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  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

EADD Gardening Club: Ploughing FUBAR's infertile Fields

To be honest 30 mega strong scotch bonnets is a bit much :D

I grew cayennes too but they didn't do so well.. gardening is definitely addictive, I can't wait to get started with mine again %)

Cooking a meal involving entirely home-grown veg and herbs and salad is pretty fantastic. I'd love an allotment one day, don't think I'd have the time to dedicate to it right now though. Still, I have my sunny container garden :)
 
Ya. Seemed a waste to have all these windows and not at least attempt to make use of 'em. Past attempts were a tad token - you really don't have a chance at growing those live herbs you get from supermarkets. Seems they're engineered with an internal killswitch. Impulse buying of plants in kitform seemed a sensible low-ability starter.
 
Definitely agreed, supermarket plants are not good at all. Probably not even real plants, some kind of synthetic equivalent :|

Just realised I've not watered my house plants for weeks!! Luckily they are hardy buggers, if they weren't they'd have died ages ago under my forgetful care ;) It's easier when I have outdoors to deal with to, I get into a proper watering routine.
 
I half-hoped that it may be feasible to grow those live salad plants you get in supermarkets now but after many attempts at chives, coriander, basil and the like I suspect not. Does seem the kinda thing that would be fairly practical to grow on a small scale sometime though. Even if only enough for the odd salad sandwich or whatever. Herbs from seed seems a likely winner too. Bit late for this year I imagine.
 
I don't know much about flowers to be honest Effie, but given the conditions on your patio I'd look to the Med for inspiration. I like how in France & Spain they go for pots & pots full of bright red pink & white geraniums. Bouginvillea is a beautiful more permanent plant too if you can bring it in over winter and would look great on your patio. And of course, the good old sunflower - nothing more cheerful as they turn with the sun and smile good morning and when they die the birds will come for the seed heads. Plant them now 1 per pot if you like the idea.

Carrots can do well in pots - sow them across the whole surface and as you thin them eat them as babies leaving them about an inch a part if you want bigger ones.

That was a good yield from your scotch bonnet - don't forget you can dry & powder them or make chilli oil which is great on pizzas, pastas etc & keeps for ever. Or chilli jam - i got given some last year and it was soooo good.

Shambles, soft leafy meditereanean herbs like basil & corriander are quick, like windowsills and can be sown continuously all summer. Woody herbs like sage rosemary & thyme are better bought as plants like an outdoors home.

I've found supermarkets herbs are fine as long as you pot them on as soon as possible, and always water from below :)
 
The landlord of the garden I use has just said i can get chickens as long as I give him free eggs :) the tenants of the main house are fine with it as long as I don't get a cockerel. They said they'll help letting them out & putting them in as long as they get eggs too. Anyone here got any experience with chickens? I've got to be honest i don't know much about them and can't afford any expensive kit but back before they became fashionable everyone had a chicken or two scratching around so it can't be too difficult.
 
Only second hand chicken experience - my friends kept 3 and eggs were plentiful. Though they did need military precision letting in and out dawn and dusk and not fed too many leftovers which they loved but weren't always good for their rear ends. Great little personalities, they were a joy to visit and potter around. Foxes and cats are an issue so a secure run and a hoose off the ground that is dry and rat free appear to be essentials. They need their wings clipped and they can get lice n' all sorts of weird "bum" problems hehe

I'm waiting until I can at least work part-time or retire before getting chickens, would love them but feel I don't have the time just now...

Shambles - salad leaves should be easy peasy to grow indoors on a window sill. Get googling on it! Or I may have to on your behalf, still not got yer crimbo sorted.

The weather is turning again here and I'm glad in a way as I was tempted to plant out things that the frost would have got. Still too damn early, too far north, too west and too chanking.
 
@ Kate - just seen some UK weather forcast for next week and wed/thur/friday will be around 5 or 6* during the day with frost at night.that is for east coast of scotland and newcastle area.
 
bogman said:
@ Kate - just seen some UK weather forcast for next week and wed/thur/friday will be around 5 or 6* during the day with frost at night.that is for east coast of scotland and newcastle area.
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Aye the local radio is reporting snow in april - seen it before so snow surprise 8):o although it's been gloriously sunny and hot here during the day its well frosty first thing, can be like that until June and I don't have a greenhouse. YET ;)

The frost killed off a lot of my early enthusiasm (plants) last year = omg I've learnt something!

BTW: Mr Bog I'm on the west coast of Scotland could practically touch hands with you across the Irish Sea :p....very long arms I have
 
Lovely sunny day today....spent the whole afternoon down the allotment....was planning on just gubbing a couple of diaz and drinking cider and smoking, but actually got on with some work (still did the gubbing and drinking and smoking)...

