Tuesday, 26 May 2009

May 09



May 09 Late Spring

What I should be doing in May.

Plant out chitted tates main crops 20 weeks ready, broad beans, leeks if pencil thick, spinach. At the end of the month after last frost date around 21st may plant out celeriac, celery, squashes, courgettes, zucchinni, sweetcorn and runner beans. repot any cucumbers for there final positon in the gh. Plant toms in grobags or baskets and start to harden off all the plants on warm days for 2 weeks and then leave out ready for lottie. Strawberries produce runners in may - nodes- is te new plant give it 3 weeks to root, cut the runner, and pot up. Start to feed toms, peppers, chillis and strawberries with tom feed every 2 weeks.

Sow - Direct sow of swede, turnip, parsnips. most can now be sown direct into the soil as it warms up. carrots spinach, peas, courgettes, sweetcorn, runner beans, onions, beetroot, spring onions, chives, letce, radish, celery, parsley, basil, rocket, toms, and coriander.

01/05/09 - All but 4 sweetcorn up from 23/4, and 10 runner beans. Bought 7 ft canes for beans 10 for 3.50. wk 5 and 6 parsnips up. everything dryng out fast still no rain. cloudy and sunny 30 gh.

02/05/09 - 3 out of 4 squash up 23/4. and 1 strawberry 21/4. sunny am. really hot pm cloudy.

03/05/09 - Repotted 3 courgettes in larger pots, pt 2 runnerbeans outside in pots still. celery showing 15/4, moved toms of floor propagator on to shelf in sun. 15 degrees gh,am windy and cloudy and sunny. strawberries in containers have more growth and flowers on since gave them a feed. 4 of 4 squash up and 2 strawberries.

04/04/09 - 4 toms showing and 5 straws, cold windy and drizzle 15 degrees.

05/05/09 - Set 28 x 2 = 56 parsnips true and tender, 2 per loo roll with lid gh.

06/05/09 - Lottie - set 9/4 spinach 40 cell 2 per cell at lottie, 3 rows (80). sown 2 rows of swede next to spinach, given some cabbage (19). Sown 3 rows of spring onion white lisbon next to carrots in seed bed, last 2 rows of peas have been eaten! cloches been pinched from shed! planted 15/4 mixed radish in our garden patch 2 rows and rest around the garden (1 pot) Put herbs near chilli. more sun. sown marigolds to go with toms. 1 21/4 peppers up and 13 moneymaker toms 25/4 for lottie.

07/05/09 - Harvested 4 garlic from veg patch, left drying in the gh. Put beans, celeriac, sweetcorn outside. Thinned swede in 40 cell, put 1/2 bottle cloches over spinach, sweetpeas in sink up, repotted a 23/4 squash, rain am light drizzle, 20 degrees. We all set a sunflower seed for competiton in garden!

08/05/09 - Sown 6pk basil to go with toms at lottie ruffles purple. 1 pot with 4 cougette zucchinni. sown 40 cell little gem to replace lotties. sown 15 sweetcorn incredible in 6pk for home. windy and sunny 20 degrees. Dig in seeds arrived.

09/05/09 - Dug swede patch at lottie, took decembers leeks planted near broad beans, and 4 rows left to put in seed bed. watered and weeded, put cloches 1/2 bottles over 5 spinach.

10/05/09 - We got beans in the garden! whooo! both pots strawberrys up. sunny and still 20 degrees am. Put celeriac, sweetcorn and beans out side and basket toms.

11/05/09 - Fed strawberries in containers, toms chillis peppers. with toms feed. 1 elephant garlic sprouting in pot 2 out of 3 grown 2 in pots and 1 in ground.

12/05/09 - Dads sunflower up! and 1 sweetcorn from 8/5. watered garden patc.

13/05/09 - Lottie - cloudy windy and cold, watered spinach, cabbage, swede seeds. Watered garden pm, rainied 6pm light drizzle, we got a bean on lotties beans!! from 19/1/09 beans.

14/05/09 - Sweetcorn and runner beans otside 12 degrees gh. rained last nite and am. good rain, 10 lettce up, k10 and sassis sunflowers up. cold and wet all day no rain though.

15/05/09 - Rained through the nite, still raining 10am, put peas in bathroom as to cold gh 10 degrees. Got our chickens 3 Rhode Isalnd red mix. Have an egg already! Chester, Rosemary and Thyme. Repotted 14 toms seedlings moneymaker, warmed and brightened up pm. Took dieseased leaves of toms, squashes and courgettes all yellowing.

