Topic: The Lush Gardener

[Kendra]

Depending on the crop in question, what about pots on a shelf?  I'm thinking like a window-box of herbs, only perhaps hung from a fence at a convenient level.

 - Indoor pots on a shelf always work but you have to judge if there is enough sun. Also you have to be careful that they don't become pot bound which stifles the plant after a while.

- outdoor everything works really, again depending on wind direction too. We are open at all sides to the elements - but only certain plants work best at the front of the house which is north facing. I did do a pallet standing upright a few years back, with soda litre bottles cut down and holes made so that I could use those like a plant pot - I tied them to the pallet with long tie-bands. But I had to watch them like a hawk because the water either poured out through them or they got too wet. A fine balance.

Would love to see what you decide on :)

The flowers look lovely, Kendra.

I think daffodils are really resilient. They seem to grow around here every year without really any care given to them.

Thank you persephone

I do love daffodils, they are utterly resilient. We do get a lot in other parts of the garden but those now are sadly growing without flowering, so new bulbs will have to be planted.

Oh that is a great idea, both of your ideas are great. I will check into it and see what I can come up with. Maybe a little late this year but I can start on building for next year.




Thank you both. I am bookmarking that YouTube channel. 

Let me know how you get on.
That channel is brilliant.
I love watching the stuff he does.
He is Welch based I think so close enough to my own climate that his tips with soil and growing help immensely.

:) Enjoy

[Envious]

The daffodils may just need to be thinned out. If it's an established patch, the bulbs may now be crowding each other underground. You can dig them out, separate, and immediately replant.

[Kendra]

I didn't even think of that. Envious thank you.
I will definitely give it a go.

Always learning ... it's why I love gardening.

[Kendra]

End of April

The end of April in the garden, polytunnels and greenhouses look very different now. A lot of the seedlings have grown enough to be planted out. And other seedlings are just coming through so that we will hopefully have a nice crop of succession sowing. That means we should really have a nice rotation of crops when one is at say a middle stage of it's growth, another similar plant will be at the beginning stage. It helps when we want to have crops throughout the season but it also means that when it comes time to harvest, it's not back breaking work trying to get everything in. I had half an hour break between clients yesterday morning, so made a video clip to post here for you. So that you could see how plants in the polytunnel and the green house are doing. It's about seven o'clock in the morning so there is a beautiful coastal mist as well. I apologise if it seems I am being lazy with using videos instead of always taking photos. I do take some but by the time I get a chance to post them, life in the garden usually has changed drastically.

[Autumn52]

beautiful

[Kendra]

Planting in ...

Remember those broad beans ... It's now early May and the broad beans are looking incredible. I've begun pinching off the top so that the plant stops growing upwards and puts all its energy into growing the beans. The amount of flowers that are growing on them is spectacular. You might have seen some in the last video because the photographs really don't do them justice at all. Unfortunately, what happened last year when the flowers went all black as they are supposed to, I did not know they were meant to do that, and ended up convinced my poor broad-beans had some nasty blight so chucked them out. This year, will thankfully be different. I am looking forward to a decent crop.

Planting in ... My beloved mother-in-law had to help with the planting in this weekend, as still a bit on the hard side bending the leg. We got a lot of the red and green lettuces in, but typical I didn't get a photo of those per se but I did take one of the polytunnel itself, to show the difference in just the past two months. The lettuces we can basically plant anywhere at all. I call them fillers. I still have another 6 in the greenhouse but we do go through quite a lot of lettuce during the summer months and sometimes by the time we get to the shop to buy any, they never look great. Growing your own is far better, in my opinion. We will use them as cut and come lettuce. Clipping some as we need from the different plants instead of taking an entire head. That way, the roots are still getting the nutrients the plant needs, it's all still growing and we get to continue to use them. But these wee looking stalks are the garlic bulbs. The aroma from these as we were planting them in was incredible. It was like cutting in to a fresh clove of garlic. We now have two rows of garlic. The onions will go in as soon as we find the time to do it.

