First Courgette

first pea

New potatoes from the garden

New potatoes from the garden, originally uploaded by richiesoft.

These potatoes from the grow bag in the garden were gorgeous with some mint and butter!!

Aubergines

07092008378, originally uploaded by richiesoft.

I am really jealous of my Mum for getting these fabulous aubergines to grow this year!

Sowing

You can just about see some of the lettuce growing in the vegetable patch. There is also some carrots growing and I think another variety of lettuce poking through the soil. I have planted the beetroot between the carrots and lettuce as I think there will be space. I wasn't going to try beetroot again after my disappointing crop last year when almost nothing grew larger than a seedling but I am hoping that in this location where they will get more sun and probably a little more attention from me they will thrive. We shall see.

I notice that the courgettes, butternut squash, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are doing well in the green house. I will plant them out soon. I hope to grow the butternut squash and cauliflower in pots and the Brussels in the vegetable patch. Will attempt to grown the tomatoes and courgettes in a grow bag as I did last year. Anyone any experience of growing cauliflowers and butternut squash in pots? The potatoes seem to be doing well in a pot!

Bricks

Have commenced a brick wall around the vegetable patch at the bottom of the garden. I have simply stood rows of bricks on their ends to form a rectangle which I hope will hold the soil just a couple of inches above ground level. I intend to sieve all the soil in it and fork in some of the compost from the compost bin.

I also purchased some seeds over the weekend to start sowing over the next week. Tomatoes, courgettes, butternut squash, carrots, lettuce, beetroot and Brussels sprouts. I have left it really late this year to start growing the veg but for some reason I just haven't felt like it was time until now. I think now the evenings are lighter and the weather a little warmer I shall make a start!

Garden Produce

Some pictures of the produce from the garden!

Mangetout

Mangetout planted in a pot with canes for them to grow up.

Jobs in the Garden for May

• Feed and weed lawn.
• Mow lawn weekly.
• Water vegetable patch regularly.
• Sow beetroot, carrots, autumn cauliflower, radish, & lettuce.
• Sow courgettes & squashes.
  
• Plant out leeks.
• Plant tomatoes, sweet peppers, chillies, aubergines & cucumbers in greenhouse.
• Water plants in greenhouse regularly.
• Harden off plants from greenhouse to outside conditions.
  

Growing

After a wet morning the afternoon really brightened up so I have made the most of it and been out in the garden doing some jobs. Firstly I weeded all the borders and the vegetable patch and then I mowed the lawn. I have then treated the lawn with a weed killer/ feeder that I know is not very organic but I hope will get rid of some of the weeds in the lawn.

The top picture shows where I have planted out three of the courgette plants that I have grown. Two into the peat free grow bag and the other I thought I would try in a pot - see what happens anyway - I just hate throwing the other plants away! I have still got about five tomato, five pepper, four butternut squash, four chilli, and three cucumber plants to find space for. I think I am going to need another grow bag!

The lettuce you can see in the second picture are doing quite well and I am still waiting for two other lines I have sowed to grow. That reminds me - I must put some more slug pellets down tonight....

Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash seedlings growing in the mini greenhouse. At least that's what I think they are!

Brussels

The Brussels Sprouts seedlings with the anti-bird and animal precautions

More Sowing

Have been out again this evening and planted up some more pots and a grow bag that I am trying for the first time this year. I have planted out the tomato and aubergine plants that have grown from seed into the grow bag. (I've more tomato plants and may even get another grow bag actually.) I have then sown cucumbers, chillies, peppers (although I'm sure I have got some little seedlings growing already - can't remember), basil, chives, parsley, and butternut squash.

I have also planted out some little stick things which I received for Christmas which came in what looks similar to a match stick envelope of Alpine Strawberries (Fragaria vesca), Wild Flowers, and Butterfly Flowers.

Not sure where I shall plant these out when they grow as I have courgette plants to plant out soon and I would like to sow some more lettuce straight into the vegetable patch as the first lot didn't take very well - I may even sow some in the green house or under the little propagator. I am off over weekend and then Monday and Tuesday too so hopefully weather permitting I shall spend some more time outside - I may even attempt the gate which remains in bits!!

Brussels Sprout

Brussels Sprouts are my most favourite vegetable and today when in Tal Goed Nursery near Glan Conwy I spotted some little plants so have purchased some and planted out this evening. I can't wait until the Autumn/ Winter time to be able to say that I have eaten Brussels sprouts from the garden. Wouldn't it be nice to have my own home grown Brussels sprouts Christmas Day!

I have also replaced the hanging basket with a fern plant which looks effective and will hopefully be low maintenance, weeded the border, planted out the horse chestnut seedling into a pot (the one that was growing in the "wild" part of the border), and sowed some sunflower seeds onto the border at the bottom of the garden.

Seedlings

Hasn't the weather been gorgeous? And I have got little seedlings growing in the vegetable patch! I hope that more will spring through soon and that where the cat has dug around a bit will not have disturbed the others too much. The cat and slug repellent, black cotton and warm weather have done the trick...

Canes

The seeds I planted at the end of March have done well in all this warm weather we have had recently. I planted up three pots with seeds, two of which are already growing... tomatoes and I think butternut squash but I am not sure! I cannot for the life of me remember what was in the third pot! Will have to wait and see...

Red Tulips

Have been in the garden again today and spruced it up a little. I have mowed the lawn and done some weeding in the borders. More importantly I have put in some more canes and attached some black cotton with the hope of deterring the cat from doing it's business all over the vegetable patch. I will be surprised if anything grows as it has been dug over by the cat and then raked over by me a few times now in different areas. I never saw the cat throughout the day today. It must know it has been naughty!

Cold Climate Gardening

This is a mammoth website about gardening that I have come across and it is a brilliant resource and has many websites listed from all over the world. It also has a link to my website on it! Check it out if you have time...

Daffodils and Tulips

Digging

Here you can see the areas I dug over yesterday and in the bottom one the rows in which I have sowed seeds of onions, carrots and lettuce. The beetroot was sowed along the border by the path. The picture above shows where I shall sow some sunflower seeds early next month hopefully.