Cottage Garden 2012

[recoil]

Hi all,
I'm new here but have been lurking for a year or so and really enjoy reading the garden diaries so I thought I'd start my own. I will aim to get photos up soon as I now they make these threads a lot better to read.

So far this year I've pruned all the apple trees quite severely as they haven't been done for a good few years. We had a fantastic crop of apples last year and I'm still enjoying the Cider now :)

I've also planted my Garlic from stuff I grew last year. I've also noticed that I must've missed some bulbs of Garlic from last year in my raised beds as they've started shooting up! So I will probably dig them up and move them as I think I'm going to put salad in the raised beds this year.

Pics to follow.

[p.penn]

Hello recoil and welcome.

I missed some (most!) of my garlic last year as the tops snapped off and I couldn't find them! They too are sprouting, but I think they will at least need splitting.

[madmum]

Hi and welcome....... looking forward to getting to know you and seeing your pics

[Steve the Gas]

Welcome

[recoil]

Pics as promised.



These are the rogue Garlic plants which need digging up and replanting.



These are my fairly newly planted Garlic bulbs. They're a bit waterlogged at the moment and a few of them need pushing back in a bit but they'll be alright ;)



Messy garden. Needs a good tidy up in the spring or on a dry day (if we ever get any).

[LittleBrownFrog]

Welcome to the lane

[manda]

Hi there and welcome to the Lane from me too...good pics

[ChrisG]

Hi there and welcome to the Lane from me too.

Lovely garden you have there

[Richard]

Hello !!

Nice size garden and see you're keen on Garlic

I've never tried growing it, I get a lot of Wild Garlic down the Lane, but may well give it a try this year.

Richard

[recoil]

Thanks for the comments. I use Garlic in just about everything I cook, so save quite a bit of money by growing my own. The same goes for Onions, I can't get enough of them. Also Garlic was the first thing I ever grew and it's dead easy and stores well. That's enough to last all year round and still give some to friends and family. I planted this lot around Christmas time but ideally it should have been in a bit earlier as you can see the rogue plants have already grown quite well and are obviously fighting for space too. i'd definitely recommend giving it a go Richard, it really is a doddle.

[ChrisG]

I was reading through an old gardening book yesterday and it had this to say about garlic:

Until quite recently scientists smiled at all the wonderful medicinal powers claimed for garlic,but recent research has shown that there is some truth in a few of the old wives' tales. Garlic, of course, has an important role in Continental but not British cookery - it really isnt worth growing unless you are a fan

(emphasis mine)

[recoil]

Haha couldn't disagree more.

[jannie]

Welcome recoil .. looking forward to following your diary

[Benny&Co]

Hi there and a warm welcome from us too

Lovely pictures and I wouldn't say your garden is messy at all, guessing you don't have any chookies there?

[recoil]

Yeah, we've got about 40 chooks and 6 ducks, but they're not allowed in this garden unless I get a problem with Caterpillars and then I let a couple in.