How is your veg growing?

[Mo]

Ouch!
We noticed lots of leaves and small branches down as we drove home from N. Shropshire last night.

[Meanqueen]

That's a shame Morph, sorry to hear about that.

It's windy here, there are massive silver birch trees in the garden round the corner, which backs on to mine, they are waving about like crazy. I am also surrounded by 6ft conifer hedges on two sides and a garage on the other side, which give some protection. A lot of my veg is in pots so I can move it to a sheltered spot, and thankfully my home made wood and plastic greenhouse, and plastic shelters alongside the garage are bearing up well. I seem to remember the same thing happening this time last year. Just looking out, it's getting a bit rough, think I will put my plastic covers back on the raised beds.

Got my first strawberries yesterday, yum.

Ilona

[saint-spoon]

What a pain losing the tomatoes.


I have developed a sorrel jungle and for some reason missed a radish that has now grown to the size of a golf ball. Do you think that it will grow to cricket ball dimensions?

[Mo]

Probably. The right colour and just as lethel to unpadded anatomy too.

[Meanqueen]

Today I went to the compost factory and asked for some free compost, I took six bags and a spade with me. They said they will give me 2 bags on a try before you buy basis, it is £30 per tonne if I want any more. I could do with a bit more but not that much, I don't think they get many people asking for it for free.

I also got a couple of pallets from a plumbers merchant, I used one of them to make this shelter for my small plants which need protecting from the wind. I nailed a post to each corner, added some crossbars, two sides are lower so I can reach into it, then covered it in the shrinkwrap that I got for a pound at a car boot sale.


Yellow courgettes growing in plastic storage boxes


Broad beans and runner beans covered in net curtain to protect from the wind. £1 fruit bush growing in blue tub, green courgettes and peas in the same bed, potatoes in the next bed.


A bit like last years pics but growing more varieties this year. My veg is spreading further up the lawn. I have masses of tomato plants, again!

Ilona

[taff]

the snails ate my cucumber, courgette and squash seedlings, so none of them for me, and they ate the runner beans, so planted more of them, will plant out when I find some bread baskets to hide them from the bunny ( thank you Richard)
Beetroot is a bit iffy, spinach also iffy, rocket rocketing, sorrel will be re-planted to see if it spreads, celery good, peas great.
I can't wait for next year.
Does anyone else have a tendency to over-estimate how good the weather will be and plant too early?

[Richard]

It's difficult isn't it.

Problem is when you get an early Spring hot spell and the Garden Centres go crazy, thus lots of people sow too early.

Because of my work load, I'm late on everything this year, but all seems to be going well except the carrots which were coming along great and in one night something had the lot - just little stumps left!

But in Kent we have a slightly longer season than those in Northern parts I guess - evry year is pot luck I believe.

It's the Biblical "If you wait for the weather to be just right, you'd never sow or reap anything".

Hard work sometimes !

[Mo]

Our runner beans didn't germinate at all, we thought they were a duff lot. We couldn't get plants at the DIY shop. So OH stuck the whole packet in and they bluming well all germinated, but will they crop before the frost?
I bought lettuce seed - Tom Thumb and Cos - and then found last years packet of mixed lettuce. So I thought, I'll give it a try but plant it thick, cos old lettuce seed never germinates. It did though, very thick, so we're munching through the thinnings like mustard & cress.