Veg plans for 2020

About time I threw up a few pics. So the spuds in the pots came up first a good few weeks ago now but the ones in the bed really only took off about a week ago. How does one know when they are ready to harvest? I know it says something like 12 weeks but is that from when they shoot up or when you stick them in the ground. I suppose I’ll be alright taking one up at a time (pots anyway, maybe not the ones in the bed).

Then the beetroot, three of them there doing ok and one more if you can make it out which just showed yesterday. Did I read something above about chard? Is that the leaves and stalks? What can I do with that? Actually same re the spuds or do you just chuck them in the composter?

Then the poor little pots with the seeds for sunflowers and beans still showing nothing at all. I keep firing water on them in hope.

You can also see I like to take a few clippings from my hedge. My dad has a full hedge in his garden from my precious clippings, so hoping I can get even half of these to take and sort him out with another one. I find it can be hit and miss. Other clippings there are roses and climbing geraniums which I snipped out of my grandads garden a few weeks ago. He was a fantastic gardener and I suppose I learnt pretty much most I know about gardening from him. Gone almost 11 years so it’s nice to have a memory of him in my garden.

Speaking of my grandad, a few years back in high stormy winds a couple of sizeable branches snapped off a standard rose that he had growing. The rose took a right battering and was blown over but I managed to get it back in place and save it for my Nana........ well for a few years anyway. It’s since gone along with her alas.

But the branches that fell off that time came home with me and thanks to a bit of rooting powder and a pot of compost they don my front and back garden so a nice reminder of them when the summer comes along and they start to bloom.





Sorry, pics won’t load right way up!

My veg plans are being re-written in the light of new weather predictions - another heat-wave, and probable drought - forecast for my part of France. We're not even into June and my 1000l reserve of rainwater is gone with no immediate prospect of the butts being re-filled. Temperatures of around 27°C every day this week, so my lettuce is growing too fast and tastes bitter, a few of the onions grown from sets have bolted already, whereas those grown from seed are still miserable weedy things :mad: and the peas are flowering and running to seed before almost as soon as they've germinated! :eek:

The tomatoes seem happy though - planted out 36 of a standard-sized variety this week, to join 20 cherries. Carrots and green beans are doing ok too, as are the assortment of melons, squashes and other cucurbits.

And the sun has sent the slugs off to greener, damper pastures, leaving my strawberries in peace! Ten pots of jam made this week.

beggars_bush wrote: »

Onions leaves are all turning yellow.
Oh dear.

My onions are a complete disaster. 90% have bolted before making any size. Must be the funny weather, a very wet winter then near drought like conditions where I am for the last two months. Planted them last October but not going to bother overwintering again, they got too beaten up over the winter. Luckily I have some spring sown sets that look much happier and healthier.

Using a lot of water trying to keep everything alive at the moment. We need a good fall of rain.

Eating our salad leaves, beetroot leaves at the moment. Peas, runner beans, grown from seed all in flower now. French Beans still stubbornly small. Good growth of swede, turnip and spinach, chard.

CelticRambler wrote: »

My veg plans are being re-written in the light of new weather predictions - another heat-wave, and probable drought - forecast for my part of France. We're not even into June and my 1000l reserve of rainwater is gone with no immediate prospect of the butts being re-filled.

Be careful what you wish for, they say ... Waterbutts replenished to overflowing this afternoon in 15 minutes flat! :eek:

Unfortunately, a torrential rainstorm was preceded by a shower of hailstones as big as marbles. Not sure my tomatoes, peppers or chilis will have appreciated those.

Weather getting colder from Wednesday on
Hopefully some rain too

CelticRambler wrote: »

Be careful what you wish for, they say ... Waterbutts replenished to overflowing this afternoon in 15 minutes flat! :eek:

Unfortunately, a torrential rainstorm was preceded by a shower of hailstones as big as marbles. Not sure my tomatoes, peppers or chilis will have appreciated those.

What part of France do you live in?

The mini greenhouse which I had put aside to tape back into some usefulness just sailed across the garden and landed on the onions. Ye joints have been smashed just hoping that the tomatoes survive the wind now.

Broccoli turning yellow with black spots on leaves, then leaves dying

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Another day in the garden and another bed done.
Gigantes beans, Swede, turnip, okra, dwarf beans and salad leaves.

Is this in Ireland and outdoors? Is okra viable, I'd love to grow it? And gigantes

I just mix my beetroot leaves in among my other salad leaves. I also mix in young spinach leaves. It bulks out the salad leaves.....to be honest it is probably the type of dressing that you put on salad leaves that make them tasty.

@brownfinger, is this your fist year with the finished greenhouse? How's it going? Would you do anything differently? I remember following a thread a while ago where you gave details about it and I was very jealous

Ah! I was wondering what that was!

Yikes! What size do you wish you'd gone for? I've saved the link to the greenhouse you gave in the other thread! We bought a house a few months ago, and while it does have a greenhouse, its small, I think 7ftx7ft, I want a bigger one. I really like the dwarf wall style, so I'm very envious of yours! I'll be going at the veg garden in the autumn and I'm planning on leaving room for a new greenhouse up beside the existing one.

We've sown garlic from Aldi/Lidl and a garden centre at the same time a couple of years ago and the grocery store cloves did way better than the garden centre garlic.

Interesting! I'd be going for either black or silver. I love the look of the black frame, but the existing one is the standard silver/galvanise frame and I'll be keeping that one. But it's a couple of years down the road before I'll be in a position to build it so plenty of time to figure out what I need/want. I'll be concentrating on the actual veg garden first, I'm not completely stuck regarding a greenhouse because I have the small one.
I'd love to see photos!

MacDanger wrote: »

Sprayed the potatoes for blight today, would rather not have but didn't want to chance it. Once I harvest the earlies, is there anything that's suitable for planting for the rest of the summer / autumn?

Thinned out the carrots also - should this have been done sooner?

Planted a few leeks and celery too

You could still plant swedes, calabrese, winter cabbage, beetroot, lettuce, spring onions or purple sprouting broccoli for next spring.

It's fine thinning carrots now, just might delay the harvest by a few weeks.

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

I threw a few parsnip seeds in the ground today. Am I too late?

Never too late

Picked our first batch of blackcurrants this week. Getting very tempted to pick our Gooseberries but I know they are not ready yet. Mange Touts, I expect to pick these in the next day or so.