Tonight's dinner, home grown broccoli on the left and flower buds from perennial kale (spis bladene) on the right. The kale tastes better imo.
What are you growing?
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Has anyone heard about keeping Goldfish in a water butt and using that liquid as green soup?
Also you could look at a wormery.
For the sake of the fish, you should only change a small proportion of their water at a time. So unless you have a very big water butt and only take a small volume each time I think the fluctuations in water chemistry would affect them adversely. Plus ever time it rains they’d get a shock to their system.
Also, if they’re not overfed they don’t actually produce that much waste, or at least not more than the microbes can deal with fairly quickly. I’m sure there are some nutrients in there, but not enough to call it a liquid fertiliser by any means.
Perhaps something most 'normal' people would try and eradicate but I'm pleased to have a couple of decent patches of nettles in our veg patch producing a good crop of nettle tops for dinner. I don't need to worry about what they are growing in or if I'm taking them away from wildlife (plenty more around the place for all the aphids, caterpillars etc).
Tonight they're the greens in our veg curry.
Tonight they're the greens in our veg curry.
First tiny shoot showing in my pot of home grown ginger.
Transplanted my still tiny blueberry plants into pots , and planted out the shallots.
My acorns are beginning to show signs of growing.
It's been a lovely day in the garden, pottering about, and discovering little things beginning to wake up.
Saw my first buff tailed bumble bee too.
Transplanted my still tiny blueberry plants into pots , and planted out the shallots.
My acorns are beginning to show signs of growing.
It's been a lovely day in the garden, pottering about, and discovering little things beginning to wake up.
Saw my first buff tailed bumble bee too.
Hi all just found this section just a short hi and what we do , we use to have 2 allotments but moved to a house with a large garden and due to health issues well i have to go slow , we have a 5 mt x 3 mt polytunnel and a large garden the wife got the top by the house for flowers and fruit trees and a bbq i got the bottom end by the canal for large 8ft x 4 ft 2ft high raised beds and a 15 ft x 35 ft piece off ground i turned over and plant ground crops there , we have 2 large rows of raspberries and 2 thornless blackberries to , 2 large beds of strawberries i will try and do pictures but as i am new not sure how yet lol .
We have nee growing fruit and veg and jarring and bottling since well year dot really , i would liek to ask does the site allow swaps ie seed swaps or plant swaps if local , just i always grow to many plants the fruit and veg we can ship out to neighbours in the street ,
right now i have 50 plus sweet pepper plants over
We have nee growing fruit and veg and jarring and bottling since well year dot really , i would liek to ask does the site allow swaps ie seed swaps or plant swaps if local , just i always grow to many plants the fruit and veg we can ship out to neighbours in the street ,
right now i have 50 plus sweet pepper plants over
You sound like my perfect kind of neighbour! Shame we are so far apart. I'd love to swop plants and learn more about bottling and jarring .
I can follow you tube stuff, but often have problems with knowing exact techniques, as I've mentioned here before about doing salted runner beans. (Used table salt... what a yukky mess I ended up with!!)
I tend to dry veg with my dehydrator, but with the price of electric now, just gone up yet again this April for me, that may not be viable any longer. I'm thinking of building a solar dryer, but that's fine if we have a hot summer, not so good if we get a wet one, and there is the hassle of bringing stuff in each evening on top of trying to get water up the hill of a garden that can take an hour of hard labour as it is.
Lost a lot of veg last summer in the heatwave, cauliflowers and lettuce bolted overnight tomatoes stopped growing and just wouldn't ripen, everything wilted in the heat which reached a blistering temp in my south facing sun trap.
So what's good temperature for solar drying, is bad for the plants and twice a day watering of the poor wilting veg. Last summer I was watching the giant sunflowers visibly wilting by the minute!
Have now installed two water butts , but doubt they would last a week in a summer like last years!
I need a fruit cage too, as the birds get most of my redcurrants, I'm working on that now, as gooseberry and currants are in pots(which need constant watering) so I'm trying to find a place I can make a new bed and a small cobbled together cane and netting fruit cage of some sort.
I'd love a bigger (and flatter) garden!
HI Woody always happy to share with people as i said we grow far to much back where we use to live we knew a great deal more people now we just share to the small road we live in .
We use to run 2 allotments and well you know how much you can grow on them .
