chickencam Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Seedlings are popping up everywhere with this warmth, especially the squashes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 this years certainly a first for me in the germination game 100% germination of Sunflowers and that's from last years seed I only had 8 or 9 out of 20 last year. I just hope I don't loose any to snails 20 sun flowers are going to make one hell of an impact in my front garden sweetcorn looks like it's going to be a re-sow through so far 4/20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I've got 9/12 decent sunflowers, plus one dodgy one. Sweetcorn isn't up yet but only planted it a couple of days ago. Dill is just up, COsmos doing really well, zinnias disappointing, so will sow more. My broad beans are doing well, about 3 peas have come up out of 100+ I suspect mice...... Rhubarb is rocketing away. Squashes and pumpkins seem to be doing ok, have their first true leaves now, but still leggy. I'll see how they do. Tomatoes have their seed leaves, but have just stopped... Might need more heat. 1 leaf on 7 dahlias, but they are getting there, lots of green when I impatiently dig down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 I will be sowing zinnia, cosmos, sunflowers and dahlia when I get to Portugal Last year I sowed cosmos/zinnia/sunflowers at the normal time (can't remember if March or April) but I did a 2nd and a 3rd sowing much later, right up to July. These plants did really well as well and I had a really long season for cutting. I think the zinnias in particular relish the heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Thanks for the tip Daphne, I will sow more later on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Broad beans doing well - runners just showing and leeks but cucumbers, courgettes and pumpkins - zilch. And its turned chilly now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I've got 9/12 decent sunflowers, plus one dodgy one. Sweetcorn isn't up yet but only planted it a couple of days ago. Dill is just up, COsmos doing really well, zinnias disappointing, so will sow more. My broad beans are doing well, about 3 peas have come up out of 100+ I suspect mice...... Rhubarb is rocketing away. Squashes and pumpkins seem to be doing ok, have their first true leaves now, but still leggy. I'll see how they do. Tomatoes have their seed leaves, but have just stopped... Might need more heat. 1 leaf on 7 dahlias, but they are getting there, lots of green when I impatiently dig down... my toms have done that I've put it down as to much heat as I'd still got them in the propagator until Tuesday day and night they seem to be picking up now I've took the lids of the pumpkins and squashes will be fine once you plant them out just plant them a bit deeper I had a cucumber that had it's stem partly chomped through last year planted it up to just below the first leaf and it was fine you can do the same with leggy toms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Broad beans doing well - runners just showing and leeks but cucumbers, courgettes and pumpkins - zilch. And its turned chilly now. I find with the squash family if they haven't germinated in a week odd are they aren't going to it's either duff seed or the compost is a bit to wet if the lot failed then it's the compost but if some germinated it's the seed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 While I asked DD to water the plants as well as doing the birds while we were away for a long weekend, I had a bit of a panic as we hadn't reminded her and I had visions of all my hard work shrivelled to a cinder. Not to worry, her boyfriend did it for me. What a little darling he is. I gather it was a joint effort. Phew! Now lots to plant out and the toms need to go into their final tubs. Under the fleece the parsnips are all pinging up. Also I have 2 rows of carrots! Whooohoo! I also have golden purslane, rhubarb chard and some land cress all sprouting up. I also have some weird looking big strong green frilly leaves popping up in odd places. Not something I've sown - I wondered if it was some sort of buckwheat that wild birds have dropped. Tap root goes down a fair way and I've also got it in the lawn. It isn't appearing where our girls have their food! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 SJP - my seeds have started to germinate must have heard my grumbling!! I purchased some mushroom boxes from Poundland to try today. For a £1 thought its worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I started my pumpkins squashes courgettes marrows and cucumbers from brought in seed Sunday just got a few from saved seed to sow also potted up 120 onion and 20 sprout seedlings Saturday and Sunday and about 40 cabbage/sprout plants and 10 tomato plants last night I'm well impressed with the quality of the plants I'm potting up this year which I'm putting down to the compost I've switched over to this year the higher peat content is certainly making pricking out a lot better and been a lot drier than the stuff I've been using for the last few years must be part of the reason for my improved germination rates which so far (with the exception of the sweetcorn which is always poor nowadays and the very old seed I took a chance on) is one of the best years I've had in a few years the only seedlings that are struggling are the leeks but that's down to the warm spell we're having at the moment leeks hate it hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitfluff Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'm feeling really behind reading this. I'm spending so much time digging over beds and waging my one man war against bind weed I'm forgetting to actually plant things. I do have my tomatoes and chillies potted on but 2 sowings of broad beans have failed to do anything apart from go mouldy in the pots. I'll do a final sowing direct in the soil and then give them up as a bad job I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 We get bindweed. I remember someone saying their birds ate it all and it didn't come back. Well mine don't touch it! We have it in one spot in the garden in spite of dousing leaves in the past (before chickens) and now just pull it when we see it. It must give up eventually. Another spot in the garden never regrew once we removed an old ceanothus - so perhaps the roots were entwined? And on a visit to our veg lady we saw she is still planting broad beans so don't feel left behind. They'll soon catch up anyway, so don't worry. With regard to French beans and my compost test, the seed Grochar/biochar was not a favourite for them. They have still to appear in most pots, but the Westland organic veggie compost has been most successful. It's been an interesting learning curve there as to the fussiness of seeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I'd say the compost was to wet and or to cold if the broad beans have gone mouldy/rotted it could also have been dead seed. don't give up on broad beans just yet next year try a different supplier and variety the only 2 I'd even consider growing (if I were to grow broad beans) are Red Epicure or crimson Flowered I'm hoping