after
the long cold winter my plots are taking shape
how have your plots faired after the winter?
We are getting there. Slow start though but we have made some good progress on my OH's plot which was a bit of a mess. However now we have got down to the rough end it is riddled with bind weed and couch grass so we have slowed down a bit.
Mine's all clear and ready to go but already lost a row of peas to the slugs - we will see if the parsnips are up this weekend but overwintered onions\garlic looking good. This weekend looks a bit rubbish for the weather so planting out will wait for a while and there is plenty of potting on to be done.
indeed the weather is awful just returned from the plots very wet cold and not very nice at all however my fruit trees seem to like it all in bloom just the odd bumble bee to do the deed
its another cold gloomy day here on the sunshine coast however im off to the plot bright and early this morning to cut the grass and cut the edges and maybe prepare my sweetcorn bed
I have two half plots one is doing well. Soft fruit looking good with loads of flowers but not many bees. Watch a single bumbly bee yesterday. Most seem to prefer the dead nettles. I did not managed to prune the autumn raspberries but they now all have flowers on. Particularly pleased with one patch, once cut down to the ground it does not do well because it is a rather dry spot. Good amount of new growth, so I am going to give it some manure.
Potatoes in a bit late.
well just got back from the plots edging all done
the other side
The new greenhouse seems to be well utilised....paying for itself already I would seem!
yes tg the only problem is with more space ive just pricked out more plants now i have 3 greenhouses full of plants rather than 2 lol :BangHead: :BangHead: :BangHead: :drunken_smilie:
blackberries have caught up nicely
I am having a problem with my tomatoes they germinated and I potted them on and took them over to the greenhouse and they have not grown anymore is it possible that it is too hot for them in the greenhouse because I have never had a problem with them before. I am thinking about bringing them back home to see if that works
I'm in the same boat Cudsey but I put it down to lack of light in our area.
I have just taken my plants down to the allotment today in the hope that they will develop quicker in the brighter conditions I have in the allotment greenhouse.
My only concern is the possibility of a late frost nipping them....fingers crossed.... will be looking in on Countryfile this evening to see what the weather will be like for the incoming week.
Quote from: cudsey on May 13, 2018, 17:23:29
I am having a problem with my tomatoes they germinated and I potted them on and took them over to the greenhouse and they have not grown anymore is it possible that it is too hot for them in the greenhouse because I have never had a problem with them before. I am thinking about bringing them back home to see if that works
it may be temperature fluctuation thats the problem sky high in the daytime and near freezing at night makes them sulk even here in the sunshine coast upto a week ago i put fleece over the plants at night and debris netting shading up in the middle of the day to keep a more even temperature hope this helps
Thanks Johhnyco15 and Tee Gee for your comments and I will try the fleece at night and find some netting to keep the heat down so theres still hope for them
today added some colour to the long border in front of the greenhouse dahlias and zinnias
Like the coloured lettuce as well!
What type of Dahlias are they? The reason I ask is they seem to be planted rather close together????
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 14, 2018, 17:30:12
Like the coloured lettuce as well!
What type of Dahlias are they? The reason I ask is they seem to be planted rather close together????
tg yes they are i thought i would lose a lot this winter as we have had -13 so i sowed 60 plants pom pom mix however all my plants seem to have survived so ill just have to wait and keep the ones i like
As a sugggestion you could transplant every other one to the other side of the path ( between the lettuce in the first row) then as the lettuce is eaten the Dahlias have more space to grow.
If they were true Pom pons then it would not be so critical but what I find is when it says pompons on the packet you often find that they are small and miniature ball types not true pom-pons, meaning they need more growing space as a rule.
When I grew poms I grew them in the least fertile part of the bed to ensure that the flower heads never grew above the regulation diameter of 2".
So now I know you like lots of tomatoes and flowers what with your 150 & 60 plants what else do you grow in ' bulk' ? :sunny:
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 15, 2018, 09:01:31
As a sugggestion you could transplant every other one to the other side of the path ( between the lettuce in the first row) then as the lettuce is eaten the Dahlias have more space to grow.
