My first garden!

Ok this is from a while ago but I don't want to deprive you of any 18 carat gardening material!

So, jumping back a bit, I got a bag through the post and I opened it to get a lap full of soil. To my surprise I pulled out a bunch of strawberries!



I knew they needed to be planted as soon as I could and I knew that they needed protection over the winter. The 3 tier planter would be tricky to wrap up. So I dismantled it and got the troughs lined up



I also deweeded the patch where it was sitting. Looks nice and fresh!



And in go the strawberries!



Standard verve multipurpose compost. And yes Ant, I've got labels!



I can't remember the varieties but I should get fruit across a few months.

And the finished product



I will be getting some straw to put on top of it and wrapping it all up in fleece or netting. I will be heading to a farm shop this weekend as it has snowed here recently. A bit of cold will do them good though as it really kickstarts the hibernation process apparently.

I've also got a couple of Pineberry plants too. They haven't been planted yet though.

 

Somebodys been busy

I can't wait to try a couple of Pineberrys next year. They should make it alright if you wrap them up well

 

A pic of Neville who sleeps with his head out of the window. Remus usually sleeps in a hammock.



Ok. Another update. (see... I do think about GC even though I'm busy!)

This is the raised bed as of Sunday.



As you can see, peas are growing nicely and the garlic bulbs are shooting up. The broccoli on the left has been harvested and so has the rocket in the middle.



Doesn't look that big here but it fed us 2 (and Neville and Remus) for 2 days. Tasted great and I didn't expect to be harvesting these on this side of xmas so it was a nice surprise.

Pulled up some kale as well because the onions are taking off.



A bit wilted but it was sat in the snow while I was harvesting it.



I also decided to empty one of the grow bags because the potatoes went mushy and they just looked like bags of soil. Quite depressing really. So I'm digging down and chucking the muck onto the raspberry patch (extra nutrients) when suddenly



MASSIVE GRIN!!

I went inside and grabbed a plate to get these few tatties that seemed to grow.



I severely underestimated how many there would be!!! I got them inside, rinsed them off, plonked them on a towel and then let them dry. They're now in a cardboard box with some paper over them. They're at room temperature and there's about 2 weeks worth.

They taste great and the best part is that there are 2 MORE bags! I will probably have some at xmas! These spuds either have perfect unblemished skin or the skin has been washed off. If the latter is true then the other spuds still in the bags will be growing a thicker skin and will be better for storing. All in all, £2 for about 7 weeks of great tasting spuds!

Oh and Ant, that Fuschia that was rolling around the garden... I plonked it (in it's pot) into the ground to stop it from rolling about. Well I lifted it up to move it and saw this



Are you sure not planting it was the best choice? It seems to have grown nicely! I've cut the pot off it and stuck it in the ground. I'll take a chance!

And finally... I've planted some trees and bushes. An apple, plum and cherry tree and 2 blueberry bushes. It got quite dark and this was the end result



Gardening by moonlight! I hope they look good. I have no idea what they look like

 

You've done well with the harvest Rad, those tatties look perfect! The trees and bushes would be great too if we could see them. The picture is almost entirely black, sorry!

 

Hi Rad,
The thing is with Fuchsias they have to be planted deep. The cold will kill all growth within about 3 or 4 inches of the surface, therefore killing the crown and roots as well. Where you've got all those thin fibrous roots now you should have thick woody taproots if it's to survive.

It looks good now, but, it's got another 4 months to go yet.

 

Ok I'm using tapatalk on my phone now. Hopefully i can keep more in touch with GC this way. Although i have no idea how to quote what you've written.

Ant, good point. What should I do with it then? In the coldframe with some fleece around the plantpot and roots?

Sheal, yeh the picture is almost black. That's what it was like when i started packing up my stuff haha. I'll get a better pic when i next go out.



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Rad,
Have a look at......

General Gardening Discussions
Fuchsias 2015
Post 523. 30 September

I think you're still in time to follow either method as the weathers been so mild up until now.

Have you got an unheated porch or room you could keep it in over Winter ? Otherwise I'd go for the dormant method and then pack it in newspaper or something and put it in the cold frame, remembering to check it doesn't dry out.

 

Will do, thanks. I have a room under the stairs which is full of gardening stuff. It can go in there although it will have no light at all. That ok?

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That sounds ideal

Just remember to keep it just moist enough to keep it from drying out. It's probably gonna take it a couple of weeks yet to start going dormant as it's still flowering. Can you put it somewhere sheltered, under the house wall e.g. so it will start losing its leaves. Then once that happens you can defoliate it and trim it and then put it to bed for the Winter.
PS..... It may throw out some white elongated shoots but these are easily removed and can be taken as a sign that it's still alive.

 

Nice one... I will do exactly that!

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Holy Cow... about 3 months since I was last here! where has that time gone????

Sorry for not being around.... Things have been pretty mental at work and I've had several lifestyle changes which are doing me the world of good but all my time is flying out of the window!

Not much to say about the garden, surprisingly! I've got several perennials from my uncle and they are all planted. The worms are still mooching around (although it's still snowing here so they're a bit slow lately). The bulbs are all coming up which is nice. Things are starting to grow again and I've got a windowsill full of various plants/crops. When I moved into the house last year it was pretty late in the growing season to do anything really. This year, I get to make the most out of summer. There's going to be crops all over the place this year!!

Oh and @Anthony Rogers that Fuschia that I brought into the house to hibernate has gone mental. There's white stems everywhere! It's about 3ft wide now! I will be sorting that out probably next weekend. I'm just waiting for the weather to settle down. Snow and ice out there still

 

Good to hear from you Rad. You've got the Easter holidays coming up and providing Britain doesn't get the predicted snow you should be able to get out into the garden.