Poorly chicken

[soapdragon]

Thanks M and M...I will curb my impatience a tad longer then .  However, I've given up on the peppers which have been on a warm windowsill covered in clingo for nearly 2 weeks. So as not to waste the compost (precious stuff these days!) I have 'oversown' with sweet peas; maybe I'll get sweet peppers! 

[mullethunter]

My sweet peppers are struggling too. 2 have germinated but they’re not really growing. My tomatoes aren’t either even though the ones that are germinating themselves in the soil in the greenhouse from fruit that fell last year are doing fine - at least I’ll have something I suppose just not what I planned! Such is life 😂

I also can’t seem to get cucumbers to germinate this year even though - again - cucamelons fallen last year in the greenhouse are germinating like crazy!!

I’m sure there are lessons in there.

[Beantree]

Dark and cool means the tomatoes have stopped growing and they will be late. They are outside as we haven't a greenhouse or polytunnel yet. However the first sowing of dwarf French beans popped up overnight in the veggie plot; 16 of 20 so far. Early potatoes now need earthing up but I'm not doing it in the rain.

[The Dogmother]

My taters have gone mad under the cloche - they are just some which were at the bottom of the veg rack in the kitchen, so I bunged them in the bed. Must earth them up today.

Sown beans - a mix of seeds from packets that I had had for ages. no greenhouse, so they have gone straight into a south-facing trough on the hot part of the patio. They'll either grow or not. M&M is sending me some spare seeds that she has for peas (thought I had these, but mine ar all beans!) and cucumbers. Yum!

Been sending Rosie pics of the veg I am growing, and she wants to ask the landlord if they can use part of the garden they have behind the flat to grow their own. We have plans to drive up there when the lockdown is lifted, so will see what we can set up for her in that stay.

[Valkyrie]

Got the last of the Charlotte spuds in today.  OH emptying the home made compost - it had been wet and revolting, so last summer when FIL escaped from MIL and stayed here, he was helping with digging over the compost, working in some of our straw bales to give it some air.  That did the trick because it is super with lots of worms.  I've prepped another bed and will continue with prepping while I can.  The muscles in my derriere are reminding me that they do exist!  😩

[Beantree]

We did Charlotte last year but, although they do well in the UK, ours were far too big and ended up for chips. The main crop of Sputa, which was supposed to chip well, didn't. May be the heat and the amount of water they need here?

Now 18 of 20 French beans up and already something has eaten the first leaves from one, which effectively kills the plant as it just doesn't grow. They are all in cages, so the only possible culprits are slugs or field voles.

We've hung CDs over the carrots and onions to deter the birds.

[Patricia W]

My sowing of all the old seeds I could find is interesting.  The 2016 Ipomea are going mad, the 2011 Calendula are up, the 2013 antirrhinums are sprouting, lettuce of indeterminate age is doing well and I have tomatoes galore!  

However, I’m covering all bases as  I’ve found a small local nursery in Wallingford which is delivering here, so I’ve organised the neighbours so we’re putting in a large order of flowers and veggies.   They even sell their own compost at a very competitive price.   

So win win..  we keep the nursery in business and they keep us in veggies and flowers! 

[Valkyrie]

Sounds pretty good Patricia - all of it, seeds and the nursery!  

Another bed done for Arran Victory - I still have another lot to go, just over half a bed.  It's been quite time consuming setting up the beds, taking out the old sprouts - poor bees were still buzzing on the flowers while I was wheeling them to the compost bin!  Speaking of the compost bin, now that it was emptied yesterday, we transferred it to the veggie patch this afternoon.  I potted up some turnips that I thought was spicy oriental leaves - found the label hidden under their leaves.  They do not look happy at all now.  Well they have a chance - I can sow more or just forget it.  I will be sowing some swede though and some more celeriac.  Radishes are popping up along where the parsnips are.  I have fleece on them at the moment, but it is rather heavy - lift it and the birds will get it, leave it and the slugs will get the rest.  Meh!

My blueberry plants arrived this evening, gave them a water and they look pretty good, straggly, but good.  They should like our soil, it is slightly acidic, so I'll be planting them in the ground instead of getting ericaceous compost and keeping them in tubs. 

Everything needs potting on - can't keep up!

[soapdragon]

Oh dear! My cucumber plants, left in a sheltered spot overnight to harden off having bee out all on their own for several days but in at night, have gone white around the leaf edges and are looking sad. I think I left them out too early so have now re sown although some of the first batch may yet pull through. Too enthusiastic! 

