LL's Gardening Diary

Members adventures in the Vegetable Patch all year round
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lancashire lass
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Re: Jerusalem Artichokes & Polytunnel

Post by lancashire lass »

Thought I'd better get on potting those JAs that I had dug up from the allotment over the weekend )t' Usually I would dig up an established clump any time after they have died back (from about November up till March), harvest what I want and replant some tubers for the following season. They are not a fussy crop so normally don't need too much in the way of digging in compost or manure. However, out of the dozen healthy tubers that I bought, only 3 survivied. They were also very late coming, so never really got going during the dull wet months last year and of course, they didn't produce any decent tubers. So this morning I managed to break up the clumps and tease out any shoots with a bit of tuber, and have potted them on. Perhaps if I give them some TLC and let them get going before planting out, they might survive better this year. I'll also have to give their final bed a lot more preparation too. I managed to pot up 22 pieces - I probably only need about 5 for my personal use but we'll see how many actually grow before panicking.

Now the polytunnel - I've been hankering after a decent size polytunnel for some time but they always seemed expensive and also needed some fair bit of construction. I'm reasonably confident of my diy skills but even so, they looked like a lot of hard work to put up (digging trenches to bury the excess cover, holes for uprights etc) I blame that Bill from Norfolk {hug&kiss} for revisiting the polytunnel dream but I was surprised at how reasonable the prices were, and the construction of the one he has looks well within my means. Still, I had to squirrel some money aside each month until I could afford to buy one and all the other bits and pieces necessary.

All set when the car decided it wanted some expensive attention and the polytunnel dream went on hold. However, after visiting the e-bay site to wistfully dream, I noticed the price of the model I wanted has shot up in price ... yike* With the weather this year seemingly on the cold and wet side (again), growing some stuff under cover is looking more and more like the only decent way. Plus, I have the chilli project and not enough greenhouse space for everything. So I took the plunge and got the one from Amazon (4M x 2M x 2M - 25mm galvanised steel frame) - delivery due 2nd June. Then off to e-bay for some anti hot spot tape, and a set of anchors - even though my garden is very well sheltered, I don't want to see it disappear in the next gale force wind!!

Oh, I'm getting all excited now )grin2( )grin2(




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davina112
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

Post by davina112 »

How exacting LL, our PT went up end of last summer so this is our first proper year with it. I can't wait to see it full of crops. The cabbages we put in la winter certainly did well. Good luck erecting it )t'
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stewpot
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

Post by stewpot »

I have to say am liek a kid as well when we get things done or planning. Hope it all goes well and you show us some pics. We might look at one for the allotment next year or a fruit cage.
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Stewpots DTL Allotment Diary 2013
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lancashire lass
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Re: Polytunnel and Chilli piccies update

Post by lancashire lass »

lancashire lass wrote:So I took the plunge and got the one from Amazon (4M x 2M x 2M - 25mm galvanised steel frame) - delivery due 2nd June


well - I was quite happy with the 2nd June delivery so I could organise some time off work to be there when it was delivered. Suffice to say, it was despatched yesterday and they tried to make a delivery today }hairout{ Honest, if I'd wanted a quick delivery I'd have been waiting weeks! So I've re-arranged a 2nd attempt for Tuesday 21st and will be booking that day off ( >fi< let's hope the weather is dry and I might even attempt to start erecting it!!!)

Thought I'd post some piccies of the chilli progress. I'll try not to bore everyone as only I probably see the progress. First of all - flowers on the overwintered "unknown"/possibly Fresno:

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Remember the 3 xxx hot plants I bought in March:
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Now looking (A, B, C as the original photo):
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Meanwhile, the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T and other Naga varieties:
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In the greenhouse (despite cold nights and frost mornings):
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The cold spring weather has certainly slowed things down a bit, but when the sun is out the greenhouse gets very warm. At the moment I think we are on target but would love to see temperatures rise and get things moving properly.

