how does your garden grow?

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how does your garden grow?
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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Tue Jun 09, 26 7:33 pm Post subject:
The weather has been horrible here today; thundery showers with thunder, hail and torrential rain for short periods. On the patio, only the parsley seems to have suffered, so hoping everything down the garden is strong enough to survive it. Hoping for rather better weather tomorrow.

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18451

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 26 6:15 pm Post subject:

Progress so far this season :
All beans planted out in beds (broad, various climbing, runner)
Courgettes flowering but no actual courgettes yet.
Various beet-types sown direct not very happy, not really growing; also started in pots
Brassicas (various) planted out to final positions
New rhubarbs planted. Older rhubarb cropping OK
Tomatoes (greenhouse) doing nicely, starting to flower and set fruit
Strawbs (large) fruiting and ripening slowly in pots in greenhouse
Alpine strawbs everywhere (ground cover and sacrifice crop for birds)
Redcurrants (also sacrificial) and blackcurrants have set fruit; now we wait...
Gooseberries increasing in size, not ripe yet.
Loganberries have gone bonkers this year, at last (planted autumn 2021)
Sweet peas beginning to bush out and climb.
Apple crop looks disappointing, apart from James Grieve; plenty still left in freezer from last year
Herbs all fine, in beds, greenhouse, or pots.
Companion plants (nasturtium and calendula) coming along OK, better late than never.
Much taking of cuttings/dividing perennials has happened : solomon's seal, lovage, parrotweed, foxgloves, stonecrop, honeysuckle.

Slugs not been too bad so far. Birds are the worst culprits; they nip the climbing shoots off the beans.

Will probably need to do another sowing of beety things, and maybe beans, though is getting a bit late for that up here.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 26 8:35 pm Post subject:

You are doing well. My courgettes have some male flowers but not female, and aren't growing very much. Mangetout peas doing reasonably well and beans going up bean sticks. Cabbages planted out and doing nicely. Not sure about the onions; they seem to be bulbing up, but the tops collapsed when I moved the net over them. Some chard and leeks, but not growing well, tomatoes in greenhouse starting to flower, and grapes have set, so need to take a pair of pointed scissors to them and start thinning. Oh, and potatoes are doing well.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44877
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 26 4:24 pm Post subject:
the compost dribble feed seems quite good, about 250 ml has greened and bloom boosted the brambles apples and roses not used the compost yet, i need a tame serf to mulch it onto the tubs and mousecastle so we can start the next batch

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 26 5:52 pm Post subject:

My brambles don't need any encouragement, and we have a lot of flower on brambles both in the garden and in the woods this year. Should be good for the crop and also the dormice in the woods may be eating some of the flowers or the insects that land on them.

The liquid from the compost should be good, and hope you find a suitable serf to spread the compost itself. Do you think the mice will like the compost on their castle, as it might drop things in they don't want. On the other hand, if it has plenty of insects in it, they might appreciate the delivery.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44877
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 26 3:42 pm Post subject:

the mouse castle started as a informal compost heap

they will almost certainly be ok with extra rotted compost as a topping mulch so long as it does not block too many holes etc
if it does they will dig

i want some working into the brick ramparts to encourage the castle to emulate a Kernow bank with more plants in the vertical niches

after an autumn to summer ferment there should be few viable seeds or pathogens in the barrel compost

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 26 8:52 pm Post subject:

Certainly should be well rotted. I was thinking more of liquid wash down when it gets wet. A Cornish/ Devon bank will be rather nice.

Things seem to be growing fairly well in the garden. The leeks and chard were doing very nicely until the resident cat decided to bed down on some of them. Don't know why because it has a very nice area in the long grass in the lawn where it usually settles. I say hello to it in passing. No idea who owns it, but think it finds our garden more interesting than other gardens.

I have managed to raise the netting over the cabbages as they were getting a bit tall for the wire hoops. Hopefully it will keep the butterflies off, although I haven't seen any yet. When I do I will inspect any leaves near the net very carefully and destroy the eggs. Last year they ate all the leaves and I ended up with both summer cabbage and early purple sprouters in this spring.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44877
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 26 3:45 pm Post subject:
i need to reclaim the field after a recce, first since autumn, there are things that need doing, watering needs direction, the mouse castle needs attention, the apples need remedial care there are herbs, mostly they need care etc tis a bit like haunting a "garden" , i will direct what needs doing to make it a long term pretty and productive place

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Tue Jun 23, 26 9:10 pm Post subject:
Sounds like a mini version of our garden. I can't get husband to come and help me and it needs some serious work. Think we may need a tree surgeon to deal with a sycamore, and perhaps a gardener to come and do a fair bit of work to reclaim parts. I just manage to keep the veg going and that is about all. I am sure you will direct them to make your yard a lovely place Dpack.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Sat Jul 11, 26 7:10 pm Post subject:
Picked the first blackberries from the garden yesterday. Rather early, but at least they are ripening.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 9693
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 26 8:46 am Post subject:

Red and white currants finished, blackcurrants ripening steadily. Jostas lagging behind probably because most of the leaves have been stripped by sawfly caterpillars. Very odd that they have so far left the blackcurrants.
Raspberries just on ready and Alpine strawberries steadily carrying on!!
One lot of tatties will be lifted ASAP as I need to put the leeks, in.
Broad beans going well. Interesting that only the spring sown ones had to have the tips, pinched out because of blackfly.

Everything else is running late or failed!!

Can I try sowing peas yet again?

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18451

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 26 2:57 pm Post subject:

gz wrote:

Can I try sowing peas yet again?

Yes, especially if you go for a quick-growing/early variety.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 26 5:07 pm Post subject:
What about mangetout peas?

Florence

Joined: 15 Mar 2025
Posts: 619

Posted: Sun Jul 19, 26 5:49 pm Post subject:
It's not been the best of years in back garden. Spring and early summer did well. But the follow through hasn't followed orders. Seeds sown haven't flourished - even the nasturtiums are not nasturtiuming. Which is unusual. Could be a soil improvement winter this year.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 17236

Posted: Mon Jul 20, 26 5:12 pm Post subject:

I haven't done too well. I am managing to keep the beans going, but don't think anything much will happen until it rains. Something is eating the cabbages, but no idea what as there aren't any caterpillars. The potatoes have pretty well given up, but I do have some tomatoes, and the grapes aren't looking bad at the moment. I have lifted most of the onions as they died back, but not very big. I was hoping they would do well, but then the rain stopped.

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