God I love growing our own

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They do still branch a bit though

usually a sign of the soil being too rich

 

[Erichalfbee]

usually a sign of the soil being too rich

It’s clay so you’re no doubt right

 

[pargyle]

It’s clay so you’re no doubt right

My allotment was heavy clay .... carrots were a nightmare to grow although parsnips with the seed started did well. If you let them go to seed be really careful because the stems are really toxic ...Look up what happened to me:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/parsnip-rash-phytophotodermatitis.51059/

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It’s clay so you’re no doubt right

my grandfather told me a story of an old gardener he knew who bet he could grow the longest parsnip the next season. Everyone turned up to see the result at the end of the year and were amazed at the range of giant parsnips - the old boy turned up empty handed, then reached into his waistcoat and produced what looked like a catherine wheel - it was a yards long very thin parsnip rolled up for transporting, he had planted the parsnip between two old railway sleepers capping an abandoned mineshaft and the parsnip had just grown down and down looking for food.

 

[Erichalfbee]

My allotment was heavy clay .... carrots were a nightmare to grow although parsnips with the seed started did well. If you let them go to seed be really careful because the stems are really toxic ...Look up what happened to me:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/parsnip-rash-phytophotodermatitis.51059/

Yes I remember that. I’ll pull them at night

 

[Garry R]

What, and miss out on the amusement of all the bizarrely twisted and forked ones?

James

Like this one perhaps.

 

[pargyle]

Yes I remember that. I’ll pull them at night

Yes ... that will work ...until you go out into the sun the following morning !!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes ... that will work ...until you go out into the sun the following morning !!

Hazmat suit then

 

[JamezF]

So, with all the excitement over root vegetables I felt the need to go out and sow some early carrots. Straight into the ground on this occasion -- make a drill, water it, sow the seed (and the occasional radish seed so I can see where the rows should be), cover the lot with fleece. I didn't bother to water them once covered over because it looks like Mother Nature is about ready to do that for me.

James

 

[pargyle]

Hazmat suit then

Full latex I would suggest ....

 

[Erichalfbee]

Full latex I would suggest ....

Philip! Your imagination is running away with you
Or is mine?

 

[JamezF]

Does this belong in the "top or bottom?" thread?

James

 

[Pembroke]

My local garden centre recycles a lot of the plastic seed trays it buys it's stock in by putting them out in a corner of their car park and inviting customers to take them away to re-use them. It's a random selection of sizes from plug trays up to larger 3 inch pots.

Perhaps you could suggest it to your local one?

 

[Amari]

Today on the allotment: planted a row of Charlotte spuds and Aquadulce Claudia broad beans sown in the greenhouse last month, sowed mange-tout peas in the greenhouse for planting out when germinated. Harvested rhubarb grown under a dustbin.
Difficult to know whether to plant the remaining four varieties of spud in the next fortnight (while the soil is moist) or space them out through April (danger of poor growth if we have another summer drought).

 

[JamezF]

Perhaps you could suggest it to your local one?

Could be worth a try.

James

 

[Goran]

Peaked to see grafted fruit trees.. Seems 2 new grafts of old varieties of pears which is dear to me ( has more immaterial meaning to me) are going in the right direction.. Seems 3+3+3 plums ( all dark blue varieties) will be OK.. Sour cherries ( morello cherry and one oldie I found neglected).. at the end will have more than needed.. Will have 5 different sour cherries at the end.. One cherry grafted seems will be OK, this was some oldie in a family.. gives me memory of my late grandfather and more..

 

[pargyle]

Some flowers on my Aqua Dulce broad beans....whether there is anything about to pollinate them is another matter ... and they are still covered with fleece ! My second crop is already about 3" tall in the greenhouse as I was convinced I'd lose the first lot in the frost.

Garlic, Onions and Shallots doing well.

Spent the afternoon emptying and sieving one of my compost bins ready to use some of it in my potato bags ... the spuds are (slowly) chitting ... another week I reckon before the first ones go in.

All the fruit bushes now in leaf ...they will get a spring feed and a mulch tomorrow with a bit of luck. My overwinter peas are looking a bit sorry for themselves ... I think I'll sow few more in amongst them.

Carrots going in next and runners and french beans to start off in the greenhouse.

 

[JamezF]

Some flowers on my Aqua Dulce broad beans....whether there is anything about to pollinate them is another matter ... and they are still covered with fleece ! My second crop is already about 3" tall in the greenhouse as I was convinced I'd lose the first lot in the frost.

My Autumn-sown broad beans barely survived the winter. I sowed whatever seed I had left over in the packet and barely anything came up and most of what did has died since. The field beans have done much better, but I gather they're supposed to be a little more hardy. Fortunately I also have a second sowing waiting in the wings They should go out tomorrow in a fleece tunnel, for a bit of wind protection if nothing else. I also have peas ready to go out and I'll do the same with those.

Sadly a snail has raided the greenhouse and cut down at least half of one variety of pepper that had germinated leaving short stumps of stem. I have retaliated with extreme prejudice and it won't be bothering them again. Fortunately I have a few seed left so I'll try to get some more started.

I broadcast-sowed some Bedfordshire Champion onion seeds for pickling earlier this week in a bed covered with fine compost. Today I noticed a number of large foot (more likely hoof) prints in the compost. I suspect deer have been visiting to see if there's anything interesting in the way of brassicas left. As I've posted elsewhere, the PSB is just starting to open its first flowers now and we ate what might well be our last picking from that this evening. The curly kale has flower buds too and won't be that far behind. Other than that a few cabbages, leeks (some of which we also ate this evening) and spring onions are almost all that's left of the winter vegetables.

Amazingly, given that I sowed a total of close to 500 onion seeds last year, albeit split slightly in favour of red ones, we are down to our last dozen brown onions. I suspect the remaining red ones might be thinking about sprouting again soon, so we may well have a marathon onion-chopping session this coming week and stick most of them in the freezer.

James

 

[E&MBees]

First round of lettuce salad bowl has germinated along with the tomatoes, a mix of yellow and red cherry types, Ildi, Garden Pearl, Sungold and Sweet Baby. Onions and shallots are doing ok, although the onions need to get going.
Beetroot, carrots, peas sown today. Runner beans and French climbing beans will follow in a bit.
Need to get the seed potatoes in the ground now they have finally chitted.
Hoping to get some fruit from my new strawberry plants and fruit bushes: blackcurrant and autumn raspberry. I also rescued a Honeyberry from the reject bench, so am looking forward to seeing if it produces anything this year too.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Tomatoes have been moved from the sun room to the heated greenhouse and will need a little stake each. I grow Sungold and Polish linguisa every year but this year I'm trying Orange Paruche , which are supposed to be sweeter than Sungold , Brad's Atomic Grape which were a gift , and Ananas Noire
Peppers and Aubergines are coming along nicely but still too tender to be put in with the tomatoes.
Cucumbers came up in 36 hours! Potatoes going in today into bags/buckets in the tunnel for now. I have the usual Charlotte and King Edwards but I've added Pink Fir Apple and Sagitta... Thanks @enrico for the recommendation