The "Grow Your Own" Thread

I vowed to cut back this year, failed again, everything's coming on well. trouble is I plant with the expectation that some wont germinate, wrong ! The wife found a small garden centre that delivered locally so she brought the bedding plants for the hanging baskets ( we usually have about a dozen) but with them predicting a ten degree temperature drop on Sunday everything is crammed in two greenhouses ! I don't know where I'm going to pot all the veg ?

I am definitely holding back on my plant order in light of the forecast for next week. By lunchtime I should have completely finished the digging out and weeding of all the back garden borders, nice and ready for a load of Roses, Peonys, Lupins, Geraniums, some herb bushes (going to try oregano for a change this year), Lewisias and the like. I also have a very exposed bed by the back fence that is in a total sun spot so going to try strawberries and raspberries in there.

yeah, I'm hoping the beans don't get wiped out. the peas are desperate to be planted out, but that'll have to wait a week now. When I am able to plant them out it'll make space for potting everything else up.
sowed some Pampas grass seeds this weekend to see if anything grows.

Veg beds weeded today (again) & tomato plants that my neighbour gave me having grown them from seed planted.

Only this morning though as gone cold & windy from lunchtime down here.

Have done some strimming to tidy places up, and finally got around to clearing the summerhouse gutters.

planted a few gladioli bulbs a couple of years ago. Having time to clear things in the garden meant i cleared where they sprout, and it seems that they are starting to spread! Most of the bulbs in pots are sprouting too, so things are looking good from a flower/colour perspective.

hoping to plant out peas and sweet peas this weekend. That'll create a bit of greenhouse space for potting on.

peas planted out.
didn't do the sweet peas today - one evening this week.
repotted the sweetcorn, and also the cucumbers. checked on the beans, and the ones the cat hasn't dug up seem to be ok.
repotted the peppers some kind person gave to me.
noticed that as well as having to plant out the sweet peas the tomatoes will need repotting soon.

I potted up the tomatoes from plugs. Hoping they'll kick on a bit now. I also planted out the 2nd lot of peas, and also the pea waverex that have sprouted.
I noticed that there will soon be lettuce to eat. Hoping that one day this week some of it will be good and thick enough.
I raked up all the leaves the wind had scattered.
I sowed marigolds in the 3 long troughs I have. I've decided they are too long for lettuce. On the positive side it meant the one composter had a good turn and stir, and there is now room to put fresh stuff for composting, as they were full again!
I'm not sure if the sweet peas are taking ok outside. just gotta keep the fingers crossed.
the basil needs potting on, and the sweetcorn needs planting out this week. I also want to thin out the thyme. and I seem to have success with the leeks I sowed, but not with any parsnips or sunflowers. Anticipating being busy potting up the balloon plants soon, perhaps some sprouts, and definitely some leeks.
The peppers that I repotted are looking good, but the pepper seeds I sowed haven't germinated.
The pampas grass is going well. some marigolds sown a month ago are sprouting.
Cucumbers might be planted out next weekend too.

Beans are now about 12". some have bloody flowers on already! Peas have settled in ok too, and have reached the nets to climb up.
sweetcorn was planted out and is doing fine. Just got to hope they pollinate.
Tomatoes are coming along - after weeks of nothing they have suddenly sprung up a bit. Mainly around 6", and might need potting on in a week.
Split the thyme and it seems to be ok. Nothing sprouted in the 2nd thyme though.
Sowed fucking hundreds of parsnips, and it looks like 2 have sprouted.
The peppers I sowed haven't germinated. The ones I was given were potted on and are looking healthy, about 3"-4" tall.
8 pots of basil responded well to potting on and are growing nicely.
The 2nd lot of tomatoes I sowed were potted on, and are smaller, but look ok. Think they're trailers, but can't remember.
Potted up the sprouts and leeks today.
None of the sunflowers germinated. I have one solitary rogue sunflower that must be from last years seeds.
The balloon plants seem to be developing, and started eating lettuce.
Lilies are going nuts - 10+ flowers on them, and the fuscias likewise. The asian lilies are opening.
The apple tree is covered in fruits, and the blueberry bush seems to have grown 9-12" overnight.
Hoping for a decent crop of blackcurrants, and can see raspberries forming on the bushes.

