South facing scorcher

I water everything in the nursery each morning before opening the blinds to give the seedlings plenty of light, sun and general warmth. I am wondering though if the all day heat is a bit too much for some. I have already had two failed attempts at starting mizuna in the nursery as it gets to a certain stage then overnight shrivels up and keels over. Now I have concerns about the aubergines and mint...

Over the past week some of the leaves on my young aubergine plants have developed white patches which are kind of see through, almost like the green part has been rubbed off to reveal a more delicate opaque colour beneath. I assume this is to do with watering/moisture/heat but I'm not entirely sure what this means. It is not all of the leaves, just one affected leaf on two or three of the plants and apart from the white patches, the plant looks perfectly fine and healthy. I read that aubergines do need a bit of humidity so perhaps I should put a little pot of water next to the plants?

On a similar theme to the failed mizuna growing, my tray of mint was doing fine until yesterday when it decided to keel over. The packet instructions said to keep the soil on the dry side, and I've been careful not to over water but perhaps the heat by the south facing window is too much for this too?

Now that the weather has warmed up, I might try sowing more seed for mint etc in pots in the coldframe instead. The aubergines should also be ok to go out in the cold frame during the day now to harden off. Hopefully taking them out of the nursery will prevent any further white patches developing.

Finally today, a tip for any other novice veggie growers out there - be very careful which way you put large seeds such as courgette in the soil when sowing. This is what happens when you get it wrong and put the seed in upside down by accident. I did wonder why this wasn't getting any bigger when the other two that came up are pretty big now. On closer inspection I realised that I was looking at roots, not a shoot. I've turned it the right way up so I'll have to wait and see if it survives. I'm pretty impressed that it got this far in its upside down state.

Operation Slug Control

Last night on Gardeners' World, Monty talked about how to keep slugs out of your raised beds. It basically involves putting a copper barrier around the edge and treating the soil within with nematodes. Apparently slugs get a little electric shock when they come into contact with copper so they shy away from it. Monty used copper piping, however I already have a roll of copper tape so I'll be using this around the beds instead.

I've had to remove the remaining uneaten seedlings from the salad bed as the slugs are winning on that front at the moment. I managed to rescue 14 spinach seedlings, 4 sorrel seedlings and 4 calendula seedings which are now all safely planted in trays in the coldframe. I've sown some more calendula seeds in trays in the coldframe as well as a length of drainpipe with a mix of Lettuce 'Salad Bowl' and Wild Rocket. I am guessing lettuce seedlings are a slug delicacy as they were all eaten pretty quickly. Once the salad bed has been treated with the nematodes and it is safe to put plants back in the soil, I'll replant my seedlings into the salad bed again.

A bit of maintenance was needed for the broad bean plants, which we thought we might lose at one point but they are looking really well now. The first main shoot of pretty much all of the plants eventually keeled over, however a second strong shoot has developed near the base on each which is a healthy as anything and they are starting to produce flowers. So today I cut off the first main shoots near the base so that the plant is not wasting energy keeping them going and then tied in the new shoots to the wigwam frames. The slug barrier granules seem to be keeping the slugs at bay too.

I transplanted my 16 dwarf french bean plants from the cold frame out into the same raised bed underneath the shorter climbing frame that we made last weekend. Each plant has a skirt of slug granules around the base which I am hoping will keep them safe. I'll be putting a border of copper around the edges of the bed too.

The tidied up broad beans and the newly planted dwarf french beans behind

The first broad bean flower has opened and I had no idea they would be so beautiful. It looks like a delicate piece of tissue paper with a hand painted pattern in a deep chocolate brown

The jerusalem artichokes are growing really quickly so today I removed the wire mesh covering the raised bed and where they are gaps of bare earth between the plants, I've stuck in some thick twigs to deter the cats. One third of the bed which has very young salad onions just coming up has been covered over again with some wire mesh, again to keep the cats off.

