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The "Grow Your Own" Thread

We had more Strawberries and Raspberries but I ate most of them before thinking that I should take some pictures! 🤣
 
You've just reminded me how much I hate gooseberries! Bleugh!!

Behind my house along the river, there are loads of blackberry bushes. Keep waiting for them to come in but it'll be a few more weeks yet. I always go down and pick a bag full.
 
a mate of mine uses those sacks builders merchants deliver sand etc in, as they're a decent size, but can be put away out of season.
Keep meaning to give potatoes a go. Never got around to it.
 
I`m trying spuds in used compost bags this year.
 
be interested to have some feedback on how you get on mate if you don't mind?
 
When I was a kid we had coal fires, the tiny bits of coal which we called 'slack' (or sleck actually) went in a little bunker with waste food, potato peelings etc....we always got a small crop of spuds growing in there...tasted good too considering they grew in coal dust
 
put some tomato seeds in a mini propagator last night. It begins!
The daffs are out. I moved some snowdrops last year and they flowered so thats all good. The early tulips are sprouting.
The winds damaged an old decorative fence left by previous owners. We were going to replace it, but have decided instead of another fence to try to make a pergola instead, which will result in a lot of moving plants to grow up it.

So I guess now is the time to be thinking about what seeds to order.
 
Gardening this year, as for the past 3 or 4 years is on the back foot with other commitments.

I am looking at planting some trees up though, looking at a Silver birch and another for the garden, not sure what else to go for. Quite like Laburnum and Golden Robinia (although that takes up some serious space if left unchecked)
 
Gardening this year, as for the past 3 or 4 years is on the back foot with other commitments.

I am looking at planting some trees up though, looking at a Silver birch and another for the garden, not sure what else to go for. Quite like Laburnum and Golden Robinia (although that takes up some serious space if left unchecked)
plant a fruit tree if you can. And also, I'd recommend a tree that blossoms for a period of time. Great for the habitat, great for bees, and looks wonderful.

Or, cheat, plant a tree and plant a wisteria next to it to use as a climbing frame.
 
Any particular thoughts? I have beans ad peas left over from last year, but not a lot else!
Nor me, probably do the regulars, courgettes , toms, peas etc and then a couple of weird and wonderfulls on top !
 
forgot to mention, in november tried taking some rose cuttings, and also blackcurrant cuttings.
the rose cuttings are all doing well - all 15 have new growth. apparently I need to leave them til november this year before repotting, to allow the roots to properly grow.
noticed today for the first time the blackcurrant cuttings have a couple with ne growth, so am hopeful there too!
 
