What are you growing?

[Toddy]

Pulled some more of the leeks for leek and potato soup yesterday Lovely
I have chillies still growing in a pot on the living room windowsill. Son1's GF started them very late, but mine shot up almost like peppers, and I ended up with a really good crop from them, but the plants (2 in the pot) were too big to over Winter once the radiator was on, so I cut them hard back to about 20cms, and lo and behold, here we are at the end of December and they're putting out flower buds
The coleus she gave me was a tiny wee thing and it too has bloomed, been cut hard back and is now also putting up another flower spike.

Other than those, there's still some Pak Choi in the greenhouse in a bucket, and the cut off bottom of a cabbage that was planted, has rooted, and provided leaves for stir fry for months.

 

[Broch]

We're still pulling leeks and, believe it or not, still got a row of lovely carrots!
The purple sprouting broccoli seems confused - it started sprouting weeks ago and now seems to have started bolting; we wouldn't expect to start picking it for another month at least normally

 

[Kadushu]

I've been digging the volunteer potatoes and planting shallots. It's impossible to get rid of the 'black' potatoes because they blend in with the soil but they taste good.

 

[slowworm]

I've been digging the volunteer potatoes and planting shallots. It's impossible to get rid of the 'black' potatoes because they blend in with the soil but they taste good.

You wouldn't want to grow those black spuds in a field with horses or donkeys...

Do you know the variety?

 

[Kadushu]

You wouldn't want to grow those black spuds in a field with horses or donkeys...

Do you know the variety?

"Violetta" they are purple inside.

 

[Nic Le Becheur]

Planting some overwintering onion sets, garlic and elephant garlic. Chard, kale, celery, sorrel, parsnips and skirrets still flourishing.

 

[Woody girl]

I've still got beetroot and a few turnips, but not much else this year.
My taters are chitting, and I have some shallots ready to go in as soon as weather permits.
My seed store is full of everything I want to grow.
So, for those nice dry days when I can get things started, I'm just waiting...........

 

[Machiavelli]

How’s everyone getting on this year?

I’m growing tomatoes, cucumbers (need much bigger pots), and lots of soft fruit.

 

[Woody girl]

So behind with everything.
Battling an unknown cat pooper in my veg beds. I've just replaced the top soil as the blighter had covered most of the bed with his nasty offerings. Just planted the potatoes, carrots, in pots, peas, and one courgette in the bed so far.
Have stuff coming on, but they are still too small to plant out.
Battled 3 foot high grass with a borrowed mower today as mine won't cope. Got about 70%done, but I'm totaly knackered, so the rest will wait untill tomorrow.
Still got the edges to do.
Will be sitting in the garden later with a water pistol ready for Mr/mrs Pooper!!! He's/ she's a nocturnal visitor.
Wish I was mean enough to use something more permanent for removal!

 

[Pattree]

Try a clatter trap on the moggy. A pile of pans trays etc that make a noise when they fall and worked by a trap trigger or you. Do you know where it gets in?
We had an invader that came through our car flap so I rigged something to that.

 

[Woody girl]

I got him! No idea who he belongs to, never seen it before.
Did some research on what smells cats hate, so raided my essential oil stash for lemon, tea tree and peppermint, which I added to the water. Gave him a good squirt as soon as he got to the bed, then chased him yelling roaring and squirting this "smelly " water at him. Should have seen him go!
A few seconds later his little face appeared over the fence again with a ..what the heck happened, why did you do that to cute lil ol me... expression, and he got another face full. What a shot!
I waited just inside the back door for a re appearance, but he didn't come back.

Raised bed poop free this morning. Just how I like it.
I'll keep an eye out for him now, and the water pistol is ready and waiting for another show down anytime he wants to poop.
I think cutting the grass will help as he's got no cover to sneak up anymore.

I have a clatter trap on the back gate where I thought he was comming from, hag stones on a string, and tin bath, turns out he was comming over the fence from the other direction. So many "paths" in the grass it wasn't easy to see where it was getting in.
Cat poop wars. What a game!

 

[Paul_B]

My grandad had those battles. He used stones until he put one through the greenhouse! After that someone in the family bought him a catapult and bag of large, frozen peas for ammunition. It was a fun birthday present that got a little use. It's not something carried often so he stuck with stones.

He also had fox issues. Neighbour at the end of his garden fed them chicken carcasses. The foxes used to drag them into his garden and on top of a low clipped box hedge. That flattened and damaged the hedge which never got the shape back until years after the feeding stopped.

 

[crosslandkelly]

My Padron peppers will soon be ready for planting out.

 

[Woody girl]

Friend and I visited a garden centre today, picked up lots of wild flowers, herbs, hanging basket plants, and some veg plants, including a sweet potato. Always wanted to grow my own sweet potatoes. It might be an expensive flop, but I have one at last. Trying to grow my own slips from a bought one hasn't been successful so far.
Fingers and toes crossed.

 

[Kadushu]

I've got 100 elephant garlic plants looking promising. Won't be long until harvest time.

 

[Woody girl]

Runner beans are in and the sweet potato has a lovely new pot.
The tomato I got, thinking it was a hanging basket cherry tomato(as it was mixed in with them on the bench)..isn't!... It's a greenhouse one. I don't have a greenhouse. Oops!
Shoulda taken my reading glasses.

 

[slowworm]

It seems this year I'm mainly growing slugs, and snails. Lots of them and fat ones too.

 

[Woody girl]

It seems this year I'm mainly growing slugs, and snails. Lots of them and fat ones too.

I don't know about slugs, but apparently a bit of garlic goes well with snails.

 

[Jonno70]

Runner beans are in and the sweet potato has a lovely new pot.
The tomato I got, thinking it was a hanging basket cherry tomato(as it was mixed in with them on the bench)..isn't!... It's a greenhouse one. I don't have a greenhouse. Oops!
Shoulda taken my reading glasses.

Have you grown Sweet Potato before Woody Girl? Just curious what sort of crop you get as I have never thought of growing them but wouldn't mind giving them a go.

 

[Woody girl]

Have you grown Sweet Potato before Woody Girl? Just curious what sort of crop you get as I have never thought of growing them but wouldn't mind giving them a go.

Never tried before. I've tried to grow my own slips from sweet potatoes, but just ended up with a shriveled rotten stinky mess.
I found some plants in the local garden centre, so bought one and popped it onto a large pot.
I will feed it once a week and keep it watered. I've no idea what I'm doing!

When I met Bob flowerdew many years ago, he recommended a greenhouse and said it was a climber, so not having a greenhouse I never realy bothered again. Now I've found out that some grow it as ground cover, and the leaves are edible.
So, I'm just going to see what happens. The pot will sit on a makeshift column, and allowed to trail, rather than treated as a vine climber.
We'll see what happens. Wish me luck! It wasn't a cheap plant.