vegetables
affair are hotting up in the veggie plot , and with the weather too . A bit of sunshine has seen things take off and it ’s now a job to keep up . I am still chiefly in the first half of the growing season , although I do have a few things grow aside in pots ready to plant out for the latter part of the summertime and into fall . My veg game is quite pocket-size , just three 8’x4′ invoke beds , so my aim this year has been to block it full of veggie and see what grows well and what does n’t .
This is the plot plan for the first one-half of the growing season . Blue is planted out , farm , with wildly varying degrees of success , purple is harvesting underway , other colours are not yet in the ground .
So , where to commence . seeded , not yet plant out .
Leeks – still little , still in their pots in the nursery . They are growing , just tiresomely easy . Whilst they are n’t yet pencil thick , I think I might plant them out anyway . raring with them now .
Salad – I ’ve leave these for too long in their modules , I must plant them out this weekend to give them a fortune to grow on a spot before the existing plant are exhausted .
Shallots – from seminal fluid , search a bit distressed . I think I will grow from bent next year .
Kale – a 2d one-half crop , these will go in once one of the current craw is done . I have way more seedling than I can use as these plants get quite big . I only need 2 or 3 .
Tromboncino – a courgette masquerading as a winter squash . I ’m looking forwards to these , they grow to 1 m retentive if allowed and can be stored over the winter like a squash vine , or you may eat like a courgette when small . I involve to wait till I harvest some garlic from the beds before I can plant these out . Wo n’t be long now , they are almost ready .
On the plot
Broad attic – the first sowings are now producing beans for harvest time . I ’m always a little discomfited by yield per unit plant with broad noodle . But they are so well-to-do to grow and one of the first things you’re able to implant out , salving those winter growing blues . The second sowings are pod up too , but not yet quick to harvest . I am a picayune impatient , I ’d like to toil them up and plant out the next crop , choi sum and some carrots . Sigh , carrots . More on that later on .
Beetroot – the first sowings are a bit scrap , I imagine I planted them out too small and they have failed to establish . The 2d sowings went out liberal , and later too which probably made a difference . Some are a fiddling pecked looking at , my error for not net them . No harvest yet .
Salad – motley result . The carmine leaf have been fabulous , supporting frequent pickings of out leave , they are still going strong . Others have run off , in particular the rockety - types , too sunny and ironical for them perhaps .
French bean – set out to flower now , these beans are a dwarf variety , ‘ velour ’ , and the plant are certainly modest , perhaps 1′ tall . I planted these out in a spot where some rupture peas were supposed to go , they did n’t grow very well .
Sweet pea – these have been a joy , and have a few weeks left to run for I cogitate . My first year grow these in an organised way , they were sown in October last year and planted out in March . I have daily flowers from the two wigwam I have . I will do the same again next yr I think , but will be more discerning in my choice of seed – this years were just whatever was left in the end of season sale at the garden kernel .
Uchiki kuri – a small squash , this is grown as a climber , I have planted a clustering out around the alkali of the sweet peas , the idea being that they will grow up the canes as the sweet pea are blend in over . I will plant runner beans on the other sweet pea plant wigwam , I have n’t have round to planting them yet .
edible bean , runners and borlotti . Both circle of bean have achieved the summit of their available support , so I will nip out the tips .
Onions ‘ electrical ’ . Grown from sets started in modules last year . They are telling me they are quick as the foliage has collapse . They do n’t look very big , but then I was plan for intermediate size of it given the spacing I found them at . I shall pull them up and dry out out this weekend .
Carrots . Or chuffing carrots as they shall henceforward be know . The first 4 ( yes 4 ! ) sowings of huff carrot produced 3 unfrequented plants , dashing my hope of former carrot . I think the first two sowings yield to the very cold springiness weather , but the latter two ? Not a scooby doo . Slugs , want of water , fickle source vegetable gods ? Not to be outstrip by the chuffing carrots , I have sown some more , but this fourth dimension in paper tubes in the glasshouse . jubilantly , I can report they are germinate well . My plan is to imbed them out in their tubes when there is a estimable curing of foliage . I should do another mint I call back as I have quite a chip of huff carrot planned for the 2d half of the time of year . Chuffing carrots …
Parsnips . misfortunate germination for the first couple of sowings , I had another bash with middling ( but only just ) safe results . I have a few plants , possibly enough for Christmas day . Pfft .
yellow turnip – another pesky ascendent vegetable . I sowed these direct in mid - May , there are a few plants now , beginning to establish a footing . I think this might be the last hurrah for swede on my veg plot – they occupy place for very special value yield wise . I could be growing something else with a higher yield that I savour eating more .
Garlic – I am very glad with my first attempt to grow garlic . I have some develop in sacks which I have begun to harvest , and a couple of square toes on the plot , which should also be ready quite shortly . I ’ll have a crevice at storing the soft - cervix type and will have to habituate the hard - neck opening . I think I have that the right elbow room around . I ’ll by all odds be get this again next twelvemonth – so easygoing – plonk in the footing in November , leave alone till June .
Rhubarb – my lone crown has established well this year , we have had a ripe few pickings , with one or two more feasible I call up . I would acquire more if I had more place .
pea ‘ blauwschokker ’ . The first sowing are cropping now , with the second sowing not far behind . So far I have harvested as rather decorative regal mange - tout rather than letting them pod up for peas . I suppose I ’ll do that for the duration as I desire that infinite for later crops .
Onions , from seed . A fail for this yr . Not certain why . I mean I have one bunch which might get to something , but generally they have been a waste of blank , literally .
Squash ‘ Honey Boat’Still small plants , but now out on the secret plan , quick to climb up the bit of old trellis I have install for the function .
Courgette ‘ Ambassador ’ . I have planted just two out , a oversupply of courgette being something I ’d care to avoid this year ! They are growing on quickly , I ’ll need to learn they do n’t swamp the squash which is just next door .
Potatoes – earlies . The first earlies I imbed in bucket at the oddment of March are now lead off to crop . I turned out two buckets of ‘ Lady Chrystl ’ last weekend , very nice they were too . I have two form of second earlies , ‘ Nicola ’ and ‘ Charlotte ’ , but they wo n’t be ready for a few weeks yet . I had 34 buckets in total , so I am looking forward to several months of new potato .
murphy – briny . The ‘ Sarpo mira ’ are growing on strong in the big liberation . They wo n’t be ready until the fall , but they seem to be doing well . I embed a few beans in the superlative of some of the sacks , with the thought that they would clip well before the white potato were ready . They are doing OK , but are getting a little swamped by the potato haulms . I will have to hunt down around in the forest of stems for noggin when they are quick .
I also have Lycopersicon esculentum and chillies on the go , which I am overlay one by one . The love apple are goingpretty well , view , but the chillies are far behind where I hoped they ’d be at this prison term .
That ’s the tour round off the plot , a somewhat interracial base , but generally I ’m pretty happy with how it is going this year , my first right organise growing time of year .
How are thing on your vegetable game ?
I ’ll be back next month with another update from my back garden plot .
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