And the same happened to the toms......no patience, me!

[Cat tails]

1 hour ago, soapdragon said:

Oh dear! My cucumber plants, left in a sheltered spot overnight to harden off having bee out all on their own for several days but in at night, have gone white around the leaf edges and are looking sad. I think I left them out too early so have now re sown although some of the first batch may yet pull through. Too enthusiastic! 

And the same happened to the toms......no patience, me!

No patience is the reason gave up on cucumbers and know just buy more matured tomatoes at a garden centre. Also the reason why I sow my beans outside, instead of indoors.

[soapdragon]

I have resown runners and left them outside as the indoor ones still haven't come up.......I will be more careful with the cues when they come up and also not so quick to get them outside!

[soapdragon]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:00 PM, soapdragon said:

Thanks M and M...I will curb my impatience a tad longer then .  However, I've given up on the peppers which have been on a warm windowsill covered in clingo for nearly 2 weeks. So as not to waste the compost (precious stuff these days!) I have 'oversown' with sweet peas; maybe I'll get sweet peppers! 

Yup.......what seems like weeks later I now have sweet peas and sweet peppers in the same little pots! Still no runner beans though. I sowed 4 indoors on a sunny windowsill after soaking overnight. Gave up on those (tho' tucked them away outside round the corner of the house, just in case) and sowed 4 more direct into a large pot out on the patio...............zilch, zippo, zero, niente, nada. Franklin Towers will be beanless this year!

[Beantree]

Earthing up the maincrops now. Tomato seedlings are suffering from no roots, so perhaps they have too much water. I'll let them dry out and the ones that shrivel can be discarded.

Running out of leaf mulch, which is used to screen the south side of the potato mound from the sun and also the tomato bed. Could be a good year at the moment though.

[mullethunter]

Runner and Dwarf beans are doing well in pots and will be out soon - put up bean sticks today including a diagonal after seeing Monty do it which was such an obvious idea and has made it so much stronger - don’t know why I never thought of it! Peas planted into the garden to be eaten by mice and slugs. Black kale, sprouting broccoli and Brussels sprouts all doing well in pots. Onions doing OK in garden but would be better if it was cooler and damper. No sign of parsnips sown two weeks ago but it hasn’t rained so not surprised. Leeks looking a bit weak and pasty but fingers crossed for them. Tomatoes in the greenhouse still struggling (Sungold maybe OK) but the self sown ones on the greenhouse floor look pretty good so although I don’t know what they are at least I’ll have some (from either Black Russian, Tigarella or Gardeners Delight). Last attempt at mini cucumber and it looks like they might do OK. Cucamelon (I think) self sown in the greenhouse and moved to a pot look happy too. 

An odd thing though - I don’t have a lot of soil to earth up my spuds this year having put new raised beds in, so my second earthing for the ones in bags I used some strulch. The next day loads of the the leaves were all yellowed, dried and shrivelled. Too hot or poisoned by the strulch! Don’t know.

Flowers from seed coming along: Mesembryanthemum, more sweet peas, nicotiana, coreopsis, rudbeckia and cosmos.

[soapdragon]

On 4/20/2020 at 8:15 PM, Patricia W said:

However, I’m covering all bases as  I’ve found a small local nursery in Wallingford which is delivering here, so I’ve organised the neighbours so we’re putting in a large order of flowers and veggies.   They even sell their own compost at a very competitive price.   

So win win..  we keep the nursery in business and they keep us in veggies and flowers! 

Which nursery is that, Tricia? I may need to contact them!

[Patricia W]

Yes do!  We got our delivery on Friday.  Very healthy plants.  It’s called Purely Plants.   They make their own compost too which is very reasonably priced. 

[soapdragon]

Thanks, I'll Google them - we could combine a trip to pick up (if they allow it with a pre order) with a trip to the big new Lidl in Wally!

[Patricia W]

They delivered ours.  I think they’re closed to the public.  But ask.  They are very nice 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Patricia W

[The Dogmother]

Well, my tomato plants are doing very well, and the garlic and onions that I planted around them are sprouting.

