Bills 2012 garden diary

Forgot what happened last year - maybe it's here!!
Locked
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

To hot for the garden today so decided to take myself swimming and have a day off 8) .Got back just after 12 temp 29 degrees ,so took a few pics ,found a cold drink and decided to come indoors in the cool and do me diary.
Blueberries are full of flowers this year bin ideal for them as they like acid soil and plenty of rain.A tip if you grow blueberries ,dig in leafmoled or pine needles and only water with rain water for best results. )t'
Image
Rasberries looking ok moved them late autum so not expecting to much this year but several flowers on.By the way they were planted a spade depth deap as they were before and last year were full of fruit. +confused+

Image

Couple of tips for your cucumbers and tomatoes grown in pots in the greenhouse.
Cucumbers dont like water on the folage or there stems,if you grew them in a pot bury it along side and water into it keeps water away from plant.
Image
Tomatoes grow in the greenhouse unlike cucumbers dont like it to hot so at the heat of the day give them a spray with water to cool them off ,keep a sray in the greenhouse so water isnt to cold that way you wont shock them. yike*
Image

Planted 2 Goja berries last year and they went mad covered the trellis no fruit though,did cut them back in the spring takes about 3 years for them to fruit ,easy to grow and thrive on neglect.
Image
Looking forward to a few more cherries this year,think we had about 6 off 2 small trees ,few more this year though.
Image
My mother in law next door has a big one in her garden
Image
Last year
Image
You realy need to be quick though as once ripe the birds strip it in a day. >gl<
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
Shazer
Lively Laner
Posts: 236
Joined: 10 Apr 2011, 00:13
Location: Co. Cavan, Ireland

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by Shazer »

Hi Bill )wav(

I really enjoy reading your diary, it's such an inspiration and helped me a lot.
I'm growing veg for the first time this year and with all your lovely pics and info I can see that at least some things I am doing right :-D

Your tip bout the pot in with the cucumber is great, gonna pinch that... thanks )t'

Keep up the good work
Looking forward to seeing your progress )t'
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Thanks Shazer its good to know i am helping someone )t' ,its wonderfull how things grow from tiny seeds ,and a revelation when you can eat your own produce )eat( ,it may not look all uniform like the stuff in the supermarkets but it certainly tastes better. )c+
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Sat 2nd June 2012

Now this is what its all about ,nice lettuce,radishes and the thinning of carrot and fennel,to the wife's displeasure i love fennel and was eating it as i was thinning it out.Hopefully i can resist the rest till its bigger ,got a lovely nutty aniseed taste that is really refreshing .
Image
empty ed another 2 spud bags today ,so new spuds and fresh baby carrots with tomorrows dinner cant wait.

Image
Tomatoes starting to get bigger in greenhouse ,about the same time as last year so not along way out.
Image
Sweet peppers i can eat like an apple straight from the plant ,got a red and a yellow in same pot look very decorative once ripe.
Image
In the polly tunnel dwarf french beans well on way now ,must not over water at this size as the stems rot at ground level if to wet .
Image
First flowers are showing on me peas ,another favorite straight from the pod.
Image
Sweetcorn settled in nicely ,as long as no late frost should be fine now ,got me fleece on standby
Image
Cabbages are greyhound we like them best and the easiest and quickest to grow ,just starting to form a head so will be ready soon.
Image
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Saterday 16th June 2012

With the weather up to its usuall tricks not bin out in the garden much this last week ,but sudenly with the milder nights its all hapening. )w(
Image
Image
Image
Tomatoes are now looking well ,will have to suport some of the trusses once they get fruit on as wont carry the weight.
Sweet peppers comeing allong nicely did well with them last year.
Image
Image
Image
Runner beans comeing into flower so wont be long now,peas got pods on looking forward to those,cabbage for dinner tomorrow first of me greyhound. )eat(
Image
Image
Both early and late spuds looking good one thing that has benefitted from the rain,will dig a root or 2 of earlys tomorrow see what we got.
Image
Image
Sweetcorn growing well despite the cool windy weather though it is sheltered where it is,something new for this year for us kolie rabbie never grown it before but looking forward to trying it .
Image
Quick look in the polly tunnel french beans have had a good germination this year ,most go for freezing and still got a few of last years left.
Image
Image
Got a nice suprise looking at me rasberries and saw a couple of red ones pokeing out ,they were right nice ,looks like we going to have a bumper crop of blackberries this year ,blackberrie and apple pie cant wait.Was still picking blackberries middle of November last year. >gl<
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
Benny&Co
Project Hedgehog Leader
Posts: 13793
Joined: 03 Jan 2011, 11:51
Gender: Female
Location: South

