What are you growing?

[slowworm]

I doubt we'll grow a vast amount this year as I've not been around much. But I'm grateful for the perennial plants we've got such as the wild garlic and even the nettles that are providing lots of usable spring greens. Also looking forward to a proper harvest of bamboo shoots!

I hope to get some first earlies in this week (the ones the mice have not nibbled) and hopefully some tomatoes, aubergines and mange touts.

 

[Falstaff]

Its not the basket where the issue is. Its the type of plant you put in them. Limp stems, trailing type patterns... Solid wall box, hanging basket... makes no difference. Its the wind that relocates wheelie bins that likely weigh 50kg or more, thats the problem (here anyway, you might be in a more sheltered area, in which case... use the vertical space)

Definitely don't need any of those softy southerner plants, total waste! Some of the more bushy low stuff should be ok, and it is possible to cut n'put some clear plastic "shields" into the ground at the ends or between some if you're ultra exposed. There's a book called Tough Plants that might have some good ideas.

 

[Everything Mac]

What tomato's are you trying to grow, and how?

Vine, Bush... Basket...?

I've tried several but usually just the little pots of a part grwon plant you can get in B&Q etc.

 

[Woody girl]

Today has been a lovely mild day, so I've been busy hauling compost and topsoil home, (not easy without a car)
Cutting the grass, weeding one of my beds, planting up the potato bags, and several other veg seeds. Scrubbed the steps. Weeded all the pots, and built a bonfire with the dead budliea branch, and other prunings and winter rubbish that have gathered over the past few days. I'm now exhausted, my back is screaming and I'm ready for a cuppa ,shower and an early night hugging the ralgex spray can!
I think I need to employ a gardener to help out for a bit.
I'm still not quite up to scratch after my illness over Xmas and new year, and the garden got rather neglected , so it's taking a bit of work to get it back into shape.

 

[Toddy]

Spuds, sweet peas, chillis and thinning out raspberry canes. Pruned the willows too. I have enough willow now for a basket and other bits and pieces....and it dries out sodden wet ground too

 

[GreyCat]

Yesterday I moved my 2 Morello cherries out from the overwintering greenhouse into a raised bed in one of the new polytunnels. Whilst they will grow outdoors, it's just too wet for them to be happy there.

The grapevine and kiwi fruit were moved into their tunnels, made up some raised beds today and have a load of planting to do over Easter weekend. Fixed a broken veg trug today too.

Tomato and pepper seeds are finally in the propagator, various Heritage varieties- 6 tom and 4 pepper/chili types in all. The seed was packed in 2024 (didn't get chance to plant it last year) so I sowed 3 seeds per module, 3 modules per variety.

Once they are through, I will start off the curcubits that I have laid out ready. A friend gave me a "seed box" this year and so I have a wider variety available than usual, I fancy trying growing water melon this year.

Initial willow prune is done. Most of the prunings currently sat in a big tub of water so I can strip the thin ones for white willow, and carefully peel the bark off the bigger ones and dry the bark for weaving with. I will do another prune of the biomass bed for rods for bark harvesting later in the spring.

This year it is good to finally be getting things into place after the challenges of house renovation.

GC

 

[bobnewboy]

Hmmm, let me think..

In the fruit cage: raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, borage for the pollinators, broad beans, dwarf beans, mangetout, peas (various), lots of onions, strawberries in tubs (will get moved into the greenhouse so we get some, rather than the mice!), wild garlic, garlic.

In the greenhouse, mostly in tubs: tomatoes (mainly Jubilee, and some of our own hybrids), yellow chillies, padron peppers (chillies), mint, mustard & cress, geraniums, more garlic, sweet peas, nasturtiums, french marigolds, coriander, various succulents.

On the kitchen windowsill: many pots of genovese basil, one small rosemary bush, a couple of cucumber seedlings (Carmel and mini munch).

Elsewhere I will be air layering a few more branches on our Japanese maples. They make wonderful bonsai.

 

[bobnewboy]

Oh, and 20x 30litre tubs of potatoes, around the outside of the fruit cage. They’ve sprouted and will need a first earthing-up in a couple of weeks.

 

[slowworm]

Eating the last of our potatoes grown last year, along with overwintered leeks and yet more nettles.

 

[GreyCat]

Had a good Easter weekend in the garden. Finally got the 3 quince trees out of their pots and into a large raised bed which is in the shelter of the new polytunnels- they are deliberately arranged in a way which both minimises them shading each other and which creates a sheltered area. Then I used the pile of rocks dug out when doing the tunnel foundation strips to create my maples bed. Also planted out the phormiums which I am growing for the leaves (for basket weaving).

Local garden centre had some nice veg plants when I went there on Monday, so I bought a few toms and cucs to get ahead a bit, along with a pile of growbags. I have not typically used grow-bags in the past, so this year I am going to give them a go alongside my various other planters. (Thanks to a saga of missing-then-turned-up-but-replaced deliveries a couple of years ago, I have no shortage of small square planters with reservoirs which are ideal for the tunnels). The plants are currently in their pots in a polytunnel, I will get them into planters/growbags this weekend.

The seeds in the propagator which I thought were a lost cause when my heat mat got too hot suddenly sprang to life when the tray was parked on a a shelf by the Rayburn (thanks for the tip, Real Seeds). Mix of peppers, chillis, toms, looks like I have at least a couple of each germinated.

New seeds (to replace those I thought I had killed by overheating them) arrived this week so tomorrow is more sowing time- relit the Rayburn yesterday when it went chilly so I will be putting my propagators on the adjacent shelf again. A few more toms and peppers, plus curcubits and this year I am trying melons. Well, why not now I have polytunnel space. I will get some peas and beans started in the unheated seed trays this weekend too.

A new garden is always hard work, but it is slowly starting to take shape. I have some canvas-in-a-frame type water butts to fill, once the stream level rises after the next chunk of rain forecast, I will do that.

GC

 

[dnarcher]

10 Charlotte potatoes, seeds for parsnips, carrots, beans, peas, snap peas, rainbow chard, perpetual spinach, pumpkins,squash and radishes. Salad mix and nasturtiums (leaves great for salads). Amaranth and 120 perenial plants from plugs doing well. 43 rasberries, 30 strawberries in planters, 10 apple trees, 2 pears, 2 quinces, 2 plums and an apricot. Blueberries, and a mulberry. Anybody need mini cucumbers? We have quite a lot germinated by mistake. We will buy 2 or 3 tomato plants and a butternut squash plant, to grow in the greenhouse.
Trees won't produce much for maybe 3 years, so they went in when dormant in November, budding nicely, but maybe a month behind established trees. 12 hedge roses, currently about 8 inches high.
Same again, new garden, setting up for the future. Mainly stuff we love, with novelties and rareties for fun. Oh yes, and something loves jerusalem artichoke tubers, all dug up and eaten within 48 hours of being planted round the garden.

 

[forrestdweller]

today i harvested some sweet potatoes -- one of the quickest and easiest crops to grow (and tasty out there... i also have some cassava in the ground but that takes a few more months

there's also plenty of an obnoxious weed called "banana" on the farm but sadly the owner doesn't get rid of it (=to me musaceae are ANTIfood and just occupy the space where a useful plant could grow instead!)