Where is Summer?

I am a bit confused... Summer is generally meant to be the bit between spring and autumn. But somehow it has passed us by this year.
It has been a poor year for my cucumbers, only had a handful. But the tomatoes are still going strong and it's mid September. I am now officially fed up of tomatoes!

The potato harvest has been a poor one with them mostly being small and not such a large amount from each plant. The ones in buckets did the best -warmer conditions maybe?

The runner beans were also poor compared to last year but the French beans are still coming.

The hooligan pumpkins have come into their own at Nanna's garden, although they are a bit too small to do anything useful with. The sweetcorn there (last chance for me as each year I have had no success) was OK, but don't think I shall bother next year.

The onions bolted just after out holiday in June so had to be pulled - I have already used them all. I have a few shallots left but need to plant different varieties next year maybe?

I have been making loads of home brew and have lots of wine on the go - marrow, apple, apple and blackberry, sloe, blackcurrant, plum and loads of cider. Marc actually managed to break the press this year as he was a bit too gung-ho with the jack! Our apples were late and quite poor so we managed to scrump loads from a local farmer. Some time next spring the cider with be ready as it has to go through a secondary ferment to make it smoooooth :o)

Peppers and aubergines and chillies were poor. Again, I shall be more selective with the varieties next year.

The raspberries were all in large pots and have been fantastic this year, so they have been cut down and given a bed of their own in the garden. We had loads of early strawberries then they seemed to wear themselves out and by the time we got back off hols in late June they were few and far between. I will move them in with the raspberries and get some new ones for next year.

Still pulling carrots, they are lovely and fat now. Yet to pull any parsnips, will wait a bit as want to save some for Christmas dinner. I have mini-sprouts coming too - Marc will be delighted they are his absolute fave vegetable..... oh no, I am lying he hates them!

I have got 150 leeks in the bit of land next to the house and some onions. The bloody weeds love that bit of ground :o/

The brassicas cover was accidentally mowed and has got a massive hole in it so will need to invest in something else next year. The cabbage whites were mental this year but the chickens have benefited from any manky looking plants. They don't care what they eat!

One of my girls was poorly and had to have a tip to the vest - a proper James Herriott type with cow poo up his arms! We had said no vets for the chickens but as we didn't know what was wrong with her we couldn't just dispatch her, and turns out she had a parasite. Something my regular wormer doesn't cover. She has perked up since then but hasn't laid for a few weeks as went into a moult. I also have Daphne, my favourite chicken, in a moult so egg laying has been down lately.

We have been having a big push to get the house finished so less time has been spent in the garden. The awful weather ensured this was no hardship really. I have had 2 large areas of the garden gravelled to cut down on my weeding duties.

Buckets of fun!

Very excited today as my boys have helped to unearth the first spuds - this was a new experience for Dominic who looked completely fascinated although he wasn't too keen on the actual dirt! I had couple of buckets of Lady Christl in the greenhouse and they are now ready.

Some of the 'chancing my arm' squashes etc at Nanna's got caught by a really late frost - I thought they were all dead - re-sowed them and lo and behold they have come through again. My spuds here in the garden suffered but have recovered well. I now have to find enough room for another 20 or so squash, courgette and pumpkin and marrow. I have planted out 24 sweetcorn at Nanna's too, last year of trying for a harvest with them or I am giving them up.

I have started picking off the first lettuce leaves. I never wait til they are whole and always do the 'cut and come again' method as we only want a few leaves a day. I have also had some baby spring onions.

The first tiny tomatoes are forming, bizarrely not on the greenhouse ones but on one of the tumbling ones in a hanging basket.

I have less peaches forming than last year but the ones that are coming along are doing a grand job. I think the harsh winter did not suit them at all.

The boys have had the first few strawberries from the greenhouse, arguing over who gets them! And they also shared the first couple of peas too. These were sown back in the autumn and planted out in spring.

I have finally covered the brassicas with netting - hope it wasn't too late...

We are currently experimenting with sprinklers in the greenhouse for when we go away late in June. It's not totally sorted yet but hopefully will be in the next couple of weeks.

The weather is being totally random - frost one night and then blazing heatwave for a few days. I have no idea what next week will bring :o)

ooh ooh ooh edited to sayI have lots of mini mini cucumbers on the mini cucumber plant!

Busy Busy...

Spring finally appeared and now we are having another horrible cold spell. It's been really wintry and horrible, not my kind of gardening weather at all. And yet 2 weeks ago it was blazing hot and shorts weather.
So it's been a long time since last post and lots has happened:

Shallots, onions and garlic are all doing well. The cats like to lie on them so some are a bit wonky but am sure they will be fine.

Planted out a half bed of asparagus grown from seed last year. Also a few in some large pots to see how they do. Been earthing them up and they are all looking healthy. I LOVE asparagus so excited to see if they develop, and SO impatient to wait for them another year or two.

Put some summer raspberries into large pots as I haven't yet decided where to have a proper fruit garden. All my fruit is in pots. Blueberries, raspberries, red and white currants, a gooseberry and loads of strawberries. There are tiny peaches on the tree even though it got left out this winter and some of the branches had to be removed due to frost damage. The fleece kept blowing off. It is shwing signs of leaf curl again but I have pulled off the affected leaves and hopefully we will still get a few peaches. I did spray with bordeaux mix in the autumn.