Part 2 of piccy updates to follow ....
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Re: Other piccies

Post by lancashire lass »

First of all, the Strawberry Popcorn are starting to sprout )t'
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And the first of the squashes FINALLY making an appearance (Blue Kiri):
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Meanwhile the onion from seed are slowly coming along - I'm not looking forward to teasing them apart but I've been told it is a lot like leeks and they will be fine:
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The tomatoes really need going into their final planting place in the greenhouse only it's still chokka full of other trays. Could be in for some interesting times:
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When did these get so big so quickly >dowhat<
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By the way, I had a nibble of one of the Lemon Mint seedlings and wow, the lemon is really strong. I hope it makes lovely lemon mint tea:

Outside - my first strawberry ... I'll be watching that one:
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All the Jerusalem Artichoke shoots potted up and outside:
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Looking up the garden at the later flowering apple trees. The Discovery and Cox blossom is amazing:
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(to the left of that photo is a huge pile of hedge trimmings which will get sorted this year one way or another)

At the bottom of my garden is a pergola which the previous owner built. I fell in love with it when viewing the house and my first thought was to make it a secret garden and a place of my own. Unfortunately my neighbour had other ideas and built a space at the bottom of their garden for their children to play - instead of peace and quiet, it was bedlam. Sadly the pergola got neglected as I lost interest in making it my place but now that a lot of the shrubs and trees have matured (another word for overgrown LOL), it is starting to appeal to me again. I've already had a go at it but there's still plenty to do. I've taken some piccies but I think perhaps I'll wait until I've tackled it proper and then can show the embarrassing before and the improved after shots at a later date
Last edited by lancashire lass on 16 May 2013, 18:14, edited 1 time in total.
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lancashire lass
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

Post by lancashire lass »

davina112 wrote:How exacting LL, our PT went up end of last summer so this is our first proper year with it. I can't wait to see it full of crops. The cabbages we put in la winter certainly did well. Good luck erecting it )t'


Unfortunately my garden is in a bit of a dip and surround by a tall hedge on one side, my fruit trees on the other, and the people in the garden at the bottom put up a screen so in winter it never gets good light for crops. In a good summer, most things in the greenhouses usually do fine so I'm looking forward to getting the polytunnel up and filled. I have a lot of chillies and tomatoes to put somewhere LOL

stewpot wrote:I have to say am liek a kid as well when we get things done or planning. Hope it all goes well and you show us some pics. We might look at one for the allotment next year or a fruit cage.


I've seen about 4 of these type spring up on our allotment site about a month ago, and I've been impressed at how well they have stood up to some strong winds recently )t' Certainly a lot cheaper than buying a greenhouse.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Lovely warm sunny day

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It's been a long time coming, but today was spot on - lots of sun, warmth and just right. I thought I'd better start hardening off some plants so moved the onion from seed and after repotting, the Roma tomatoes into the cold frame. A few more chillies were repotted and moved into the greenhouse and as space was becoming an issue, decided to move the herb trays out too. After giving everything a thorough watering, it was off to the plot.

I desperately wanted to get the peas and beans done today, so I stuck to the plan. Another bag of compostables to bury in the pea bed, then spent most of the morning erecting the canes. The climbing beans just have simple canes in a row, the tall peas had a similar construction but I also tied bean netting to the posts to give those tendrils something to grab. I sowed Cherokee french climbing beans, half a row of Yin Yan dwarf beans, Borlotti beans, a row of Latvia soup pea, and split the last frame between a heritage pea variety that I was able to obtain (Kent Blue) and the other Carouby de Maussane mange tout. I just need to sow the remaining half row with a different dwarf bean, Minidor yellow bush and then that's all done.
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Re: Courgette, Cucumber & Celery

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I woke up in the early hours of the morning to rain thundering against the window - oh dear, because it was so mild last night, I didn't put the lids on the cold frame, oops. When I ventured outside, the tomatoes I had repotted where on the whole fine but one or two looked distinctly flattened. Even the onions were a little top heavy too. Generally all seemed like they had survived though.

