Dickie's Diary 2012

Forgot what happened last year - maybe it's here!!
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Richard
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Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

On my homour I promise to try and keep my Diary going all through the year.

So, here we are
7th. January 2012

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Just a bit to do, but the Greenhouses are tidy (but a bit too well ventilated at present !!!)

I'm certainly going with the three sister's again this year, but may put Courgettes in amongst them rather than Squash.
Certainly the Sweet Corn last year was amazingly good, both in growth and in the taste. I have enough stored to last through to early Summer.

Richard
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ChrisG
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by ChrisG »

Did you grow your sweet corn in the greenhouse or outside? I have never been able to get anything worth bothering with, so this year decided not to bother and will buy it instead. The season never seems either long enough or warm enough here {cry}
Chris xx

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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

Hi Ruth,

I've always done reasonably well with Sweet Corn, but planting them outside in with French Beans and the Squash, they did famously.
I didn't get so many Squash as normal though all be it they were enormous, I've still got one on the window sill ripening off now :-D

For me, Squash seems to grow better in pretty rough soil. The best year I've had, they grew on an old bonfire. Best to mound them up a bit as well I've found.

Richard )t'
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ChrisG
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by ChrisG »

Must be the difference between Durham and Kent then )t' Good luck with it all this year.
Chris xx

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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

feel a survey coming on there - ref - what regions best for what.

Richard )t'
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Richard
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

I purchased some seeds from Wilkinson's today (3 for the price of 2).

Runner Beans - enorma
Dwarf French Beans - tendercrop
Broad Beans - bunyards exhibition

I shall sow the Broad Beans weekend after next weather permitting. I usually do around mid-end January and all's well.

Richard
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recoil
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by recoil »

Hello Richard,
Will you be sowing Broad Beans in pots in the greenhouse or outside? How are they affected by the frost?

On the subject of Sweetcorn, I've tried for the past two years growing some and failed. They grow nice and tall, but I always seem to get a lot of the sweetcorn that don't seem to get pollinated so only half of the cob is edible if you catch my drift. Both years they have been planted in a square shape to aid pollination. I don't really like the stuff that much to be honest so I think we'll buy ours from now on.
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Richard
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

Hi,

Planting out the sweetcorn in more square situations helps the pollonation without a doubt. I think I had plants in a 4 x 4 situation.

I shall be sowing the Broad Beans direct into the soil, but the climate is a little more friendly here in the south east pocket, so I've never had probs.
The prob's come when the Black Fly do !!
I've sown them in October once but with little success, late'ish January always works well for me.

On the climate / sowing, John Harrison, when living in Crewe, reckoned he was about 2 - 3 weeks behind East Kent Veggie wise.

Richard )t'
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

I promised to try and keep my diary up this year.

Since my last post I have done absolutely nothing


:-D
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by little brown hen »

This is the weather for armchair gardening, you sit indoors and go through the seed packets and have lots of cups of tea and wait for the warm weather to come back. )cof(
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Richard
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

A wee hint of Spring on Thurs and Friday apparently, so will dig for victory and cover for a couple of weeks.

Richard
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by madmum »

Oooh you have just reminded me to cover our raised bed Richard )t'
If you always do what you always do ,you will always get what you have always got!
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by p.penn »

Richard wrote:The prob's come when the Black Fly do !!


Richard I had AMAZING success with blackfly control last year. Get some yellow buckets and fill them with water. Place them at the ends of the rows of beans. Sorted.
Helen xx

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Richard
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by Richard »

Fascinating Helen, thanks. I know someone with a few spare buckets, so great stuff )t' )t'
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Re: Dickie's Diary 2012

Post by p.penn »

They must be yellow though Richard. )t'
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com
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