If they were true Pom pons then it would not be so critical but what I find is when it says pompons on the packet you often find that they are small and miniature ball types not true pom-pons, meaning they need more growing space as a rule.
When I grew poms I grew them in the least fertile part of the bed to ensure that the flower heads never grew above the regulation diameter of 2".
So now I know you like lots of tomatoes and flowers what with your 150 & 60 plants what else do you grow in ' bulk' ? :sunny:
most things 120 sweetcorn 50 cabbage 16 courgettes 50 sweet peppers 50 chilli 12 cucumbers indoor 10 cucumbers outdoor 40 butternut the list goes on and on
Quotemost things 120 sweetcorn 50 cabbage 16 courgettes 50 sweet peppers 50 chilli 12 cucumbers indoor 10 cucumbers outdoor 40 butternut the list goes on and on
Are you feeding the whole of the 'sunshine coast' ? :glasses9:
Speaking of Sweet corn...I'm having problems this year with my sweetcorn I usually sow around 40 to ensure I get the 25 or so I need. This year I have sown three batches and got about 10 plants, so I have now sown some more....fingers crossed!
As you will know I have given up a plot this year so I am doing a lot of planning, although juggling might be a better term with the number of plants I am growing. I still want to grow the same variety of veg but just a few less of each of them hence the juggling.
Basically what I am doing is adding a plant extra to each row to compensate for the reduced number I am growing. For example I have always grown 4 brassicas across a bed this year I am trying 5. Similarly things that would be 5 across are now 6 and so on!
It will be interesting to see if it all works out as planned (juggled)
Planted out my Chrysants (48) yesterday morning and 60 Gladioli this morning plus weeded my garlic as you can see in the attached picture.
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 15, 2018, 14:36:22
Quotemost things 120 sweetcorn 50 cabbage 16 courgettes 50 sweet peppers 50 chilli 12 cucumbers indoor 10 cucumbers outdoor 40 butternut the list goes on and on
Are you feeding the whole of the 'sunshine coast' ? :glasses9:
Speaking of Sweet corn...I'm having problems this year with my sweetcorn I usually sow around 40 to ensure I get the 25 or so I need. This year I have sown three batches and got about 10 plants, so I have now sown some more....fingers crossed!
As you will know I have given up a plot this year so I am doing a lot of planning, although juggling might be a better term with the number of plants I am growing. I still want to grow the same variety of veg but just a few less of each of them hence the juggling.
Basically what I am doing is adding a plant extra to each row to compensate for the reduced number I am growing. For example I have always grown 4 brassicas across a bed this year I am trying 5. Similarly things that would be 5 across are now 6 and so on!
It will be interesting to see if it all works out as planned (juggled)
Planted out my Chrysants (48) yesterday morning and 60 Gladioli this morning plus weeded my garlic as you can see in the attached picture.
may i ask what variety of sweetcorn i had a very patchy sowing of lark which i grow early however the incredible were around 98% so have plenty as for garlic i only grow a dozen
Quotemay i ask what variety of sweetcorn
One was called Amaize the other was my own seeds which oddly enough produced the best results so far.
I have never saved seeds before but as I was clearing up at the end of the season I found a cob that I had missed at harvest time at it had dried rock solid so I scraped the kernels off. The way I looked at it " nothing ventured nothing gained"
Obviously I was not going to depend on my own seed so I bought Amaize when I was placing my seed order for safety's sake!
I now have Swift on the go which I sowed last Saturday so expecting results any day now!
I've always followed Janine's advice on sowing sweetcorn, and get pretty much 100% germination since I have, 100% this year with Incredible.
Sow in rootrainers 3 weeks before planning to plant out, 2nd week of May for me.
Just press the seeds into watered rootrainers modules, leave them uncovered and place on heated mat for bottom heat only.
Germination takes two or three days.
