Catching Up With Garden Posting

Discussion in 'Fruit and Veg Gardening' started by Sjoerd, Sep 2, 2016.

  1. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Man, I have been so busy here the past couple of weeks, that I have not been on here much--just worked in the hot garden and then collapsed into the bed (after a shower), got up and headed out the next morning. Hard work--but I really lurve it. It is summer and time to harvest as well as begin the in-wintering process for the plots in the allotment.

    I have not taken the time to post pics or commentary...but I did snap some foto's to show on here when I could get caught up. It is rainy today and so today will be the day.

    The honey--that is what I am the most excited about at the moment.
    tom13.jpg

    This honey is a combination of the nectars from flowers on the allotment complex and Lime Tree blossoms, which were in bloom in their millions at the time that it was foraged. I enjoy the whole process of winning the honey, but I also enjoy making new labels each year.

    Here are a couple of the foragers at work:
    bij01.jpg

    bij02.jpg

    The flower garden is beginning to fade now but there is still some colour and more is on the way.
    bij03.jpg

    Some of the beans have finished, but some are still going strong.
    tom05.jpg

    We have some pink blueberries growing in the blueberry patch.
    tom04.jpg

    As the patches are cleared of the spent crops, the ground is schoffeled and raked level for the planting of a green manure crop. Once the patch is prepared, then this tool is used to make the row ready for seeds. It will create a very, very fine tilth. This tool has a long handle.
    tom06.jpg

    Here you can see how the patches are prepared for the seeding.
    tom08.jpg

    One rolls that wheel back and forth until the tilth is as fine as he wants. First it is made fine, then a drill is made then watered-in...then in go the seeds--cover and tamp-down.

    Some of the other patches have begun to germinate.
    bij04.jpg

    You can see here that the borage has begun and is growing quickly.
    tom.jpg

    The strawbs have been clipped off and are beginning to bounce back and produce new leaves. We cut off some comfrey and laid them between the rows.
    tom10.jpg

    The toms continue to produce like gangbusters. We have harvested record amounts and have made quite a few pots of concentrate as well as eaten them on salads. I do love a good tom.
    tom03.jpg

    The pomodoro toms have performed amazingly.
    tom02.jpg

    But all has not been work, work, work--sometimes there is time for a pauze...time for a burger. I just slapped a few on the barbie and we invited pals over and had a feast. I call it a perk.
    tom12.jpg

    I thought that I had somehow posted some of these piccies, but cannot find the threads. If I have, please excuse the repeat.........ach, the burgers are good still good--repeat or not.
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2016
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  3. Islandlife

    Islandlife Young Pine

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    Ohhhhhh WOW - I love all your photos and particularly the last one.

    Now I have to go and search out a burger for me :)

    Gorgeous gardens! And I have never seen pink (or BINK as the granddaughter at 3 says) blueberries. Lovely honey too ;) ;)
     
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  4. Frank

    Frank GardenStew Founder Staff Member Administrator

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    I'm amazed at your toms Sjoerd. Now there's a happy crowd!
     
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  5. Netty

    Netty Chaotic Gardener Plants Contributor

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    Oh wow, those tomatoes look amazing! And so does that burger! :smt050
     
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  6. 2ofus

    2ofus Hardy Maple

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    Your honey looks delicious and the label is excellent. I take it that you design a new label each year? We had hamburgers last week but, yours look so yummy, I know what we are having again for dinner tonight!
     
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  7. Raddang

    Raddang In Flower

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    Interesting post Sjoerd :like: You often refer to 'The Lottie', man, that is not a Lottie, that is a Market Garden in my book. It all looks great and the Honey, delicious. :like:
     
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  8. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Thank you for your enthusiastic comments. ISLAND-- Those pink blues were a new purchase a few years ago. They are slow to bear...but have finally made a reasonable showing. I am hoping that next year will be better. I am planning on amending the patch this fall with special soil for ericaceous plants and bark chips after removing a few older bushes and replacing them with younger ones.