to start my French and runners plus my Hurst green shaft peas( bit of a gamble here through as the seed is a bit old) this week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Seems the borlotti beans don't care what compost - they are all up now! Have resown the French beans Cobra and will do some more Blauhilde tomorrow. Have planted the beetroot cells in the veg patch, plus the calabrese and the sprouts. All under fleece for protection at the moment. I'll swap with enviromesh later. The other day I popped in the Sturon onions - have some still to do that I only pricked out the other day, but they are already looking strong so won't be long before I pop them in too. The other variety I've pricked out and have one tray left to do. The little bulbs look promising already. Strawberry flowers seem to be huge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 Well we are back in Portugal The day we arrived it was balmy and gorgeous, and we sat outside with an early evening drink and the scent of jasmine hanging in the air. Since then it has rained more or less non stop The garden has recently been strimmed of all its wild flowers and weeds by a neighbour so once the rain stops I will have to get turning the soil over. Unfortunately I have done the stupidest thing possible and left my digging fork in England. They don't use them here (hard to believe I know but here a mattock is your weapon of choice) so I shall have to dig over the patches for veg using a hand fork and trowel. Its loose soil with plenty of stones, so not too difficult, although time-consuming. I can see from our neighbour that his onions are well progressed, in fact they look ready to pull His spuds are still small, and the broccoli has gone to seed. I know that our other neighbour has recently planted his toms, but I haven't seen them. The only crop I am growing is mint - yards of it I need to go and buy some compost, then I will start sowing. In the meantime we still have good oranges and lemons, and some rather over the top (ie dry) tangerines. OH has found a use for them - he is making candied tangerine peel. The satsumas (or whatever they are) are hit and miss, and one tree is bearing fruit for the first time in its life apparently. The horrible fig tree (they taste vile) is brimming with fruit (its an early), whereas the good fig tree (a late one) only has a few fruit on it. The plums, which bore tons of fruit last year, don't seem to be carrying a single one. The apples, which were also very prolific last year, are difficult to read, as the blossom has gone, but the fruitlets aren't yet formed. The young cherry tree is well laden and you can nearly reach out of a bedroom window to pick one! Our cherry farming neighbour has kindly grafted 2 new cherries over the winter onto strong rootstock, one is a white cherry apparently, but I'm sure they will take a few years to bear fruit. The olive harvest was pants A combo of rain and a pest. Apparently the lagar (that's the olive mill) normally is open for 3 weeks, processing olives. Last year it was only used for 4-5 days We harvested some for eating but I made the brine too vinegary so we've had a new invention - pickled olives, but they are too soft and not worth keeping either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Lovely to see the different varieties you are growing. The plums and apples are probably resting up this year though. Sad to hear your olives weren't so good. A lot of effort to grow and preserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 most of my squash family seeds are up including 3 or 4 varieties that didn't germinate last year some how have 2 seeds in one pot of yellow hundred weight only had 5 varieties of tomato fail 3 were old seed one might not have seed in the pot as like normal I dropped one pot the other is Ildi but I've got another pot of that one from another source that's germinated just got to pot on the marigolds and then get the beans started and get the rest of heritage/rare spuds potted up then start to think about sowing the carrots then it'll be the end of May and I'll need to start planting out then I can take a brake until harvest time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Just planted out my onion seedlings - Sturon. I still have Giant Zittau to do but they were late and only just pricked out the other day. Toms sill being potted up in their final place, staked, tied even though it isn't necessary yet (easier not to bend so low for the next ties) and the peppers in their second pot. Time to fence off the broad beans as Merry was tasting the leaves!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I've still got a few toms to pot on into 3" pots mainly the ones were there's more than one seedling in a pot most start the beans this week and pot up the marigolds I've also got to pot on the cucumbers and courgettes that have more than one in a pot but that'll wait till later in the week the beetroot swedes and turnips need to be planted out but the grounds to dry at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Slugs!!!!! In the greenhouse this morning and it's a bit like a tornado hit 2 of my tomatoes. The first one planted had been felled and one further along the line has also been chomped part way through. Luckily they can be popped into compost to take root like cuttings but even so. Hubby couldn't believe it either! He rushed out and we pulled out the stake and he found the offending little black demon at the bottom of the stake! Breakfast for one chicken. Revenge is sweet! I have now used this on the remaining ones: http://www.organiccatalogue.com/Pest-Control-Slugs-and-Snails/c61_179/p3647/GRAZERS-G2-SLUG-AND-SNAIL-REPELLENT-750ml/product_info.html It worked really well with the broad beans. They haven't been touched since I planted them out. I can see a few nibbles in my French beans and the tell tale silver. So I'm just ordering the concentrate to mix up so that I'll have something when my squirty spray has been used up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 tomato plants are one of the only plants I've never lost or had attacked by slugs or snails. I've had tomatoes bored into at both the green stage and the just ready to pick stage I've lost a few petunias and Dahlias seedlings over the last 2 nights I was only thinking Friday that I was going to get away with out slugs and snails in thee Greenhouses this spring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Just looked under the fleece and a tiny little black slug has chomped through some beetroot and the tip of one of my calabreses. I'm sure some carrots have disappeared too. All have been squirted with the magic solution - and the little blighter has been disposed of. Probably has a few friends. On the other hand by now I would have had an empty bed so I think the nematodes are working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Ooh Valkyrie language, I have been out with the - those slugs are demons. I dont like using buts its my veg not theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I'm expecting some more now seeing as the rain is here for a few days!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