With your water issue i will say i am spoilt really because the house we have was terrible when we moved in cost a lot to fix but the side garage and porch roof are flat and use to just ru nto a gutter on the back and then on to the patio bit as the people use to dive a car through the garage and work on it out back lol , i put a poly tunnel up on the stoned area and i gotthe chance on the bay to buy a 1500lt old orange juice tank they are black and double skinned plastic so i fitted that behind the garage area and a pump in it to so i can pump the water out , i have had ot fit a over flow that runs to the canal behind lol , yup if it ever got to a no water situation i have the canal and a petrol water pump at the worst to pump to the barrels dotten round the garden .
If you have waterbutts can you not get a 12v pump run a hose up the hill it may be slow but you could put it in a barrel at the top and fill that save you the carrying ..
I am finding i am slowing due to health issues but i refuse to let it win on the days i am bed bound i read books on the days i can mo0ve i am in the garden lol , the wife and i have been known to work in the garden in the snow lol .
If you think seeds swaps could be a good idea i would love to try and share with people , we have loads of wild sweetpea seed each each and try and save other seed , but also sometimes you get great deals and a packet can have thousands of seeds when you only need hald , we gave a huge amount away because they were going out of date but again if you think we can sort a seed share idea would be great , same with other stuff always happy to share because if we can not help each other how can we expect to survive .
Happy Easter
We use to run 2 allotments and well you know how much you can grow on them .
With your water issue i will say i am spoilt really because the house we have was terrible when we moved in cost a lot to fix but the side garage and porch roof are flat and use to just ru nto a gutter on the back and then on to the patio bit as the people use to dive a car through the garage and work on it out back lol , i put a poly tunnel up on the stoned area and i gotthe chance on the bay to buy a 1500lt old orange juice tank they are black and double skinned plastic so i fitted that behind the garage area and a pump in it to so i can pump the water out , i have had ot fit a over flow that runs to the canal behind lol , yup if it ever got to a no water situation i have the canal and a petrol water pump at the worst to pump to the barrels dotten round the garden .
If you have waterbutts can you not get a 12v pump run a hose up the hill it may be slow but you could put it in a barrel at the top and fill that save you the carrying ..
I am finding i am slowing due to health issues but i refuse to let it win on the days i am bed bound i read books on the days i can mo0ve i am in the garden lol , the wife and i have been known to work in the garden in the snow lol .
If you think seeds swaps could be a good idea i would love to try and share with people , we have loads of wild sweetpea seed each each and try and save other seed , but also sometimes you get great deals and a packet can have thousands of seeds when you only need hald , we gave a huge amount away because they were going out of date but again if you think we can sort a seed share idea would be great , same with other stuff always happy to share because if we can not help each other how can we expect to survive .
Happy Easter
Now have 3 shoots on my ginger plant. One is six inches tall, and the other two are just showing. It's slow, but beginning to happen.
Found a discounted and rather sorry looking honeyberry plant, something I've never heard of, but decided to give it a go. It's perked up no end with a good watering and transplant into a pot. I'll pop it into its final spot in a month or two . Its been stressed to a great degree, so it needs time to recover and build up some strength. New strawberries are in a new hanging basket, and I'm hoping that I will get some this year...rather than feeding the birds and slugs!
I'm planting a kimchi bed this year, ( all the ingredients for home made kimchi, ) and a 3 sisters bed, corn beans and squash.
More sunflowers too, as they were absolutely worth having last year, such a fantastic display, and a real joy to look at every morning.
I don't usually grow many flowers as space is limited, but I'm planting a small bed of wild and native flowers, around the rose bush, having just made a bee home to put on the fence.
I still have two small beds to fill, so guess that will be salad crops and later on some winter veg. Have acquired 5 lovely big pots, so carrots in one for sure I grew some purple ones last year, so I'm thinking of having a collection of purple varieties of carrots beans and aubergine spring onions lettuce etc in the pots.
Found a discounted and rather sorry looking honeyberry plant, something I've never heard of, but decided to give it a go. It's perked up no end with a good watering and transplant into a pot. I'll pop it into its final spot in a month or two . Its been stressed to a great degree, so it needs time to recover and build up some strength. New strawberries are in a new hanging basket, and I'm hoping that I will get some this year...rather than feeding the birds and slugs!
I'm planting a kimchi bed this year, ( all the ingredients for home made kimchi, ) and a 3 sisters bed, corn beans and squash.
More sunflowers too, as they were absolutely worth having last year, such a fantastic display, and a real joy to look at every morning.
