The garden veg thread.

Tomorrow Sunday is going to be our main planting out day of several vegies. They are getting too big in the greenhouse now, it's time for them to go to big school now. Once in the veg beds, just watch the weather, hail and be wind guaranteed!!
On a slight negative note, we are still awaiting our Marmande tomato plants and have been told they will be plug plants, so will be hoping for a warm September!
 
When do you harvest garlic? Mine went in autumn last year (first time growing it)
 
I read somewhere June but apparently you have to wait until some of the lower leaves have gone brown, you shouldn't let them die back like onions or the bulbs open up and won't store well.
I've grown garlic before but this my first time growing it through the winter.
 
Oh mine might need harvesting then.

You could dig one up and see what it's like. Once dug up you shouldn't leave them to dry in the sun like onions, apparently sunlight isn't good for them, leave the stems on and store them somewhere cool, dark and dry.
 
You could dig one up and see what it's like. Once dug up you shouldn't leave them to dry in the sun like onions, apparently sunlight isn't good for them, leave the stems on and store them somewhere cool, dark and dry.

I did have a dig around one last night, looking like ready. They have just started to flop over so I will dig one up today to have a look.
 
Yep its ready, I little small maybe but still smells amazing. Grow your own

1) you get so much joy from it
2) everything tastes and smells so much nicer
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Home grown veg is both certainly both rewarding and the tastiest. if you pick a runner bean and boil it within 20 mins it tastes different, the sugars haven't broken down like the shop bought ones.

A busy day today....

The last of the 'super kale' was picked and the roots and remaining leaves chucked into the hen pen. Those kale plants were just amazing, feeding us from August until today. the last few plants had 'gone to seed' with yellow flowers on the tops and reached 5 foot in height.

the old carpet sections were removed from the pre prepared beds and the planting began!
Runner beans in with cane structure up, always tie it with cable ties unless anyone has better ideas?
Broccoli, Cauliflowers, Black Kale (purple in reality), Leeks all planted, not too confident about the leeks, they are thin just now, but in well fertilized soil.
The carrots and parsnips have poked their heads out in the last few days too.
Finally, the experiment bed, Corn, Climbing French Beans planted together today, then when ready, Courgettes are planted in between. It's 3 crops who are meant to benefit each other, the idea is the corn grows tall, the beans climb up the corn stalks and the courgettes stop weed growth with their leaves..... time will tell :rolleyes:

Just need a couple of cucumber plants now.
 
The weather just not been the best the last few weeks.

Did manage to get the first lot of lettuce planted out, one lot of sweetcorns been planted out too. Hoping this weekend is nice to get the cauliflower out and the rest of the kale.

Been just keeping on top of the weeds, reminds me I need to buy a electric strimmer to tidy up the allotment.
 
reminds me I need to buy a electric strimmer to tidy up the allotment.

I bought one last year, it's the best electric strimmer I have used, google 'Stihl FSA 45' and you will find it. No cable to pull out for strimming, plastic bits fit onto it. Its about £100. Not the cheapest but if it was stolen I'd buy another to replace it. You get 20-30 mins before a re-charge is required.

Over the next 2 weeks I can see the crops starting to get going, its been slow this year to date.
Still no tomato's in the post, bloody dodgy company!
 
I thought I was slowly emptying the greenhouse of plants, but seem to be getting more.

The luffa is shooting up now with this heat, sweet peppers look dead. Had a real strange year with them this year. Last year they great, not sure I will get anything this year.

Plan to get more planted down the allotment tomorrow, got green beans, sweetcorn, spinage to go out.

All looking much more positive atm.
 
All going well to date with veg beds and greenhouse. Two tomato plants are 3 foot tall and flowering, the other 4 are tiny! - but in at last. Had to cancel original order and buy new...waste of time! Brassicas under covers doing really well, the kale, as last year seems to attract no pests and grows without any cover....
Sweetcorn now 2 foot tall, courgettes getting leafy, runner beans climbing up the canes, looking like a veg garden again. Most pleased with the red onions grown from seed, looking quite good. Cucumbers, chillies, basil and spring onions happily growing in greenhouse.
Water butts near empty, just need a good down pour.
 
I basically all planted out apart from a second lot of lettuce. I want to sow some more seeds by the end of the month for a late cropping of a few things after the spuds are ready.

Been eating spinach for a while but not having lettuce and cucumbers as well. Next week is the earliest I can look at the first earlies too. Love this slow transition from buying from the shops to just popping to the garden or allotment for it.
 
Cabbage advice..?

Our cabbages are doing really well, to the extent the out leaves are enormous and overlapping other cabbages. Do you reckon its OK to remove one or two large out leaves now or leave them be?

Everything bar courgettes are growing really well. The courgettes (two different types) look weak and ready to give up! Courgettes are usually fool proof.
 
You should be fine to remove them, my wife often takes outer leaves for a stir-fry, also some people cut their cabbages and leave the stump to grew a new cabbage. I've never tried it though.
 
You should be fine to remove them, my wife often takes outer leaves for a stir-fry, also some people cut their cabbages and leave the stump to grew a new cabbage. I've never tried it though.

Might try the cutting off and trying to grow a second, I do that with cut and come again lettuce.
 
Might try the cutting off and trying to grow a second, I do that with cut and come again lettuce.

We have run out of soil space!!

Had a couple of outer cabbage leaves last night and the first kale harvest, very tasty too. If this kale is as good as last years I'm very happy. 8 months of feed from last years kale.
 
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Well really starting to ramp up the produce I can harvest.

peas
carrots
kale
spinach
potatoes
lettuce
onions
strawberries

Just some of the things I have been picking, brocoli should be ready in a couple of weeks.
Loving the garden.

Also been picking sweat pea flowers for some colour and scent in the house.
 
Popped down to do some weeding as I didn't get chance over the weekend and this wet weather has certainly made them shoot up.

Notice my brocoli has gone to flower, oops pretty sure when I went to get lettuce Sunday morning it was fine, but I have got cabbage ready! So I have brought one home to have some with dinner tomorrow.
 
My broccoli are booming, but no signs of broccoli! leaves up to 18 inches high looking very healthy. Cabbage sin the same plot the same, giant healthy looking leaves bigger than dinner plates but no hearts forming?... On this bed the veg is pushing the mesh up, its growing so well, on the bed next to it we have more broccoli and cauliflowers, they seem ok but its like comparing a normal bloke to Schwarzenegger, that's the best comparison. The booming bed had real chicken muck, the other bought chicken muck pellets.....

Leeks thickening up, Kale booming, a few harvests done, runner beans one harvest already, corn doing well, onions too doing really well from seed.
 
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