How does your garden grow?

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Trev62
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Trev62 »

Spreckly wrote: 12 Dec 2023, 10:24 I have a Liquid Amber tree in the front garden,
I had to look this one up, it looks a stunning tree.
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manda
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Re: How does your garden grow?

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I've been very lucky so far....my next door neighbour built a huge tunnel house for his citrus trees (which are very young) and so has a lot of room )like(

We've had some harsh frost even up to 4 weeks ago (officially in summer) and I though I'd lost my potatoes as a result (thankfully they've rallied around but there'll be no new potatoes for Christmas Day they we've grown ...never mind plenty for the New Year as they're doing really well now :-D

I planted a whole bunch of tomato seeds thinking if some failed I'd still have plenty of plants but then having been able to put them in Bob's tunnel house they all thrived ...I have 12 Sweet 100 vines (they are prolific cherry tomato producers) and 44 Roma's {rofwl} {rofwl}

This week I took a week off as I'm working Christmas and New Year....so

We've made 3 arches out of reinforcing mesh - dug a trench either side (so you can walk through and then plants are on the outside - we've planted into buckets so we can plant things in the same area and just change the soil in the buckets (which when emptied will be able to be added to the compost we're making and be reused).

On 2 of the arches I've planted 6 of the sweet 100's out on arches and 18 of the Roma because I'm hoping it's late enough now for there to be no more low temps ...we've had days with 30 this week so we're hoping summer is finally here.... but they had to go out because they were becoming triffid like and need support.... now we wait and see.

On the third I planted a load of peas and sugar snap peas along with some Tromboncino squash....Jamie Oliver reckons are amazing and I just think look fabulous and hopefully tasty. Either way it's something new to try apparently they are close to butternut squash if they mature but picked younger like Zucchini both of which we love so win win for us
https://hub.suttons.co.uk/gardening-adv ... ino-squash

In the tunnel house we've got chilli's, Romano peppers (which I plan on roasting and canning) and eggplants (which I've never grown before either so am interested to see what happens with them).

The raised beds we have found we really need to cover because those rascally rabbits get in too easily.... I planted broccoli (2 have been eaten) and a couple of square feet of beetroot seedlings were munched! but still growing strong (now we've covered everything is broccolini, a load of bullseye beetroot and cylindrical beetroots along with little round carrots (because we need to work on a carrot bed for longer varieties) and a load of spring onions.

Our Asparagus bed is going great...not to be picked this year but we've got loads of ferns now so next year should be a good one (fingers crossed).

Oh and I planted sweet potatoes this week (because they can't go out if there are frosts) ...I don't know if they will have long enough to grow and next year I think I'm going to have to do a covered raised bed for them but make it so they can't escape into the garden (Oxalis) because as much I love them and want to grow heaps I don't want the vines taking over which they will if given half a chance.

All in all I'm feeling quite positive about this years growing and we've got plans for next year already forming based on what we've learnt this year.
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manda
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by manda »

Spreckly wrote: 12 Dec 2023, 10:24 I have a Liquid Amber tree in the front garden
.... one of my husband's favourite trees
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)✰
(¸.✰´¨(¸.✰ Manda

Living our version of the Good Life with 1 dog (who feels like we're living with 4!), 1 cats, a few sheep and 11 chooks.
Don't get your knickers in a knot..it solves nothing ~ just makes you walk funny
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Just picked my first crop of 2024. Frost forecast so I thought those pencil thin sticks of rhubarb wouldn't survive. Not quite a portion so I added a small apple. Very nice.
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

My Magnolia Susan has had buds on since before Christmas!
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

Our east coast weather is very mixed. Heavy frost on Saturday morning followed by a glorious day. My son cut my back and one front lawn, topless. I sat outside with Gracie and debated whether to put a t shirt and a skirt on. The following day it heaved it down, but today is glorious so far.

This morning after my Monday cleaning, I have sown tomato, cosmos, cornflower, nasturtium, delphinium and French marigold seeds. They are tucked up under plastic in the greenhouse.

All my geraniums died off in the greenhous over the winter. {mr.angry}

My pink camellia continues to flower, and my white one is just starting to open. Blossom is forming on my pear tree and my magnolia stellata is bursting into flower.