The weather finally turned nice, and I took advantage to get out there. I did a few jobs and got enthusiastic about doing other things, and then the freezing cold came, confusing me, and a number of the plants! It resulted in me pausing a few jobs, especially seed planting, as I don’t want to plant stuff and waste compost or seeds.
All this stuff is mainly using up old seeds knocking around the place. I did acquire a few bulbs when randomly passing a wilkos one day (dangerous!)
So far I have;
Potted up a daisy plant purchased last year. I was going to split it, but over winter I have acquired a fair few larger pots that people have dumped outside their homes, so instead I put it into a big pot and will split it next spring.
I did the same with our peruvian lilies. I had split these before, and again instead of splitting they’re in bigger pots.
I bought a digitalis last year and again have put this into a bigger pot with the intention of planting it out in the summer.
One stepdaughter bought be a bonsai kit for my birthday last year. I sowed the seeds, and 3 “trees” have sprouted. These went into a tiny pot, and then a slightly bigger pot. This is clearly a long term project – apparently it takes 3 years before you get to the stage of trimming and bending the plants into shape!
Someone gifted us an aloe vera plant last summer, and I damaged it transporting it home, however it seems to have recovered and is not in a bigger pot.
I sowed some peas (nothing yet) and sweet peas a few weeks ago (sweet peas have some sproutage. Most of these were seeds we collected from the plants we grew last year).
I sowed some tomato seeds in the propagator that came with the bonsais. Several have sprouted, and I need to make some time this week to pot them into individual pots.
I noticed that a number of the balloon plants started growing again in the sunny weather, and the Asian lilies have properly kicked in already. I am hoping to be able to clear some of the bigger pots in the greenhouse for protection out, but see they are saying the temp will drop again this weekend! The 2 fuscias that are in the greenhouse have survived so far!
I bought a packet of speckled dahlia bulbs and put these in a pot, and I also bought some Iris bulbs which sprouted within a week! Again these are still under cover at the mo.
I then went through a load of old seeds, and as monty don is growing some on GW, decided to go along with him. So I have done delphiniums, verbena, the first lot of spring onion, rudbeckia, and I also sowed some seeds of these process tress I bought last year, as I tried them last year and thought initially the plants had died off over winter. However last week I noticed that at least 2 of the plants seem to have new growth!
I then got around to mowing the lawn and scarifying. I gave the apple tree a severe pruning. I split the snowdrops, as they had finished flowering (I moved them to a more prominent place last year and they looked good from the house – we couldn’t see them before).
I took some cuttings from a rose last winter, and also had a random attempt at cuttings from the blackcurrant plant. I expected nothing to happen except ending up with dead twigs in some mud, but every single cutting from both has taken and has new growth! I was amazed! I will have to foist these roses onto someone eventually, though apparently I have to wait until winter this year before I can even think about moving them out the pots they are in. I am unsure where I will put the blackcurrant cuttings yet, but am definitely doing that again net year! Also, there’s a tree with amazing blossom round the corner and I will sneak up to it and take cuttings from that in autumn.
Someone gave us an azalea, and I have put that in a nice big pot, and am planning where to plant it out later in the year.
I then sowed some tomato seeds, cucumbers, lettuce and some mystery seeds we collected from the garden but didn’t label.
I have a list as long as your arm of other things I want to do, but need to get past the frosts!
There also is a small ornamental fence the previous owners put in. we have painted it repeatedly, and it’s only real benefit is it is a barrier to the pond. In one set of winds half of it came down. No biggie, as we have been discussing replacing it for 2-3 years. We swapped a few different ideas, and gubbins here came up with the idea of not having a fence, but instead making a pergola. We have a wisteria that would be great in a pergola, so a decent idea. Of course, I am now going to have to build it! I have most of the wood, as pergolas to buy are far too pricey! Got to get the ground spikes one of the days this week. I have some days off for easter, so praying for nice weather to enable that one to progress! Once that is done I will then have to plant out the wisteria, and that will no doubt lead to 101 other jobs!
 
There also is a small ornamental fence the previous owners put in. we have painted it repeatedly, and it’s only real benefit is it is a barrier to the pond. In one set of winds half of it came down. No biggie, as we have been discussing replacing it for 2-3 years. We swapped a few different ideas, and gubbins here came up with the idea of not having a fence, but instead making a pergola. We have a wisteria that would be great in a pergola, so a decent idea. Of course, I am now going to have to build it! I have most of the wood, as pergolas to buy are far too pricey! Got to get the ground spikes one of the days this week. I have some days off for easter, so praying for nice weather to enable that one to progress! Once that is done I will then have to plant out the wisteria, and that will no doubt lead to 101 other jobs!
If only you knew an ex carpenter (traditional) who will work for cake :)
 
the fluctuating weather seems to cause sporadic bursts of activity.
potted up the tomatoes from the mini propagator (and put more seeds in)
the did feck all for a week or so as the temperature dipped.
decided to take down a decorative fence precious owners installed. some posts were rotten, and it was on it's last legs anyway and we've been meaning to update it for 2 years.
find out the feckers put in 2 foot deep concrete for this tiny fence, and ended up spending a day digging it out!
sowed some lettuce, sprouts, cauliflower, basil and sunflowers.
changed the idea of replacing a fence with a fence and made my own pergola. took 3 days, but pretty pleased with the result.
visited stepdaughter and nicked a massive pot, and took a load of fuscia cuttings.
tried to put the wisteria up the pergola, then swore a lot after damaging it.
sowed some marigolds and thyme, and noticed the tree seeds sown last year haven't died, but were sleeping in winter and have new growth.
noticing a few things sprouting in the greenhouse, which means things need potting up soon, yet I have more seeds to sow yet!
 
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