16/05/09 - Jarens sunflower up! and mine just starting to show. Lottie - weeded beans, took netting of and transfered across to spinach, took 1/2 bottle cloches of spinach and put over peas thats been eaten! GH set Dig in seeds of lolla rossa in 1/2 seed tray. Set rocket and saladin leaves. 3 eggs today.

18/05/09 - Lottie - 6 rows swede 1 to thin out later, put up bean poles and planted 56 runner beans in, but sqished but should be ok, 7/4 are huge, 20/4 and 8 in pots. dug in some orgainc matter from home 30 litre bag. rained, gh set some spinach 40 cell (80)+. 1 egg today.

19/05/09 - Rain, lottie - already have 8 rows of 8 onion sets in, set carrots seeds in between rows (7). 10 swede up covered 4 rows with cloche from peas, weeded peas, set marigolds in sink. Dug turnip and parsnip bed, ready for seeds and loo rolls! Harvested an onion out of our veg patch at home! and 2 lettuces. Thunder and showers but warm. 3 eggs today.

20/05/09 - Cucumber in gh has 5 tindy ones showing the plants still small only a few inches high 5 to6 leaves! harvested a few carrots from tyre and 1 onion for homemade cornish pasties showers pm 25 degrees. rocket and lolla rossa dig in showing from16/5! 2 peas up 8/5 in bathroom rest all mouldy binned. 3 eggs today.

21/5/09 - Set 1 big pot coriander, 2 sq pots sweet basil. 1 6pk zucchinni. repotted 9 2/4 peppers out of 27, only took biggest ones. only 1 2/12 pepper survived. 2 cucumbers, and only 10 chillis. set 2 peach pips been in fridge for 2 weeks. Harvested 2/12 6 spring onions still small. Hot and heavy rain showers. left basket toms outside and sweetcorn to harden off. Planted biggest chilli outside the gh in pot. 2 eggs today.

22/5/09 - Lottie, planted 15/4 beetroot with other beet and 2 pots furio spring onions in between rows, weeded onions and watered carrot seeds and swede. gh 8/5 basil up, Put 2 more basket toms in basket look different to others! chucked smallest red cherry, really little and stringy. 25/4 toms looking good and growing well ( plant in lottie). 8/5 sweetcorn put in garden, jans chitted tats have been outside in a tray for weeks and are growing green tops, must plant up!! 2 eggs today.

23/05/09 - Planted 14/4 mxd radish around garden, lanted marchs cornflowers outside backdoor, 2 toms flowering- only small! set marigolds with toms 4 per basket (12) sown more seeds for lotties toms. warm sunny 25 degrees 6pm in gh. 2 eggs today.

24/05/09 - Lottie - watered, 3 rows of spring onions up near carrots in seed bed, nearly all 5 rows of swede up, last one needs thining on to 6th row. Peas have flowers on, no carrots between onions yet. quite dry, leeks about 6 in high and thickening up at last. Left celery and celeriac outside last nite to harden off, harvested 2 onions from garden, sunny hot 25 degrees gh. 3 eggs today.

25/05/09 - Repotted 2 red cerry toms and put 1 in ground near beans (smallest). repotted 21/4 red skin peppers, thinned into 18 pots. 18/5 spinach up. 3 eggs today.

26/05/09 - Windy cloudy and gusty, 21/5 sweet basil showing. 1 saladin lettuce. Rain and thunder last nite, took basket toms back in the gh as really gusty and blowing over! brigtened up pm but still windy. 25 degrees gh. 3 eggs today.

27/05/09 - Fed strawberries, toms, chillis, peppers and cucumbers - tom feed. Windy cold and rained through the nite and day today. 3 eggs today.

28/05/09 - Lottie - planted up all parsnips in loo rolls, and 3 rows of parsnip seed, planted up jubilee sweetcorn 17/4 near onions, 7 plants a row, 5 rows 35. and 23/4 incredible sweetcorn 4 plants a row, 6 rows 27, near cabbage.Took cloche of spinach now and moved over to parsnip seed rows. (4) Planted 2 rows of swede out of gh in 40 cell, quite big! Sunny and cloudy am 16 degrees and brigtened up pm 32 degrees pm gh. watered celeriac and celery well ready for transplanting tmw at lottie. Put 2 more toms in pots outside, and planted jarens celery. 3 eggs today.

