Compost Watch 2009

5 Weeks have passed since my last post however I have been busy. I have been composting.

I have succeeded in achieving one of my new years resolutions in buying a cheap compost bin so I have setup a separate page on my blog dedicated to my quest for the finest and richest of all the mucks!

If you cannot contain your excitement, please head on over to the ‘Compost Bin‘ to find out how to setup your own compost bin, what to add and more about my project.

For the past two years on my vegetable plot, I have never quite got around to sorting out a compost bin. This is why I urge you to setup your own compost bin as think how much compost I could have made in 2 years! Go for it this year, setup your own compost bin and you could be saving money and recycling your kitchen and garden waste which is good for the environment and your wallet!

Kitchen and Garden waste = Free compost, that sounds like a great credit crunch idea to me.

Where do we start?

1. Introduction to my Compost Bin
2. How to build your own wooden compost bin.
3. Buying your own compost bin.
4. What can I put into my Compost Bin?
5. My Compost Watch Project – updated every week with photos and contents.

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• Compost Watch 2009

Butternut Squash and Sunflowers

Butternut Squash

I am very happy to see some small butternut squashes forming on the 2 plants which survived my over-watering. (see above pictures)

In February when I was keen to get sowing, I hadn’t read up on how to grow squash by the time I put the first seeds into the pots and constantly kept watering it wondering why no seedling were appearing. Then someone told me they rot in soil that is cold and wet. Thats exactly what mine were doing without me releasing it.

So in March when the weather warmed up slightly I tried again and didn’t water the hell out of them and to my surprise they survived, needless to say I have nurtured them very carefully ever since.

Sunflower Competition – Results

And the results of the annual household Sunflower competition are…. I lost and my other half won. My sunflowers shirvelled up in the heat and my other half’s sunflowers have flourish with one flowering and the other just about to. You win some and loose some!

Heres the sunflower lineup: (click on the photo for larger picture)

I am hoping to harvest the sunflower seeds when the flower-head dies to start again next year!

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• Butternut Squash and Sunflowers

The Eden Project and an evening with Bill Bailey

Last week for an early 30th birthday present my boyfriend and I visited The Eden Project and then saw Bill Bailey (comedian) live at The Eden Project in the evening. It was brilliant, even the sun shined for most of the day and Bill Bailey was as ever hilariously funny.

Its the first time I have been to The Eden Project and I was stunned by its size, scale and beauty. The main attractions are the 2 biomes, one is the Tropical Rainforest and when they say tropical temperatures they mean it! it was very hot and humid inside as we walked through the giant banana trees and waterfalls, it was brilliant and the second biome was the Mediterranean climate of UK, Europe, California and South Western Australia concentrating on the arid and drought loving plants.

Other exhibits include the worldwide vegetable garden and allotment which put my beetroot to shame, some fabulous sculptures, educational centre, Monster of Waste, sweetpea garden, plant and gift shop.

I highly recommend visiting The Eden Project as it is superb what they have done to transform an old clay quarry into a highly acclaimed ecological tourist attraction.

11.07.08

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• The Eden Project and an evening with Bill Bailey

Week 20 – 29.06.08 Plot Update Report

Its been a busy few weeks with revising for my RHS Horticulture exam which I took on the 26th June and after getting lost driving around Chelmsford for an hour I finally made it to Writtle College to sit my exam and it was ok, fingers crossed for the results out in Aug/Sept.

As for the vegetable plot everything’s producing very well.

First up is my very first Dwarf Borlotto Bean:

Butternut Squash’s (Hawk F1) which I thought was never going to emerge from the soil in their pots, two eventually did and have now been planted out in to Plot 3 and are growing on well.

My Runner beans have finally made it through the soil on my second sowing away from the slugs in Plot 1:

My Tenderstem Broccoli is flowering – all very pretty but not good for eating it will be very stringy now so onto the compost heap.

Finally in my opinion the most understated vegetable I have grown this year is the humble Mange Tout. They have produced more pods than my peas and just keep on producing them. Also they do not cook up slimy like the supermarket ones either, they are crunchy or tender (depending on how you like them) and a lovely accompaniment to broad beans.