I'll check again in the morning, but I think that the beans I sowed last week are sprouting already

[mullethunter]

I’ve been planning to lay weed membrane and then gravel to make paths between my new veg beds and was just working out how much gravel I would need to buy when I realised I have half a dumpy bag of hardwood chips left over from the last time I refilled the chicken run 🙌🏻

[The Dogmother]

Oooo, winner, winner

[Valkyrie]

Went into the veg patch to try and set up a pea frame.  Blooming wind picked up, had a swear and then went back in the greenhouse.  All tomatoes are planted.  Having a bit of a change around in there - fewer tomatoes and set wider apart.  The triffid tomatoes have proved to be excellent when frozen whole - they make a super sauce.  Anyone wanting to try them they are called Sun Dried - for the purpose of drying, but we found that hit and miss.  They were so prolific that I gave up and mum and I washed and froze loads.  Some have sprouted in the greenhouse, so I'll save a few and perhaps squeeze a few in.  I can always pot them in the porch - that bakes in there!  Everything needs potting on.  I've prepped more beds, caught 2 voles by hand - one was cupped and released and the second had his head sticking out between my index finger and thumb.  I was wearing gloves.  Got a good look at his little teeth, but he didn't use them on me.  Tiny little sausage and beady little eyes.  Cute - when they aren't filling their faces with my veggies!  I told him that if he came back in my veg patch I'd bring next door's cat in - AKA "The Big Guns" - he seemed to listen - they ran off into the deep long grass by the bank.  I think we need to cut the grass in the veg patch shorter, because they have tunnels in the grass - not underground!  But when they stop running they just look like dirt.  So stop and watch and pounce!  A bit like Toy Story with the claw game!  So we shall see if my rules are adhered to.  I do know there is another one but I don't know where that went.  And it's late, I'm rambling!  Sorreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  Tee hee!

[Beantree]

We had voles in the veggie plot last year Valkyrie, because we didn't mow around it sufficiently so we could harvest the hay that we wanted. Only left a footpath width cut and I read it should be 20 feet (6 metres), so this year it is being regularly mown and so far no voles. I think the heavy rain we had drowned those already in the plot in their burrows. However we do have a cheeky lizard that lives under a lavender bush and pops out to eat the strawberries. Perhaps the whip snake will get rid of it?

Hoping for no late frosts, because after measuring the beds we are 10 metres of fleece short for the potatoes and no way to get any at the moment: bad planning on our part. Fingers crossed we are allowed to the garden centre soon. We took two rows of blackberries out which we never got to eat before the blackbirds feasted and they took a lot of watering as well. Those rows are now main crop potatoes.

[Valkyrie]

Was telling OH that the grass was still too long because they are in between clumps, so agreed that we will be mowing shorter and shorter around the area.  They were living under the plastic that we had down for weed and grass suppressant - with added bonus of no disturbance as the bought in compost was piled on it.  As we used it we have pulled away the membrane to discover the little cosy tunnels and nests - luckily disturbing most so that mum moves them elsewhere.  I say "we" - I mean "I" moved it all sassin rassin faffle men!  He sits on the mower and declares it's hard work.  Do some shovelling and then tell me how hard it is matey.  I am glad I wasn't holding anything when he declared dinner would be ready and he wouldn't be coming to call me in again so come in now if you want food.  OK playtime over then!  I don't have a watch and I do lose track of time when I'm stuck into something.  But treating me like an 8 year old was going too far!  And he wondered why I had the hump!  

Anyway enough of lockdown maritals, tomatoes are in situ and so much needs potting on and pricking out and sowing that I'm getting stressy!  Managed to pop the sugar snaps in yesterday - used some of Cookie Monster's old netting and around the outside I used some old poultry fencing to keep beaks at bay . . . I hope.  Miss Peeps was having a dust bath in the middle of a row of spuds so I chased her out only to have Pretty Boy Floyd swear at me for chasing his girls - there were 3 peeps in the veg patch!  One potato I found had been unearthed in another row, one of the Charlottes, so I popped it back under.  Not sure whether a bird was digging for worms or if the foxes had been digging them up and munching them.  All earlies and second earlies now covered with the netting and the maincrops are more deep in their holes.  Must go out for a look later on.  

[Beantree]

Taking up the first of the early potatoes next week, but made a mistake with the tomato seedlings which hopefully I've addressed in time. Due to over-watering the roots haven't developed, so the first of the hot sun saw them wilt immediately and the wind blew them over. So after putting them in shade for a week, now I'm only watering when they wilt, which should promote root growth I think?