We need rain desperately. Water butts are proper empty.

Got 3 tomato plants from my neighbour who grew them from seed - one has gone in to the veg bed as had outgrown the pot - the other two will wait on the kitchen windowsill for a couple of weeks - plus 2 peppers which are in and looking robust.

What I thought were 2 cucumber plants as well though having looked again 1 is a pumpkin - left it in so will see what it does.

Agree we do need some rain, though all are getting some water daily. Raspberry canes are looking good with some flowering taking place so liklihood of a crop later.

Deciding what to do with my cucumber plants. Debating popping one or two of them over to my folks.

lemonjelly said:

sweetcorn was planted out and is doing fine. Just got to hope they pollinate.

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You can help it at a later stage

prior to the storm, I had a quick potter in the garden.
having the biggest blackcurrant crop ever. the plant is dripping with fruit. almost filled the first freezer tub (never filled an entire tub before!)
noticed the very first raspberry is reddening. couple of days for full ripeness. had a great raspberry crop last year - there are still some of them in the freezer.
The blueberry bush is much sturdier, and also has a fair few fruits coming. They'll need a decent summer to ripen.

Peas are about 18-24 inches tall now. starting to have flowers.
the beans are bushing out but haven't grown tall at all. they have flowers, and at least 1 bean is growing. unsure if the hot spell is messing with them.
the sweetcorn is about 2 and a half feet tall now.
i put the cucumbers into some big pots, and am trying to encourage them to climb some canes.
I have 3 decent looking pots of thyme. Will pot them up once more in summer, then be able to dry it out through late autumn and winter for the christmas dinner.
of the 100s of parsnip seeds sown, i have 3! popped em into pots prior to planting them out.
I put all the first lot of basil into one big pot and it is doing really well. nice big leaves, and is about 9 inches tall.

i've potted up about 25 toms, with another 10 to pot up later this month.
the peppers need potting up too. One of them is struggling, the others are about 8 inches tall now.
i have about 15 leeks and 30 sprouts to plant out. every time i try at the mo it rains. I will be short for space I suspect.

the solitary sunflower remains strong!
i potted up the balloon plant seeds and they seem to be reaching for the sky, though they will likely flower late, if at all this year.
the older balloon plants have just started showing the first signs of buds. The dahlias, and whatever other flowers we have are budding too. FWIW there are orange, yellow, and purple ones!
The fuscias are doing well. am going to try taking some cuttings off them this month (never done that before).
The marigolds have been struggling. hoping this rain gives them a boost.

the pampas grass experiment is working too well. got to figure out where to plant it out this week.

lemonjelly said:

the pampas grass experiment is working too well. got to figure out where to plant it out this week.

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How experimental....?

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ret-symbol-swingers-turn-off-sales-plummeting

Ha! mrs jelly was aware of these rumours and mentioned them to me. Hope she wasn't scoping the possibility there...
we're hoping to use it to hide one of the composters.

Mowed the back lawn at 8 am this morning, probably upset the neighbours, but was going to get too hot to do it later.

Peppers are showing real growth & the first fruit appearing on the tomato plants (albeit very small & green just now). Shedload of fruit on the raspberry canes so should have a fair bit off there in a while.

Parkins left foot said:

Mowed the back lawn at 8 am this morning, probably upset the neighbours, but was going to get too hot to do it later.

Peppers are showing real growth & the first fruit appearing on the tomato plants (albeit very small & green just now). Shedload of fruit on the raspberry canes so should have a fair bit off there in a while.

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It would've annoyed me too. I went out to eat my breakfast at 9am and it was perfectly cool enough still to mow a lawn.

The Bear said:

It would've annoyed me too. I went out to eat my breakfast at 9am and it was perfectly cool enough still to mow a lawn.

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Probably depends where in the country you live, your ability to cope with temperature when doing a physical activity & the time it's going to take to deal with it (mine is more than a fair sized garden).

Not going to be apologetic after next door did his at 7.30 am last Sunday.

So, after the plant/flower beds that I built, Sandra asked if I could build her a potting table out of an old, lined bed



I said that it wouldn't really work but we had some old batons, fence and flooring panels so...

I'm pretty pleased with that to be honest

That is excellent, will make sure never to show the wife this