The New Year has Arrived

It is late February and just as you think about the new growing season this happens. Snow and freezing weather forecast.

Indoors I have lettuce, Cauliflowers , Savoy cabbage, Marigolds and Natsturtians in cells. The Marigolds, Cauliflower and Cabbages have sprouted.

There are Leeks sown in the greenhouse which are not showing yet. The Blueberries are starting to bud.

Today the plan was to sow Tomatoes and Peppers indoors. Well despite the weather I think I shall go ahead. However I am a bit worried about the Romesco Cauliflowers because I have sown all the seeds and I cannot afford to lose more than a couple and they are all a bit leggy.

What will the New year Hold

Well last year went and we were left with some leeks, swiss chard, mini brussels, kale and an overgrown strawberry bed.

The Strawberry bed has been dug up and cleared then replanted with 50 plants ready for this summer. The Swiss chard and kale has been ravaged by our ducks and the hens. We had the last of the leeks which were very thin but ok for stews.

So far we have one 3 mitre strawberry bed, a 1 mitre bed of Chard that hopefully will recover when it warms up a bit.

With less time this coming year we have decided to limit what we grow to vegetables that need minimal work.

The list for the vegetable beds 2018 is

• Butternut Squash and Patty Pan Squash.
• Yellow Courgettes and Pumpkins for Halloween.
• Dwarf French beans - I bought the wrong seeds.
• Leeks.
• Cauliflower Romanesco.
• Swiss Chard.
• Carrots.
• Beetroot, Lettuce. radish.
• Mini Pop Sweet Corn.
• Potatoes in three tubs.

In the Greenhouse and Patio.

• Tumbler Tomato
• Tigerella Tomatoes
• Sweet peppers, Nardello and Tangerine Dream.
• Aubergine.

The Rhubarb is just breaking the surface, Gooseberry and Blackcurrants are all pruned along with our seven apple trees.

October is here

October has arrived and I appear to have missed September, so to recap quickly. September is the month when a lot has finished or just coming to the end. 

The Pumpkins ripened and have now been give;to the grandchildren. Our butternut squash have been picked and have ripened. We had 8 this year and there are only 4 left so next year they get an extra bed.

The courgettes were hanging on but by late September they were not really growin so I harvested what I could and dug up the rest. This year I picked 104 apples from our young trees, these are in the green house on racks ready to fill the fruit bowl while the ones with bruises are used for Rambo our pony.

I still have leeks, carrots and Swiss chard growing as well as the brassicas, cauliflower,cabbage, Curly Kale and sprouts. The sprouts are non existent and will go to the chickens. They are still under nets but I think I am safe to put the nets away now the butterflies have gone.

The strawberry bed needs sorting out and once the leaves have died back I will be able to see how crowded it is and thin the plants out. 

Next year I am cutting back on the varieties I grow. Peas, field beans and broadbeans will be given the heave ho because of the space they take for the crop they produce. Next year more butternut squash and another squash variety because they keep well and they all get used. Beetroot, lettuce, chard, carrots and leeks are still in the plans as well as pumpkins for the kids. Courgettes are planned but the Crystal lemon cucumbers have gone. They were productive but only Sue ate them.

I will grow two new varieties of sweet peppers but the Chillis will be missed off because we have bags of them frozen from this year. Two types of tomato are planned, tigerella as the main crop and some tumblers for three baskets. This year we just had too many, froze them, gave them away etc.

Just back from Wells next the Sea

Here is my harvest today, I did have some yellow Marrows but they went to the chickens. Squash and Pumpkins are coming along with the pumpkins changing colour.

Here are the Cherry toms , Garden Perle, from the hanging baskets, Tigerella toms from the patio and greenhouse, the yellow Courgettes , Crystal Lemon Cucumbers and three Chilli.

Producing lots more

We have been away and we have come back to Tomatoes,ripe and ready to pick. The yellow courgettes have slowed a bit but last week we had a couple of yellow marrows and this week we have some more normal sized ones to cut.

There are still Beetroot ready and the first carrots were pulled up today. The potato tubs were emptied last week, there was not many but enough for a couple of meals per tub. Swiss Chard is still producing and the Leeks are looking good for this time of year.

The Pumpkins are about 10" across but still green and growing, I have three so the grandchildren can have one each. The butternut squash is doing better than last year , I have quite a few and some are nearly at full size as seen in Lidl. I am growing Crystal Lemon Cucumbers again this year but outside and they are producing lots of round yellow fruits.

The apples on the trees are starting to swell and it looks like a good crop again this year.

Keep on picking

At this time of year there is little to plant apart from the odd lettuce. Main job is weeding which I hate and picking veg that I like. Swiss Chard is continuous and extra goes to the chickens.

Courgettes

Pumpkin

Pumpkin

Courgettes are difficult to keep up with especially after we have been away in the motorhome. I have four pumpkins this year, all different sizes at present but they should be good for the kids Halloween. The butternut squash plants are trying to take over the garden but the actual squash are only just swelling.

Butternut Squash

Crystal Lemon Cucumber

Crystal Lemon cucumbers are outside this year and after a slow start the fruits are swelling and a few are ripening in the sun. Next to them are the French beans which I continue to pick and freeze. The mini corn are about four foot tall but there are no signs of any cobs yet which is disappointing.

Mini Corn

Peas harvested

The  peas were harvested yesterday and I cleared the ground to transplant some lettuce and some spare chillis and peppers from the greenhouse.

 

We also had a visit from a Grass Snake this morning.

Tigerella Tomatoes outside

Yellow Courgettes

Pumpkins

French Beans

Cherry Bomb Chilli

Pumpkin

Squash

Crystal Lemon Cucumbers just starting to fruit

Beetroot