Karen's 2015 garden diary

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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by KarenE »

I know what you mean Mo. My cooking apples are usually quite prolific but a fair share of them are insect damaged. The birds have the berries, whether blackbirds or chickens. I haven't got a cherry and have never been tempted as my dad has had one for years and has never had a cherry off it yet! All he gets are stalks and stones.

The strawberries in pots are alpines so the chickens nibble occasionally but not too bothered. The full size strawbs are in hanging baskets so protected from the chickens but not the small birds , although they don't have that many fruit. I'd recommend hanging baskets if you want to keep bird damage to a minimum although the plants may not be as prolific with fruit.

Rabbits we don't have a problem with but most of my veg and salad is fine now that it's got fencing up to protect it, and it also means I can put slug pellets down without worrying that the chickens will eat them. Beer traps are supposed to be good. Doesn't Pat sort your rabbit problem out?

I was in Barnsdale Gardens yesterday and they had paper bags hanging up in the fruit trees. Apparently wasps are very territorial and won't build a nest within x feet of a current nest, and as they mistake the bags for nests, they clear out. I think they'd still come after the fruit though.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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Mo
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by Mo »

Pat (at his age) can't keep up with the rabbits in my 'wildlife friendly -ha,ha' garden.
...wasps are very territorial and won't build a nest within x feet of a current nest, and as they mistake the bags for nests, they clear out. I think they'd still come after the fruit though.
. I'm sure they would. Hmmm... an acre of paper bags...
Wasps are a real pain on the pears, leave just a core and skin. I always wear gloves to pick them, still need the antihistamine tablets most years
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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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

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Well it's that time of year again. I've chucked out a load of old seeds and bought new ones in last year's end of season sales (uber frugal), with the revolutionary help of my little notepad into which I now scribble down the seeds I need as I always seemed to forget when in the shops and have ended up with loads of packets of tumbling toms as well as the seeds my dad gave me from his. In fact I should save seeds, it's even more frugal.

Spent the weekend before last sharpening, cleaning and oiling all my tools and tidying the garden shed, which has had to have a new roof as Doris blew the old tarp off - it was leaking anyway so it's been a good excuse to renovate it, which hubby has spent the last week or so doing so it's a nice tidy thing now, freshly painted and with lots of space inside. He's building me a little wood store for all our logs and bits. )t'

I've been digging over and weeding the veg plots ready for the spring sowings, and have moved some of the compost out of the chicken run and dug some in so hopefully the beds should be good and ready. The chickens have helped a bit, now they are out, but mainly where I don't need their help.

This weekend's job is to clear the algae off the greenhouse exterior panels, get a bit more light in.

In the garden, the mini peach, pear and blackberry plants are budding nicely. The main apple tree not so much but still early for that. The 3 blueberries I now have are coming back. The raspberry canes are sprouting to life -- I didn't get round to cutting down last year (they are autumn fruiting) and didn't get a great crop last year so we'll see if that makes a difference. I think it fruits on new growth so may be another lean year. The red gooseberries are bushing up too, with a minimum of pruning as again an awful crop last year so fingers crossed a lighter pruning helps. I have to replace the netting, otherwise curious beaks will get there before me.

The strawberries are coming back to life. I'm going to replant the alpine strawbs into the front patio border, and replace with fresh mainsize plants in the summer, although they are in a precarious position as grown in pots and the chickens like to get in there.

Last week and this week I've started sowing. I'm sure some is too early but I didn't expect then to be coming up so fast! This year we're having:

- green, yellow and purple french beans (the purple cook green)
- peas for me and the chooks to eat fresh from the pod
- sweetcorn
- cabbage, brocolli, cauli and sprouts (still got some purple sprouting brocolli in the garden growing nicely, and 1 cabbage)
- I am trying kale this year
- pumpkin
- celery
- tomatoes - tumbling tom and roma
- yellow peppers
- cucumbers
- salad leaves - pak choi, little gem and loose leaf

I've still got to sow rocket, spring onions and leeks. I'm sure there's something I've sowed and forgotten!

Some of the peas and beans are starting to come up already!
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

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Mixed progress to date. Everything was coming up so well but I went away for a few days last week during that lovely hot spell, and sadly lots of my little seedings died. So I've had to replant salads, tomatoes, peppers, pak choi, cucumbers and more.

Beans (purple, green and yellow) are coming on nicely, as are the sweetcorn and all the brassicas I planted - brocolli, cabbage, cauli and kale. I will plant them out at the end of the month, and last years purple sprouting brocolli is still producing so I'm chuffed with that!

The fruit collection is also coming along well, although having some some reading up about gooseberries it seems they fruit on fresh growth so probably another poor harvest from them and the autumn raspberries as neither were pruned back.

There's blossom all over the cooking apple tree (a massive old heritage one) so that's shaping up to be another good crop. I've replanted the 3 blueberries in fresh ericacious compost and will move them out of the chickens way (don't know where) so I may even get a berry off them this year!