Jerusalem artichokes underplanted with cornflowers and two rows of shallots - the young salad onions are in a row next to the shallots and a few in the gaps between but are too small to show up on the the photo

I have moved the 6 mange tout pea plants from the nursery out into the coldframe to harden off and I'll be sowing a load more in the nursery tomorrow. There is a bit of space at the front on each trough container that I have the climbers planted in (sweet peas and nasturtiums) which I was going to fill with more of the same, however looking at them today, it would be nice to plant something low growing at the front to give some colour underneath. I'm not sure what yet, maybe something that can be picked for cut flowers indoors?

I have a crazy amount of work to do for college at the moment with a deadline looming in a couple of weeks and I've found that taking time out to tend to the garden really does help me to relax, recharge my batteries and clear my head so I can go back to my work and hopefully be much more productive. There is always so much to do in the veggie garden that it is a necessity to make the time to care for the plants even if you have a busy schedule, especially at this time of the year when everything is so young and vunerable... and what a great excuse for spending time pottering about in the garden!

I found this little fella sunbathing on a coriander leaf earlier - its always nice to find a friendly visitor!

Record breaking April

According to a BBC News article today, Met Office figures show that this month is set to be the warmest April since records began in England more than 300 years ago.

From a gardening perspective, the obvious knock on effect is that things are growing at an unusual rate with flowers and leaves emerging way before they are due. Not to mention the lack of rain and higher temperatures drying out the soil. For first time veggie growers that have yet to see a full 'growing' year this kind of throws a spanner in the works when it comes to learning how things grow, when they flower etc. The books say one thing and yet the weather dictates something completely different!


Read the article in full at BBC News Online

Book Review - Coming soon...

I received an email today from the publishers of Chris Beardshaw's new book 'How Does Your Garden Grow' to ask if I would like to review the book and share my thoughts with my fellow bloggers and blog readers. I am a huge admirer of Chris's work as a garden designer and horticulturalist so it will be an absolute pleasure to review the new book.

If you are not familiar with Chris and his work, visit his website or take a look at this clip to see him in action and get an idea of his style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCWjgeGTD7U

I am very much looking forward to receiving a copy to read through and a full review will be posted shortly.

Bad News for Manor Garden Allotments

I've received an email this afternoon from 10 Downing Street in response to the Manor Garden Allotments petition which I and 7,844 other individuals signed in support their efforts to prevent the site from being built on for the olympic park.

Sadly for the resident plot holders at Manor Garden Allotments, it isn't good news. The government's response reads:


The Government is aware that this is a very sensitive issue and the decision to relocate the allotments was not one that was taken lightly. However, it is necessary for the allotments to be relocated if London is to deliver the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the long-term plan for the regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley.

The current site of the Manor Garden allotments is in the heart of the Olympic Park and ground levels at the allotment site will need to change by up to 6 metres. These level changes will form part of the flood risk management of the Lower Lea Valley and create a natural area of reed beds and wildlife habitat. The area the allotments occupy will also be in the middle of what will be a huge construction site for the next few years and it would therefore not be possible for the allotment holders to continue their activities in this environment. It would also not be possible for the allotment holders to have access to the site because it needs to be completely secure.

The space currently occupied by the allotments will form part of a circulation and access area during the 2012 Games. This area is vital for the movement, safety and security of the public during the Games. After the Games it will be one of the key connections in the area, acting as part of the link between the green spaces of the Lea Valley Regional Park, Hackney Marsh and the Olympic Park.

Following the 2012 Games there is a commitment to reinstate at least the same number of allotments within the Legacy Park and all current Manor Garden allotment holders will be offered one of these new allotments. In the meantime the London Development Agency (LDA), which is responsible for assembling the land for the Olympic Park, is working with the allotment holders to try to relocate the Manor Garden society for the period running up to the Games. To achieve this, the LDA has submitted a planning application that, if approved, will allow the creation of new allotments within 1 mile of the existing site.


It is truly sad for a 100 year old allotment site to be lost and I cannot imagine the grief that this prospect will bring to the plot holders. I would imagine the idea of continuing to garden in the middle of a colosal building site would not be particularly appealing though. Lets just hope that the planning permission for the temporary allotment site in the run up to the games is granted and provides ample room for all of the existing plot holders to continue to grow their own.

