God I love growing our own

[E&MBees]

Excellent crop of crab apples this year. Makes up for a poor eating apple harvest. Going to make jelly from them.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes wonderful crop here too. Being eaten by blackbirds crows and magpies

 

[JamezF]

I've spread more compost over the empty beds in the greenhouse and filled them with some of the plants from my first batch of winter salad sowings.

There are five (I think) different varieties of lettuce, radishes, salad rocket, three different mustards and some leaf radish. There's a bit more space down the centre of the greenhouse but that is still in use for the moment. I'll add some more plants (perhaps land cress and corn salad) once the existing plants are gone. The remainder of the plants will go into the polytunnel, but that's still full of tomatoes and peppers so it's probably going to be a couple of weeks yet.

 

[enrico]

Just harvested my last two tubs of sweet potatoes. A really good year for them, grown from rooted cutting last year so ..... Free......
Rigged up a hose from my well that reaches all parts of the garden and greenhouses. I can turn it on and off on my phone and put a timer on to turn it off in case I forget! Should have done it years ago!

 

[enrico]

Excellent crop of crab apples this year. Makes up for a poor eating apple harvest. Going to make jelly from them.

Our eating apples have been the best ever. Throwing kilos of Bramley's away as I can't give them away, even to local shops!!

 

[E&MBees]

Our eating apples have been the best ever. Throwing kilos of Bramley's away as I can't give them away, even to local shops!!

Shame you are not closer to Bath, I would gladly have some!

 

[enrico]

Shame you are not closer to Bath, I would gladly have some!

Sorry

 

[JamezF]

The hard part of being "no dig" started this afternoon. I've been spreading compost from the bin that was filled longest ago onto parts of veggie beds that are now empty. Based on coverage so far I'm not sure that there will be sufficient compost in all the bins to cover all the beds, so it's just as well that I have some council green waste compost as well to finish those and do the polytunnel and greenhouse.

We probably would have had more compost had it not been for the lack of need to cut the grass for around two months over the summer, but I'd really like to be sure of being self-sufficient (or at least get it for no money) so I need to give some thought to that. It's not like we aren't composting all our green waste already. We didn't even have anything in the food recycling bin when I put the rest of the stuff out for collection earlier today. I know there's going to be some tree work done on our road from next week so that Openreach can start installing fibre so I'll see if I can have a word with whoever is doing that in case they'd like to leave us all the chipped waste. Might have to see if I can find out what people who keep horses locally do with their manure, too. Perhaps some might like to exchange a trailer load for a jar of honey or two. I have one other idea, but it will probably make peoples' toes curl so perhaps I'll keep quiet about it for now

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Might have to see if I can find out what people who keep horses locally do with their manure, too.

trouble with horse manure especially nowadays with them using wood shaving bedding not straw is that unless it's rotted down properly in a well turned manure heap, it's packed full of viable grass and weed seeds so your garden will get inundated the next season

 

[Bryang]

I have been getting my stable manure from a guy "up the road" from me, but over the past 3 years it has contained a load of nettle seeds.. This past year I have located a new source which is in a secure area, so I can leave my 2 cubic metre trailer there and they will empty the stable muck directly into it for me. They use a mix of compressed paper pellets, straw and the "straw" from rape plants..

 

[JamezF]

trouble with horse manure especially nowadays with them using wood shaving bedding not straw is that unless it's rotted down properly in a well turned manure heap, it's packed full of viable grass and weed seeds so your garden will get inundated the next season

I'd probably just add it to my compost heaps, or use one bay and pile it in and leave it. I put almost everything in my heaps, but they get plenty hot enough to kill pretty much all viable seeds. This one is from back in June and is really too hot.

James

 

[enrico]

I have been getting my stable manure from a guy "up the road" from me, but over the past 3 years it has contained a load of nettle seeds.. This past year I have located a new source which is in a secure area, so I can leave my 2 cubic metre trailer there and they will empty the stable muck directly into it for me. They use a mix of compressed paper pellets, straw and the "straw" from rape plants..

I always compost my horse manure for at least one year but I get it fresh. I still get a few nettles but easily sorted.

 

[JamezF]

My most irritating weed at the moment (with the exception of sycamore) is hairy bittercress. You only have to miss one plant and suddenly it's all over the place I pulled loads out today when I was spreading the compost. I've no idea where they all came from because I thoroughly weeded the entire plot a month or so back and there were absolutely none then. Even the bindweed isn't as persistent.

James

 

[JamezF]

I went to check on one of the pear trees after I'd closed up the chicken houses for the night. We've had some quite gusty winds over the last few days and I found quite a few pears had dropped off the tree, so I collected them all up. Now I just need to decide what to do with this lot.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have just canned about half that amount. Half in a light honey syrup with Star Anise, Cardomom and Cinnamon and the other in red grape juice with Mace and Vanilla

 

[Martimart]

Really can't beat the no dig gardening method and have watched and followed charles dowding for many years. You hardly have to water, very few weeds and its just a joy. However last year I did my compost top up using horse manure and its the worst thing i've ever done. Got to cardboard the whole patch and buy in some mushroom compost for next season. I've not got a large area of the garden as veg, so only really do Lettuce, Brassica, Sweet Corn, Runner Beans, onions and Spring Onions, but I do always get a nice tasty crop of a variety you will never find in the supermarket. In the Greenhouses, it tomatoes, cucumber and peppers... the same as everyone else!

 

[enrico]

I went to check on one of the pear trees after I'd closed up the chicken houses for the night. We've had some quite gusty winds over the last few days and I found quite a few pears had dropped off the tree, so I collected them all up. Now I just need to decide what to do with this lot.

James

They will store until Christmas in the fridge if they are not overripe already. We have a small fridge we just fill with pears!

 

[enrico]

My most irritating weed at the moment (with the exception of sycamore) is hairy bittercress. You only have to miss one plant and suddenly it's all over the place I pulled loads out today when I was spreading the compost. I've no idea where they all came from because I thoroughly weeded the entire plot a month or so back and there were absolutely none then. Even the bindweed isn't as persistent.

James

Ours is spotted medic! A real pain!

 

[a-way-with-the-faeries]

Weve had a very productive year on the east coast of Scotland too, gluts of fruit and veg processed, dried, canned and frozen , nothing beats fresh though. I mix horse manure with local council compost and my own compost for mulching so weeds galore rosebay willow herb being the bane of my life we are surrounded by woodland so alder sycamore and ash seedlings are a pain in the proverbial ….

 

[Skinfaxi]

The hard part of being "no dig" started this afternoon. I've been spreading compost from the bin that was filled longest ago onto parts of veggie beds that are now empty. Based on coverage so far I'm not sure that there will be sufficient compost in all the bins to cover all the beds, so it's just as well that I have some council green waste compost as well to finish those and do the polytunnel and greenhouse.

We probably would have had more compost had it not been for the lack of need to cut the grass for around two months over the summer, but I'd really like to be sure of being self-sufficient (or at least get it for no money) so I need to give some thought to that. It's not like we aren't composting all our green waste already. We didn't even have anything in the food recycling bin when I put the rest of the stuff out for collection earlier today. I know there's going to be some tree work done on our road from next week so that Openreach can start installing fibre so I'll see if I can have a word with whoever is doing that in case they'd like to leave us all the chipped waste. Might have to see if I can find out what people who keep horses locally do with their manure, too. Perhaps some might like to exchange a trailer load for a jar of honey or two. I have one other idea, but it will probably make peopes' toes curl so perhaps I'll keep quiet about it for now

James

Strawbale toilet over looking your cabbages