It’s really getting time to put some major effort into our garden now
All the tomatoes are now potted on and moved out into the heated greenhouse. We are focusing on San Marzano & Roma this year – good thick flesh, minimal goo, great for canning
Tomatoes potted on by English Countrylife, on Flickr
The seed onions sown in January are also out in the greenhouse. I’ll prick them out next month – these are Rijnsburger. Nice flavour, keep well, open pollinated so we seed save them.
Seed onions by English Countrylife, on Flickr
Speaking of onions, check out these Spring Onions – over a year old, cut many times, over wintered outside and happy as Larry
Over wintered Spring Onion by English Countrylife, on Flickr
Spuds are chitting nicely. We normally only do first earlies to avoid blight but we are going to sack grow maincrop in one of the poly tunnels this year as an experiment
Chitting Potatoes by English Countrylife, on Flickr
Early lettuce is cropping now so time for second sowing
Lettuce by English Countrylife, on Flickr
Potted chillies and peppers up today, but they will stay in another six weeks
Chillies and peppers by English Countrylife, on Flickr
Outdoors it’s easy to tell it’s warming up. We are counting down to rhubarb crumble
Rhubarb by English Countrylife, on Flickr
Wild garlic is being used a lot now – pesto making soon with our own hazelnuts!
Random wild garlic by English Countrylife, on Flickr
What are you up to in the garden?
Garden activity
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Re: Garden activity
I seem to have managed to double post this - perhaps a mod could delete one please
Re: Garden activity
Things are looking great, Red, your experience shows. Just one tiny case in point - you have nice clumps of wild garlic. I sowed mine a few years ago, and while it's more or less naturalised now, I put it onto a very slight slope, towards the patio, and the result, I've now found, is that I have a *really* thin edging of wild garlic. It's also being crowded out by naturalised salad burnet, which doesn't have the taste!
I think I'm going to collect the seeds and sow them underneath the rhodedendron/mahonia/witchhazel mix on the other side of the garden. It's flat, it mimics woodland, all of those shrubs are beloved by pollinators, wildlife and birds, so they're staying. There's also a lot of space for solitary bee nests, which are a thing round here.
My rhubarb is as far on as yours, but the clump has grown massive, it looks like a cats cradle of rhubarb but very nice still.
Lovely pics, thanks again!
I think I'm going to collect the seeds and sow them underneath the rhodedendron/mahonia/witchhazel mix on the other side of the garden. It's flat, it mimics woodland, all of those shrubs are beloved by pollinators, wildlife and birds, so they're staying. There's also a lot of space for solitary bee nests, which are a thing round here.
My rhubarb is as far on as yours, but the clump has grown massive, it looks like a cats cradle of rhubarb but very nice still.
Lovely pics, thanks again!
Re: Garden activity
Oh WOW. I exclaimed a very jealous expletive at those pictures. That's an awesome array of seedlings after my best efforts all died.British Red wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 5:51 pm It’s really getting time to put some major effort into our garden now
All the tomatoes are now potted on and moved out into the heated greenhouse. We are focusing on San Marzano & Roma this year – good thick flesh, minimal goo, great for canning
.....
What are you up to in the garden?
I did Roma tomatoes last two years, though last years died of blight. Tastier than any others I managed to grow and good yield.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought
Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
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Re: Garden activity
You can lift wild garlic and move the bulbs ( that's how we established this patch) - people say you can't, but, if you wait till the leaves are yellowing off, it works a treat. You could try three cornered leek on your slope. I'm putting in a big patch this year. Even more of a thug than wild garlic but totally delicious, self seeding, and needs no attention.Arzosah wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 6:12 pm Things are looking great, Red, your experience shows. Just one tiny case in point - you have nice clumps of wild garlic. I sowed mine a few years ago, and while it's more or less naturalised now, I put it onto a very slight slope, towards the patio, and the result, I've now found, is that I have a *really* thin edging of wild garlic. It's also being crowded out by naturalised salad burnet, which doesn't have the taste!
I think I'm going to collect the seeds and sow them underneath the rhodedendron/mahonia/witchhazel mix on the other side of the garden. It's flat, it mimics woodland, all of those shrubs are beloved by pollinators, wildlife and birds, so they're staying. There's also a lot of space for solitary bee nests, which are a thing round here.
My rhubarb is as far on as yours, but the clump has grown massive, it looks like a cats cradle of rhubarb but very nice still.
Lovely pics, thanks again!
You could lift and divide that rhubarb if it's a tasty crown?
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Re: Garden activity
My top tip for tomatoes is get one of those dainty houseplant watering cans and never let the water hit the plant, just the compost. Use a free draining compost like John Innes no. 1 so the base doesn't rot. If I use garden compost I put 25% sand in the mix to improve drainage. Hope that helpsjennyjj01 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 6:17 pmOh WOW. I exclaimed a very jealous expletive at those pictures. That's an awesome array of seedlings after my best efforts all died.British Red wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 5:51 pm It’s really getting time to put some major effort into our garden now
All the tomatoes are now potted on and moved out into the heated greenhouse. We are focusing on San Marzano & Roma this year – good thick flesh, minimal goo, great for canning
.....
What are you up to in the garden?
I did Roma tomatoes last two years, though last years died of blight. Tastier than any others I managed to grow and good yield.
Re: Garden activity
Both those things sound good to me, I'll try both those actions.British Red wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 6:27 pmYou can lift wild garlic and move the bulbs ( that's how we established this patch) - people say you can't, but, if you wait till the leaves are yellowing off, it works a treat. You could try three cornered leek on your slope. I'm putting in a big patch this year. Even more of a thug than wild garlic but totally delicious, self seeding, and needs no attention.
It's too big for me to manage it, I'm afraid. I'll take a photo tomorrow and stick it up here. There's a neighbour I co-operate with in terms of council green bins and the odd crop/foraging exchange, I might ask him if he'd have a go, but first I'll post the photo on here.You could lift and divide that rhubarb if it's a tasty crown?
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Re: Garden activity
I'm a horror to rhubarb, lift, chop up with a sharp spade, replant. But I do it when dormant
Re: Garden activity
Ah ... no hurry then, if it needs doing when dormant! Thanks Red.
Re: Garden activity
So these are the photos I took today
Deleted what I could, I'm putting the rhubarb pix onto a new post.
I'm digging up the summer snowdrops, they're spreading and taking up space on my lovely new south-facing fence. You can't see the slope, its very gentle, but its why the wild garlic hasn't spread.
Deleted what I could, I'm putting the rhubarb pix onto a new post.
Last edited by Arzosah on Sat Mar 12, 2022 9:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.