Broad beans starting to flower.

Hurst green Shaft peas all up now, so put another load in to ensure succesional harvests....

Also put some douce provence dwarf peas in, and planted out some Alderman peas.....the douce provence should only grow to 2 ft or so, so I've put a few rows in front of the Aldermans, which grow to 6ft...

Went rummaging round the hedgerows and snipped a load of hazel and other twigs to use for supports....

4 rows of beetroot up and thriving, so planted another couple of rows, oh, and a row of radish for something to munch while we're up there.

And got a fair few wild rocket seedlings sprouting....it's too early for planting wild rocket, it will bolt having been planted this early, but we'll do a few more sowings after the midsummer, and they won't bolt....lots of salad laeaves bolt if you plant them too early..

Also managed to burn a massive pile of leaves twigs and garden rubbish thats been sitting up there for far too long, and planted a very large bed up with green Manure (Vitasso Mustard), this one only needs 45 days or so to grow before incorporating it, and also some Crimson Clover, so hopefully can get it all dug in in late May and use that bed for French beans and runners.....Can't remember off top of me head bu the mustard is a nitrogen catcher, and the clover is a nitrogen fixer, or the other way round...so together should be useful....

Starting to look nice up there again now :D
 
^ get some photos up mailmonkey!

Have I missed the boat guys? Not done anything yet, not had time :( was planning on some tatties (did well in sacks last year and tasted gorgeous), tomatoes, courgettes, some kind of beans or peas, chillis and carrots, salad leaves and herbs ofc.. ideally some flowers too (thanks for the advice b&w!)

I can always just get baby plants I guess, did that with a few things last year and it worked wonderfully. Probably the best plan anyway with my lack of free time since getting back to work. I had no idea it was so easy to grow veg in containers :D I need some garden-therapy too, keeps me sane :)
 
effie said:
^ get some photos up mailmonkey!

Have I missed the boat guys? Not done anything yet, not had time :( was planning on some tatties (did well in sacks last year and tasted gorgeous), tomatoes, courgettes, some kind of beans or peas, chillis and carrots, salad leaves and herbs ofc.. ideally some flowers too (thanks for the advice b&w!)

I can always just get baby plants I guess, did that with a few things last year and it worked wonderfully. Probably the best plan anyway with my lack of free time since getting back to work. I had no idea it was so easy to grow veg in containers :D I need some garden-therapy too, keeps me sane :)
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I've got to get a new camera....our charger/battery has fucked on our camera, haven't been able to take any photos for 6 months or so...(lol, last photo I took was of me hip scars for the What Do You Look Like thread, then, for some odd reason, the camera decided to stop working :D )

effie you have not missed the boat by any means, not too late for anything, from seed, or plug....

only do courgettes if you got lots of space, and don't do too many plants, EVERYONE gets a glut of courgettes, you can't help it...

Peas can still be planted out now till late May no prob, French beans don't want to go in till late April May, runners even a little bit later if you still pushed for time.

Tomatoes I've given up on, but you might be beter doing them from plants now, go to a local school fete or WI sale or similar...even small charity shops are usually a god source for interesting varieties...

Salad leaves can be planted now, but don't plant all your seeds out, cos this is still early, and many leaves will bolt early if you plant them now, rocket and the like you're better off waiting till June for long harvesting season....

Chard? Try rainbw chard, beautiful colours, easy to grow, very nutritious, and it's like 2 veg in one, the stalks are used like pak choi, and the leaves like spinach.....

REALLLY happy to wake up to see we've had a very good covering of rain overnight, and it's still falling, was getting a bit arid down the plot.....

I need some garden-therapy too, keeps me sane
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oh yes, i fucking love it....and i am uber-sane.
 
effie said:
^ get some photos up mailmonkey!
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seconded. Get some pics up MM, borrow a camera phone. Your set up sounds great, you definitely get out what you put in. A friend whos got an allotment said tomatoes always got blighted there but did ok in a sunny spot out the front of his house, may be worth a try.

I've done shit all really. About 10days ago I started sunflowers sweetcorn beans and courgettes in pots, put them in cold frames I made out of freezer trays with secondary glazing over the top. Classy. Only the sunflowers are breaking through the soil.

I also weeded manured & watered the strawberry bed and they've loved it. The raspberrys & asparagus is a joke, can't see them for couch grass and weeds. I've no idea if any asparagus will come up if I weed it now but the rasperries & redcurant are flowering like crazy. I no nothing about raspberrys but this is a golden variety, really sweet & fruits virtually all summer. I didn't realise the canes spread like they do, I need to sort them for next year.