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by Benny&Co »

Absolutely wonderful pictures Bill, everything looks so lovely and thriving )t' :-D
Bev x
Our family: my-Lovely-Hubbly and I, Benny and our two little Ladies - Betty and Gloria.

RIP dear little Ladies - Lottie, Cottie, Elsie, Dottie, Hilda and Margie. You may have gone, but are never ever forgotten.
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Benny&Co wrote:Absolutely wonderful pictures Bill, everything looks so lovely and thriving )t' :-D


Thank you ,think the weather is set to start calming down a bit now so hope everyone will get some results over next few weeks )t'
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Friday 22nd June 2012

Well more rain though not cold so everything growing well ,have to watch the wind as fairly strong and some things getting tall now ,Runner beans etc.
Have been dealing with my Tomatoes today as now reached 5 trusses,some have diferent ways this is how i do mine.


Image

This is the 5th truss on this plant ,some people do it at 4 some go 6 or more ,others just let them go.Due to the short growing season in Norfolk 5 is more than enough and alot of them wont ripen.

Image

This is where i cut it just above the 5th truss ,the reason is the plant energy will then go into makeing big ripe tomatoes and not into makeing a bigger plant. )t'

Image

And there it is gone.

Another job i do regulare through the growing season is remove the side shoots.

Image
This is a side shoot ,grows where the leaf stalk joins the stem .
Image
There it was gone.The reason, each side shoot will eventually get a truss on it which will bare fruit ,so the plant will be covered in loads of tiny red tomatoes some like them to do that ,but because the plant is overloaded they will remain small ,not what i want :-D
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Tuesday 26th June

Hot one today ,makes a realy nice change got up early this morning and gave the grass a cut before it got to hot .
Looking forward to our first peas on Sunday we found the half full pods and had a sample ,they were delicious )t' ,looks like going to be a bumper crop ,even with the trellis in the weight was pulling them over had to put more suport in but should be ok now,being under the enviromesh ensures they are free of maggots.
Image
Wife just pulled a cabbage for tea ,meat and potatoe pie no wonder i am so slim ,all the spuds we are useing are from the garden at the mo so dont know how long they will last ,got quite a few in.
Image
Caulies are looking good should be ready for weekend with the peas )eat(
Image
Been cutting courgets for a couple of weeks nice roasted or when you BBQ chuck em on the grill for a wee while.
Image
Runner beans looking better now warmer nights have arrived ,need lots of water ,no beans yet but plenty of flowers now comeing.
Image
Onions filling out now allready better than last years and got another 4 months to go yet.
Image >gl<
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Sunday 1st July 2012

Although windy it has been a warm few days hear in Norfolk,but weather set to change ,cooler with rain how nice :?
.Bin doing a bit of harvesting this morning for dinner ,spuds from the garden ,a couple of kolirabi look like sputnicks but taste rather nice ,and some courgets to roast.
Image
Managed to find some peas ready first of the year ,looking forward to them. )t'
Image
Salad sandwich for tea with a lettuce from the garden ,its starting to produce quite well now.
Image
Cucumbers have never bin a great success for me ,usually set 4 to get 1,different story this year as both i set doing well (up to now) seems the secret is not to water around the plant ,hence the plant pot in the side ,also make a mound to help drain away any access water ,set plant on top of the mound ,so far so good. :-D
Image
This is the outdoor one ,looking close you can see the wee cucumbers forming ,both plants F1 Hybred all female so no male flowers to pinch off,letting female flowers pollonate with the male flowers on some can lead to bitter tasteing cucumbers so need to be taken off,the females have a small cucumber behind the males dont.
Image
And this is the indoor one ,although bigger the outdoor is ahead with its fruit.
Spotted me first runner bean today hopefully will soon be harvesting as luv them.
Image
If you like your tomatoes to taste more rich and homegrown,try planting some basil in the greenhouse ,gives the greenhouse a nice smell and enriches the flavour of your toms. >gl<
Image
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Friday 6th July Realy wet day today,did manage to get out and pick some peas between the showers ,got enough to freeze for later. )t'

Image
Its ok picking them but have to be podded,sure Birds Eye dont do it this way.
Image
Average 8 to 11 peas a pod was happy with that,these are the ones i started in the polly tunnel in guttering.

