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Post by boringgit on Apr 2, 2016 18:59:40 GMT
Ok, so admit it, who else on here does a bit of the good life and grows their own?? Other than messing around with Mx5's it's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Let's see those Veggie Patches, Allotments and Tomato Plants! We have a very small garden (First Floor flat so we're lucky to have one!), last year we grew a load of tomatoes, chillis, onions & Strawberries. We did absolutely amazing, so we're having another go this year. There'es nothing more satisfying than home grown produce - especially the chilis they were amazing, and the onions... well all of it really. So this year, we're again going to get some Onion sets in (red this time!), have a couple of Tomato plants, parsnips, Jalapeño & Naga Chillis and some Bell Peppers. jayne likes Flowers so she's got some some Tulips on the go. More photos as they come, will be planting some stuff next Sunday.   A gold star to anybody who can spot the MX5 part in the photos.  |
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Linz
New Here
Posts: 13 
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Post by Linz on Apr 2, 2016 20:59:07 GMT
Well I love a bit of gardening. Myself and Don used to own a massive garden with chickens, polytunnel, greenhouse, multiple veg beds, a pond and so many flowers etc. However we gave up the good life to move into the town 3 and a bit years ago.
We do have a polytunnel again but not as big as the last one. I have moved the strawberry plants that I had grown in growbags last year into the tunnel. Don has a variety of chilli's, tomatoes and some basil which are currently in an electric propagator. I have recently sown multihead sunflowers, sweet peas and nasturtium. I have cosmos, cornflowers and I can't remember what else waiting to go in the garden as I really want cut flowers all summer. I grow dahlias in my polytunnel as it protects the flowers. I have plans for a pond in this garden. I currently have a tub pond which has plants and a fish.
Gardening is my favourite thing to do. I'll look forward to seeing how your growing season goes.
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Post by BikeTuna on Apr 4, 2016 12:17:06 GMT
Me and the missus had an allotment for a couple of years, gave it up when our littleun came along. We had some great produce out of it and had some good fun, even entering local competitions and stuff...
...but it was close to the road and every time I heard a sportsbike wail pas I'd die a little inside, knowing I'd rather be on mine than digging...
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Post by Meerkat on Apr 4, 2016 15:58:52 GMT
Sadly I live in a top floor flat now, but I love a bit of gardening! Probably one of the most satisfying jobs there is
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Post by boringgit on May 1, 2016 17:51:43 GMT
So here's a nice update for you all. Loads done this afternoon. Six Jalapeño & five Cayenne Chili plants potted out. We did so well on these last year, so I'm hoping for a massive glut of them - I had so many plants last year I was giving them away.  Parsnips in, might put some radishes in the spare rows between them. Strawberries next to them which look a bit weak.. Hopefully they will perk up a bit.  Growth on the Red Baron Onions, these are going to be excellent - I can feel it.  Also, had a couple of Onion plants to pot out so did that, and sowed some Bell Pepper & Tomato seeds.. Perhaps a touch late but everything seems to go mad on our windowsill. The Naga Chilis have taken a while to do anything, but we have a few shoots now so should have three or four Naga plants as well to throw into the mix... Oh I love Chilis |
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Post by Rickster on May 1, 2016 21:28:21 GMT
I don't like gardening but what I do like is major landscaping
Had a mini digger and dumper in my garden this weekend, ripping out a wall and 2 rockeries, bloody great fun and satisfying to diy.
I have now got a massive pile of brick and rubble on my front drive and the poor little 5 can't get in the garage!!!
Grass seed, new gates and fencing, plus laying some slabs for the rest of the week, kick ass gardening!!!
