Kitchen Garden Forum

After I sent the post, Geoff, I realised that you would have done the figures...

Started up the propagator today. Filled 56 assorted pots and trays with compost and put them in to warm up overnight. Big sowing session tomorrow. The season really begins!

I sowed Beetroot in cell trays and some Cabbage in a pot, today, oh and many pots of Sweet peas...

Oh, Geoff, I wish I dared to do do the same! But with the forecast as it is, I think I'd better contain myself for a little longer .....

I have been as brave as a brave thing today & took out the leggy seedlings that have popped up to date & re-sown. I couldn't be quite be as ruthless as I wanted, but they will get the opportunity to make mother nature be the wicked witch as when I don't get blown away or wet I shall pop them in a corner behind the greenhouse - actually that means it will be one of the critters that causes their demise as the cats all like that sun trap as well.

Great figures Geoff. Fascinating.

Really vile out there again this morning, chucking it down and very windy.

Dry and calm overnight, only 37 mph wind and just over ½" rain, well all things are relative!

Brought back some greens from the plot. Only found a caterpillar.

Just picked the last of the Savoy cabbages, so only got Leeks and Carrots left now...The Carrots were Autumn King and sown in a frame in August and have cropped really well...The Leeks, despite a lot splitting and not looking very good at all, have rallied round and are now producing some very usable shafts for the kitchen.

Not as good as Shallot Mans, as no Caterpillars...

oldherbaceous. Would have forwarded it to you if I hadn't chucked it.

Elmigo, I echo OH's earlier comment that you'll be surprised how much you can get out of a small growing area if you plan succession carefully and keep your soil productive. I think a major challenge - after you've finally got your greenhouse built - will be finding an area, however small or a container for generating your own compost.

With no lawn or hedge clippings to use your scope will be limited and probably limited to vegetable peelings, and the odd bit of newspaper or cardboard. I figure you'll want to keep your growing area looking neat & tidy so " in situ" composting down in the soil in gaps between plants may not appeal to you.

However i first learnt this technique in a previous home where my vegetable growing space was extremely limited. I and an adjacent neighbour had similar sized vegetable growing areas for several years. I experimented with on site composting, just burying vegetable peelings and other green waste etc between plants on a regular basis and letting them decompose in the soil, which they did quite quickly, especially in warmer months. He didn,t and the difference between the quality of our crops was noticeable after a couple years because his soil never received any nourishment.

we lived in terraced properties so had to carry all bags of commercial compost etc through the living room of the house to access the garden so had an added incentive to produce a solution on site. I sometimes used to cheat and scrounge vegetable waste from our local market vegetable stall which I would chop up finely and mix into the soil! I still use this method to keep my patio containers nourished

I,m sure your neighbours will be peeping out of their bedroom windows with interest watching your progress. Just beware of local cats who may find your freshly dug earth a welcome toilet venue !

Primrose,

Thank you for helping with a few challenges! Already thought about a small composting area. I'll place the greenhouse in the upper right corner of the garden, but slightly away from the backside fence so there is space inbetween. Might aswell get some compost under the soil here, inbetween plant rows.

I'm pretty sure the cats stay away from the garden when the fences have a border of chicken wire all around. Still looking for a good fence, our neighbours on the left offered theirs as they are getting a new fence! The only cat I will have to worry about is my own But I'll just leave it out at the front door instead.

What a lovely weekend! Merrily mucking around on the plot when a huge tractor pulls up with a trailer full of rotted cow muck looking for plot 122 (it's mine but my gate was open). Now he starts the conversation saying a man was supposed to be meeting him, so told him I was the only one down & no man. Anyway it transpires that they rang Mr Westi asking did we still want some delivered as they now had a trailer free finally. Of course knowing the outcome if he said no, he obviously said yes! Only flaw in this scenario was he forgot to ring me but a chat to the farmers wife sorted it out!

It is all covered & secured & I can't wait to get down during the week to spread it over the beds. A bit late for a Xmas present, but timely for a birthday pressie & with it being warmer the worms should be more active & get some of it down into the soil in the next few weeks before I need to start planting, but I'm willing to dig it in if needed. Happy Days!

Here wishing I could mess around with such great plant feeding material! I'm afraid my neighbours are going to make some weird faces if they go outside early morning to smell the roses only to smell quite the opposite