VEGETABLE GROWING 2020

I'm excited I've made a small Veggy patch in my new gardenmy neighbour grows potatoes so he advised what seed potatoes to buy, they are currently in egg boxes

 

I'm not growing that much this year (famous last words) but I probably will. My back injury is improving so with the help of Carol I may be able to tidy up and dig over our veg patch.

Getting my propagators out tomorrow and will be visiting the Kingsseed website!

 

I have made a start on sowing my peppers along with my onions and tomatoes, the peppers and tomatoes are coming along nicely but the onions are not doing so well, they are looking very hung over, I might need to sow a fresh batch if they don't pick up over the next few days

 

Shiney my friend. Buying greeting cards and the like, are tooooooo expensive for you. Why don't you save even more, by saving your own bean seeds.

 

I save loads of runner bean seeds and it involves growing extra plants up extra canes tied with extra string and requiring extra space, extra watering and extra protection against frost both early and late in season.

And a very cold, wet period around peak seed saving time can cause total loss of seeds. For this reason you need to save double quantities incase of failure the subsequent year.

So I wont bother trying to go into detailed calculations to cost justify seed saving when it should be obvious that if you're selling the crop, it's not so (financially) advantageous to save seeds.

 

Gosh!! Must be worth a haggle that one, should be a penny a seed, especially as it is for charity !!

Steve...

 

At the Community Garden, we are just stirring from our winter hibernation and getting ready to go anew.


Yesterday's first proper harvest of the season: leaf mustard.


Here it was under the mesh a few moments before.



This particular variety was grown from Green in Snow Chinese Mustard seeds as sold by Seekay.

I don't recognise this as a Chinese variety as the leaves are not broad and full.

It is less tolerant of UK summer temperatures, even with shading - it will bolt quite easily and produce yellow flowers when only about 10cm tall with two/three sets of spindly leaves.

In my experience, this variety is best grown between late October to late May.

The taste is slightly more intense than that of the broad leaf variety that I am used to.

 

Direct sown broad beans went in last November along with kale that I raised in plugs.


The radishes were also sown late last year and are now ready for leaf harvest.

 

Growing on a very small scale out here. Space is an issue, or rather lack of it, and also my increasing frailty. So far I have 2 kinds of broad beans, one tall for the front patch, the other short for the windy section at the north end, 2 kinds of peas.. small numbers in trays indoors. Will sort potatoes soon. Cropping kale and will repeat that this year; thought I had seed but it evades me. It is pretty enough to transplant into flower beds. It is still bitterly cold; barely above freezing just now as light strengthens.

 

Aubergine Black Beauty.



They did pretty well last year so I'm doing them again this year.

My secret is to start early (January sowing) and to stress the seedlings with the purpose of toughening them up: putting them through cycles of deep watering and drout.

 

Peas and broad beans.
The Friday before last I sowed peas and broad beans. I thought they should be at least popping up by now but nothing so far.
Am I being impatient as we have had cold nights and only just getting warm days. I'm tempted to get the trowel out and have a look but holding out at the moment.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Rob