Nothing coming from the pumpkin seeds, and the melon is not doing great either so I may head off to the car boot sales when the weather warms up, as there's often people selling young plants at them.

The plots are dug and weeded, and I have 2 potato grow bags going as I don't really have the plots for them - I don't need loads, so happy to grow them in bags.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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Mo
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by Mo »

If you are SURE your raspberries are autumn fruiting it's probably not too late to cut off the old canes. The summer ones fruit on growths that were new last year (so cut out old canes after fruiting). Autumn sort fruit on the growths coming from the ground now.

I don't think you have to be too drastic with gooseberries, I've read that you prune them like an apple tree, to keep an open shape and make it easier and less painful to pick. Mine fruit fine and I often don't touch them.
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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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by KarenE »

They are definitely autumn fruiting. Not to worry, we'll see what happens with them.

Big news though - I signed up for an allotment yesterday!! Although I have a few beds in the garden, I really wanted more space for fruit trees, bigger fruit beds and for sprawling crops like squashes and pumpkins. A half plot had come up which is just the right size, so here I am. It hasn't been worked since last summer so it needs a lot of weeding, so that's what I'll be doing.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
wildlifemad
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by wildlifemad »

Congratulations on your new plot! As you already know veg growing is hard work but worth it in the end! How overgrown is it as it hasn't been worked for a year, do you think it will be too late to get much in by the time you've cleared it? You will still be ok to plant squashes if you can get a bit of ground cleared, if you got some cleared quickly you could even put some spuds in as that would help break the soil up. The rest is probably worth trying to cover up so it hopefully kills off the weeds or at least keeps them down. Worth thinking about a pond (we have a small one) to attract frogs & toads & water for the birds. Good luck with it all & I look forward to reading your adventure!
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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

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Well the allotment took me ages to clear it, it was completely overgrown. In fact, the middle bit is still not cleared and it wil wait until I have more time.

I've divided it into 3: the top bit is my fruit patch and thanks to a £15 gazebo from tescos (frame covered in bird netting) I have a massive fruit cage which has strawberries, summer raspberries and blackcurrants in it. I'll move the blueberries there too at the end of the season (they'll stay in their pots as they need ericaceous soil) and I'll transplant a few red gooseberries and more raspberries there too, plus anything else i grab in the end of season sales. There are already some white gooseberries there and there's not much fruit on them but what ther ei are massive! I've picked them today and wil add them to my red ones for a crumble.

The middle bit is a mess but will be where I put the patio pear and cox apple

The third part is where the squashes, beans, sweetcorn and brassicas are. Everything is growing well, except for some of the brassicas as stupidly I didn't put slug pellets down and they were eaten. They do seem to be coming back to life though so fingers crossed. Everything is netted.

The garden is doing well too - we have a great crop of red gooseberries this year, and even a smattering of raspberries (great given I thought we wouldn't get any). The patio pear has lots of fruitlets on it, as does the Cox apple and the Dummelow's Seedling cooker. The blueberries have lost their berries already (chickens!) and they will be moved to the safety of the fruit cage next year.

The patio peach is not well, it has had peach leaf curl all year so far even though I've been spraying it for fungus and aphids. I'm not sure it wil survive.

We've had some french beans already this week, and hopefuly we;'ll get some more - I have loads more planted up at the allotment, as well as peas which I will grow tons more of next year.

Salad crops are in the garden - little gem and pak choi. I have a few leeks and celery to plant out, not sure if they will be at the allotment or in the garden.

Lots of cherry tomatoes and a few moneymaker and roma as well. I have a cucumber doing well in the greenhouse, plus 2 melon plants that will hopefully do well in the ground. Plus 2 aubergines and a pepper as well. Hope all of them work out!

And finally, I have an experimental batch of rhubarb gin on the go. I think when it's done, the fruit will make a wicked crumble >stir<
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
wildlifemad
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by wildlifemad »

Hi KarenE. You've worked really hard to get most of your allotment cleared & planted up, well done! I wish we'd have had neighbours like you on our plot!!! Now you can reap your rewards with the harvest! Enjoy!
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Sounds like it's going really well on your allotment. You have obviously been very busy with it and your hard work sounds as if it has really paid off with all your lovely fruit and veg. Would love to see some photo's.
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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

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Haven't updated this in a while. The allotment is doing great. I hadn't been able to go for a few weeks because I hurt my neck and shoulders, so after 3 weeks of neglect when i went up last weekend the place had exploded with weeds and growth. Such a pity as I had just about got on top of it, and had started clearing the overgrown middle bit.

Still, a thorough hoeing and weeding has got it looking vaguely presentable as well, plus my new cordless strimmer bought specially off ebay for it is working wonders on the paths and edges.