I don't usually grow many flowers as space is limited, but I'm planting a small bed of wild and native flowers, around the rose bush, having just made a bee home to put on the fence.
I still have two small beds to fill, so guess that will be salad crops and later on some winter veg. Have acquired 5 lovely big pots, so carrots in one for sure I grew some purple ones last year, so I'm thinking of having a collection of purple varieties of carrots beans and aubergine spring onions lettuce etc in the pots.
Nice going Woody we also love the sunflowers not just for the flowers we try and save a few heads to hang for the birds in the winter but the squirrels here well ate 30 heads in less than an hour 2 years ago , i do not mind but the seeds had not filled out at all they just munched on it i say for devilment lol , i did say ot the wife i am sure thye sit in the trees and listen to us lol .
I grew rainbow carrots one year but now am back to early nantes and autumn king because yes the mixed colours are a wow but they are alwyas small , have you thouhgt about planting wild garlic under your tree i planted it everywhere when we moved here the one by the house in shade and damp has masses now we also have it starting to spring up under the fruit trees and gettign a grip there now and down by the canal , i love the flowers and wait until the flowers turn to seed bag the heads you can get tonnes of seed to spread round , we just let them pop on the pation bit then sweep them up and throw round the garden , i am not sure if you saw the grow frame we have because if space is tight you can grow huge amounts on it we had one in out flat garden outside the window as they use to moan about the garden we use to mow and keep it all and still the council moaned but hey the grow frame gave us huge amounts of herbs but also lettuce among other stuff , i will say i did not buy the add on kits i just got some 2 x 1 battens and made a frame on each end then fitted polycarbo over it and in the spring i use to roll plastic down the front like a little hot house to get stuff started or harden off , when we got the allotments well it also doubled as a grow space to get stuff ready to go out .
I grew rainbow carrots one year but now am back to early nantes and autumn king because yes the mixed colours are a wow but they are alwyas small , have you thouhgt about planting wild garlic under your tree i planted it everywhere when we moved here the one by the house in shade and damp has masses now we also have it starting to spring up under the fruit trees and gettign a grip there now and down by the canal , i love the flowers and wait until the flowers turn to seed bag the heads you can get tonnes of seed to spread round , we just let them pop on the pation bit then sweep them up and throw round the garden , i am not sure if you saw the grow frame we have because if space is tight you can grow huge amounts on it we had one in out flat garden outside the window as they use to moan about the garden we use to mow and keep it all and still the council moaned but hey the grow frame gave us huge amounts of herbs but also lettuce among other stuff , i will say i did not buy the add on kits i just got some 2 x 1 battens and made a frame on each end then fitted polycarbo over it and in the spring i use to roll plastic down the front like a little hot house to get stuff started or harden off , when we got the allotments well it also doubled as a grow space to get stuff ready to go out .
I already have a huge wild garlic patch under the budlija tree. It's encroaching into the grass, so I've been weeding the bulbs out of the grass and using them in cooking.
I like to pickle the flower buds in vinegar. We have simply loads of wild garlic in the area, so I can go from patch to patch picking a few here and there untill I have a jar full then take them home and pickle them. I also pickle in vinegar the green seed pods from my patch. They add a nice garlicky crunch to salads, and I often use them unpickled in season sprinkled in soups, stews and on salads to add a subtle garlic taste.
I'm picking nettles and cleavers (sticky grass) and drying for teas right now. I also dry some wild garlic leaves and store powdered in a jar to add to food later in the year.
This evening I had an omelette using my friend's fresh eggs, (bartered for jam) cheese and chopped wild garlic bulbs and leaves.
Very tasty!
I like to pickle the flower buds in vinegar. We have simply loads of wild garlic in the area, so I can go from patch to patch picking a few here and there untill I have a jar full then take them home and pickle them. I also pickle in vinegar the green seed pods from my patch. They add a nice garlicky crunch to salads, and I often use them unpickled in season sprinkled in soups, stews and on salads to add a subtle garlic taste.
I'm picking nettles and cleavers (sticky grass) and drying for teas right now. I also dry some wild garlic leaves and store powdered in a jar to add to food later in the year.
This evening I had an omelette using my friend's fresh eggs, (bartered for jam) cheese and chopped wild garlic bulbs and leaves.
Very tasty!
Wow fresh eggs , we wanted chickens here but i love the foxes to much and do not wish to be fighting them , also it would be to much work for us now .