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• Week 20 Plot Update Report 29.06.08

Tag, you’re It

If your not of-ay with the blogging term ‘tagged’ its like of a game of IT or tag in the blogosphere and I’ve been tagged by a fellow gardening blogger.

This is the first time I have been tagged and its fun seeing what other people have put for their random facts about themselves,

So thanks to Greenforks for tagging me and heres the rules:-

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six people at the end of your post linking to their blog.
Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Heres for the interesting bit – 6 random facts about myself:-

• I love heavy metal music,
• I would like to own a small-holding with enough room to have a very big polytunnel and lots of vegetable plots in Scotland,
• I would like to setup my own business,
• I have a degree in Environmental Science but have a job in Accounts,
• I live with my other half – Colin and 2 entertaining cats – Dave and Ted,
• I’m not a fan of hot food and I don’t like chili.

Heres the next bloggers I’m going to tag, I read their blogs regularly through Google Reader and I recommend their sites for a good read:-

Gardenopolis,

Multiveg’s Plot Ramblings,

In the Toads Garden,

Soilman’s Allotment Blog,

My Darlington Allotment,

Vegmonkey and the Mrs

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• Tag you’re it

Perseverance is the Key

Perseverance = Determination to do something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

I was looking around my fruit and vegetable section of my back garden when the word perseverance popped into my head. Let me explain…

Redcurrant Bush

I bought the above redcurrant bush from Wilkinson’s end of season sale in March 2007 for £2.99. The first summer a few leaves appeared but no currants and it soon turned back into a few twigs again for the winter. I was disappointed to say the least. Looking back though I shouldn’t have expected much for the price. It did cross my mind to get rid of it however I decided to put it in a corner of the garden and forget about it.

When I bought it I repotted it but since 2007 it hasn’t had any more compost, only rainwater and has been mulched by moss. Somehow this year it has produced currants for the first time as well as lots of leaves. I am ecstatic. I shall be watching every moment waiting for them to turn red now, thats if the local bird life don’t get them first!

Broad Beans – The Sutton

My lovely broad beans were sown in November 2007 directly into the plot. I knew I was taking a bit of a gamble and had read a lot of message boards that said frost may kill them off over-winter. I always like to give things ago especially as the plot was looking a bit bare I wanted something to retain my attention through winter and spring.

I have loved growing broad beans for their tall stature (and The Sutton is a dwarf variety), sweet scented and unusual flowers, watching the bees pollinate them and then the growth of the beans with furry pods.

After 29 weeks (approx 7 months) of perseverance, here are my broad beans:

Lettuce – Balmoral

Lettuce has always been a struggle against the slugs for me. A year ago I would not be hand picking slugs off my plots (I was still a bit squeamish then) in the early morning before work, but now I am, just to get some god damn lettuce! It certainly works and gives the lettuce all day in the sunshine/shade to grow some more strength for the nights attack of slugs.
Here are my slow growing ball head lettuces (slowly growing out those slug holes):-

Parsnip – Countess F1

I had heard that the germination of parsnip seed was problematic. However when did that ever stop me from trying something? I’m quite proud that the first time I attempt to grow parsnips (straight into the plot), that they are growing great guns. I have two rows 7 weeks apart on growth. First row sown on 9th Feb, second row on 30th March 2008.

Spinach – Tiraz F1

Of course there’s always a few vegetables that have a mind of there own like Spinach. With every other vegetable a bit of warm weather perks them up no end but with spinach its bolts and runs for the hills! Typical its taken 8 and 13 weeks to grow to a few small leaves and then they start to flower and are useless.

My spinach has bolted, so I will persevere and pull them out and sow some more or buy a non-bolting variety or I might even sow some Perpetual Spinach (the larger leaves) which are cut and come again and keep going all summer without bolting.

Gardening and vegetable growing just wouldn’t be the same without perseverance.

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• Perseverance is the Key