Here is the plot when I took it over, and having spent a couple of weekends clearing it - all apart from the middle section which in the end I never did (wish I had, it was much more maneagable then)
Image Image

It's a decent size as you can see, not too big. The top section is for my fruit, and now has my fruit cage - which is a cheap gazebo frame with netting - with raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants in it. I need to do more work on getting that right, and get more fruit in there. Little cropping off the fruit but I'm really looking at next year for that.

The middle bit is still fallow and the end section is where my squashes and pumpkins, sweetcorn, beans and brassicas went. There are also rogue potatoes growing. This is how it looked in the middle of the season, and how it looks now:
Image Image

The purple beans have cropped really well, and I have some green and yellow beans hidden int here too which are looking good. The peas I had hardly any but I will plant out loads next year to get a good crop. The squashes are looking great, with loads of little butternuts appearing and a few nice pumpkins too. And the sweetcorn ahs done brilliantly well.

The brassicas struggled a bit with caterpilars and birds, but on the whole is okay now that they are all netted off. Next year I'm going to extend the fruit cage netting and make a brassica patch in the middle section, that should protect them.

Also next year my patio cox apple and unknown pear will be planted up there too. I think I'll do some onions and garlic, leeks and celery too.

In the garden, we got a good crop of red gooseberries in the end. The autumn raspberries aren't doing much. The tumbling toms in the hanging baskets have loads of ripe fruit, and the bush ones in the ground are quite productive although yet to start ripening. My little aubergine plants have tons of long aubergines on them. No idea what happened to the peppers I planted, they seem to have disappeared. 1 odd shaped cucumber on the plant, I may try planting outside next year. And no melons on the melon, so I might just give them a miss next year as I can't be bothered with the faff of trying to pollinate them.

And my strawberries, both at home and at the allotment, did virtually nothing for fruit but are setting runners off all over the place. So hopefully I'll have a good strawberry patch next year.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
Cheshire Chick
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by Cheshire Chick »

It all looks really, really good Karen. Looks like quite a bit plot so you have had your work cut out but now it has all paid off and all the fruit and veg you are getting is wonderful. Do you spend a lot of time there? I looked into getting an allotment a couple of years ago, but was worried I would not have the time to care for it. )like(
wildlifemad
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by wildlifemad »

Hi Karen. That is looking really good, well done on all your hard work. It is now reaping its rewards.
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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by KarenE »

Do you spend a lot of time there?


Hi Cheshire Chick. Not really - it took quite a lot of time getting it going, as it was pretty overgrown with weeds, but that was 2 weekends digging really. Would have been 3 if I'd done the middle patch, which I should have as it is much worse now.

Then once it's planted up, it's better to go little and often, to do a bit of hoeing. I have bindweed in my plot, which is an utter pain, so the amount of maintenance mine needs is quite a lot. I'd say I go 2 or 3 times a week, for about an hour or so for a bit of weeding, strimming the paths, watering and such. Not counting the time spent harvesting, chatting to neighbouring allotmenteers and admiring my handiwork! Or at least I think that's what it would even out to, if I did it regularly. You do have to commit something, otherwise the weeds go mad and you're back to needing significant time on it. But it's great up there, so quiet with the birds and everything. It's a lovely way of having a slice of nature.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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KarenE
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Re: Karen's 2015 garden diary

Post by KarenE »

Managed to get quite a lot done on the lottie the other week, strimmed the paths, dug all the weeds out around the fruit cage - the bindweed was growing through the netting - cleared the nettles from the top which had grown over the gooseberries, and dug out most of the middle patch. So pleased with myself! Still lots of weeds growing around the veg but I hoed a lot off and the rest I'll do as & when I can as the squashes cover them mostly. The bindweed I will have to keep digging, and I'll weedkiller it as well. The plot's looking good. Pathways need a strim again.

Of course other plots look fantastic and all us new allotmenteers have been saying how we have plot envy!!!

I have 3 pumpkins on the plot, all of which are producing nicely. I have a massive single long pumpkin on 1 plant, a few smaller ones on another and my miniature pumpkin is producing lots of tiny pumpkins which look lilke patty pans. Will be interesting trying to carve them at Halloween! The butternut squash is also going great guns.

Have guests over at the mo so picked a few corn cobs and they were fabulous! Lovely and big and fat, and delicious barbecued.

Off later to get some potatoes, kale and beans if there are any left - the purple beans looked just about finished, but I still have green and yellow there. The sprouts and brocolli has been hit by caterpillars, even though they are netted, so definitely extending my fruit cage next year.

The tomatoes in the garden are doing so well this year, I've harvested a fair amount of cherry toms which seem to have ripened early this year. The bush toms in the greenhouse are ripening, not the ones outside, and I have 1 little melon!

Had one of my little pears the other day, it was sweet but a bit on the dry side so perhaps not quite ripe. I am so pleased, I've never grown pears before! That will be transplanted onto the allotment at the end of the year
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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