How does your garden grow?

[manda]

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!!

I have to say my garden doesn't grow currently....exactly because of this reason
I had a count up (roughly because they kept moving about and weren't all in the same place!) but we have around 50 chickens and 15 turkeys (who are much easier to count and do tend to hang out together) all who free range. We've had to make the decision to end their free ranging days for several reasons.
1. My herb garden has been decimated by them but particularly the Turkeys who just stomp all over the netting and eat through it.
2. Chickens dig a bit of a dip to settle into..Turkeys dig craters
3. I've got 2 big tunnel houses to put up in the veggie patch but the birds have taken over and nothing will survive.
4. The Turkeys jump on the roof of the house and to be honest they are like a herd of elephants thundering about up there and goodness knows what they are doing ot the paint on the roof (good old Kiwi house with metal roof).
5. The Turkeys keep getting on my car and they are going to scratch it to death.

So soon I will be able to (hopefully) get back on the gardening trail

[Mo]

Free range is such a nice idea. I think we all start out like that.

As for the craters - well keeping hens you can see how the idea of the film that compared a chicken run to Colditz came about, so I can only imagine your plot if turkeys are worse. And as for having them walking over your car!!!

Mind you, you'll find a different set of problems if you build a run. But knowing you, I suspect you'll avoid some of the mistakes that many of us have made and learned from.

[Trev62]

All our peas have been removed and replaced with more lettuce, carrots, beetroot, leeks, celery and extra greens (cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels) were also planted in this valuable free space.

Picking all the things previously mentioned in an earlier post plus cherry tomatoes, banana peppers, cucumbers, carrots and lots of herbs that seem to be hanging up everywhere to dry.

Melons coming on rapidly in number and size as are the butternut squash, aubergines and other peppers all formed just waiting for them to develop. Large tomatoes especially the large Bulgarian Rose ones (our favourite) just beginning to turn rose/red so we should be getting many jars from them this year.

Sunflowers in full bloom but sweetcorn rather slow though looking healthy.

All the onion, leeks and garlic left last year for seeds etc their heads are blooming nicely probably forgotten to mention many other things but after last year we are doing well............thankfully and fingers crossed it continues.

[manda]

Free range is such a nice idea. I think we all start out like that.

As for the craters - well keeping hens you can see how the idea of the film that compared a chicken run to Colditz came about, so I can only imagine your plot if turkeys are worse. And as for having them walking over your car!!!

Mind you, you'll find a different set of problems if you build a run. But knowing you, I suspect you'll avoid some of the mistakes that many of us have made and learned from.

We've had them free ranging for the last 10 years at least... and they've always mucked up the garden and the veggie patch...the turkeys took it to a whole new level though ....and then the car was the final straw...
We'll make it as nice as possible with planting around as well (bushes and herbs things I know they like eating around the garden) so that they provide shadey bits and the leaves can grow through the mesh (and they can demolish them!). Time will tell.

The main thing is they won't be trashing the garden and the car and then we'll be able to get on with the veggie patch...I've got 2 big tunnel houses to go up and a mound to build so that I can grow pumpkins etc on.

[Mo]

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.

[Spreckly]

We had a large boiling of peas two days since, and there are few left. The broad beans were attacked by either a rat or the squirrel while we were away, but we had probably six boilings from them (steamings really). The rasps have been hopeless this year. We had possibly two bowls in total, and there are none for tonight. OH dug at two roots of potatoes during the week, and got one medium and two much smaller ones, so not ready yet.

We moved the strawberries last back end, and they have been poor, almost non existant, but it is their first year in their new home.

Still got runner beans to come, and courgettes.

[Linda S]

I've just done a lengthy post about my solitary courgette plant and the dreaded horse tail and accidently wiped it.
I tell you if I had a brain I would be blooming dangerous
Lindaxx
PS good thread this Mo

[Trev62]

Good harvest today, all the usual ones plus our first cucumbers (one for us, two for the chickens), first bucket full of potatoes and a handful of yellow cherry tomatoes. Everything we ate for tea tonight was grown/raised by us from the herbs through to the vegetables/salad and even the chicken. Not bad for two idiots that landed here with no idea a few years ago!!

[Mo]

That sounds so satisfying

[Trev62]

Six lovely large yellow melons now sitting in our kitchen, some will be turned into wine, some frozen and some enjoyed in the coming days, we have around eight more ripening but have lost many due to the massive hails stones, torrential rain and flooding these last few days. Our grape vines have also been badly damaged, the rest of the fruit and vegetables we will start looking at tomorrow as finally the rain has eased off so hopefully the rivers of water that have been flowing through the garden will ease overnight.

[wildlifemad]

Hope you've not got too much damage to your crops Trev. The weather has been up & down here this week but at least no torrential rain or hail.

[wildlifemad]

Just thought would ask here if any of you are having problems with Cucumbers? We were harvesting them nearly every day from start of June but then bout 3wks ago they went on strike. We have 5 plants in total, 3 growing large cucumbers & 2 growing small ones. In 3wks we've had 1 small one! They are just starting to throw some young ones out in the last couple of days. A chap on the lotty is having problems as well but he always has problems with them so can't judge it against his!!!!!!!

[kitla]

I've grown mini cucumbers this year & there's so many! I've started giving them away. I'll definately grow them again next year (maybe not so many though) Are yours in a greenhouse?

[Trev62]

Hope you've not got too much damage to your crops Trev. The weather has been up & down here this week but at least no torrential rain or hail.

Our butternut squashes, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines all look like they have bullet holes in them from where the hail stones hit them. Our broccoli, cabbages, lettuce, brussels etc have so many broken leaves now I do not know if they will recover. The wild cherry trees suffered from the hailstones as well so all our onions and leeks have been flattened and in places buried under layers of cherries that were knocked from them, raspberry canes bent double, pepper plants and tomato plants laying horizontal now, I will not go on but we have some serious work to do in the next few days, still at least we can remove the sandbags and run off pipes tomorrow also the towels covering the car can be removed ........most preventative measures worked so prevented a lot more flood/hail damage.

And we use to moan abut the English weather!

[wildlifemad]

I have been reading on an allotment forum that the dreaded Blight is now being reported in some areas of the UK, so keep an eye out folks!