Image
Blanched and ready for bagging up ,3or4 meals there and fresher than Birds Eye
Image
Found a couple of caulies ready as well so done them before the rain spoils them.

Image >gl<
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
Annie
Project Hedgehog Leader
Posts: 10383
Joined: 01 Aug 2010, 15:45
Gender: Female
Location: lennoxtown North of Glasgow

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by Annie »

Bill your garden is doing so well, are you in a sheltered spot ? Shelling garden peas always takes me back to the '50's , when I was a little girl with my hair in bunches ,wearing dungarees and sitting on the back step with a colander and a bag of peas to shell, that was in the days when the greengrocers sold them before Birds I got hold of them. I can taste your veg from here - hey up wheres the mint ?
It will be alright in the end , if its not alright, it isn't the end .
Quote from the proprietor of the The best exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Hi Annie

It has a 6ft fence to the west and one to the north with the house behind it,east is a blackberry hedge and south is my chickens and coop with a tall bank behind.I think the weather has been kinder on the east coast this year seeing what some other unfortunates have had,everything is growing well and rain keeping water butts full .Yes straight out of the pod is the way to eat them lovely,the peas are loaded with pods so hopeing for plenty more soon,mint in a pot >gl<
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

Sunday 8th July 2012

Wife is allways up 2 hours before me ,she was looking out the window at 6.30am giving me the weather forcast ,raining again .Said i would thin the parsnips in the pollytunnel today nice dry job ,when i got up 2 hours later job was done and hear are the results.
Image
Thinned skined and ready to cook for dinner ,didnt expect to be much on the ends yet but must like the pollytunnel..
This is how quick runner beans grow from an inch to 7 inches in a few days ,once start to harvest will do every other day ,still a few in freezer from last year.
Image
Image
Looks like there will be plenty once we start picking ,looking realy good now.
It is sad to read so many stories of people being beat by the weather this year,granted we have had our share in Norfolk water butts havent bin empty yet,but allways after the rain came the sun giving ideal growing conditions ,we have been very lucky seeing what others have had to put up with,sweetcorn looking realy well this year and looking forward to a good harvest.
Image
The spuds look good and the ones i have dug have been realy nice and plentyfull.
Image
Second lot of caulies now comeing ,and cabbages are as good as any year.
Image
Onions could do with a little more sun to help ,but still plenty of time left yet.
Image
We are picking rasberries every day now but not in abundance,i did move all my bushes in the winter so maybe need this year to settle down again.
Image
Should get a few blueberries ,but once again plants were moved in winter so may take a while.
Image
It is sad {cry} when you put the effort in only to have it spoiled by the weather and slugs and snails ,and next doors cats .
Pollytunnel is the way to go if you have the room ,and realy cheep on ebay mine is 3meterx2meter and was under £70 delivered.I have now cleared one side of lettuces radish carrots red beet and sowed 6 rows of red beat hopefull several jars pickled to last through the winter.Got parsnips fennel on the other side ,which are just about ready ,and dwarf beans at the back now comeing into flower ,no matter what the weather does you will allways get a crop. )t'
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
User avatar
billnorfolk
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1067
Joined: 07 Jul 2011, 13:24
Gender: Male
Location: Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Re: Bills 2012 garden diary

Post by billnorfolk »

.Image

This is a picture of my runner beans on July 10th 2011,last year,i had bin picking beans for about a week ,in the background is last years sweetcorn ,plants are not as big or robust as this years plants despite the horried weather we have had this year.If you look back at last post in my diary you can see the difference in the plants.Hopefully will be picking runners by the weekend so looking about 10 days behind last year although last year went out a month earlyer.
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

Bill's Diaries.....2012 2013 2014
Locked