Today I will mostly be growing

Today I was mostly planting my potato tubers which have been chitting on the spare bedroom windowsill since 24th February. I have chosen 2 varieties this year, the first is the classic new potato ‘charlotte’ which is reliable and tasty and I think you can’t beat its taste when put with butter and mint. This variety takes 12 - 16 weeks to grow so I will be harvesting between 21st June and July 20th 2008.

The second variety I have chosen is Lady Christl, which I haven’t tried before. It is an extra early and is a well flavored variety and I chose it as it is ready to eat in 10 weeks which is 7th June 2008.

I have planted 5 tubers in each pot. I have 2 pots of Charlotte and 3 pots of Lady Christl.

Please click on this link if you would like to know How To Grow Potato’s In Pots.

Click here to find out how my potatoes grew last year and what type of harvest I had.

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

Another weekend, another Sunday roast, this time with family and all vegetables and potatoes courtesy of My Veggy Plot! As you can imagine it all went down rather well and I received no complaints, just compliments on the freshness of the veg.

Veg Harvested:-

• Runner Beans (Red Rum and White Lady),
• Carrots (James Scarlet Intermediate),
• Potatoes from the buckets (Desiree),
• Cabbage heart (Frostie).