The budding sage from the video ... I am still speechless about my sage. It has now flowered and just looks so beautiful. The other sage plants that I have in various parts of the garden are all flowering as well. I can't wait for them to open up, because the ones in the polytunnel did and they are glorious. M.i.L had to help me tie them up today as they were after getting long and floppy. One of my French bean plants was taking quite a shine to it and was sending out one of it's tendrils to hang on to. So we tied a string of twine around the sage. It also freed up a lot of area about both plants, which we can now use to plug up with anything from radishes, to beetroot or lettuces. You can make out the buds on the sage in this photo. And this is the sage now, after being tied up. But aren't they simply beautiful. The scent that just lingered every time we moved some of the stalks was delicious. If you aren't growing sage, you really should. So yum!!

And this is how incredible Polytunnel One is looking at the moment.

[Kendra]

Pinching Out

Once you start planting in, you invariably have to begin pinching out as well. The tomato plants that were put into the polytunnel last weekend have come on lovely but it also means that for them to grow, we have to slowly pinch off the true leaves at the very base - I usually do it before I plant in, but my mother-in-law leaves them. It just means a little more work but when the branches start forming you will always get those side shoots springing up inbetween. I recently watched a video where the gardener described it as the vertical growth of the main stem. You are basically trying to protect that and encourage that stem to grow. There will of course be branches that stem off of the main one, those are fine - it is the ones inbetween those branches and the vertical stem that need to be pinched out. Typical I did not bring my phone with me this morning when I was watering everything and pinching out where I saw it was necessary, but there will be others to do - plenty others and I will get photos then for you. By pinching these out, you are merely encouraging what is already there to do it's bit for the plant and stopping the nutrients and water going to unwanted areas. This means the flowers and subsequently the tomatoes will come on a lot quicker. A trick I learned last year that I know we had never done before was to start removing the lower branches of the tomato plants as soon as all the tomatoes of that plant are out. By doing this you are again diverting all the nutrients directly to the growing of the tomatoes and not into lower leaves that the sun can't even get to anymore. Some leaves are left, because photosynthesis (my biology teacher would be proud) has to happen! Of course this is that horrible time of year when everything is flourishing -- including aphids! And I hate aphids. We have what we call 'Spittle-bugs' here, I don't know what they are called elsewhere, but they leave what looks like a glob of spit on your plant. This glob however is not as harmless as it seems. It is in fact eggs and when they hatch, they start munching on your crop. Last summer I was out with a spray gun with a water/garlic and chilli pepper solution to spray the lavender which was destroyed in them every single morning. It was very much like a losing battle for two solid weeks but I was persistent and determined to get rid of them before the lavender began to flower and thankfully I did. This morning however, I discovered 5 globs of spit on my broad-bean plants. When they are that sparse you can hose them down vigorously to get rid of them, but I will make up the solution again later today to give the broad-beans a good spray. I was sceptical at first that the solution would work but it did the trick last year, hopefully it will this year. The broadbeans are at that crucial stage too where the flowers are dying back now to start the bean pod. I definitely don't want any aphids near those. Have a lovely week and I promise when I am pinching out any of the plants to get photos for you to see. Happy gardening.

[Oniya]

Capsaicin is one of several chemicals that evolved as an insect defense for plants - caffeine and nicotine are two others.  Don't know if the garlic adds anything to the mix, but the chili-pepper is definitely an active ingredient.

[Kendra]

I've been collecting coffee grounds so I might spread those about the base of the broad beans too.
Thanks for that Oniya.
I should have learned the science behind it.

[Oniya]

I'm not sure what coffee grounds would do to the soil pH (or if that matters with broad beans) - might need to look into that first.  I have heard that they'll keep outdoor cats from using your flower beds as litter boxes.

[Kendra]

I know they're good for keeping slugs away and the foxes around here don't like it much either.

Maybe if I made a spray bottle with cold coffee and chilli-pepper?
coffee doesn't get a chance to go cold in our house is the only thing

I will check that out, I didn't even think about the pH levels being affected by the coffee grounds.

[Flower]

I recall my mother in law using coffee grounds to influence the color of her hydrangeas. ☺️

[Kendra]

That is very interesting Flower, I didn't know you could do that.
Fascinating.
Isn't nature wonderful.

