What are you growing this year ?

[StokeySue]

Scullion you can eat most “ornamental” varieties, the point is that I understood that the garden centre at RHS Wisley was flogging it to me as one that would be ornamental until harvested, which is the case with most patio varieties, they are dual purpose which is handy when your garden is a roof about 5m x 2m

I will look for a different variety again next year, but growing from seed is hardly worth it when you want only 1 or 2 plants and only have one windowsill

[Herbidacious]

Maybe we should do a Wildies seed exchange. Good excuse for a spring (or earlier) meet up.

[StokeySue]

[suffolk]

Can someone remind me to take my reading glasses when I go into the veg patch ... I’ve found a lot more caterpillars than I thought there were

[Herbidacious]

I just found a load of snails having a party on my tomatoes I scraped my ankle nastily, in my haste to get the blighters off. Said (determinate variety) tomatoes are big and heavy and have leant over into a small trough that's below them. Ended up picking a load and have just roasted two large trays' worth.

[scullion]

[Herbidacious]

[scullion]

lovely, thank you.

[Herbidacious]

You can have the whole thing if you like, but I can't really bring it into town

[scullion]

i harvested my sweet potato plant this afternoon. if i can bring myself to face the derision i can post a photo of its pathetic crop.
i may just pop the top in water and use it as a slip next year.
to be fair it was growing in the shade, under the tomato plants - but it's still pathetic. one that i left in a small plant pot seems to have tubers of a similar size!

[Herbidacious]

Aw go on. I have still not checked to see if I have any. Do they need to flower? I think I got one flower. I will have a dig around when get back from Lisbon and will leave in the plants if there is nothing. Or will they just die anyway?

My sweet corn were inedible

Aubergines and peppers did well. I keep forgetting to pick achocha. They may be going a bit past it.

Cape gooseberries are going down well with colleagues at work

I need to do some serious gardening when I get back...

[Herbidacious]

Oh I looked up taking jostaberry cuttings. You are supposed to wait until the leaves have fallen off I think. Soon...

[scullion]

here you go - don't laugh too loudly, you might frighten the cats!

the lolly stick is for size reference.

[suffolk]

[Herbidacious]

I forgot to say, mine were similar. I left them in - not sure if they will survive the winter.

Seed catalogues are plopping onto my door mat like nobody's business at the moment. I have my eye on a new variety of blight resistant tomatoes from Suttons, amongst other things. I have some New Year's gardening resolutions relating to future purchases etc.
I am going to try hard not to grow as many this year. i.e. not 24 plants. Maybe 16...
I am not going to have more than two (mildew resistant) courgette plants.
I will make more of an effort with the peas. (Bad timings last year - sowed very late, not enough of them and they cropped while I was on holiday.)
would like to have another go at aubergines and peppers - but not red ones - after last year's success.

My inca berries are still going strong although obviously not flowering. I was going to cut some down and bring into the unheated lean to/put fleece jackets on them, but it's been so mild so far. I am keeping an eye on the weather forecasts.

I need to divide rhubarb asap. Some of it is coming up?!

Still toying with the idea of a poly 'tunnel'.

[Badger's mate]

Have got my seeds delivered, awaiting seed potatoes. Need to divide Welsh onions and pot up for plant sales. Will sow broad beans, chillies and banana shallots soonish. I tried growing the latter from some RTC supermarket bulbs. Nothing happened, so am going for seed this year. Usual suspects in seed order plus a few new things to try. Have forgotten to order cardoons again

We occasionally have a debate at home about whether I need another 5 pole allotment for asparagus, strawberries and a polytunnel. Luckily, the 'voice of reason' usually prevails.

[Herbidacious]

I'd love enough room for an asparagus bed...

I have created a spreadsheet for the plants I am ordering this year as last year I forgot about some of the things that I had ordered in January. and ended up with too many tomato plants. I have so far ordered 4 types of grafted tomatoes and 2 of peppers. I might grow some aubergines from seed. Will defintiely be gorwing them either way, though. They were really quite successful last year.

This years' oddities (novelties, I suppose) so far (on order) are samphire, chilean guava and a patio okra (?!)
I was very pleased to see, on Saturday, that the cocktail kiwi plant that I bought last year is not dead after all, as I had feared.

Oh and my jostaberry cuttings have started to root (in water), if anyone wants any. It's taken a few weeks.
I need to do something to make my strawberries more successful. Might buy some more blueberry plants this year too. Last year's did really well, then I forgot to water it. Not sure if it's survived Need to pot on dwarf fruit trees too.

[Badger's mate]

I bought a Chilean guava a couple of years ago, last year was its first proper harvest. They were lovely. The squirrels liked them too

[Herbidacious]

I thought I'd bought one and I neglected it for years, then potted it on. It grew and fruited. But the fruits were almost black and didn't taste nice, so am wondering if it really was a chilean guava...! (Might be a myrtle?) Anyway, I thought I'd try again.

edit: I think it is indeed a myrtle, looking at pictures. What a noodle!
I wonder what happened to the chilean guava, then...

[scullion]

[Herbidacious]

I did them for you, primarily, Scully! I think they have a way to go, but on the other hand, the roots are a lot longer than Sunday already.
They could form quite a pretty part of a flower arrangement

[scullion]

great, thank you, they look grand.

[Herbidacious]

I just noticed that you can now get biodegradable plant pots. They have a five year life, which may be more than plastic ones do. I shouldn't really need to buy any though, other than big ones. I always need more big ones, somehow... They don't seem to do big ones.

