Kitchen Garden Forum

Westi, you must stop this envy I'm in danger of beginning to like it

Believe me I have nothing to be envious of. (my compost might be if I had made it myself and it was free)
If circumstances were different my plot would probably not be like it is and like I've said before there are plenty out there that are better than mine.

I wouldn't enter it for any prizes.

Hello Westi

Come on, your garden and produce photos look awesome. The artichokes - wow, I can't remember the last time I had some, but will look into this for next year (may need to sacrifice some of that green lawn...).

and Pa Snip, thank you for your encouragement. Here is the last photo of the bed. So that is 5 beds. I do need more beds in my garden. Lots of them...

Also for good measure a photo of the sturdier tomatoes plants (almost small trees) - the Noire de crimes

This bed has various salads, radishes and beetroots


and the Noire de crimee




All written while savouring some of my radishes with rock salt. A real treat

Happy planting.

wow, are those tomatoes this years produce !!!!!! ??????????????? and outdoors ?????????????????

Yep everything is outdoor. I do not have a greenhouse. I only have a conservatory where I put all the seeds to germinate in January/February, and then I planted everything out on the 8th of May (my neighbour told me the last frost had passed). Since then it has been outside and doing quite well. I do wonder if I have a micro climate just over my garden. Now wouldn't that be nice. I only moved here one year ago exactly, so am discovering and learning!

Oscar

What the hell are you feeding them, If nothing then have you checked council records to see if site was ever a piscine burial site

I'm about to kill with tomato envy . Do the same tricks happen on Summer Solstice as April Fool's Day Those tomatoes are incredible for outdoor ones. Did you cover them when you first planted them on 1st May as we had some really cold nights, even in this southern part of the world, which I would have expected to seriously set tomatoes back?

Black Krim is one of my favourite tomatoes. Mine are about six weeks behind yours and we've had such a cold miserable year so far all the tomatoes are slow even in the greenhouse. They've plenty of flowers on though and some small fruits so I'll just have to wait.

Blimey Girls! These boys are showing us up!

Oscar you indeed must have a great micro climate & Pa stop being shy about your achievements! Primrose you & I are on the naughty step methinks - Envy is up there with the big 7, but these guys are doing so well. I'm going to re-name it total admiration & my inspiration, especially if Oscar spills the beans on his secrets!!

Westi

No secrets guys I'm afraid, just a lot of luck and I suppose a lot of new soil (as you know by now I only started gardening). Oh, I also talk to my plants, but not sure that counts...

I also like to photograph things, so am sharing a photo of a courgette recently harvested. I'll find another thread for the others!

I think I may have spotted a courgette popping up this evening - forget what sowing I'm on but let's say it is probably about 10 if you count the ones at home. I've put environmesh over them to distract the birds. It may be any type of courgette or squash as I got to the point of putting in multiple seeds so that will be interesting to see if it is a patty pan or a courgette.

Something saw off one of my two QLD Blue's - it was doing OK but it was broken clean through the stem. It had it's little prickles on the stem so doubt it was birds so maybe fox jumping over the fence as similar damage to what the dog did. Re-sowed that as well - let's hope it's an Indian summer or I haven't much chance of a decent harvest!

Westi

Oscar, actually I think your secret of new soil may be a very valid one. The first year we got married I had a tomato bed in soil which probably had never had serious plants growing in It for years. I think I grew the biggest and best tomatoes I have ever grown. Now it may have been beginner's luck but possibly it was because the soils nutrients had never been exhausted. I know we compost and manure our veg plots but they are all generally heavily used with few if any fallow years, and it,s quite possible that as a result of this constant growing process trace elements or other soil elements gradually lessen so that over a period of time the soil becomes less fertile.

I'm not sure whether I'm going to dig up part of my lawn though to prove this theory as even grass will take nourishment from the soil. Maybe Pa Snip with his truck fulls of new soil for his beds will notice an improvement in growth and yield this year but does he know for sure what the soil's previous history and provenance was?

Primrose wrote:Maybe Pa Snip with his truck fulls of new soil for his beds will notice an improvement in growth and yield this year but does he know for sure what the soil's previous history and provenance was?

Just a reminder of what the first half plot looked like when I took it on.




As far as I have gathered, at that time it had been completely unworked for a couple of years. Prior to that it had only been worked on a hit and miss basis by a number of different people. It had been about 5 years since it had been worked properly by the father of one of the other plot holders.
At that time It had regularly had muck spread on it and was a well respected plot.
Shame it was allowed to go so downhill after he had to give it up due to health issues.

I cannot say as I have seen, or recorded, a significant year on year improvement in crop growth or yield as I have been using fertiliser of varying types since removing all the weed and unruly growth that was on the plot when I took it on, also been trying different varieties in some cases.