[Kendra]

Early Harvest

Parsnips

I suppose it all depends on how you look at it. I planted a few parsnips before winter in the polytunnel and decided it was time they came up. Some were great and very easy to pull up, while others made me recall that old story 'The Giant Turnip'. But none of mine were that big at all. I have been watching a wonderful English gardener Carol Klein, I have one of her growing vegetable books and so was delighted when I saw on Youtube that there are quite a few television shows with her in them. She has the most delightful cottage garden and throughout it, she has tables. Now at first I thought well, that's a nice idea if you wanted to sit with a cuppa - but it is more than that. She's been gardening for over 40 years and so has tables strategically placed throughout her garden so she can wash, cut, sow, plant from a decent height and close to where she is - instead of having to walk all the way back to the green house. Our garden isn't huge but it is big enough that I felt having two storage areas for gardening tools would be beneficial. In front of our polytunnels is a very old, almost rotten with the rain, round table. More times than not it will only get use when the sun is at its best but not any more.

After I pulled up the parsnips yesterday, I washed the worst of the dirt from them inside the polytunnel before
bringing them out to the table. There I snipped the greenery from them and gave them another wash.
Because quite frankly, it was so much easier and better to do it outside there than inside the kitchen.

I love how bizarre homegrown vegetables look. We get so used to the uniformity of a shop bought carrot or parsnip, that when we are faced with the funny Harry Potter mandrake looking vegetables - we often have no idea what to do with them. So first time vegetable gardeners do be aware that your vegetables might be ... ugly seems too strong a word, but no matter how they look - the difference is in the taste. They will or should, taste crisp, sweet and delicious. Doesn't that seriously look like a baby mandrake?

All the greenery gets cut and put into a nearby compost bin and at the end of an evening,
we bring all of these to the big compost patches we have to tip them in. We have two
different buckets, so it pays to pay attention. One is for weeds and the other is for the
compost. It would never do to get them mixed up. Certainly wouldn't want weeds coming
up all over the garden next year (more than they already do).

By the time I got them into the house, there was nothing really left to do but slice them up and cook them.
I made a delicious and very easy to make Chicken stew.
I've left the recipe down below if anyone was interested.
There is just something so rewarding about taking a vegetable from the garden and
having it with your dinner that night.

Chicken Stew

I use a casserole dish when putting it in the oven. Preheat your oven to 200C / 400F / gas mark 6 I often use the cheapest cuts of chicken like the thighs or drumsticks for this But again, you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. We use the corn fed free range chickens. Depending on the size of your family really. I use about 500g of chicken meat which does three adults. -Cut chicken into slices or chunks. (I prefer slices but not thin slivers - it just cooks faster). but I also use equal amounts of carrots and parsnips. So about 500g of each - sliced length ways 250g of baby / new potatoes - sliced (not thin) 2-3 medium white/yellow onions - cut very thinly Fresh thyme - ours was flowering beautifully, so cut some from my mother-in-laws closed garden instead. 1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and sliced. bit of salt & pepper I use about 420millilitres of chicken broth (had to go to google - I think that is  1 3/4 cups) give or take. 180 Mls of apple cider vinegar (3/4 cup) I brown off the chicken in a skillet or frying pan. When that is happening, boil your kettle to make your broth. Place your onions, carrots, and parsnips into your casserole dish. Once the chicken has been browned, place them on top. Toss in your sliced potatoes, season and then pour in your acv and broth. Put your lid on and bang it into your oven. Honestly, it only needs about 25 minutes but it is so delicious. The meat is tender and soft, the veg are slightly sweet but not overly so thanks to the acv and cooking apples. I know it sounds mad to have apple with chicken when most people put it with pork. Just give it a try. Hope you enjoy.

[Autumn52]

That sounds delicious. I will have to try that with my next menu planning. Thank you for all the great advice too. I never have considered putting apples with chicken, but it does sound delicious. Keep up the good work.


*hugs if that's okay*

[Kendra]

Thanks Autumn, honestly I was the exact same.
I think I must have actually refused to try this recipe out for a few months on the grounds that no one in their right mind would put chicken and apple together. But it does work.