Homemade slug traps

The Green Essentials - Organic Guides 'Control Pests' book has guidelines for homemade slug traps. I'll try the prevention methods first as I am aware that slugs and snails provide food for other creatures. If our veggies are still suffering too much though, I will consider laying a few of these traps out to protect the crops...

Where did the seedlings go?

In the tummy of a greedy snail thats where! James spotted a snail wandering along the fleece covering my salad bed this morning and kindly went out and removed the little blighter. On closer inspection, it had only gone and munched its way through over half of my lettuce seedlings! I am now on a mission to stop this slimy army from eating my veggies before I do!

I have already put down organic repellent granules around the broad beans and beetroot and I've put a band of copper tape around the nasturtiums container. I'm now going to have to step up the protection of the salad bed. The fleece is to stop the local cats from digging holes and using the soil as a litter tray whilst the seedlings are still tiny and there is a lot of bare soil.

I am going to try various barriers to keep the slugs and snails from eating everything. I'm guessing they can't or don't like to climb over sharp edges so I'll try a border of copper tape around the beds with a jagged edge at the top, repellent granules around the base of bigger plants or as a border around a group of seedlings and if that isn't enough I might look into slug traps. So far the hardest part of growing veg has been preventing the wildlife from getting near everything to poop near/eat/dig up my lovingly grown plants!

To make myself feel better after the loss of the lettuce, I grabbed my camera to take a few snaps...

Coriander 'Cilantro' starting to show more than seed leaves

The first broan bean flower!

All 4 courgette seedlings are coming up...


Tagetes growing nicely in the nursery



5x Auberine 'Little Finger'

6x Tomato 'Tigerella'

Inspirational Gardens

As part of a college outing today for the first day of the new term, we visited Parham House Gardens in West Sussex for a guided tour with the head gardener there. The whole estate is just stunning and the walled garden is such a beautifully serene and tranquil place. I would highly recommend it as a place to visit. I will definitely try to go back and visit the gardens again in the summer months when it is in full bloom.

Climbing frames

We have spent the whole day out in the garden in glorious weather today and have made great progress.

Using the left over timber batons from the shelf building indoors, James constructed three frames to which we have attached pea/bean support netting. These climbing frames will support the french beans, mange tout peas and sweet peas. We already had a piece of trellis which has been attached to the fence for the climbing nasturtiums. We found that good old drawing pins were the best way of attaching the netting to the timber frames - you'd never have thought that drawing pins would be useful in the garden!

Whilst James was cutting the batons and drilling holes for the screws etc to construct the timber frames, I got on with some other planting jobs. I forked over the remaining empty soil in the beans bed before the frames were to go in and we are both really pleased with the condition of the soil considering it was absolutely awful when we started. I also sowed two containers of Carrot 'Chantenay' and transplanted the nasturtiums and sweet peas into long trough containers to go at the base of the frames.

I unfortunately didn't have enough time left to actually put the dwarf french beans in the ground, so this will have to wait now until Tuesday at the earliest. I've moved my tray of leek seedlings out into the coldframe though as they are almost ready to be transplanted into one of the raised beds too.

The veggie garden has suddenly started to have a busy feel to it today - the vertical frames have definitely made a big difference.

The trials of urban wildlife

One thing I didn't expect to be a major problem in a london garden when we started to create our veggie patch was the wildlife. Your back only has to be turned for one second and you can guarantee an unwanted visitor will stroll into the garden and have a go any undoing all your hard work.

Any tiny scrap of bare earth has to be kept covered in some way to stop the local cats from using it as a litter tray, beds of seedlings and bulbs have to be protected with wire mesh to stop the squirrels from digging things up and today I have carefully put down a barrier of organic slug repellent granules in one bed as they have been merrily feasting on the broad beans. We also had to remove the bird feeder from the tree as it kept being repeatedly vandalised by squirrels so the poor birds didn't get a look in. We are seriously considering investing in a sensor-activated cat deterrent thing.

I do feel better after that little rant. On a more positive note, I spent a happy couple of hours with the sun on my back this afternoon as I transplanted my beetroot seedlings. They had been sown in a pot but I decided today to fill an empty space in one of the raised beds.

