Gardening: Hints and Help!

I will bump this up, as one or two are sharing gardening ideas on General Chat, and it sounds like lots of us will be getting stuck in while stuck at home these next few weeks!

PS, my pink lily of the valley is just coming up!😁

Apart from my raised bed project, there’s not that much happening elsewhere in the garden. There are though signs of life, not least the Clematis Armandii ‘Enham Star’ with its clusters of creamy-white flowers with a heady scent. There’s a dwarf Cherry just coming into flower and the climbing roses are starting to shoot. Last year we planted a Viburnum Plicatum ‘Kilimanjaro’, can’t wait to see that in all it’s glory, a fabulous plant that holds its flowers for a good while. As the season progresses, I’ll try to add pics. 

With things as they are the wifes' allotment this year instead of coming second to our trips away, it will be well tended and hopefully if the weather allows, bountiful too.

Already got the first earlies in and the main crop onions were planted yesterday.

Have to end now as she is biting at the bit to go up again. Ofcourse remembering the advice on socializing.

Be safe

I think gardening is going to be a huge solace for a lot of people.😁 Our garden hasn’t looked as good this early in year for ages. I have a project list each year, and seldom get through it all, but this year, it’s massively on track. Not least because OH is helping as well, and because we aren’t away touring, I don’t mind spending to get someone else in to tackle some really big tasks. We managed to get two big beech trees cut back before this scare, so benefitted from a huge pile of chippings for garden, and a decent amount of stove wood to dry for next Winter.

Today will be putting in a small water butt, reassembling an outdoor water tap area, painting a door, and then it’s onto some burning later this evening of dried out clippings.

I'm hanging back from sowing all our seeds, I like it to warm up a bit and can leave trays on the floor of the greenhouse. I usually share the surplus or give some to a local plant sale, so I think we'll be doing some swapping with neighbours etc. this year.

Last year we were given some Callette plants from a local a friend. I thought they were a weird idea, a bit like Brussel sprouts but opening up into tiny cabbages along the stalk. Anyway we grew them and when they finally got going in late winter they were good and very easy to pick. Worth a try, even in a small space as they're slim and grow upwards rather than out. 

If I hadn't got the space we have I'd be attempting to grow some veg or herbs in pots or whatever. Even if it doesn't feed the nation it would give me something to look at.

My Mum and Sister grow lots of stuff in big pots and bags brue, potatoes, beans, tomatoes of course. It’s easier than turning over a veg bed for them, although my Sis has dedicated a small patch to carrots. Purely for the dog, he adores them!😁

Like you, there’s a lot of plant swopping, seed swopping going on here! I found a great little packet of mixed seeds in Aldi last week, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, radicchio, salad leaves, all for just 99p. I am going to sort out a sunflower growing competition across our family, who can grow the tallest?😂

Finished the second raised bed , seeds all sorted,just waiting for the soil and weather to warm up ,then it will be all go 

So, what veg have you got lined up?

I little trick I learned a while back. For Parsnips I sow into toilet roll cores almost filled with compost, 3 to a core, then topped with compost. They’ll stay in the greenhouse (unheated) and usually germinate in 14 days. It’s important then to get them planted out as soon as possible, as the tap root reaches the bottom in just a couple of days. It’s then just a case of removing the weaker seedlings, after a couple of weeks. As all this wasn’t expected (growing veg) I haven’t been saving the cores, so I’m having to scrounge them 🙂

It will be carrot, cabbage , cauliflower, parsnips, onion,pea bread bean  and runner bean , oh and some courgette and squashes , plus the usual tomato , cucumber and sweet pepper , and salad stuff , red currant and strawberry.

i hope to put in a pear tree and  espalier it along the fence ,I’m reading up on that bit ! 

For me it will be potatoes, carrots, sprouts, cabbage, onions, broad beans, French beans, runner beans, beetroot, leeks, spring onions and lettuce. I’ll be growing tomatoes in the greenhouse (Sungold) and outdoors (in troughs) it’ll be ‘Tumbling Tom’. It would be nice to try some shallots as they’re ready for harvest quite early, but I think I’ll be struggling for space.