Zoomer44

What's the weather like in your area?

We went to the wild boar park at Chipping on Saturday, Jo, excellent day out for small children, the rain stayed off but with dark clouds rolling over head most of the day.   

I grew alpine strawberries from seed sown last year and am a tab bit disappointed with their size and taste. 

We had heavy rain most of the morning and afternoon with a brief spell of dry weather about lunch time, just long enough to pop out for a sandwich.     

Talkback: Growing cucumbers

I'm using home made liquid seaweed to feed stuff in the GH everything seems to be growing well apart from chillies and peppers, they are still way behind and I've only one aubergine plant in flower with a single fruit.

I read somewhere, used as a spray on outdoor plants, liquid seaweed wards off slugs and snails. Not sure if this has worked but there was certainly less damage earlier on in the year from slugs and snails.

Tatties

...and it's it's not always the quantity but the quality which matters...I usually just over fill a large colander per bag, this year I'm leaving them in the bags and just dipping in, hoping the marble sized one's will grow larger. 

Tatties

Let us know how your King Edwards fair, I've not tried that one. 50p is a good price, potato fairs are a good place to buy tubers,usually at competitive prices...

I left mine in longer this time before starting to harvest, tried to wait till the leaves died but didn't quite manage that. 

May try xmas spuds again, nows the time to plant. Last year the bags froze solid and couldn't be dug up till February  

Tatties

Geof - I plant 5/6 tubers to one spud bag and expect to get 3 to 4 times more spuds, with a lot more larger one's. I may have been lucky in previous years with the varieties but believe me, that's not a good harvest. If the haulm is still lush and green, leaving them in a couple more weeks makes all the difference in size, less marble too.

Just had Red Duke of York for tea, it was pot luck dipping into the bag but every spud was as big as your larger one's. One of the nice things about having them so fresh is they don't need peeling, the skins just rub off.       

spuds,onions

I've always found all home grown spuds taste better than those bought. I've been growing in bags for several years and try different varieties's each year, usually 1st and 2nd earlies for bags but planted out a main crop this year in the veg bed.

 I'm lucky in that there is a local potato fair, held annually within walking distance and heirloom varieties can be purchased. Last year I grew - ambo, edzell blue, red duke york and pentlin javlin and would recommend them all.

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What's loving all this rain?

Two weeks of no TLC and loads of rain has brought everything on in my garden. The bird station hasn't been filled with food for two weeks and I swear there is no greenfly or caterpillars on any of my plants or veg planted outside.

Most of the veg outside is doing well. Runner/french beans have some yellow leaves on at the bottom but are romping away over arches and now in flower, onions are refusing to die back and are huge. Spuds doing well and outside toms in flower. I've a rambling rose and lillies in flower, the lawn is green, gladiola looking good, ferns have done well too.

Veg and plants not doing well for me this year is more about overgrowding in the beds rather than too much rain and other plants shading those which need more sun. 

Early sown biennials

Glad you asked the Q Hollie-Hock. I sowed forget-me-nots, viola and coneflowers, beginning of June and they are still in seed compost, at the true leaf stage, so ready to pot on but wasn't sure whether to keep potting on until autumn time and then plant out.

Was going to sow foxglove, bellis and sweet william in the next few day's too for next year but that's where my knowledge ends regarding biennials. I don't have any room to plant out until Autumn when everything is dying back, can you help Alina with advise. They are all labelled as hardy but I was wondering how hardy is that, will they survive snow and being planted out over winter untill next year.      

Talkback: Growing cucumbers

This is my second year growing cues in a GH, grown on a single stem, I nip off the top when the plant reachs the ceiling. 'Telegraph Improved' aren't very long but ever so tasty. Not sure what's gone wrong this year, one plant is touching the ceiling, the other only about 1ft high both have produced a cue though and the taller one has lots of flowers on.  

Cheap seeds

Thanks - Will pay the works a visit.

I bought some seeds whilst on holiday. So much cheaper in France and you get loads. Got 2g of heirloom toms-Cerise for about £1 and the sow by date isn't until 2017.    

Painting a trellis...

Repotting a Christmas Tree...

Veg to sow in February...

Stored home made liquid seaweed feed...

Moving flowers...

Which spuds to get...

Clearing snow...

Hard wood cuttings...

Where have all my beans gone!.

Growing fennel bulbs...

Growingspuds for Chistmas...

Saving bean seeds...

Saving tom seeds...

Fruit bushes...

Rubard just won't die back...