Today I will mostly be growing

Today I will mostly be pulling up my Pak Choi which has all run to seed. This means seed or flower heads are forming in the centre of the plant, so now the plant is no longer concentrating on producing leaves for eating, the taste will change as well so they are best composted as they have reached the end of their growing life.

I will add more compost to the Pak Choi area of Plot 1 to return the nutrients to the soil ready for growing the next crop which according to my plot diagram will be spinach, lettuce and radish in february.

My Broad Beans are growing strong and have a good stem and a few leaves after 10 weeks from seed. I firmed the seedlings back into the soil to make sure they continue to grow upright.

(more…)

Today I will mostly be thinning cabbages and pulling out my mini leeks which have sucumb to greenfly.

Cabbage Plot 2

Before Thinning (Wk 38 28.12.07)

After Thinning (Wk 40 12.01.0

My cabbages showed signs of whitefly which is a good time to create some space in the plot by thinning so that the pests don’t infect all plants. I thinned and destroyed the ones that had whitefly. Thinning also encourages growth as we will see in a few weeks time.

(more…)

Today I was mostly concentrating on sowing in Plot 3. I pulled out the summer lettuce which was running to seed, raked over the bed and sowed 2 small rows of ‘The Sutton’ Broad Beans. This dwarf variety is particularly good for the smaller garden, as it doesn’t require as much staking as other taller varieties.

I also sowed some Pea First Early Douce Provence Seeds in a small quarter in Plot 3 as well.

(more…)

This week I will mostly be harvesting yet more runner beans! and plenty of tomato’s.

My tomato plants dispite looking very dishevelled because I have occassionally forgotten to water them are still producing a harvest of red and yellow fruit.

My Maris Peer xmas potatoes have loved the recent warm weather and have shot up above the pot with just 3 weeks of growth. I have now earthed them up with compost to the top of the pots.

Crops Progress

• Mini Leeks - 10 weeks growth and growing strong as they are protected behind the chicory. Estimated Harvest Date: 27 Oct after 15 weeks growth.
• Chicory - 10 weeks with lots of leaf growth and no slugs!…. yet. Estimated Harvest Date: 13 Oct after 13 weeks.
• First sowing of Autumn King 2 Carrots - 10 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 13 Oct after 13 weeks.
• Second sowing of Autumn King 2 Carrots - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 17 Nov after 13 weeks.
• Turnip (Atlantic) - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 27 Oct after 8-10 weeks.
• Pak Choi - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 17 Nov after 13 weeks.
• Cabbage - Advantage (spring greens) - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: December after 20 weeks.
• Cabbage - Spring Hero - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: April/May 2008

Reminder of Cold Weather on the way.

After watching BBC1’s Countryfile on Sunday I saw the temperatures over the UK would be tumbling this week which reminded me to buy some fleece. I bought some Horticultural Fleece for the vegetable plot and my potato buckets 3m x 6m for £5.28 incl P&P from Ebay seller ‘All Seasons Gardener’.

Below are the Week 23 picture updates of my 3 vegetable plots.

Week 21 02.09.07 - This week I will mostly be growing…

• Sweet Baby Peppers Sown 31.03.07 have been very slow growing this year but as you can see from the photo growth is finally speeding up.
• Mini Leeks (8 weeks growth),
• Autumn King 2 Carrots (8 weeks growth)
• Chicory (8 weeks growth)
• Turnip ‘Atlantic’ (1 weeks growth)
• Pak Choi ‘Riko F1′ (1 weeks growth)
• Lambs Lettuce ‘Jade’ (1 weeks growth)
• Radish ‘French Breakfast’ intercropped with the chicory (1 weeks growth),
• Runner Beans ‘Red Rum and White Lady’ (still harvesting daily - Week 17 growth),
• Tomato ‘Roma, Tornado and yellow bell’ (still harvesting every few days)
• Xmas Potatoes ‘ Maris Peer’ (1 weeks growth in tubs).

Please click here to see a slideshow of the progress of my seedlings mentioned in the list above.

The pictures below show my 3 back garden vegetable plots on 02.09.07 Week 21.

There comes a time in every vegetable gardens life where it needs a new look for the autumn months. This weekend was maintenance weekend, where out with the old and no longer needed and in with the newly sown seeds.

So I had to be brutal and out went my Chard Bright Lights and Perpetual Spinach because they were taking up precious autumn sowing space. I harvested the final spring greens from my Frostie Cabbages and then mulched Plot 2 with the spent compost from my potato containers. I raked to a fine till and then sowed 2 rows of Spring Hero Cabbages (to harvest April) and 4 rows of Advantage Cabbage (for all year round spring greens).

Plot 1 - My Chicory, Mini Leeks and Carrots are eight weeks into their new growth so it was time to add yes more carrots, another two rows as I want to harvest these in throughout the winter.

Also sown in Plot 1 were Pak Choi, Turnips and in filled the gaps in the chicory with radishes.

Plot 3 - My beans are going bananas and still producing a high enough yield for me to charge my work colleagues 50p per bundle of fresh organic beans, the 3 bundles sold pays for the next packet of seeds!

Removed the dwarf bean plants and mulched again with compost. Raked and sowed Lambs Lettuce (2 rows), 1 row of Radishes, Pak Choi (just in case the slugs get it in Plot 1) and Lettuce.

Xmas Potatoes have gone in - Variety Maris Peer, 3 buckets worth. Done.

Click here for my new Plot Plan August 2007.
Plot Plan August 2007