I realised yesterday that I hadn't sown any courgettes and (outdoor) cucumbers yet, so this morning got stuck in. Several varieties, 3 seeds each - I only need one of each to grow and will give the rest away. My neighbour at the plot doesn't seem to get it right when it comes to planting out tender crops and the frosts last week had killed off his plants, so when (if) they are germinating, I'll pass on a couple of hardy ones. I forgot to mention the frost damage yesterday - I noticed quite a few of the first early potatoes were scorched but fortunately none were fatal. There were also a few scorched leaves on the maincrop and some 2nd earlies that were just breaking through. I think they'll all be fine but fingers crossed that it is the last of the frosts (although I'm not holding my breath the way this spring is unfolding)

A quick check of the trays of herbs that I had left outside, I noticed the celery were well on their way so time to tease out some seedlings and pot on. I say tease - more like rip apart. I think I managed to plant up 24 each of the self blanching Golden celery, and the standard Red Soup (which you have to earth up) into modules. Each module had a few chicken manure pellets added to give them a boost - celery need very fertile soil to do well - and gave each tray a thorough soaking (basically overwatered - celery are in fact "bog plants" so need lots of water) I've left them in the house to recover before transferring them outdoors.

Yesterday's warmth was very beneficial to the brassicas - I've been a bit worried that a lot of the seedlings were very slow at coming along, but I can now see several are ready for potting on. Thank goodness as the beds at the allotment are looking a bit bare (plot inspections due in just a few weeks ....)

Tomorrow, I've booked the day off work and hopefully the polytunnel will arrive ... >fi<
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Re: Sweetcorn and squashes

Post by lancashire lass »

I could have done with the "edit" button on the last post - forgot to mention some germinations I saw this morning. When I moved the courgette and cucumber trays to the greenhouse, did a cursory check of the trays with seed sown and )c( at long last, signs of life in the sweetcorn trays. They are only just pushing through so I'm really not worried +pinn+ about the fact that there are only about 4 or 5 up in each tray sile} Another day of warm sunshine would have probably done the job. As it is, it is very cloudy but at least it is mild today.

As for squashes, there are about 7 germinated in total - disappointingly slow considering when I sowed them. I don't know whether the others are waiting for warmer times or rotted in the pot. I can see me sacrificing one of the pots to have a little poke and see ....
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

Post by billnorfolk »

I blame that Bill from Norfolk

If all i can be blamed for is awakening your pollytunnel dream then i am sooooo happy {hug} you will love it best money i ever spent and realy not to hard to erect .The only thing i did to make life easier is made a door to repace the zips which on mine werent very strong ,make sure the frams is galvanised and should last for years. )t'

Look forward to some pictures. )w(
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lancashire lass
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Re: Waiting ..... meanwhile ....

Post by lancashire lass »

billnorfolk wrote:If all i can be blamed for is awakening your pollytunnel dream then i am sooooo happy


{hug&kiss} I'm looking forward to getting it erected and all set up.

However, no sign of the delivery yet {cry} It will probably turn up at about 5.00pm knowing my luck.

Meanwhile I've been busy in the garden. First, it was garden waste collection and I filled both my brown and green bin (the green bin is for recyclables collected every other Monday with garden waste the following day. The brown bin has to be purchased from the council for £25 for garden waste but you can buy several and put as many as 5 bins out for garden waste collection) The space where the polytunnel is going was occupied with a mountain of privet and bramble clippings so needed to be cleared. I was outside at 6.00am filling the bins which I tried to do quietly LOL. Most of it has gone now with the rest to go in the emptied bin ready for the next collection. I also had a couple of used growbags which I bagged up ready for taking to the allotment to improve the soil.

Next task - I had bought some codling moth traps for the apple and pear trees, and a plum fruit moth trap for the Victoria plum. They are really easy to put together, but be warned - the glue mat that you have to peel apart is the stickiest glue you'll ever come across, and almost impossible to wash off. I was beginning to feel like "Spiderman" when everything I touched stuck to my fingers. Soap doesn't work, neither does washing up liquid and yike* I even sacrificed a little vodka. Running out of options (probably nail varnish remover would have worked if I'd had any), turps substitute finally took it off. The traps are now hanging in the trees. The packs come with a refill and a spare sticky mat which you put in July so that it keeps working the whole season. I've never used traps before so I'll be keeping a careful eye on their progress and will let you know. If they work, then well worth getting.

I also bought some glue bands for the fruit trees ... can you see a pattern here? {rofwl} Again, the glue doesn't wash off, and worse, as you put them round the trunks, beware petals or any other bits of debris that land on them. You are supposed to put several bands on each tree but I'd totally underestimated how much I needed so most trees got at least one band, the plum and Bramleys (which seem to get the most problems) got 2. Fingers crossed all this effort hasn't been wasted.