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Post by rhyswh on May 2, 2016 11:08:46 GMT
I hate gardening but my wife likes it, but she's not very good at it. We've had massive issues with our lawn. It's a new build so we got the turf done by the builders, looked great for a bit then it started dying so they came back an re-did the whole lot. A couple months later it started dying and we ended up with no grass, not a single blade! It was all just mud which was a nightmare with the dog. So 2 weeks ago I did this, any guesses (not hard really!)?  |
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Post by mattk on May 3, 2016 16:51:32 GMT
I leave all the gardening to the missus, however I am on a mission to die by chilli consumption this year. 40 plants growing at the moment, all indoors as it keeps frosting overnight and they're not hardy enough yet. Probably going to lose 2 of the Naga's as its just not warm enough for them. Even in a heated propagator.  Growing Joes Long, Orange Habanero, Cayenne Solero, Scotch Bonnet, Black Pearl Pepper, Naga Jolokia and Naga Fire Flame.  |
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Post by boringgit on May 3, 2016 22:31:19 GMT
That's a lot of chili! You could make some lovely sauce with the crop you will get.
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Post by wigwambam on May 20, 2016 11:56:19 GMT
Those chillis look beautiful! My friend gleefully presented me with some Carolina Reaper seeds he bought earlier in the year LAST WEEK. I had to break it to him that the growing season here isn't exactly conducive to growing tropical stuff and that he should have started them last year for fruit but anyhow, they are hopefully eventually going to germinate in the airing cupboard and will probably yield one stunted pepper and two pairs of sickly looking leaves by about January at this rate...
I have been trying to get my other half more interested in the garden. I used to be a gardener many moons ago so I have love for plants but with me the garden is comparable to the old 'builder's house' situation and I struggle to motivate myself to get a rewarding amount of produce.
That being said this year I made a Hugel! Hugelkultur is where you build up as much rotting wood as you can find into a pile then dump as much organic matter on top as you can to hopefully attain a slope of around 60 degrees which you then plant up, thus effectively tiering the growing space. The theory is that it should not need feeding as the wood will be broken down by soil beasties over time, unlocking nutrients as they go. I will have to see it to believe it but apparently by the second year the hugel should no longer need watering even!
I will try to remember to get a picture of the hugel when I get home but it is planted up entirely with edibles- Broad beans, sprouting broccoli, sugar snaps, radishes, buckshorn plantain, miner's lettuce, lambs lettuce, magenta orach, coriander, parsley and some onion sets for good measure. We will see how it goes. I had to get some old net curtains from the charity shop in order to cover the sugar snap seedlings as the birds just will not leave them alone, so now the whole thing looks like some grandmas made a den!
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Post by wigwambam on Jun 1, 2016 11:04:21 GMT
The broad beans, kale and broccoli on the hugel are looking healthy and I am pleased to see the coriander is managing to germinate despite the cold Derbyshire wind.
The annoying cold period this year has caused me to reevaluate the existing green house and I have a little project which will hopefully allow it to be more productive. At present the greenhouse sits on a fibreglass garage roof which is a bit weird compared to my old site which was over soil. The location means I have just been growing odd pots of tomatos and sugarsnaps etc but as weight is a factor I can't really have lots of very big planters which would have been ideal.
Whilst looking at homebrew subsoil irrigation systems people have made on pinterest I found a couple which used gutters as reservoirs with a rack of pots above and wicking pot inserts which dip into the water supply. My plan is to rig up a two tier rack along the length of the sunny side and grow fast growing stuff like salad leaves and basil which aren't very happy about the cold. Should still be room for my toms etc and with float valves on each gutter I hope to rig up a semi automated watering setup using the rainwater tanks.
I have been using large plastic yoghurt pots and mushroom trays which I have been saving and stiching up hessian inserts which dangle down through a hole in the bottom. The plastic is just to wick up against, the hessian hold the actual compost. The test version i put on the conservatory windowsill works reasonably well but it doesn't get enough light to be useful.
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Post by AndyMk2 on Jun 1, 2016 11:57:00 GMT
If my house purchase goes to plan I'll have a good sized garden with shed so will be looking for some tips  |
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le sigh