In front of the house, which faces south, my tubs have wallflowers, aubretia and daffs, all flowering.

Nettles are coming up under the hedge. Despite the fact that they attract butterflies, I get rid of them.

I love this time of year.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

MY plums and pear are in flower. The damson might be about to flower too, but most of them have a bog surrounding them, don't know how long they'll live if we have more wet winters.
I'm picking some skinny sticks of rhubarb, though just a handful once a week.
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

I have stunning clematis montana, doing a good job of covering the oil tank. My wisteria is almost in full bloom. My seedlings are very slow, not surprising with the cold windy weather we are experiencing.

Almost time to pull the wallflowers up and plant red geraniums. One clematis on the summer house is legging it up one the posts, and the double white lilac is out. Walking Gracie down the garden in the early evening is so very fragrant.

But not one of my dwarf beans has shown any life.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

My clematis montana has been lovely, noticed today that it is over but the pink weigela next to it is out, though the red weigela isn't.
Someone at dance club brought some runner bean seedlings for our charity B&B, so I've been trying to clear the weeds, and renew the wigwam. Meanwhile they are growing at high speed.
My gooseberries etc. are swelling nicely
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

My Old Glory Rose on the arch has begun to flower, The wisteria is fully out. I had one blossom on my newer apple tree, but the older one was covered as well as the pear. I am waiting for the gardener (he comes a few times a year) to tie my rasps in.

My friend in the village came last week and rotovated the veggie plot. Now that some of the overhanging branches have been cut back, I am expecting Sue`s efforts to yield a good crop.

The tree trimming caused friction with my neighbours. I understood from the internet that the responsibility for a tree lies with the owner, who has not touched it at all. Ted used to trim the overhang, but it has shot up, and was blocking a lot of light.

I have sown two lots of tomato seed,and something is eating them. Aster, cosmos, french marigold seeds have all been destroyed. Very disappointing.
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

My gardening friend has planted French Beans and alpine strawberries in the old veggie plot, so I have been watering. Rain is forecast for the next few days, and I get a reprieve.

Something has eaten all my seedlings in the greenhouse I had quite a variety, so disheartening. I have one tomato seedling left, and that with my second sowing of cosmos are now in the bay window in the front roomn.

I have sown two lots of dwarf French beans, but no sign of them. Going to see if I have some left to have a third attempt.


Someone thought birds might be the culprit, andother said it could be mice. No sighn of mice, slugs or snails in the greenhouse, so perhaps birds are to blame. I am now closing the door, but air vents and window are open.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

Yes, discouraging, but at least we don't rely on what we grow.
It makes you realise how precarious life used to be,
My runner beans have holey leaves, but are busy climbing (not all going up the pole I planted them next to, ah well.
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

I have sown a second batch os seeds which are doing well in the front room bay window. I bought three small sweet pea plants, and only one is doing well, the other two look to have developed some kind of disease. I shall contact Amazon about them, they were not cheap.
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Mo
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Mo »

I've been bramble chopping and nettle pulling. Plus a bit of hedge trimming. My septic tank needs emptying, so I needed to make sure the lid was visible.

My runner bean leaves look very lacey. Hope at least one gets going and crops (I've found in the past that 1 is enough to give a good picking every few days)

A climbing rose is in full flower outside the bedroom window. It has grown too far out from the wall so that it arches over the path and stops me getting near the gutters. But I can't bear to cut it back yet. The other thing growing up that wall is brambles, I thought a few to harvest would be good, then found my mistake. I've chopped them at the bottom, tugged them down and chopped ad high as I can reach, leant out of the bedroom window and tried to pull them from there. But they form a web, now mostly ugly dead prickles.
Can only do about an hour at a time, so it's a slow job.
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Spreckly
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Re: How does your garden grow?

Post by Spreckly »

Today I planted my third attempt at runner beans. Cosmos is planted out now, and a coupled of late tomatoes are in pots in the greenhouse. I have asters, aquilegia and parsley on the front room window sill.

The Amazon seller is refunding me for the two sweet pea plants which died. I have planted the third one out, with wool slug pellets.

We are supposed to be getting warmer weather!
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