    Thanks FRANK--It cheers me up when I look in that greenhouse, not that I am not cheery...it just makes me smile and I must hold my hand down when it reaches for a shiny red one.

    Thanks NETTY--That burger was delicious.

    2OF--Yes, I make new ones every year. It is fun to do that. I don't know what it is about burgers, but I could eat them every day, I think. hahaha...Well, if I made them myself, that is. Commercial ones are fine, but i prefer my own. chortle.

    Ta RADDANG-- What a nice thing to say, mate. That honey really is pretty tasty. When you talk about "Market gardens", it is Carolyn that has those. I am small potatos compared to her. But I appreciate your compliment enormously.
     
  9. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

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    Your tomatoes look fabulous S. well done on them and everything else. And thank you for the nice comment on my market garden... it truly is, but yours is way more interesting than mine and yours also looks better than mine.
     
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  10. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Thanks a mil, Carolyn. Well, your gardening is big-time with emphasis on quantity...to sell on the markets. It is because I am a small-timer that I can devote so much time to the upkeep. Even with the time, there are still places that I don't get to to weed. hahaha. Like my bride says---"Ach, in a month or so they will all be dead and brown--don't worry". There is truth in that casual remark.
     
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  11. Philip Nulty

    Philip Nulty Strong Ash

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    Great pictures Sjoerd,..fantastic Toms and lots of them,..great fun making new labels for the Honey,..i used to make my own labels for CD's i made,..loved doing them.
    Your Lottie always looks neat and well organized,..how do you manage to keep the grass paths from getting muddy?.
     
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  12. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Hey there Philip. I enjoy making the honey labels, but that began when I used to make labels for my compilation CD's. I still do that exactly because it is so much fun to do.

    Thanks for the compliments on the lottie. The grass paths are not soggy, probably because they are on what we call "veen" ground. This is a soil type that lets water drain away easily. Secondly, the paths were purposely set slightly higher than the plots. This spring I had to work on one of the paths that had developed a "dip" in it. I dug under the path, pried it up with a border fork a bit and then pushed more soil in there, elevating the sunken area. Then I put a plank on top of the elevated path and pounded it down until it was almost level.
    I did the operation this way instead of slicing and peeling back the sod because I thought that it would be less traumatic to the roots. It worked.
     
  13. kate

    kate In Flower

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    Its all looking good Sjoerd, well worth the hard work.
    Blueberries are exactly that here > blue.......:smt026 and I luv em. I eat them watching TV, I have them on my breakfast.
    K
     
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  14. Philip Nulty

    Philip Nulty Strong Ash

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    Aha,..soil that lets water drain away easily,..that never entered my mind,..i was thinking planks on top of the grass when working,..a few hours walking on the paths i used to have would be muddy in no time :like:
     
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  15. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Thanks KATE--Blueberries are blue here as well...but this pink variety is "new" and was developed in the United States a few years ago (The variety is called, "Pink Lemonade"). I was one of the first private citizens in my country that was able to get their hands on some of them before they hit the market here. So far, they have not been heavy producers, but they get better each year. I frequently try new veg and fruit in the lottie, and this is one of them. I am mad about blues as well. I eat them any way I can. My bride has made them in scones and we have them in yoghurt and of course, I jam them.

    PHILIP--Veen is something like "peat" or "turf"...I am not sure what it called in English actually. The soil is sort of "bouncy" to walk on and is quite rich. Veen is what is left over from reed beds; for example, that have died and composted in water over hundreds of years. The soil in the allotment is not too terrible deep, and the watery clay is always just a shadow away, as Mick would say. Some lotties that have not amended their soil over the years, have standing water after a few days of continuous raining.

    At any rate, I build mine up and have elevated paths in most areas, especially in the veggie plots. Building-up is common here in the low countries. Some dwellings and many churches are built on a terp, or a sort of man-made hill to avoid flooding.
     
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  16. Philip Nulty

    Philip Nulty Strong Ash

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    Very interesting Sjoerd,..i love learning new things,..thank you.
     

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