Lots of blossom on the apple pear & plum trees too.

I'll smoke this spliff then put my wellies on & go for a mooch with the camera.
 
fucking couch grass:( everywhere round our allotments, also Jerusalem artichokes grow like a weed through all the plots....

When did you plant your asparagus b&w? I so want to do it again, but last time planting it and finally the third year came round and we were able to harvest for the table, and we moved house......very very satisfying and soooooooooo so tasty when you pick the big fat spears and eat them withing the hour, amazing....i DID go down to our old house the first year after we moved and did a dawn raid on the garden for a few spears :p

I've never really done any fruits, our old house had a couple of gooseberry bushes in the garden which were great yielders,but I've never planted any meself...my wife wants to do some raspberry canes, so I guess we will be finding out a bit of space for some....

tomatoes, I dunno whats going on, we've done outdoor vars, greenhouse vars, we've grown them in the right places, grown them by sheltered walls at the house, whatever we do, the last 3-4 years, blighted....and to be honest, idon't really think homegrown toms are any better than ones you can buy these days, in fact they are rarely as good...hahahahah...think the odd climate we've been getting down here hasn't helped, near drought through april and may, then cool and damp through june, july, august....

I gonna go on ebay now and see if I can pick up a battery and charger for my cam, might just get a new camera, I don't want anything fancy just a cheap point and shoot thing....
 
MM for the last 2 yrs I've had a canon ix-us75 as new fully boxed I've been meaning to flog. Its a good camera.. Make me an offer if you like :)

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_Camera/IXUS/Digital_IXUS_75/

I planted the asparagus 4 or 5 years ago and it went from strength to strength, I gave this garden up last year but have just arrived back unexpectedly. I looked into moving them (as i expect you did) and the roots can go up to a meter down. Get them in, a few years will fly by and even though you can't crop for ages its still cool to watch them each spring & summer. My regret is i put them in such shit beds, shady, not sandy enough but they still do really well.

Its a mess out there but last autumn a well intentioned old boy from up the road let himself in and having never seen asparagus 'cleared' the bed :( I came for a mooch when he was a few days into it and put a sign up so he propped the remaining trampled on foliage up but i've no idea how good a job he did of digging them up, we'll see.

For what its worth i've given up on tomatoes too for the same reason.

Weathers way too shit to venture out but heres a pic to motivste me to get on with it - pots flowering & you can see the soft fruit in the background. I think you've got to be organised to get the most out of them and I'm not, they're chaos & the birds get them but still well worth doing. The weeds and grass grew through the netting & trashed it. Now I can see why people build fruit cages. The raspberries are better than sweets.

this was year 3 it was hard to wait but worth it cos year 4 it was coming up faster than i could eat it.

NSFW:
 
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badandwicked said:
MM for the last 2 yrs I've had a canon ix-us75 as new fully boxed I've been meaning to flog. Its a good camera.. Make me an offer if you like :)

I planted the asparagus 4 or 5 years ago and it went from strength to strength, I gave this garden up last year but have just arrived back unexpectedly. I looked into moving them (as i expect you did) and the roots can go up to a meter down. Get them in, a few years will fly by and even though you can't crop for ages its still cool to watch them each spring & summer. My regret is i put them in such shit beds, shady, not sandy enough but they still do really well.
Click to expand...

oh, really considering the camera....but mentioned it to the missis and she's told me to have a proper look for a new charger and battery on ebay....looks like I can pick up something suitable for less than a tenner, so might do that instead...really THANKS for the offer though, I might have a couple of bottles of Westons in a bit and then PM you with a rash offer ;)

I didn't even consider moving the asparagus when we moved house... :(

I think I've got a couple of pics from 3 years ago or so somehwre from our allotment...also doesn't help that I diligently transferred 5 years worth of music and photos onto a external HD last year and then dropped it and fuckered it and lost 5 years worth of photos and music..... :(
 
No worries, if you change your mind PM me :)

I'm picking up a free dog kennel this morning with the plan to turn it into a hen house. A far as I can gather it needs 2 doors, ventilation, nesting boxes and perches. There's loads of scrap wood and some old hand tools lying around here so this shouldn't be beyond my capabilities. But then I start every DIY project with this cheery optimism which soon turns to rage and despair.

In other news, the sunflowers are up in their pots and the sweetcorn not far behind. No progress on the main plot biut its still covered, I've got about 6 rubble sacks of wood ash so need to read up on what I can do with it.
 
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