Thursday 27 May 2010
Potatoes!
I'm rather chuffed. :D Yes, I cheated slightly, but they're doing quite well!
Thursday 13 May 2010
Apparently I'm not giving up after all
So, after a brief period this morning where I contemplated throwing everything on the patio onto a bonfire, I went to Squires and bought some fungicide.
Removed the blighty leaves, and a large amount of the plants below them, then drenched them with mancozeb, so hopefully they'll be OK.
I bought some big pots and a couple of potato plants from Squires, and they're now in my secret anti-blight defence:
Here's to hoping they stay blight-free...
Giving up
Sunday 18 April 2010
The bad and the good
So, I thought I'd try to save them with some improvised greenhice…
…But that didn't really work…
…So, I removed the dead plants and repotted stuff in the soil from the pots. I've planted loads of onion sets (probably a bit close together, but that's not too much of an issue), some curly kale, some asparagus pea plants, and a few calabrese romanesco seeds to see how well they'll do in a trough. I've also re-potted the squashes that were growing indoors as I mentioned above.
I also planted two pots with onions 'cause I have LOADS of them!
On the bright side, the potatoes I planted have finally all come through. :D
Saturday 3 April 2010
Oh, bollocks
Also, I really could do with even a little bit of support from my parents. I don't know what stupid, insane impulse made me think I could grow vegetables in this house. Absolutely everything I do, I'm up against resistance from my parents. It's like trying to bring up two teenagers, except those teenagers are 49 and 56, and think they know everything about everything.
I'm actually very close to giving up entirely on these stupid plants.
EDIT: Droopy squash:
Frost-bitten cucumbers:
:(
Sunday 21 March 2010
I have seedlings! :D
Unsurprisingly, the promised pallets to build the beds never materialised, so next Saturday is visiting B&Q day to buy the wood I need to build the beds. I think I'll have to leave Mum instructions, and get her to send me photos on a daily basis so I can let her know when she needs to re-pot things, and where.
So, the things that have germinated are the Graffiti Cauliflower:
(The white fluff is an annoying mould which is apparently harmless, and the brown powder is cinnamon, which is apparently anti-fungal.)
...which is purple! :D
And the crystal lemon cucumber:
...
Well, they're not very impressive at the moment, but they'll grow! Hopefully... :o
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Propagation
Now all I need to do is wait and see what pops up! Hoping that I get at least 50% of them coming through. :)
No sign of anything form the potatoes yet.
Edit: Forgot to list what I'd planted! Crystal Lemon Cucumbers, Summer Ball Squashes, Hawk Butternut Squashes, Graffiti Cauliflowers, two types of sweet pepper, and Moneymaker Aubergines. :)
Sunday 7 March 2010
Planted potatoes! :D
Hurrah! I have planted potatoes! :)
The beds aren't built yet, so I've bagged them using the bags from the grow-your-own kit they came in (Giftmas present :)).
I should start to see shoots through the top of the soil by the end of the week! :)
Saturday 6 March 2010
My seeds have arrived! \o/
My seeds have arrived in the post! \o/ :D The onion sets will arrive later in the year, and the potatoes have already sprouted! :o
I went to Homebase earlier and bought 4 bags each of compost and top soil as I need about 9,000 litres of top soil / compost to fill the various beds! >.< Will get the things to start building the beds tomorrow, hopefully; may need to hire a van…
So, the list of things I'm growing:
- Kale (Redbor)
- Leek (Musselburgh)
- Asparagus Pea
- Calabrese (Romanesco)
- Pumpkin (We B Little)
- Cauliflower (Graffiti)
- Lettuce (Vanoise)
- Kohl Rabi (Azure Star)
- Broccoli (Rudolph)
- Pepper (Mixed)
- Cucumber (Crystal Lemon)
- Carrot (Purple Haze - F1)
- Radicchio (Palla Rossa)
- Squash (Summer Ball)
- Radicchio (Trevi)
- Shallot (Ambition)
- Chinese Radish (Mantanghong)
- Beetroot (Mixed)
- Aubergine (Moneymaker - F1)
- Carrot (Sugarsnax)
- Kale (Dwarf Green Curly)
- Parsnip (White Gem)
- Pak Choi (Green Revolution - F1)
- Beetroot (Boltardy)
- Pepper (Minimix)
- Chard (Bright Lights)
- Butternut Squash (Hawk)
- Potatoes (Foremost, Nadine, Desiree)
I'm really looking forward to seeing what I get out of this, as I'm hoping the answer will be vegetables with flavour!