The tomatoes were moved into the greenhouse about a month ago. They have now been hardened off and I have some inside and some outside. I also donated some to friends and the local pre-school. I am growing sungold, marmande, black cherry, outdoor girl, tumbling tom, sweet million, tigarella, big boy, roma and red cherry. Think that is all of them. I have about 30 plants, but make sauces with them and chutneys so can't really have enough :o)

The broadbeans planted from loo-rolls are doing great. They were planted out about 3 weeks ago. The ones sown direct are a no-show. I may pop some more in tomorrow to see how they do.
The peas are looking good too, even though the pesky pigeons have had a nibble.
I have planted out some parsnips in kitchen roll holders and sown some direct. Too early to say if they will poke their heads through. I find them a bit hit and miss if sown direct.
I have sown 2 rows of carrots and had almost given up hope when hoorah! they are coming though.

I have got all my early potatoes in the bit of overgrown land next to the house - I dug some over- and the rest went into buckets. The main crop are at Nanna's and salad ones in a bed here. The greenhouse ones are almost ready for a furtle... salivating at the thought of new potatoes now! (growing lady christl, king edward, blue danube and charlotte this year). All been earthed up once so far.

I have a few cucumbers (marketmore, and crystal lemon), peppers (golden wonder) and chillis (cayenne), in the greenhouse but they seem smaller than last year. I also have cape gooseberries, and a couple of melons in there too. And a couple of aubergines. I don't like the spines, they always catch me out!

I have planted out marrow, courgette, pumpkin and squash at Nanna's today - a bit early maybe but they are hardened off and it's quite sheltered there. I also have my runner beans and borlottis there too. Again planted out today.

Up the wigwam here I have planted out yesterday some climbers and french beans.
I have lettuces in the greenhouse we have been picking from, salad leaves and rocket etc. Been having fresh salads from the greenhouse now for over a month. Yum, so nice after all the cold weather! I have lettuces just planted out in the garden too.

Planted out 2 weeks ago my brassica bed - cabbages, caulis, sprouts, kale etc - the pigeons have kept away so far (crosses fingers). I will try and get the netting up before the first cabbage whites appear. Just my luck they will arrive as we go on holiday.
been harvesting lots of PSB but it's just about finished, shan't plant it out at Nanna's again as it does better here.

Spring onions are coming up nicely have got clumps of them planted out with the lettuces.

One compost bin has been emptied on one of the beds - lovely stuff :o)

Flower wise, I have sown some nasturtiums for eating hopefully and have got loads of sunflowers ready to go out. I am hoping the slugs keep off them this year. we had one side of the garden (shady and weedy) gravelled last week so I have had a lovely time arranging all my pots on it. It will mean less time weeding it and more on the veggies :o) All the herbs are now on the decking (mint, rosemary, **marjoram**, parsley, chive, garlic chive, curry plant, sage). I have purple basil, sweet genovese and a miniature basil on the kitchen windowsill.

** Bought the wee marjoram plant to go with the deer that committed suicide in the garden and is now in my freezer in the garage!

And we have a new coop - the girls and me love it :oD Thanks Marc xx

Spring is on it's way...

No really, it is. Despite the fact that we have had MORE snow today and over the past few weeks. I am sick sick sick of snow. It's too cold to go out to do anything useful. I manage about half an hour before having to come and thaw out. Even with so many layers I look like the Michelin man. Blame it on poor circulation!

I wound the veg garden down over the winter, and am now planning and have started sowing for this year. I managed to clean the inside of the g/h thoroughly the other week and it is now probably cleaner than my actual house!

I have been harvesting, kale, cabbage, jerusalem artcichokes, leeks and sprouts. The latter two from Nanna's garden. Still got plenty of garlic to use up.

I have been sowing, ito the heated propagator, tomatoes, aubergines, alpine strawberries, chillis, sweet peppers and cape gooseberries. Herbs are on the windowsills.

I have also sowed into the greenhouse: cabbage, calabrese, caulis, kale, leeks and lettuce and salad leaves. I have planted 2 rhubarb crowns into the greenhouse, and two bluberry bushes and a gooseberry bush.
I have moved some strawberries inside to give them a kickstart.
I have sowed some sweetpeas in loo rolls, again in the greenhouse at the moment. The overwintering peas and broadbeans in the g/h are on flower! Not sure they will come to much as can't imagine there are any insects in there at the mo.
I also have some raspberries in a temporary pot until the next bed can be made for them.

Put some shallots in today and admired the onions and garlic that have survived the awful winter and are about 7 inches tall. Weeded the bed. Sowed some broad beans direct too as the ones that have overwintered have gone black and I am not holding out much hope for them now. If I get a glut I will just freeze some. Sowed some spring onions in a pot too, and some carrots.

Have covered a bit of the wasteland next to the house with black plastic so all the spuds will go there. They are chitting in the garage.

Looking forward now to some warmer weather so I can get out a bit more and DO stuff :o)