Trowel and Error

[wendy james]

I too was out planting tonight. Sweetcorn, yellow courgette and french beans. Tomatoes are due soon and there’s also a couple of jalapeño plants that are inside until the new wee greenhouse arrives.

I got a refund for the dome greenhouse, which I spent on a small wooden greenhouse in the Aldi sale. And I managed to repair the dome greenhouse!

[Mountain Goat]

The raised bed is finally built! And filled! And today I started planting (I got overexcited and picked up some seeds and small plants in the garden centre without actually looking into the best varieties etc, which was daft but I also have a load more room). I got one courgette plant and three pea plants (and made a "support" with prunings because I saw Monty Don do that the other week, and I don't have any supports - not sure if it will do the trick or not but, trial and error, and it's free...) and seeds for radish, spring onions, beetroot and rainbow chard (and I already had some fancy Italian seeds that are some sort of chicory). I followed your advice on sqm gardening Baa (although I haven't made physical divisions) and still have loads of unfilled squares I need to have a think about.

There is also some space on the left (once I've removed the excess platform) where I will probably grow some things in pots or gro bags but unlikely to happen this year.

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[baargain]

Ah I love it! It fits v nicely in that space.

I have planted out more peas and tied up the floppy ones. I also planted out sweetcorn, and various flowers at the allotment. I found some dahlias that didn't rot in the cold last winter, that is very surprising! I also weeded and began to earth up the early potatoes. As mentioned in the daily thread, I picked 1.250kg of asparagus

Then I had lunch, and weeded the whole back garden at home, then planted out turnips and spinach (does not look like spinach, looks like radish, and come to think of it, they're in v similar packets. Whoops. Need to resow spinach then). Then I added a new shelf into the big greenhouse, and rearranged ready to plant my tomatoes. I need to eat more pak choi before doing that, so that can wait til tomorrow!

Ahhh
Toiirrred

[Mountain Goat]

That's a lot of work!! And a lot of asparagus. I don't know how you do it, my house work is definitely suffering from the time spent on the garden.

I got a Parklife earworm as I was sowing seeds, just the "gives me a sense of enormous wellbeing" lyric, which was sweetly apposite.

[Cosmopolitan]

That's a lovely looking raised bed!

[baargain]

That's a lot of work!! And a lot of asparagus. I don't know how you do it, my house work is definitely suffering from the time spent on the garden.

I got a Parklife earworm as I was sowing seeds, just the "gives me a sense of enormous wellbeing" lyric, which was sweetly apposite.

that's an excellent earworm.

I just don't do any housework in summer or I do it when I am meant to be working, or only when people come to visit.

[absley]

That looks fabulous Goat,, well done. What's the sqm advice?

And Baa, you've done amazingly well. I promised a weekend to the house so have only repotted some courgettes I (mindlessly) sowed into too small pots.

It's the local horticultural society plant swap tomorrow eve... v excited to see what's that's all about!

Am hoping for rose geranium (I think that's what it's called, the one that smells amazing!), bay and maybe some veg. I have nothing to offer in return, but apparently that's okay.

[Mountain Goat]

Thank you!! The sqm or square foot thing is a method for intensive growing in raised beds, so instead of using rows, you mark it all off into 25cm squares. A square might hold 16 radishes, or 4 heads of lettuce, or one broccoli plant (there are RULES). And eg you thin with scissors rather than pulling and disturbing closely packed roots. I have a book, but have only really flicked at it.

Your plant swap sounds excellent, especially if you're not expected to contribute. I'm looking forward to hearing what swag you collect.

Oh, some of my salvias have been eaten pretty much to death, but it's just in one patch, others are fine. I've poked about the plants near them but haven't ascertained the cause. I have some neem oil spray but now am unsure about how safe it is so haven't actually used it yet, any thoughts? Oh and my vibernum roseum is doing well and is forming some lovely fat round flowerheads.

[baargain]

It might well be slugs, they're all over the place at the mo. I have to grow seedlings on quite big before they go into the garden, to give them a fighting chance against the slugs! Can you see what the damage looks like?

[Mountain Goat]

Yes, it could well be slugs, they've chewed right through the big leaves - there is also chewing on others elsewhere but the plants are growing faster than they're being chewed (at least for now). I've put in literally hundreds of seedlings because it's all new and have limited windowsills (and a lot of fat cat bottoms) so it was always going to have to be a bit of a survival of the fittest, but anything new now I'll try and grow on a bit.

[baargain]

Yeah, the juggling is tricky! Especially with lots of space to fill, and not many windowsills! I don't think neem oil works on slugs. You can use physical barriers around the small plants - broken eggshells, wool/cat fur, coffee grounds, copper (I am going to try copper scourers around my dahlias).

You'd be able to see the aphids if it was them, or the plants would be sticky and a bit curled/deformed. If it's more holes or just a missing plant and a tiny stump, then I would blame the slugs. Pigeons love seedlings too, so they can be a culprit, they might have a go on the broccoli.

[Mountain Goat]

I have PLENTY of spare cat fur. Yes, no stickiness and we are a pigeon wasteland. (by which I mean no pigeons around that I've seen, not a wasteland ruled over by our pigeon overlords, though I like that )

[baargain]

I had to build a crazed barrier around one of my squashes one year as it was getting HAMMERED. it was a joyous mix of all of the above

[Mountain Goat]

Decorative!

[absley]

Thank you!! The sqm or square foot thing is a method for intensive growing in raised beds, so instead of using rows, you mark it all off into 25cm squares. A square might hold 16 radishes, or 4 heads of lettuce, or one broccoli plant (there are RULES). And eg you thin with scissors rather than pulling and disturbing closely packed roots. I have a book, but have only really flicked at it.

That sounds v exciting, I shall investigate. Thank you.

Ww have so many snails, I've decided that the only option is to be sanguine.

[Mountain Goat]

The book I got is All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew, who was the original person who wrote about it in the 80s (?)

I spoke too soon about pigeons: an hour or so ago I looked out the window and a wood pigeon was strolling all over my lawn and beds, checking out the amenities.

[baargain]

You have planted. They will come. Like flying slugs.

[absley]

Baa!

My plant swap was fruitless - I hadn't factored in the fact that we always arrive 5 mins before talk starts and my assumption that the swap would be after the talk was not correct. Instead I've ended up promising some of my courgette seedlings to a tiny lady who put in a request via the chair, given none were provided by plant swap donors - that's obv the way to do it!

[Mountain Goat]

You have planted. They will come. Like flying slugs.

Why can't the goldfinches come instead.

That was not the plan, abs.

[absley]

Definitely not!

But things are brighter today, my neighbour has lent me her propogater so I can get my tomatoes and alpine strawberries going. Plus, more excitingly, I have a first borlotti bean sprouting.

We have goldfinches - I never knew how pretty they were.