Hugs are always ok.
*huggles returned* if that is ok too.
:)

[Kendra]

R & R
aka Rats & Rabbits

Every country garden like my own has to deal with bugs, vermin and critters coming in and stealing our vegetables. But it happens also in the city, I remember waking up to the noise of bins once upon a time clattering outside only to see a fox trying to forage for food there. Snails, slugs, caterpillars live in the cities and towns just as much as the country! As do rats although I am not quite so certain about the rabbits and hares. When I was young I remember reading the Beatrix Potter books and feeling so desperately sorry for the baby rabbits who couldn't get any of Mr. McGregor's cabbages or what Peter went through just to eat something. I'm most definitely not sorry for fictional bunnies any longer, especially when real ones are decimating my polytunnel crops. At first I thought it was a rat after getting in to the tunnel and deciding to have a taste of my chard. I should have known then to be honest, it was being far too picky whereas any rat previously has gone for root veg like the carrots, parsnips or even the fresh broad bean. One side of the polytunnel looked like it got wiped out, and at the top of the tunnel was a nibbled hole - right through the plastic and scattered around it were the remnants of my chard. I was devastated. Typical that I had no rat trap at the time, so I asked the SO to pick a few up on his way home from work. He didn't get back home till late so never got a chance and other things happened so that by the time I went down to the polytunnels again the following morning to water them, the 'critter' had gotten back inside - only this time it finished off all the beetroot on the other side of the polytunnel, and all the chard in the other polytunnel too. There was a lovely burrowed hole where it had gotten in. And I still believed it was a rat, although no rat before had ever left remnants behind. But at the escape routes again, were the remnants of the devastation the varmint had caused. That afternoon found me up at our local farmer / Co.Op store buying 4 large rat traps, and after getting my fingers all but snapped off me trying to set them - I let the SO do it instead. Our rats enjoy the delights of peanut butter. Adore it in fact, so the following morning when I went to water the polytunnels and discovered that my parsnips and carrots had been attacked and the rat traps were untouched, I knew it was something other than a rat. It had to be. My SO strimmed down the weeds that had grown up around the polytunnels - the warmth and humidity we've been having means they grow like crazy but which also means it becomes a nesting ground. Our dogs couldn't get back there as the nettles and other weeds were simply too high - but now they can. I plugged up the holes the varmint made with scraps of wood, filled in the burrowed holes and gathered up loose dog hair that my two border collies shed all over the house. I tied it up with bits of string and left it strategically near the old entrance points  - so that whatever beastie was getting in would now smell the dogs for sure and be afraid, very afraid. It's been two days since then and nothing else has been taken thank goodness, but what an absolute pain! All my lovely chard and beetroot completely gone! I've decided that when I get a chance to sow some more seeds that I will leave them grow instead in the green house, it might just be a little safer and wouldn't want to risk a sweet toothed pesky wabbit getting in again.

I didn't want to leave on such a devastating note, so thought it might be nice to show you a few of the lovelier images of the polytunnels now. The french beans are winding their way upwards and need to be trained now to move across the arch ways that I built. They are looking gorgeous. The broad beans on both sides of the polytunnels are doing very well. Every morning I return to wash the spittlebugs away until finally yesterday morning there was none left at all. Nor did any new ones return as yet. The flowers are dying off and the bean shoots are now growing strong. The lettuce is vibrant and such an easy thing to grow. The weather has been so warm the past few days that we've actually eaten outside and had lettuce with every meal. So delicious and fresh. And you will also see how one of the courgette plants had begun to flower. Nature is simply breath-taking.   An abundance of lettuce. A courgette in flower.  The French beans being trained to grow across the arch. Broad bean pods growing healthy and strong.

[Flower]

I definitely feel you about the animal issue. What was once adorable is now the enemy. The only problem is that the bunnies around my house know my dog is a lazy bum. I have seen them hopping about the backyard at the same time he's out there. 🙄

[Kendra]

That is so typical isn't it?!
Pets 
You could ask a friend for some of their dog or cat hair. Mad request I know, but the hare/ rabbit hasn't been back since.
Now it could be a combination of strimming all the weeds around the polytunnels to stop nesting and so the dogs can get their scent there, blocking up entry points with wood And the dog hair but it could just as easily be ... he knows he took all the good stuff