The wild garlic like you say does spread ours is popping up all over but again i love it , we are going to dehydrate leaves this year but then the electric has gone through the roof so said no to that idea just use them fresh , i never throught about the pods and flowers like that before but given me some ideas for vinegar flavours .
Uh oh yup goose grass ( sticky bud) whatever you call it i hate hte stuff but watched wartime farm and how it was used in the war but again i hate the stuff we have it in the back of the wifes wild ares near the fruit trees but it appears to creep in to the other areas you know them sticky buds they just get everywhere , i just rack it out and try and get rid as best as we can right now the bluebells are starting and i seen loads in there so once they die down i will get at that patch .
I am doing spuds in buckets or large planters as we have done before for some earlies i nthe polytunnel but i am doing main crop the same and then these will be put out on the rotovated garden part left for where i use to plant i nthe ground i saw a guy do it in black sacks like that so i think in the planters pushed in the top inch or 3 should let them suck water from below to but again we shall see it is the old live and learn .
Well bedtime here happy gardening to you and hope you do not get to much rain we are due a fair bit this weekend so i might be tunnel bound lol .
The wild garlic like you say does spread ours is popping up all over but again i love it , we are going to dehydrate leaves this year but then the electric has gone through the roof so said no to that idea just use them fresh , i never throught about the pods and flowers like that before but given me some ideas for vinegar flavours .
Uh oh yup goose grass ( sticky bud) whatever you call it i hate hte stuff but watched wartime farm and how it was used in the war but again i hate the stuff we have it in the back of the wifes wild ares near the fruit trees but it appears to creep in to the other areas you know them sticky buds they just get everywhere , i just rack it out and try and get rid as best as we can right now the bluebells are starting and i seen loads in there so once they die down i will get at that patch .
I am doing spuds in buckets or large planters as we have done before for some earlies i nthe polytunnel but i am doing main crop the same and then these will be put out on the rotovated garden part left for where i use to plant i nthe ground i saw a guy do it in black sacks like that so i think in the planters pushed in the top inch or 3 should let them suck water from below to but again we shall see it is the old live and learn .
Well bedtime here happy gardening to you and hope you do not get to much rain we are due a fair bit this weekend so i might be tunnel bound lol .
Try drying things the old fashoned way. I put the leaves on a grill rack covered in muslin, then I put that on top of the kitchen radiator. For herbs I make bunches and tie them firmly with string, then hang them in a warm airy place, out of direct sun. Years ago, I had an aga which was perfect, we also had an old fashoned clothes airer over it which was perfect for drying all sorts of things.
Presently, I have some reduced price mushrooms drying over the radiator in the kitchen. They will go into an old jam jar and stored in a dark cupboard. Some will be turned into mushroom powder when they are brittle enough, some stored whole.
I simply thread them on a long cotton with a sewing needle and hang them above the heater. So I can do them along with the garlic leaves. I might even try mixing them to make a seasoning powder. The pestle and mortar will be busy tomorrow!
I've just made dried chilli seasoning like this, I simply hung them up untill realy dry then crumbled them up into a small jar. They were yellow sticker too....20p I've got almost a full recycled spice jar full from them. Try buying a jar at that price!
Wish I still had that aga .
Presently, I have some reduced price mushrooms drying over the radiator in the kitchen. They will go into an old jam jar and stored in a dark cupboard. Some will be turned into mushroom powder when they are brittle enough, some stored whole.
I simply thread them on a long cotton with a sewing needle and hang them above the heater. So I can do them along with the garlic leaves. I might even try mixing them to make a seasoning powder. The pestle and mortar will be busy tomorrow!
I've just made dried chilli seasoning like this, I simply hung them up untill realy dry then crumbled them up into a small jar. They were yellow sticker too....20p I've got almost a full recycled spice jar full from them. Try buying a jar at that price!
Wish I still had that aga .
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This week has finished up lovely for me in the garden. We now have beans (3 kinds) potatoes, lettuce, radish, corn, pepper, chilli, zucchini, chard, cucumber and tomatoes all sorted and doing well. I think that’s all I’ll grow this year but I’ll start the next salad crops off in a week or twos time for succession. Feels like I’m off to a good start.
I also picked up a small gooseberry bush on Friday as well if anyone has any tips there?
I also picked up a small gooseberry bush on Friday as well if anyone has any tips there?