Sunday, 17 May 2009

Our Chickens

Our new additions to our family 15/05/09. We have 3 Rhode Island Red mix chickens. We have called them, Chester has big red wattles! Rosemary has a red chest with fine black feathers and Thyme has a darker red and more black on her chest. In their 1st 36 hours we have collected 4 eggies.

Rosemary and Thyme is asleep!
Chester and Rosemary.

Thyme.


Chester.








Monday, 11 May 2009

April 09



April 09 Mid Spring

What I should be doing in April.

Get digging. Plant out 2nd earlies potatoes - 13 weeks ready, Plant out broad beans and peas, plant out leeks when pencil thickness! Prepare hanging baskets, collect pea sticks, start feeding strawberries with tomato feed and cover with cloches for an early crop. Last week in the month pot on tomatoes in larger pots or gro bags and keep indoors still.

Sow

Courgettes, sweetcorn, leeks, parsnips, carrots, spinach, peas, celeriac, celery, squash, onions, marrow, runner beans, turnip, swede, rocket, lettuce, spring onions, beetroot, toms, parsley, chives, strawberry seed.

01/04/09 - Put febs leeks outside, 1st 5 parsnips out of propagator. Toms, cues, pep and chilli love the propagator! Put spring onions and beetroot in trays outside (9/3). Set 24 module sweetcorn F1 sundance, with lid. set 6 courgettes defender in 2 pots, in propagator, Planted (9/3) spring onion furio 1/2 in pot and 1/2 in sprigs in garden. 25 degrees GH. RAINED!

02/04/09 - Turnips showning (29/3). Set 27 (4pots) pepper californion wonder, in propagator. 10 degrees GH.

03/-4/09 - Put plastic bottles over beetroot in garden, found a slug in GH eating toms! All turnips up now, took wk 2 parsnips out of prop. 30 degrees GH.

05/04/09 - Lost 2 more red cherry toms. still no sweetcorn yet. Turnips bolted and leggy didnt get lid of in time.

07/04/09 - Runner beans scarlet emperor 35 on tissue paper, water and in container to chit. Set 8 wk6 parsnips in yog pots. 8 Cabbage popped up.

08/04/09 - Lottie - Set peas and beans all up to april, 16/1 and 21/2 beans at lottie, 7 beans x 6 rows, covered with netting (42) and 12/2 and 17/3 30 peas 9 peas x 3 1/2 rows. really windy but sunny.

09/04/09 - 2 courgettes popped up (1/3) and 1 squash (9/3) lost 2 more toms red cherry. set sweet peas. 10 out of 15 cabbage popped, some beans showing. Rained 20 degrees. 15 pots (30) peass onward lid on in bathroom and set pep spinach in 40 cell tray.

10/04/09 - 2 more cougettes and 1 more squash popped up and 1 sweetcorn up, 4 up pm. Rained. 1 squash up from 16/3. and 2 wk4 parsnips.

11/04/09 - 2 more sweetcorn and 1 more wk 4 parsnip. set 24 module runner beans scarlet emperor and 8 in pots. GH with lids. 11 degrees am rain and cloudy.

12/04/09 - Easter sunday- 12 sweetcorn up, 1 more 9/3 squash. Rain.

13/04/09 - Put 1/2 bottles over 16/1 lettuce in garden, snails about!, 13 sweetcorn, 2 peas in bathroom showing, 5 peas up in bathroom 9/4. Put 3 basket toms in basket in gh. Put sweet pea pot outside, made a spiral for them to climb up. Cloudy 9 degrees am late pm 20 degrees GH, checked lottie.

14/04/09 - 19 peas up in bathroom window, 1 runner bean, repotted 2 squash 9/3 into 13cm pots. 15 degrees GH and cloudy, Put 2 more toms in basket.

15/04/09 - 5 runner beans up, Set 40 cell tray celery celebrity. 24 peas up 9/4. set 60 onion sets at lottie. Set 2 6 pack 24 beetroot boltardy. set 2 pots 50+ spring onion furio (reds), set 1 6 pack parsley, 4 pots chives, and 2 pots mixed radishfor lottie beds. dug seed bed and marked paths and 2 small beds.

16/04/09 - 19 runner beans up and spinich. bought seeds from netto 19p each! sweetcorn, cougette, runner beans, and beans and flowers.

17/04/09 - All wk 4 parsnips up, 19 runner beans and 1 from pots in gh now. Put celeriac, parsnips out to start to harden off. repotted 2 more squashes bigger pots, all 3 up from 16/3, and 2 out of 4 9/3 up. set rest of sweetcorn 10 in to replace what didnt come up. and 1/2 a seed tray sweetcorn F1 jubilee 40 with lid on gh. GH pm 27 degrees very windy.