Is this a good idea? If you bought high quality plastic ones, they will last for years. Which is part of the problem but also the point. What's needed is a use of borken plastic ones. Crocks?

[suffolk]

I grew white sprouting broccoli this time for a change ... it's so delicious and so rarely found in the shops ... this is the first picking of this year's crop

[Herbidacious]

Very nice, Suffs.
I have, much less appealingly, perhaps, some cavolo nero in the garden that has been in for over a year. It was about to flower, so nipped the buds off. Probably time to consume though. I don't think the top leaves are too tough.

[suffolk]

You could try the flower buds in a stir fry Herbi

[Herbidacious]

Oooh! Too late. Although I am sure there will be more.

[scullion]

i have just planted a load of garlic (that had sprouted and was beginning to shrink - so i don't hold out much hope),
four cavolo nero plants that have been in very small pots since last spring (buried deep up the stems),
a row of rainbow chard,
a row of japanese salad (mustard) leaves
and a row of chervil.
this is only a metre square bed so only short rows but the soil is mainly worm compost from last year and should be very fertile - i've sown and planted quite close.

[Herbidacious]

I left last year's failed/rubbish garlic in (pots). I doubt it will do much better though, without being fed. I have two garlic plants coming up in my dwarf cherry pot!?!!

[Herbidacious]

My forced rhubarb is coming on nicely and is beautiful. Just picked some non-forced too which will cook later on today.

[Herbidacious]

Do people think leeks are worth growing when one has limited space? I have rediscovered how delicious they are recently.

[scullion]

i have a whole load of baby leek plants to pot on. they've grown from bulblets on a flower head of a leek from last year - i put them in a pot so they wouldn't just die.
they are definitely worth growing - you get all of the leaves for soup or stock rather than all being cut off before you get them. plus you can leave them in the ground through the winter and just lift what you need for one meal.

[Herbidacious]

Ok will have a go. I have one small raised bed I coudl grow them in.

[Herbidacious]

I have two small plants flowering - I could'nt remember what they are - bought last year but I think they are Honeyberries (Lonicera Kamtschatica). A bit early to be flowering. Hmm they grow up to 3m. Just about a foot at the moment so will just pot them on for now, while I think about where to put them. I suppose I to take a paint brush to them as no insects to speak of to pollinate at the moment?

"Another member of the Honeysuckle family, Honeyberry or Haskapberry is a fast-growing deciduous shrub grown for its blueberry-like fruit. Although the berries are small, they are great eaten raw straight from the bush and fun to graze with children. Most varieties have small green leaves and attractive stems. They are hardy to zone 3 and are easy-to-grow with no pest or disease problems. Fruit can be eaten raw or used in jams and jellies. They can also be frozen for later use. High in antioxidants and vitamin C. Haskap are superior to any other Honeyberries with sweeter, wild Blueberry flavour and larger, fleshier fruit. Extremely cold hardy. Two varieties are needed for pollination. Note: Lonicera caerulea var. edulis Turcz. ex Herder is a synonym of Lonicera caerulea L."

[scullion]

just sown a couple of short rows of sugar snap peas with overlaying catch crop of radishes.
i have rather more tomato plants germinated than i expected - especially the buffalo horn. if i had enough space to put them all i could start a canning factory!

[Herbidacious]

I only just got going with seeds this week. I have a lot of veg plants on order, so on the one hand don't want to grow too much from seed, on the other hand wondering if I should grow ore in case things don't turn up. My veg seed is pretty much limited to freebies from magazines though.

I also have a very limited supply of seed compost and don't have the ingredients to make my own. Plus limited room.

I have sown two small pots each of: tomatoes (moneymaker) chillies (anaheim), orange peppers. Will do aubergines today (two types). Also various flowers, yesterday. Sweet peas were sown about a week ago. Quite a lot have come up. Hoping the rest are just dragging their seed feet.

Was contemplating radishes. ( ) I have some free seed. Carrots? Leeks?

Peas and beans - will do those in a week or so. I do have some plants on order though. I should really be preparing ground and making supports.

I have a massive gardening to-do list. Potting on, fertilising, weeding...

Am going got have a go at growing the tomatoes down the bottom of the garden where that new, bare fence is. Strikes me as ideal. Support plus sunlight. (Although not sure exactly how good the latter is.) It will mean the patio is less annoyingly full which will please OH. We could do with some paving stones to put down there, but that is probably in the 'not a chance' category right now. (I did keeping asking OH to order them (he wanted to be the one to do this) two days ago...)
Only question is, will the hosepipe go all the way down there? (I am not going to do it entirely by watering can unless we have a hosepipe ban. I have one water butt down there which I will use though.) I can probably but the bits to extend the hosepipe if not in due course. Maybe things will be open and available by the time I need to do this?

Sorry. Thinking on screen a bit…

btw the hori hori is fantastic! Together with the auger, it has revolutionized my gardening.

[suffolk]

I've sown a row of Fordhook Giant chard today ... it's under a mini polytunnel type cloche to give it a bit of encouragement.

[scullion]

i sowed rainbow chard, (japanese salad leaves, chervil and garlic) a few days ago. i still have a few chard/spinach plants from last year that are just springing back into growth.
i may have picked about fifty quids worth of three cornered leek to make soup (and other stuff) - it's made no difference to the look of the garden.

[Herbidacious]

I am now really quite excited about growing tomatoes down the bottom of the garden. I don;t think I need paving stones for it to work. I don't suppose kids will come and pick them through the fence...

I sowed aubergines (2 types) and morning glories (glorys? 2 types) this afternoon. Running out of propagator space now.