How does your garden grow?

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manda
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by manda »

Mo wrote:How much space will you give them and will you stop them multiplying to overfill it? - I know yours always hide in the bushes and come back with chicks.


Sorry missed this Mo...
The two main runs are going to be 12m x 3m.

2 large houses on the chicken run and I'm going to make layers in that too to increase space by going upwards. Because they will be enclosed it's going to make hiding away like they have done for so long difficult and hopefully stop my surprise additions.

The smaller run will be 6m x 3m and will be for the bantams - we're going to be able to use them when they go broody if we need to add to numbers in the big chicken run.
As you know we grow our own meat too so OH is wanting to breed pheasants/quail that we can use for ourselves and to boost the local pheasant population which isn't great around here.

The Turkeys will have enough room in the other room - there are only 15 of them and we don't plan on keeping them all - ideally we'd like to rear them to sell and keep Terry and Trev and perhaps 4 of the Jennys

We'll work out if the give enough room and if not we'll add to them because they can be increased in size easily.

and then we'll have our gardens back )grin2(
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(¸.✰´¨(¸.✰ Manda

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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Home after a week away, to find a treeful of ripe Czar plums. I thought they might be past it - I had frozen quite a lot before I went, and invited friends to pick while I was away. My grand-daughter helped (?!?) me pick this morning. And this evening I had a go at cleaning up the Victoria trees (3 of them the old one that hasn't died yet, the newish one bought to replace it, and the one that was labelled Czar - the next so called Czar we bought was dug out and given away).
Grandson (8 yr old) will be here tomorrow, and has promised to dig my potatoes, the rest of the earlies need lifting.
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wildlifemad
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by wildlifemad »

For those of you who don't read my allotment diary (I won't hold it against you!!!!!) We have got Blight on our allotment in South Warwickshire so have took all the tops off. Keep an eye out folks, you don't want to lose your crop.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Thanks, I'll watch out. I think it's just that the earlies have done their stuff.
I read yours just now, working my way up the 'unread posts' page
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

I had an energetic helper digging spuds on Wed, so that end of the patch looks clean and bare (I dug the weeds while Tom truffle-hunted)
The Czar plums are all picked and the Victorias need attention - the maggoty ones ripen or rot first, but I have had a few nice ones.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Tom and Emily are still helping me with my harvest. Lots of Victoria plums (and there are plenty that I froze last year, so I've been giving them away left, right and centre. Also greengages, the wasps start on them as soon as they are nearly ripe.
All the plums seem early this year, I expected them to be a week or two later.
Tom found a good picking of brambles, and I'd cooked some of the windfall Bramley apples which are fiddley and need a bit of sugar but OK (I never put any in them when they've ripened on the tree), so he made topping and took home a crumble kit. He also picked some figs to ripen at home - they get eaten if you try to ripen on the tree so we pick them as soon as the colour starts to change.
Tom decided to dig some more spuds so half a row of Edwards are now in store.
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KarenE
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by KarenE »

It does feel like things are early this year Mo. I've already had some sweetcorn, with lots more ready, and that definitely is early. And round where I am the branmbles are never ready this early on.

I adore victoria plums! Might get myself a little tree )t'
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Every year I always say - should have thinned those plums more ruthlessly. So nice when they grow big. Small ones are OK to cook but I have far too many - less and bigger probably wouldn't reduce the crop - it just seems odd to thin a 'bunch of grapes' to one.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Well everything needs doing.
The weeds and shrubs are so prolific. I really had a job getting into the field behind the garden to pick damsoms. A big branch of ivy has come down into the gap - and I'm sure that sycamore wasn't there last year. At least the horses won't get through there.

Damsons don't seem so good this year - picked a stone or more to give away but haven't picked many for me.
Ive been hanging around today expecting a Freecycler who said she was coming at 9.30 (! gr ! )

All the apples want picking - I've had a few off each tree (enough for me probably) but loads more.

And really must get on top of the shrubs that are blocking my calor tank, and finish cutting down the one that got it's roots into my drains.

Not to mention end of year tidying and apple pruning.
Trouble is I can't do a long stint without a rest now. (that's my excuse)
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Trev62
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Trev62 »

Everything is slowing down here now, still harvesting the beetroot, courgettes, cucumbers, loads of tomatoes, peppers and cauliflowers. Raspberries are dwindling off and all the aubergine plants have gone but we grew way too many this year! We have some butternut squashes drying and another lot to cut when ready, broccoli still has many leaves but no heads yet, hopefully the cooler weather will cure that.

We also planted some celeriac this year thinking it was celery (need to brush up on my Bulgarian a bit more!) which is still growing but not sure what to do with it yet!

Also we have some Thai peppers? I was given an old plant with dried peppers on and just planted them, I am presuming we just dry them for use at a later date?? Threw some in a stir fry and they certainly have some flavour!!

We now have to start preparing the ground for the Autumn planting, spinach, lettuce and onions all under cover for hopefully a spring harvest.
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Meanqueen
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Meanqueen »

Ignore Melisa, she is a spammer. {mr.angry}

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wendy
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by wendy »

Thanks Ilona.
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

Tomorrow we are going for some potatoes to chit. Hopefully between us, we can dig over the veggie plot. OH already has seedlings coming up in the greenhouse.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

I bought my seed spuds, but haven't got them spread out yet. Started on the plot but paused because of frost. Am enjoying the crocuses & snowdrops.
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jamesjohn70
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by jamesjohn70 »

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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