18/04/09 - Windy but sunny put celeriac and celery out to harden off couple of hours, to windy.

19/04/09 - Windy and cloudy feels like snow! sweet peas up 9/4 outside, all runner beans up, took cloches of lettuce in garden 4 really big. To cold and windy to go to lottie.Warming up a bit Pm 22 degrees, then 31 degrees late pm. repotted 35 turnips not looking good though, bolted and wind go them. sow direct next time or in loo rolls. No frost since mid march. Home beans flowers are black and have brown spots on leaves!

20/04/09 - Lottie Set 9/3 beetroot and little gem lettuce in small bed 42 of each. Put pea sticks in the peas with 3 cloches, and took net of. 3 rows beans cloche and net and 3 with none. GH chitting 31 runner beans scarlet emperor, set 4 cougettes in 1 pot. Like summer today 25 degrees gh.

21/04/09 - Like summer again, 35 degrees pm, took bottles of beetroot in garden, radish up in both pots 14/4. left runner beans and basket toms outside last nite gives frost tonite! oppps. Set 2 square pots red skin pepper and 2 pots strawberry temptation 50 +. Chives up in bahroom window, 1 garlic elephant sprouted! from 16/1.

22/04/09 - Lottie Dug bed 2 small, put septembers leeks in and 2 rowns in seed bed, set sweetpeas in sink, very dry watered everything apart from beans. Beetroot showing in 6 packs 15/4 and 17/4 sweetcorn up, sunny all week 35 degrees gh pm, cabbage and turnips died.

23/04/09 - 4 peppers 2/4 popped. set 4 squash in 1 pot and 24 module sweetcorn Incredible. took bubblewrap down, well moved it back, runner beans popped 20/4, and 18 sweetcorn 17/4 up. Put supports up for 4 beans to have at home, 28 sweetcorn up pm 25 degrees windy but hot.

24/04/09 - Lottie set 9/4 peas early onward (25) next t0 beans and planted 1/2 seed tray of carrots 24/1, 8 rows - into new seedbed. very windy. Gh - 1 more 1/4 corgette p and 2 wk 6 parsnips up now, and 31 sweetcorn up. 25 degrees pm. 20/4 runner beans chitted (29) and potted up into a 24 cell tray and 5 pots.

25/04/09 - Took parsley and chives from bthrm window to gh, parsley just showing and 3 pots chives, sweet peas doing well in pot dont soak next time! planted 4 runnerbeans (11/4) along fence in garden, tied sweet pea cane to fence, tied up 2 beans as growing in the grass! Set 9 toms in pot money maker 2 pots 18. cloudy 17 degrees.

26/04/09 - Lottie, Garlic starting to go yellow. Watered at lottie, carrots wilted, water butt empty its really dry, onions sprouting. Fed strawberrys with tom feed - dont feed again for 14 days, 1/4 cap to 2 litres water. 2 big containers. Sown 200 swede best of all 40 cell in soil and lid gh, gave rain yesterday -- nope!

27/04/09 - Few more sweetcorn poppe 17/4 , and 2/4 8 peppers popped, cold and windy, spots of rain.

29/04/09 - Put all seedlings outside to harden off a bit, gives frost tonite! A couple of 23/4 sweetcorn popped and a couple of runner beans, 1 swede showing 26/4. 20 degrees am and 35 degrees pm.

30/04/09 - Couple more wk 6 parsnips up and swede showing took lid of.

Monday, 4 May 2009

Companion Planting






Leeks --- Cabbage, celery, onion, celeriac
Beans --- Corn, celery, radish
Beetroot --- Onion, lettuce, spinich
Cabbage --- Celery, beets, onion, spinich
Carrots --- Peas, lettuce, onion, tomato
Celery --- Onion, cabbage, tomato, beans
Corn --- Peas, beans, squash
Cucumber --- Beans, corn, pea, radish, sunflower
Lettuce --- Carrot, radish, strawberry, cucumber
Onion family --- Beetroot, carrot, cabbage, lettuce
Parsley ---Tomato
Pea --- Carrots, radish, turnip, cucumber, corn, beans
Radish ---Pea, lettuce, cucmber
Spinich --- Strawberry
Squash --- Corn, marigold
Tomato --- Onions, carrot, parsley, cucumber
Parsnip --- Chives, lettuce
Courgette --- Parsley, Tomato, spinich, squash, corn
Pepper/chilli --- Cucumber, spuash, lettuce