Meanwhile, I've been pacing back and forth up and down the garden at the slightest sound of a van - have you ANY idea how many vans go past my house? But it's just as well I kept going up and down the garden to check if there was a delivery for me. As it was cool and cloudy, I hadn't opened the greenhouse doors this morning so imagine my surprise when I saw a robin flying inside the glass greenhouse. This is not the first time I've seen a robin in that greenhouse this past week. As it is very untidy in there :oops: , I'm now wondering if there is a nest? I feel obliged to keep the door open now just in case. I had closed the doors as soon as I got home last night (5.00pm) to keep the heat of the day in so I do feel awful at trapping the bird inside.

A check of the tomato and celery repotting, and all's well despite the heavy rain and manhandling. While I'm waiting for the delivery of the polytunnel, I'll probably do some more repotting - the brassicas and other tomatoes, and get on with some more seed sowing.

(I did take photos of the traps etc but once again, even with a brand new card reader, I cannot upload them so will have to wait until I get to work)
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Re: No delivery

Post by lancashire lass »

}hairout{ }hairout{ I am so angry, I'm sure flames would flare out of my mouth (think Balrog in Lord of the Rings). The courier has been delivering my polytunnel on every day since ordering last week despite re-scheduling for today, but the one day when I've arranged to be in after I've booked what precious little time I have off work, and it's been held at the depot. Sorry, just had to rant.
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Re: Moth traps

Post by lancashire lass »

Just a few piccies uploaded from yesterday's effort:

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Re: Polytunnel up

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Trying to get the polytunnel delivered has been a nightmare - to cut a long story short, it finally arrived on Thursday evening in a battered and torn box. I'm still waiting for the anchor kit which seems to have disappeared. This morning I got stuck in and started to erect it. I already had a spot in the garden more or less ready. I have to say that getting the frame up was a complete doddle compared to putting a greenhouse up. I used all my camping tent pegs to anchor the frame down, anti-hot spot tape on, then the cover. All told, took less than 3 hours (would have been quicker but I was trying to do it quietly while outside at 6.00am LOL)

I had bought the 4M x 2M x 2M and I'm really pleased with it. The size seems bigger than a (comparable) greenhouse. As I was deciding what to do next, the sun was starting to appear in the garden at about 10.00am and the polytunnel heated up very quickly. So I started to move the home made racking in and realised I needed more! I had a flat packed work table which was gathering dust and I decided to also use the pasting board from the back bedroom. I found a couple of small patio tables and a box. One day I'll do a proper job but for the moment will do.

The rest of the day has been moving the chillies into the polytunnel after repotting into their final pots. I've decided to plant the sweet peppers in big deep pots which will be moved into the greenhouse with the tomatoes, and the Hungarian Hot Wax and some of the ornamental chillies will after hardening off, go into the big pots and troughs which are holding the excess length of the cover (it was recommended to bury this but even in gale force winds, the garden is so sheltered with the hedge, fence and trees, it is unlikely to affect the polytunnel)

While in the garden I was amazed to find a flock of long tailed tits flying around in and out of the fruit trees, and later some blue tits. The resident blackbirds were skulking about as usual, eyeing the new contraption on their territory LOL. And sometime in the first few hours, one bird has already pooped on the cover.

The only downside so far is that the polytunnel seems to attract a lot of flies, bees and wasps much like a tent. Last week I had ordered some sticky yellow and blue cards which should arrive in a few days. Still, the bees and wasps sounded scary and I didn't like to linger in there for too long. I've put the door opposite the door of the greenhouse with a 3 foot gap in between - I want to build a sort of bridge between the 2 with a netted door so that both greenhouse and polytunnel doors can stay open all the time. Well, that's the plan anyway.

Tomorrow it's off to the allotment to make the most of the good weather. Just a few seeds to sow, and mainly weeding to do and whatever else I might find.
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Re: LL's 2013 GYO Diary

Post by davina112 »

LL, glad you like your PT, ours is just starting to look good, the is our first year really as it was completed late last year.
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