I earthed up the roseval potatoes for the first time today. They are really strong little things and looking very healthy. I can't wait to harvest our first salad potatoes! I have a dozen more chitted seed potatoes ready to go out in the garden, these will also be grown in bags. Finally the salad onion 'purplette' seeds sown in amongst the shallots are beginning to emerge too.

Tomorrow we will be concentrating on making climbing screens for the beans, sweet peas and nasturtiums. I really need to get some carrots sown too. If I have enough time, I might transplant the leeks in the nursery out into their alloted bed space and then sow some more. I love that there is always a job to do.

Weekend plans

Two deliveries arrived in the space of about 20 minutes this morning. The first was a couple of ornamental plants I had ordered from Crocus (a Clematis 'Mrs Cholmondeley' for the back garden and a Forsythia x intermedia 'Lynwood Variety' for the front garden.) The second delivery came from Harrod Horticultural containing bean netting and organic slug pellets. I am thrilled that everything has arrived today as I can get on with a lots of jobs in the garden this weekend.

My dwarf french beans, sweet peas and nasturtiums have all been thoroughly hardened off now and are ready for planting into the ground. I will be using the bean netting and the remaining '2 by 2' timber batons left over from the mammoth shelf building indoors to create screens for the climbers to scramble up.

I'm also planning to start sorting out our tiny front garden. We have a mature Genista canariensis which takes up most of the space out there. It is in full flower at this time of the year and the colour is wonderful. It is covered in bright, buttery yellow flowers that is continuously covered in feasting bees and ladybirds. Its height gives us a modest amount of privacy during the day when we open the blinds in the lounge and it is a really joyful colour to look out on.

A splash of sunny yellow - the view from our bay window

I am hoping a barrier of slug pellets will keep the little thugs off my beans. Fortunately, after a shaky start the broad beans are looking pretty healthy and are producing new growth. In fact, most things out in the garden have shot up over the past couple of days....

The broad beans looking surprisingly healthy now!

The jerusalem artichokes are growing fast and have wonderful furry stems and leaves

Lettuce 'Amorina' in what looks like the final stages of colour change to a deep crimson red

Potatoes! The Roseval (centre pot) are ready for earthing up this weekend

Salad bed seedings - this row of spinach came up fairly quickly and there are lettuce and calendula seedlings showing now too

Courgettes, garlic chives and purple peas

My first attempt at garlic chives has not been much of a success. It does make me wonder whether I actually put any seeds in the tray!? Not one to be deterred, I have sown a fresh tray of garlic chive seeds (23 seeds in total) to give them another go.

I have also sown 4 Courgette 'Nero di Milan' seeds in paper pots. I will see if they all germinate and if not, I'll sow a couple more. I think 3 plants should fit in their alloted space outside. They will be replacing the broad beans that are currently in the ground once the beans have gone over. The garlic chives will be planted as a border in the same bed (if I can actually get any to germinate...)

I will be starting off my mange tout peas indoors then planting them out as young seedlings. I've sown 6 Pea 'Ezethas Krombek Blau' today and I'll make successional sowings every few weeks. 'Ezethas Krombek Blau' are a purple pod variety, which I thought would look interesting and just as some extra to colour to the masses of green that should be on show in the veggie garden this summer.

Pea 'Ezethas Krombek Blau' seeds

Slugs

We arrived home last night from our weekend away and went straight out to the garden to see how everything is looking, only to find a gang of slugs merrily munching on the leaves of the broad bean plants. All visible slugs were removed, however we will need to do something to stop them on a more permanent basis.

I've just ordered some organic slug pellets and I already have a roll of copper tape. I am considering putting a border of copper tape around my salad bed (which now has lettuce and spinach seedlings visible) and using the slug pellets around the beans bed.

We were rather concerned about the broad bean plants as they didn't seem to be happy with the move from our friends house to ours, a couple of nights in the cold frame then planting out into the ground in the garden. Fortunately though, although some have given up, the majority have fresh new growth coming up which is encouraging. The last thing we need now is for the slugs to eat them all!

