Kitchen Garden Forum

Time does fly. November 20th since I last updated part 2. Not there has been much to update with.

well folks, a new year is here, one that I was allegedly not going to see but being of a defiant nature I'm still here. You will therefore notice that I will be contributing to the board as if I shall be seeing a lot of this season and entering the local show again in September. Bonus time also gives me a chance to teach my daughter and son in law a bit more growing vegetables for when they take over the plot.

The raised beds (as shown in part 2) have all been filled with either soil, compost & manure mix or in the case of two just soil & compost.
No sooner had I filled them than a fox started digging holes overnight, the amount of fox footprints suggested they had been holding a midnight dance.

News had previously come from D T Brown that they would not be able to supply Kelsae onion this year. Having enjoyed growing them for the first time last year, and taken a 'First' at the local show, I had such plans which I had to rethink

Fortunately, whilst on a earlier visit to the Malvern show, as I had not been able to find any Kelsae seed on sale I had succumbed to purchasing a pack of Mammoth Onion seeds from Robinsons Seeds and a pack of Suttons Bedfordshire Champion.

The plan was to do what seems to be a tradition and sow the seeds on Boxing Day, pahh fat chance far too busy.
It was January 2nd (just two weeks ago) before I got round to sowing them.

Seeds of both types were sown in a mixture of John Innes No 2, Sharp Sand and Perlite. Trays were then placed in two heated propagators.
As you can see from pictures attached the Bedfordshire Champion are already much taller. This may be down variety differences or to their position in the greenhouse.

Good to see more activity from you Pa Snip....and more photos. At my first quick glance I thought your part of Berkshire had fallen victim to a light snowfall which had just missed us here !!

I have a free packet of KG Magazine Onions but suspect I am probably wasting my time trying to sow them indoors now without the aid of a heated propagator.

The foxes are probably delighted at the quality of the Reynard public facilities you have now made available to them on your allotment!

Primrose wrote:Good to see more activity from you Pa Snip....and more photos. At my first quick glance I thought your part of Berkshire had fallen victim to a light snowfall which had just missed us here !!

I have a free packet of KG Magazine Onions but suspect I am probably wasting my time trying to sow them indoors now without the aid of a heated propagator.

The foxes are probably delighted at the quality of the Reynard public facilities you have now made available to them on your allotment!

like the last comment Primrose, made me smile, I'm now considering if they would get upset if I somehow left them a Basil Toilettte-Brush to use

Re your onion seeds, I have only sown them early in order to try and grow them as big as possible for the show. For ordinary use you can leave it a little while yet. My propagators only just keep them at around 12 degrees, and they struggle to do that so I am surprised the seeds have started germinating so quickly. I shall be heating the whole greenhouse soon, just have the fan heater thermostat set to keep just above freezing

Optimism on the show onion front this year. Last night we ordered 100 x 5" pots for the two varieties of seedlings currently growing in the greenhouse.

Ordered them from Two Wests & Elliott for 3.5p each inc P&P

We have never tried transplanting them individually to pots before

The pots mentioned above arrived 2 days after ordering. Very good.

Like others on here we have lost a lot of produce thanks to wet weather. When there was a short break in the weather for a couple of days I went up and dug whatever remained of the annual cropping items out, leeks, beetroot, brassica's. Everything came out and I got most of the composted manure spread around if not yet dug in.

Strawberries are being reduced in number.

Over the last two weekends Mrs S and I have been out buying seed potatoes, talk about some companies committing daylight robbery !!!!!

Anyway, I am getting bored silly with not being able to get up the plot, its that bad I've attended more funerals recently than I have spent days up the plot, that's bad.

So I have been spending some time drawing up the 'Master Plan' of the plot. I then filled in as much as I could of what was going to go in what bed this year. It Is plan 'a' so is bound to change. Apart from the fact that on paper everything fits in in theory, in practice I'm sure that will not be the case

So here are the theoretical plans as they currently stand.
Imaging the two pictures side by side, with the one marked BED 'C' (05jpeg) being on the left, that gives you the layout of our two adjoining half plots. There is a path in the middle between them which is not shown.

All the crosses represent a seed potato. 6 varities planned on plot and Mrs S trying one new one at home

Now that jobs complete how long before I'm bored again

That's all very scientific Pa Snip. I'm impressed. if you're getting bored you'll just have to make more marmalade ! It does have the advantage of being capable of being stored for a long time without deteriorating.

On a more general note about sowing early, I have a pot of early sowed peppers on my window (and although they haven't yet germinated ) the warmth of the room seems to have generated an ever growing number of tiny compost flies.

Does anybody know how I can get rid of the darned things without danaging the as yet ungerminated seeds?

Morning Primrose (as opposed to the Evening Primrose variety)

I have 40 jars of marmalade stored for my own personal use, 26 would normally last me until this time next year so I am being somewhat optimistic as to how much I will actually get through. For now I don't reckon I will need to make anymore until next year (optimism again )

I have noticed a sudden spate of small flies in the greenhouse, so its not even cold enough out there to get rid of them. Apart from Mrs Snips Chrysanthemums, cyclamen and Christmas flowering cactus I have just planted 20 shallots in modules

Activity Monday 7th March


The packet quite clearly states "Seed Count Approx: 100"
Far too small to count by hand so I divided them roughly in half and sowed them in two seed trays. I sowed the lot on basis that not all germinate.
That was on 2nd January.

Today I decided it was time to plant them on from the trays into single modules.
I selected first tray, sieved some Multi Purpose Compost and got the task underway..

Once started I had to keep going on that first tray.
Just kept sieving and transplanting
What was that seed count on the packet again, 100 seeds.

Well I stopped re-planting tray one when I got to 100 single modules, and there are still 24 in tray one and at least the same again in tray 2.

Meanwhile I had a look up the plot today (Tuesday 8th) at how the sets I planted to overwinter are coming on.
Electric Red, Troy and Senshu Yellow all coming on along with Shallots and Garlic all looking not bad


If I didn't know my onions before I will by time I've done this lot

Activity Monday 7th March


The packet quite clearly states "Seed Count Approx: 100"
Far too small to count by hand so I divided them roughly in half and sowed them in two seed trays. I sowed the lot on basis that not all germinate.
That was on 2nd January.

Today I decided it was time to plant them on from the trays into single modules.
I selected first tray, sieved some Multi Purpose Compost and got the task underway..

Once started I had to keep going on that first tray.
Just kept sieving and transplanting
What was that seed count on the packet again, 100 seeds.

Well I stopped re-planting tray one when I got to 100 single modules, and there are still 24 in tray one and at least 100 plus again in tray 2.

Meanwhile I had a look up the plot today (Tuesday 8th) at how the sets I planted to overwinter are coming on.
Electric Red, Troy and Senshu Yellow all coming on along with Shallots and Garlic all looking not bad


If I didn't know my onions before I will by time I've done this lot

Onions planted out last year for overwintering.

Wind is vicious across our site. so much so I am tempted to risk wrath of the council and put a net windbreak on
two sides

Red Electric


Troy


Shallot Jermor

Whilst this site was down I took advantage of the time and by way of a complete change (not) I made another couple of raised beds.
This now gives me the opportunity to reconsider contents of raised beds and use 1 or 2 as hotbeds

I know this is a bit blated to ask, but i've only just noticed...

Pa, what software do you use for your garden plans? looks a LOT tidyer than what I do in photoshop or the program I wrote...

Its not excel by any chance? Thats the only thing i can think of that looks like that lol

Yes Dan, that is exactly what it is