Planted garlic; first crop for 2011

Had saved 3 good looking bulbs from this years crop and kept them in fridge since Augsut. Cold snap coming this weekend so seemed like good chance to plant out now. Gone into box that had runner and french beans - normally follow on from potatoes, so lets try it differently this year.

Rest of site is almost completely bare - just 3 leeks and a few potatoes left in ground.

Sweetcorn - total failure

Back from holiday and alot of stuff has gone to waste -- maybe too hot then too wet whilst we were away?

Sweetcorn has all turned either rock-hard and flourly or if its the 2nd variety we planted it's rather pale and watery and tasteless. Digging it all up - rather expensive and time consuming way of making compositing.

White cabages all gone off also; however red cabagges looking fine.

Beans and courgettes finished and clearing their space.

On the up side, potatoes looking good - quite good yield and size and not too much worm damage.

Tomatoes not too bad -- picking them a little early (i.e. on any sign of ripening) incase blight wipes me out -- a few spots detected but not too much so far (but it's rather damp at moment so could be any day now).

Quite a few melons but mostly about an inch or two accross so dont think they'll come to much - only one looks a reasonable size.

Bean overload

Plenty of beans and yet more courgettes.

First sweetcorn - 3 out of 4 quite nice but one was rather pale and watery. Maybe too early.

Tomatoes starting to come on well - picked plenty and no sign of problems yet.

Started digging up potatoes - plenty of them but dont seem top boil well (according to cook).

Late planted carrots no show at all. Maybe down to fact packet was from 2004, use by 2006! (cheapskate)

The late squashes and melons at back box doing well, greenery wise, but no sign of much fruit.

Courgette overload

Everything in full swing. Couple of days rain over last 2 few weeks but mostly quite dry still.

First few tomatoes - but not many following on.

Plenty of french and runner beans and far too many courgettes - so ended up giving a load away.

Dug up first lot of potatoes - a good yield although they all fell apart when cooked (these were the Accord I think).

Raspberries starting to rippen but plans are amazingly small - at most half the height of last years lot. Must be lack of water this year or maybe the plants are just getting worn out.

Cauliflower failed - small weedy looking hearts have now turned to flower heads. Cabbage not too bad though - picked one as was getting attacked by pigeons.

Sweetcorn plants quite big and quite a few cobs per plant, but the cobs themselves look a bit small so lets see if they swell up.

One of the squashes really taking off - not butternut this year, but some sort of greener pumpkin shaped variety. Also got a cucumber (but none coming on to follow that).

Courgettes getting going

Picked about 10 courgettes; one half-way to being a marrow. Plus a cabbage and a load of french beans.

Finally heatwave has broken; not much rain, just a bit of drizzle but more pleasant temperatures.

Pair of melons

Finished off the latest box, filled with ex-compost heap. Looking quite nice so decided it needed something and about all that was left was a couple of small melon plants for £1.25 - planted them up and covered with a plastic cloche for extra heat (even though it's roasting hot already). Let's see how they do, nothing much to loose.

Garlic all dying on top so dug up and left to dry out. Also a few of the onions. Even the best onions are not that great and some are about same size as when planted. Not a great year for them!

Lettuce - first crop of year

First crop of the year ... picked the lettuces -- although not much from each after removing snail-eaten outer leaves.

Squashes - twi died, one struggling but one taking off and a couple of fruit set already. Planted a cucumber in one corner of the bad but looking like the squash will take over before it gets going.

Very hot. Plenty of watering required.

Working on the latest box. LIned with blue dpm from a skip and filled with green compost, muck. Finally emptied compost bin to top of that box -- nice compost at bottom. Also, disturbed a snakes nest (3 large ones, numerous babies).

Very hot

Extremely hot weekend. Spent an hour or two just watering and a little bit of weeding.

Fully planted up

Sweetcorn (3x8) in back box.
Runner beans in middle box with fresh compost from Feb in it ... which may or may not work, we'll see.
Squashes in skip bag filled with fresh menure mix and a little soil and last years compost.
Tomatoes in pots with last years compost and in central box, dug over with most of last years compost.
Courgettes and calibrasse to complete that box except for a small patch big enough for 2 plants.

Potatoes severly frost damaged, even though covered - tops almost completely died back but plenty of new shoots coming thru.

Leeks, more cabages; nearly complete with planting

Filled up the large box to middle left side with leeks (seedlings about 3" tall). Cabages and two cauli in front left box to complete that.

A few left over potatoes in the un-boxed bed that had runner beans last year.

Only one box left, last lears carrots which I might leave fallow, and the large bed for sweetcorn and thats it.

First crop potatoes now quite high and difficult to cover, or to earth up anymore, so will have to just let them grow and if there's a late frost then oh dear.

With Tom's help, now emptied last years compost box that had squashes growing in it. It needs lining with something like wooden planks or floorboards to strenght and fill gaps in sides and then to just get filled up again.

Beetroot and cabbages seedlings

In first left bed, planted some beetroot seedlings and some red cabbages from mum; also some seed beetroot from a fresh packet I found in shed. Squeezed a few lettuce in between as they should be out in a month, depending on weather.

Potatoes all planted

Back from skiing and decided to plant out the Saxon (2nd early) in front centre bed - bug over quickly and added some of last years compost, as not much has been added here for sometime (this one has been growing carrots and beetroot mostly for last few years). Not covering this one even though its a little chilly still. All 3 varieties now in the ground, so potatoes done.

Picked a few of last years leeks - one going to seed but mostly looking healthy. About 10 more to go.

2nd lot of potatoes

On holiday today, so as very nice and summy decided to plant out more potatoes. Front right most bed. Extensive covering with msh to simulate a cold frame and try to keep it warmer.

Potatoes

Decided to take a gamble and plant out the early potatoes, in one of the small centre beds. Rahter small bed but got all 20 pack in. Variety Accord (1st early it says).

Onions

Planted out the onions - red, yellow and white as usual - in back right corner boxes.

Thought about potatoes, but decided still too cold, so covered bed with a mini-polytunnel to try and warm it up.

First substantial amount of work this year

Still fairly boggy after recent rain but decided to fill in the new box as its just getting too late. Fresh compost from my bin and straw/menure mix and layers of soil as usual.

Maybe 2 beds could be ready to go quite soon - think I know where onions can go (in last years potatoes at back-right). But others still need digging over and moving soil around that came out of the new hole.

Garlic not looking too bad -- a few have raised themsevles out - or more likely the soil has settled around them leaving them a little exposed.