I am going to wait until I have the slug pellets before I plant my dwarf french beans outdoors. They are living outdoors in the cold frame during the day at the moment. The nasturtiums and sweet peas are definitely big enough to be transplanted outdoors. I'll give them a couple of days outdoors during the day to harden them off then plant them out and start some more from seed.

The leeks growing in a tray in the nursery are coming along nicely and I am going to plant them outdoors this week too. So hopefully, by the end of the week a lot of seedlings will be planted out in the garden with a fresh batch of seeds sown in the nursery indoors.

Repotting

This afternoon I've repotted the tomato and aubergines into their bigger 7cm diameter pots. They'll live in these now until they are ready to be planted outside. One of the cherry tom seedlings will be given to my brother for him to grow on his balcony.

The square pots are ideal for limited space as they fit together nice and snuggly if need be. I got mine from The Essentials Company which are aimed more at floristry but they sell pots, twine, markers, wire etc which is all useful stuff for the veggie garden. 25 x 7cm diameter square pots were £1.70.

Repotted tomatoes and aubergines

A repotted cherry tomato seedling (Tomato 'Totem') destined for my brother's balcony

Seedlings are go...

Over the last few days there have been loads of new shoots coming up in the garden. It is very exciting when you see the first seedlings of something you haven't grown before. I love seeing what things look like when they first come up. I am just as intrigued when I open a new packet of seeds - will they be tiny and round or big and chunky...

These are the seedlings currently coming up in the veggie garden...

Beetroot 'Bolivar' - such beautifully coloured seedlings already at just a few days old

Potato shoots appearing -

these are 'Roseval' which are just showing, the 'Pink Fir Apple' seem to be a bit slower

I've spotted about 5 jerusalem artichoke seedlings coming up just this morning

Plenty of the old cornflower seeds I scattered between the shallots and where the jerusalem artichokes were sown are coming up...

Lettuce 'Amorina' which is now fully hardened off and living outside is really starting to take on its red colour - it looks absolutely beautiful at this tender young colour-changing stage

Seedlings hardening off in the cold frame -Dwarf french beans 'Tendergreen' (back) climbing nasturiums (left) and two varieties of sweet pea (right)

Having all of these delicate seedlings coming up, our old watering can with no rose attachment is really quite fierce and disturbs the soil too much. So, yesterday James came home with a brand spanking fancy new water can! It is like being upgraded from economy to business class! (I only know this after an unexpected upgrade on a flight from Dubai to Heathrow a few years ago... it is a whole new flying experience though believe me...)

Not only does the new watering can have a proper rose attachment, the attachment also can be swivelled around for a full pour function too. It has two handles for easy carrying and pouring and the top carry handle can be swivelled backward and forward. Nothing but the best for our precious veggies! (and its much more fun watering the garden now too...)

Starting the salad bed

It has been a productive day in the garden today. This morning the small bed was uncovered and given a forking over before a few centremetres of fresh topsoil was spread over the top ready for sowing seeds. I've decided to have a dedicated salad bed and no doubt gaps in other beds will be filled with a bit of lettuce or the odd calendula at various stages too.

In the new salad bed I've sown a row of mixed lettuce (Salad Bowl and Amorina), a row of wild rocket, a row of whale spinach, a half row of sorrel and a row and a half of calendula. I'm going to wait at see what comes up then fill in the gaps as I have no idea how wide anything will spread. I've temporarily covered the bed with a layer of fleece to prevent the local cats from using the seemingly empty bed as a litter tray.

I spent the afternoon making pegs out of old metal coathangers (I now have a slightly sore hand from bending the wire with a pair of pliers to break it into small pieces then bending over the top to create a sort of mini tent peg) and I've used them to peg down the ground cover sheeting around the raised beds. The handcrafted pegs worked a treat and it is amazing how much neater the veggie patch looks with its new 'carpet'. We will eventually put down a layer of bark chippings over the top. It took a good couple of hours cutting the sheet to size and pegging it down, but it is very satisfying to see it finished.

The veggie patch with its new carpet of ground sheet, complete with homemade metal pegs

It is lovely to think that many other keen gardeners are no doubt busy in their own gardens this weekend too. I am really enjoying my first easter weekend of gardening with a veggie patch, and to enjoy the last of the afternoon warmth after a busy day in the garden, what better than to sit and survey your hard work with a nice hot cup of tea and some delicious easter chocolate!

mmmm.... a nice cup of tea and a sit down..... and some of my yummy chocolate bunny!