Farmers market today in town, so I bought some tomato plants, i dont eat many so its not worth sowing them. Roma and cherry Tom's. The cherry are for a hanging basket, and roma for the garden, though I havnt made up my mind where they will go as yet.
I always do a couple of baskets of cherry Tom's which I hang on brackets by the front door.
(Also picked up some proper honey and a beautiful handmade willow shopping basket)
Sweetcorn seeds are planted in pots, as there are too many slugs to just try and stick them straight into the ground.
Chanteray carrots in a large planter, as are the purple ones in another. Beetroot are in the ground, and peas and beans will go in next week. Just need to get new pea and bean poles.
Things are moving on.
I always do a couple of baskets of cherry Tom's which I hang on brackets by the front door.
(Also picked up some proper honey and a beautiful handmade willow shopping basket)
Sweetcorn seeds are planted in pots, as there are too many slugs to just try and stick them straight into the ground.
Chanteray carrots in a large planter, as are the purple ones in another. Beetroot are in the ground, and peas and beans will go in next week. Just need to get new pea and bean poles.
Things are moving on.
Picked up another blackcurrant bush for £2 this afternoon. My soft fruit orchard is building slowly. I now have 1 red currant, and 3 black, plus 2 gooseberry, 1 tayberry the new honeyberry and an apple tree. Not bad for a tiny garden.
The peas are in, though I havnt strung the canes yet, as my back packed in yet again!
I'll do that tomorrow.
Have sourced some sheep poo, and awaiting delivery next week.Hopefully enough to turn my raised beds into no dig.
Runner beans are ready to go in, so that's another tomorrow job.
One baby Tom hanging basket planted, and awaiting co op to get more plants in to make a bigger one, as I found two more large hanging baskets in the charity shop for a pound each, I'll give the small one to my friend.
Trying to think what else to plant in the two new baskets other than herbs. I have two large ones to fill with edibles.
Any suggestions? My mind has gone blank.
So far I have one full of strawberries, one put by for baby Tom's, so two to go.
I'll do that tomorrow.
Have sourced some sheep poo, and awaiting delivery next week.Hopefully enough to turn my raised beds into no dig.
Runner beans are ready to go in, so that's another tomorrow job.
One baby Tom hanging basket planted, and awaiting co op to get more plants in to make a bigger one, as I found two more large hanging baskets in the charity shop for a pound each, I'll give the small one to my friend.
Trying to think what else to plant in the two new baskets other than herbs. I have two large ones to fill with edibles.
Any suggestions? My mind has gone blank.
So far I have one full of strawberries, one put by for baby Tom's, so two to go.
I've gone for edible flowers.
So far, I have some violas, pansies, nasturtiums, calendula, and some ruby chard to add more colour, even though that is not strictly a flower. But the leaves look very pretty with everything else, and they will add to a nice salad if I keep picking them to keep the plants small.
So far, I have some violas, pansies, nasturtiums, calendula, and some ruby chard to add more colour, even though that is not strictly a flower. But the leaves look very pretty with everything else, and they will add to a nice salad if I keep picking them to keep the plants small.
We,ve got plum and cherry trees,tomato plants,asparagus,rhubarb,strawberries,raspberries,blackcurrents,broad beans,peas,carrots,and an apple tree,so we should be ok for a while.
Pea wigwam has been strung,
Winter squash, radishes, spring onions and Chinese cabbage for the kimchi garden have been sown in large pots.
Still not got round to making the runner bean support, though the foraged poles have been cut to size, so they are still waiting patiently in their pot to be planted.
Another fair few feet of lawn cut with scissors, electric mower coming Wednesday so I can mow the rest, just been trimming round the raised beds and borders , and weeding the borders as I go. It's the longest job in the garden, but at least I can sit down while I do it!
Snoozed some of the warm sunny afternoon away in the deck chair, which is why I got behind on today's jobs. But one has to make the most of the sun. At least that's my excuse.
Winter squash, radishes, spring onions and Chinese cabbage for the kimchi garden have been sown in large pots.
Still not got round to making the runner bean support, though the foraged poles have been cut to size, so they are still waiting patiently in their pot to be planted.
Another fair few feet of lawn cut with scissors, electric mower coming Wednesday so I can mow the rest, just been trimming round the raised beds and borders , and weeding the borders as I go. It's the longest job in the garden, but at least I can sit down while I do it!
Snoozed some of the warm sunny afternoon away in the deck chair, which is why I got behind on today's jobs. But one has to make the most of the sun. At least that's my excuse.
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