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Season Starting: 2009
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...summertime...

Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:57 pm

The weather in this part of the UK has recently dealt us lots of rain and "unseasonally strong winds" with warnings of possible trees falling. The trees here have remained intact but my Alba foxgloves have been hit really hard by it.

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Well, they were lovely whilst they lasted but I'll be cutting them back soon, as I don't want them self-seeding too much due to lack of space. The Sweet Williams however, have lasted really well and I was really pleased to see these white ones amongst all that pink...too much pink!

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So far this year, I've resisted the urge to buy-in bedding plants and I haven't really bothered with containers because I've been aiming for low-maintainance. I have got a couple though, with annuals I've grown from seed.

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I really like the little markings on these petunias; I've only ever seen single colour blooms before. Not sure what the daisy-types are though; it was free seed from a gardening magazine and I was expecting the big Michaelmas daisies for ages...

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The containers look a bit lost against the water feature here but next year, I've going to try to make it much more of a flowery feature; all home-grown, too.

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Not much has been going on in the veg plot since the rabbit invasion. I discovered they hadn't dug in after all; they didn't have to, they just strolled through the gap under the fence Id created during winter when Id dug a drainage trench to try and divert the surface water.


The broad bean bed had got really overgrown with weeds so I got out and spent some time with my trowel uprooting the unwanted invaders. Now that's done, I can re-seed for a continuous crop. I've been using the dwarf Sutton variety and they've done really well in standing up to the recent winds.

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Here are some of the cropped results...

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The potatoes are coming along ok; they'll be due for a second earthing-up quite soon.

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As the potatoes seem to be doing ok, I'm going to sow a 'second maincrop' variety, Maris Peer, in late summer / autumn.


Another plant which seems to be doing ok too, is sweetcorn. I started 9 plants off from seed and put them out and they're fine. I've tried starting some more off in pots since but none have germinated; reminder to self...start off again...

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The greenhouse has been a total pleasure. This being its first year, lessons are going to be learned over time but as a first attempt, absolutely brilliant!

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The soil is quite heavy and clay-based here and it dries really solid. It probably needs nutriments too, so I'm saving the contents of the kitchen compost bin specifically to put in the beds in here in autumn / winter.

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These bush tomatos are from seeds I had remaining from last year; they seem to be doing ok but the surrounding earth is pretty bleak-looking! The cordon tomatoes seem to like the surroundings though; these are all from seed, too.

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The plants went in early and they've flowered and started to fruit quite early, too.

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The salad stuff has gone quite well; I tried 3 different sorts of radish and they've all gone well...too well; no one could eat that much raddish!

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Wot a whopper!

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The 'red' lettuces have started to be ready for picking lately and they are very tasty.



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These Granada ones still have a bit of growing to do...

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So, not too bad a start in the greenhouse but lots of ideas for next season already...sweet peppers, for one thing. They're nice and they're currently costing loads in the shops...

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Comments

 

Droopy wrote on Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:29 pm:


Oh, your veggies look a treat! I can almost feel the cruch in every bite. The Sweet Williamses are lovely too. Are you sure that yellow-and-red flower is a Petunia? It looks a lot like a Mimulus to my eyes. Lovely blooms but a nightmare if let loose in a border. Your water feature is delightful, I really like those.




sharon mc wrote on Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:16 pm:


Yes! You could be right! I have got a packet of Mimulus seed that I'd sown some from but I didn't think any had come through...bad labelling, again! They're pretty though, whatever they are.




 

eileen wrote on Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:33 pm:


Oh I agree!! Whether they're petunia or mimulus they are really lovely. Those veggies are certainly doing well for you. That one BIG radish - I don't think I've ever seen one that size before.




 

Sjoerd wrote on Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:15 am:


Your veggies and flowers are loking quite well.
I agree 100% with Froopy about those yellow and red plants being the Mimulus. I grew them two years and they looked just like them.
The veggies seem to be doing so well. That green house of yours just makes me green with envy. heh heh heh. It looks so nice.
You can grow so many things in a green house I'll bet you are reqally enjoying it.
Thanks for showing the lovely piccies, they give a good idea of howthings are going there.




 

Palm Tree wrote on Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:04 am:


Gosh
Your garden and fresh produce looks absolutely wonderful. Your water feature is divine - so petite. I Love it.





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