Sunny long weekends...

Today is the start of the easter bank holiday. Usually I'd be very excited at the prospect of 4 glorious days off work, however as I am studying full time this year, time off work doesn't exist anymore! Well, not until July when I graduate then it is back to the world of work.

The weather for the long weekend could not be better. Here is the forecast (courtesy of BBC Weather)

Good Friday (Today)
22 Degrees



Saturday (7th)
20 Degrees



Easter Sunday (8th)
21 Degrees



Easter Monday (9th)
21 Degrees

Top wind speed for the weekend is only 5-6mph so it'll be still and gloriously sunny. This afternoon we are going to Kew (Royal Botanic Gardens) so I can take lots of photos of various beautiful perennials and annuals coming into flower whilst James will lie on the grass with a book.

There will be a lot of DIY going on over the bank holiday as the shelving in the lounge alcoves goes up, however there is still lots of time to spend in the garden. I'll be hardening off my dwarf french beans, nasturtiums and sweet peas this weekend and the tomatoes and aubergines are getting big enough now to be put in bigger 7 inch pots, which will be their little homes until they are finally planted outdoors.

Now that we are into April there are plenty of things to sow directly outdoors too - calendula, garlic chives, mange tout peas, carrots, herbs, lettuce, rocket... I've decided to have a dedicated salad bed as the smallest of the four raised beds gets partial sun but is shaded in the middle of the day so should be good enough conditions for various leafy salad to grow hopefully without bolting. It's all so exciting!

Growing flowers

I've only ever grown veg from seed so my attempt at growing climbing nasturtiums and sweet peas is a first for me. I am really pleased with them so far - all of my nasturtiums that I'm starting off indoors have come up and I am finding a new sweet pea shoot nearly every other day (also started off in the nursery indoors.) I'll sow more outdoors at some point but these sown indoors should helpfully get things going. I'm amazed at how quickly the nasturtiums grow in particular. No doubt they will scramble their way up the fence once they go outside in no time at all.

All 9 climbing nasturtiums growing merrily in the nursery

Sweet Peas 'Pip Tremewen' and 'Blue Velvet'

I'm not having much look starting off my garlic chives, i.e. I haven't had one shoot yet. Perhaps I should have covered them to start them off? I'll sow more directly outdoors fairly soon but I wanted to have a few seedlings started off indoors to get things going. No sign of the chillies or peppers yet but I know they can take a while to get going so I'm still confident that something might come up. I was pleased to see a few speckles of green in the tray that I've sown some mint this morning.

On a much sadder and quite frustrating note, we were rather upset to find that our weekly delivery of fresh organic veg had been stolen this morning. The delivery driver usually drops off our box quite early in the morning and tucks in away as best he can outside and we pop out and bring it in when we get up. This has always worked well until today, when I went outside to collect it and there was nothing there. We did have the receipt which the delivery driver puts through the letterbox so we knew that it had been left as usual. I find it really sad that things like this happen. Fancy somebody stealing a box of veg! Thankfully the delivery company were very understanding and I hope that we can come to some arrangement to make the deliveries that bit safer. Better still, hopefully we'll eventually be growing enough veg ourselves to sustain us so we don't need to buy a big box of veg every week!

Moon planting.... or lack of it

My moon planting experiment has sort of fallen at the first hurdle. Due to masses of project work for college I kept accidently missing the right element days to sow seeds and a little bit too much time has passed now for things like my tomatoes to do a fair experiment.

So, a new (and easier to keep to) plan. I'm going to reduce the experimental veg down to just two which should be more managable. I'll trial moon planting v standard planting with carrots and lettuce. Both are successional sowers so hopefully it will make for a fair experiment.

Tomorrow is the last root day in it's sequence so I'll sow some carrots outdoors and then I'll sow another lot the day after when the calendar has changed to a different element. Friday starts the sequence of leaf days so I'll sow some lettuce the day before and some on the right element day. That should get the experiment moving at least!