How does your garden grow?

Members adventures in the Vegetable Patch all year round
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Mo
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How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

My gardening is too spasmodic for a whole diary to myself.
But I find myself wanting to write my diary into other peoples. "Yes mine are too" or "you are miles ahead of me"

So wondered if a thread where anyone could put things (like the "Daily" thread), might remind us to post.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

I'll start.

Picked a good bowl of raspberries yesterday, the first crop since i planted them in Jan '15 - last year I expected some but only got ithe odd 1 or 2.
Then, while I was moving the flower-pots with Strawberries away from the water butt to somewhere I could net them I found one with a handful of fruit on. Think it's a self sown wild strawberry as it is sharing a pot with a mystery shrub cutting.
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Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Trev62
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Trev62 »

I like the idea Mo as time seems to disappear on us at present, so here goes.......

Our raspberry canes are well behind yours they are only just forming the fruit, we have been collecting wild strawberries for @ 3 weeks now mainly for the animals as we dug up our strawberry patch and put the bed to better use, this year melons. We have frozen @ 3 kgs of gooseberries so far from a patio plant we planted outside that is doing well, the bush is still loaded with more that are not quite ready yet but I do pick them early as that's the way I like them.

Trying celery for the first time this year, out of a full packet of seeds, at the last count we have maybe 3 plants, obviously went wrong somewhere!

Back in the garden tomorrow after a day spent doing someone else's.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

I've been picking Gooseberries too. Just a couple of servings, though I want to get some into the freezer. I usually start on them when they are small and thin them, to give some the chance to swell and ripen for eating raw. Have finally eaten all the glut I froze about 3 years ago, so must pick this year rather than offer PYO on Freecycle.
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Trev62
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Trev62 »

Pulled another load of rhubarb today but the stems are beginning to grow rather slim so cleared the soil from around the crowns again to see if that will help.

Strange thing though our peas have grown to twice the height as last year lots of pods though so fingers crossed for a bumper crop as nothing in the supermarket matches homegrown peas.

Vines pruned back yet again and looking much better than last year, fingers crossed for the wine making later in the year.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

One of my potato plants was looking very sad, so though I've got half a bag of shop Edwards I thought I'd better dig it in case it was diseased. Only 1 serving on it, but nice.
And a second bowl of rasps
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Cheshire Chick
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Cheshire Chick »

This is a good idea Mo - I to don't have enough to put into my own diary, but it's interesting to know what's happening in everyone else's veg patch. By the way, I love the sound of the Gooseberries (really like Gooseberries). I bought 4 tiny blackcurrant bushes from a discount store and planted them in my veg plot. They are looking OK but are still not very big so don't know if I will have fruit on them this year. I have a really tiny veg patch (fenced off from the Chickens!!) but am still able to grow bits and bobs. At the moment I have my Blackurrant Bushes, Runner Beans, Peas, sweetpeas and sunflowers and a potato plant that's sprung from nowhere. Just sowed some lettuce in the greenhouse so these will go in eventually.
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Cheshire Chick »

P.S. My peas have grown twice the height this year as well Trev. Looking forward to picking them although they don't usually make it to the kitchen as they get eaten straight away (by us and the chooks). So I to am looking forward to a nice crop.
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Trev62 »

Cheshire Chick wrote:P.S. My peas have grown twice the height this year as well Trev. Looking forward to picking them although they don't usually make it to the kitchen as they get eaten straight away (by us and the chooks). So I to am looking forward to a nice crop.


It is a constant battle to keep our chickens off the herb garden and front area where we are growing the peas, nightmare really us against twenty free ranging chickens we are fighting a losing battle, strange that it is always the same two that always find a way past the netting and all the other deterrents no matter what we do!! }hairout{

First courgettes off today, three for us (courgette bread on the menu tomorrow) two for the chickens, another 2 kg of gooseberries picked, extra tomato and hot pepper plants planted out and surprisingly a lot of green tomatoes forming happily on the plants which is good after the problems we had last year. Cucumbers, melons and butternut squash beginning to spread out as well. All garlic now pulled and drying, seed heads forming on leeks and onions so we should be set for next year as we have more success growing from seeds and then transplanting them than putting in sets.
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Trev62
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Trev62 »

Finally we are picking raspberries and they taste lovely, more gooseberries picked again as my scratched arms will testify to, also pulled and podded our first batch of peas today best lot we have had for a couple of years, courgettes plentiful as are the many varieties of lettuce we have planted. Vines have gone wild again after two days of heavy rain and some unwelcome flooding. Everything seems behind this year, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, cabbages, melons, butternut squash etc. and the moles are out in force after the heavy rains, nightmare as they tunnel under and through the roots of everything. Forgot to say our rhubarb is great this year which considering we were told it would not grow here I am impressed to say the least, if anyone has got a decent recipe for rhubarb wine I would be interested in hearing it.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

I had my first strawberry yesterday (apart from the wild ones). Very tasty, so different from the big tasteless one that was on offer at a buffet at lunch time which looked good but no taste. 4th bowl of rasps but I won't be freezing any this year.
More gooseberry picking and started on the redcurrants.
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Cheshire Chick
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Sounds like you are doing very well Trev and Mo. You said you felt everything was a bit behind this year, Trev, but sounds like everything is coming on a treat and what a variety you have growing. Good luck with the wine - now that does sound like a good idea (sorry I don't have any recipes, but bet someone else will).
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Try asking in Food & Drink for wine recipes. Not everyone reads every thread (though there are less of them than a few years ago)
I know there are wine-makers. P.pen?

I'm not doing much with my garden really - given up on veg apart from spuds (the wildlife leaves them alone unless the rats find them). I do enjoy my fruit though.
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Trev62
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Trev62 »

Mo wrote:Try asking in Food & Drink for wine recipes. Not everyone reads every thread (though there are less of them than a few years ago)
I know there are wine-makers. P.pen?


Thanks Mo I will as we are pulling rhubarb constantly at present.

Brief summary of things so far......last lot of peas to be picked tomorrow then all the plants uprooted to be replaced with more peppers, salad stuff, leeks, brussels, broccoli, cauliflowers and possibly a few tomato plants we have growing in tubs still.

Picking everyday now: beans, peas (last lot tomorrow), rhubarb, courgettes, raspberries, batches of gooseberries (one more decent harvest left), mulberries from the trees (jam and wine), lettuce and carrots.

First melons, banana peppers, butternut squash and cucumbers forming nicely, tomatoes and aubergines still slow but plenty of flowers this year. Potatoes just beginning to die off. Blackcurrants along the walls coming on a treat as are the wild hedgerow ones. Garlic drying nicely and having used some it is full of flavour this year. Wild cherries nearly ready (jam and compote), drenki and plums also getting there.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

My daughter + partner came to tea yesterday in between a walk (see other thread) and a concert. So on Friday I dashed out between showers and dug up the spuds that had popped up in last year's patch. Enough for us and more to last me the week I think.
And fruit picking for a fruit salad - some of the gooseberries are ripe enough to eat raw, a big dish of rasps, a small handful of strawbs, and (venturing down into the jungle!!!) I found some ripe loganberries.
The fruit picking takes ages by the time it's prepared.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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