Vegetable Growing 2024

I went to hoe two different beds to plant out my Swiss chard "Pink Flamingo" and the garlic kale but the soil is too wet and heavy, even for the magic push me pull you hoe head!

Babies back in the PT then and all watered and I consoled myself with transferring 4 pots of basil to a window box to keep up near the kitchen and re-potting a prostrate rosemary and a small tree I've been given.

Found the cucumber I bought - after the snail ate my seedlings - bursting out of its pot and bearing small fruits so I've planted that in the soil and puddled it in. The soil around is bone dry so there should be no bovver with the molluscs just yet.

Need to spread some horse muck about in the rest of the bed and lay a seep hose before I can plant the tomatoes in the rest of that bed but I need OH's help with that and he's off playing some competition..........

 

I planted my courgettes, cucumbers and peppers today and 10 French marigolds to (hopefully) keep pests away. Also put up the bean poles. The beans are germinating in the open barn.

 

No just germinate them indoors for extra speed. but they grow so silly fast youve got a while imo!

Here is the trellis ive made for my cuces this year. Last year they grew so big they fell over and i lost a lot. as has happened to my peas. Lesson... not learned!

The peas folded over but are still producing! 2m tall in only 2 months
my only surviving black nightshade trooping on. it and my 1 surviving physalis seem to grow as slowly as the peppers, ill sow in january next time! untouched by snails so far more like tomatoes than peppers

 

Been a busy couple of days so have not been in the garden at all. Had a quick look around this morning, the last of the cucumber seedlings is gone!

I’ll sow a few more later today, can I just push some seeds into the same compost? The remnants of the decimated seedlings are still in there.

 

I’ve been avoiding bringing anything indoors as I have very limited space and find it hard to choose which plant gets the luxury of cosying up on the windowsill maybe the cues will get a bit of pampering though!

 

Planted out the celeriac in place of the spinach which finished. Also celery went into some spaces. Coriander is bolting as per usual so I have planted more and I need to sow more. Slugs destroying everything of course, tomatillos the latest victims. Planted out more squash to replace the eaten ones, glad I over sowed it. Sown beetroots, PSB, kale, lettuce, endive, kohl rabi for planting end of the month. Not going to bother with winter cabbage this year.

 

I have planted out my resowed cucumbers, courgettes and butternut that the snail brigade demolished in May. I have a few runner beans just surfacing in a polystyrene box. I hope that this sunnier weather will deter the brigade. I have one runner bean that survived the demolition crew and it has grown so well!! No flowers yet, tho'.

 

The cucumbers in the polytunnel are still small and haven't used their tendrils to hook onto the mesh. However they all have flowers!. Melons still sulking.

 

remove the first few flowers especially the female ones! if you let a cuce ripen the plant seems to just die off.

harvested most of my scarlet kale, goes quick with lots of mouths to feed. was yummy boiled but lost its colour: perhaps steamed or baked is better for the colour. the flowers were also lovely.

 

Purple french beans do that too, they just turn green when cooked - steaming or stir frying is no different. They look pretty on the plant though and you can eat them raw in salads.

 

Good news is, I'm harvesting plenty of lettuce, basil (5 varieties) parsley and chives.
Bad new is everything else seems to be on strike.
Although the Bramleys and Blackcurrants seem to be doing well, the 3 pears and the cherry have heeded the call for strike.
Globe artichoke has bitten the dust.
Tarragon, Russian, is living up to its name and invading everything.

 

Anyone grown rapini/cima di rapa etc? Following the destruction of most of my spring brassicas due to the slugpocalypse, I'm thinking of sowing some now. Any tips? I got the 45, 60 and 90 day versions.

I have three cabbages from about 45 plants of broccoli, cabbage, kohl rabi and cauliflower

 

Salad crops in the polytunnel still doing very well. Strawberry plants producing fruits but small but what can you expect when they have been walked over by the builders for the new one.
Weeded the sweet corn plants but the beetroot germination is rubbish. Will have to sow more seeds.

 

I've found beetroot to always be a bit of a pain to germinate too. I've taken to multi sowing it in modules and get better luck with it that way.