesting? And are you planting anything for the first time this year? (I'm doing melons this year, they got left to rot in pots last year!)

[kokopelli]

hello snivelling child!
this is just to say, some fruit trees need pollinating by another variety that flowers around the same time, so you have to plant two different varieties unless there's a suitable tree somewhere nearby already. I'm not sure about Pink Lady. The best plan would be to get catalogues from nurseries, they usually list pollination groups and tell you something about the variety's qualities, disease resistance etc.

[cedarblue]

not too late for sunflowers - get them seeded up now! you'll still be ok


...also planted the first early spuds, 'home guard'. i'm currently chitting the pink fir's to go in soon and will start to chit the maris pipers in a week or so..

[rantipole]

This weekend, I planted green beans, peppermint, and more marigolds, morning glories, cilantro (the first group hasn't come up :( ), nasturtiums, and delicata squash. Most of the first round of seedlings are doing very well, although the carrots look a little weak.

I ripped the weeds and dead juniper out of the flower box in front of the house and planted four little rosemary plants. I can't wait until we get the cactus to add behind. Being a Wiccan and into plant magic, the rosemary and cactus will be very protective for the house.

Cheers,
rant

[bryzee86]

Anyone in the london area fancy flogging me some excess fruit and veg when the time comes to harvest? :D

[Risker]

Not sure if I can do any fruit and veg but the flogging shouldn't be a problem.

[bryzee86]

Thanks. I'll polish the Cat o' nine tails off.

[snivelingchild]

Going to have my second raised bed done by the end of the day if all goes well. So far it looks much better than I thought.

[Tibetan Snake]

not exatly 2 day but I broke a rib trimming the Apple tree. Been off work for three weeks now, and the tree looks fabeulluss.
Got a really really beutifull Honeysuckle. Made space for all the str orberry plants.

[cedarblue]

way to go sniv!

hope you are fully recovered soon tibetan snake!

planted parsnips & radish yesterday.

we are halfway through polytunnel erection. frame is up, we are just waiting for anti hot-spot tape then we can put the polythene on.

[snivelingchild]

Planted a few leftover plants that a friend started from seeds. (eggplant, purple cherokee tomato, red lettuce, mint, and a few unidentifiable things)Today I planted my Brandywine tomatoes and I'm going to plant my mint and rosemary today.

I've ordered a bunch of seeds, including sausage tomatoes, lettuce mixes, cucumbers, watermelons, eggplant, oregano, and...something else I can't remember. I'm going to plant honeysuckle on the fence along the street, and in between me and the neighbors to help cover the smell of their ignored dogs. :( Also going to plant some raspberries and blackberries, and some black peppers. I'm thinking of getting some dye plants for coloring organic cotton yarn for knitting, and trying to grow some henna bushes.

[Aradia]

we are halfway through polytunnel erection. frame is up, we are just waiting for anti hot-spot tape then we can put the polythene on.


Don't forget to turn your folds at the door ends outside, so that any water collected in the folds is outside, not inside where the water will turn green and harmful.

(easily done. forgetting that its :o )

[cedarblue]

good tip, thanks aradia! :)

[Ginger]

We dug up the last of our leeks today on the allotment. Onion sets went in last week - reds and whites (keep having to replant the ones the birds pull up).
We also have 1st early spuds (pentland javelin) and 2nd earlies (Nicola) in now.
My daughter and I spent a lovely afternoon in the greenhouse on Wednesday sowing:
Sweetcorn (F1 Sundance)
Leeks (mussleburgh)
Coriander
Climbing French beans (Cherokee Trail of Tears)
More tomatoes and peppers and loads of Sunflowers.
Still a lot of work to do on the allotment, we've had it for a year now.
We are mid way through making a fruit cage, just need to chicken wire and net it now. All the raspberries are alive (such a relief)!

[snivelingchild]

My brandywine tomatoes popped up sprouts today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did the opposite of killing something! And my outside garden's not dead yet! woo!

[Roxy]

I'm so jealous of all you peeps with gardens!

[Aradia]

Do you get allotments in Canada Roxy?

[cedarblue]

All the raspberries are alive (such a relief)!

are the leaves forming on the cut down canes ginger?

i put two raspberry plants in last year but no sign of them budding yet :(

woohoo the anti hot spot tape came through so that'll go on with the next dry day.

yesterday planted;
cuke seeds
fennel
runner beans

shame it's drizzling today.......

here is our slow progress with polytunnel erection.

starting out;


http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k181/cedar_03/BEFORE.jpg


and so far...

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k181/cedar_03/SOFAR.jpg

[Ginger]

Looking fab there Cedar :).I would love a polytunnel but don't have enough room left.
The raspberries only went in in the Autumn so the canes have just started shooting. The ones I've got in the garden (as opposed to allotment) are going crazy coz I didn't cut them back :eek:
I've noticed other allotments with older canes that haven't sprouted yet so don't worry, be patient, it's still quite early :)
The sweetcorn seeds in pots in the greenhouse have sprouted but no sign of leeks yet.

[RubyDuby]

oh man, that looks great cedar.
maybe someday I'll have a yard. :(

[snivelingchild]

I just planted the rest of my seeds, except for the melons, and I started my herb bed. *fingers crossed* My tomato plants have been looking awesome, until today. It looks like half of them might be dead. :( There's still plenty, but I think I may have overwatered them, and they needed more sun, so I moved them outside.

[Maisiepaisie]

My gardening book says to add bonemeal to the soil before planting. I don't want to use bonemeal for obvious reasons. Is there a vegan alternative? I've been planting stuff with a bit of compost added to the soil. Then I've been feeding my plants with a liquid feed. Is that sufficient or is it better to add fertilizer to the soil first? Can you do both or would that be too much? I wish Alan Titchmarsh were here, I'm new to gardening and confused :confused:

Anyway I'm in the process of overhauling my garden front and back. It was quite messy before but now I've dug it over and planted some blackcurrants and redcurrants (to attract birds), a climbing rose and some vegetables - swiss chard, cos lettuce, curled endive and broccoli. My guinea pigs like these vegetables so I thought it would save me some cash if I can get them to grow. I've also planted some seeds of various annual flowers.

[cedarblue]

in the ivy colvered post you can see in the pics above we have some robins nesting and today while putting stuff in the composter, a tiny wren landed on the washing line with some nest stuffing and popped in there too.

the ivy post is becoming a des-res - i will start charging rental soon! :D