Harden off over a week before planting out (mine go into a 8x4 double walled large cloche made from discarded porch materials so have protection against cold winds etc)
That's it!
That is more or less what I do Deb apart from using root trainers and like you and Janine's method my method usually works for me as well
To be honest I suspect the seeds,perhaps this packet of Swift will be better.....fingers crossed
I agree it sounds like the seeds have let you down this time, annoying when you lose the time! Worth a go with the seeds you found though. One year hardly any of my courgettes germinated, three different varieties.......I mean come on, courgettes!!!!!😏
blackberry fantasia in full blossom now but watch out for the thorns
aldi special blackberry 2 years old now putting in a great shift with the blossom
Todays harvest.
all my tomatoes are now in bloom this one however is the largest tomato flower i think ive ever seen
They do that sometimes ... it's called something like "Fasciation"....
Quote from: saddad on June 06, 2018, 06:51:53
They do that sometimes ... it's called something like "Fasciation"....
it is indeed blackberry stems do the same
first beetroot of the season
no rain for 7 weeks here on the sunshine coast however the plots still growing strong and i havent watered once
gooseberries are ready to thin out around 1" long
peppers starting to produce these are mini red from wilco's
Mine are making a show of it as well - cant recall the variety but I have a note somewhere...
todays harvest :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny:
usedmy fathers day present from the grandkids today
todays harvest
I have got allotment envy. Nothing to pick today at the allotment, did some watering, no strawberries, raspberries, so had to go to Morrisons. The only thing is some rhubard and gooseberries. Maybe someone is telling me to give it up.
todays harvest
todays harvest
todays harvest
todays harvest
Johnny,
Which variety are your magnificent caulis?
Hi Ya, I still have to plant some of my cabbages etc as it's been way to dry, This weekend is planned, football and other half permitting of course, It is certainly a good crop J15 and puts us mere mortals to shame. Cauli's are a favourite of mine and I to would like to know the variety. Good show mate
Quote from: ancellsfarmer on July 05, 2018, 09:43:31
Johnny,
Which variety are your magnificent caulis?
barcelona an october sown variety kept in cold greenhouse until early/mid march then planted out
Quote from: lezelle on July 05, 2018, 10:52:00
Hi Ya, I still have to plant some of my cabbages etc as it's been way to dry, This weekend is planned, football and other half permitting of course, It is certainly a good crop J15 and puts us mere mortals to shame. Cauli's are a favourite of mine and I to would like to know the variety. Good show mate
as said variety barcelona october sown planted out mid march watered when planted then left to look after themselves they are the only variety i can grow so hope they dont get replaced in the seed cat.
:sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny:
Looking good :sunny:
todays harvest
first outdoor beef tomato of the year coeur de boeuf
I've picked - and eaten - 4 Sungold grown outdoors ring culture style. They really do have a wonderful flavour. I've composted the greenhouse Sungold plants. They were monsters which had not set any trusses at all so am relying on one in a pot on the patio which decided to be a bush :tongue3: and fruiting really well and the one in the ground that already has ripening fruit on it.
Tricia :wave:
todays harvest
Can't believe you are harvesting blackberries already. Ours have barely started to flower. We had our first tomato yesterday and the greenhouse cucumbers are producing well. The rest of the garden is badly hampered by lack of water, despite spending hours on it. Looking very good Johnny!
todays harvest
todays harvest
todays harvest
Apples and Plums already! You must live in a very advanced growing area. This is more like a continental European allotment. Impressive. Love your harvest pictures :wave:
thanks galina todays harvest necterines and they are very juicey
todays harvest
todays harvest
Still waiting for my first corn so I am a bit jealous of that crop! ;-) Probably got another few days to ripen up mine..
But been picking lots of different types of toms as well as beans, onions, garlic and beetroot today so still plenty for tea.
todays harvest
What, still no corn? !!
todays harvest peaches indigo rose toms plums sunset apples and a cabbage late summer is here