God I love growing our own

[Sutty]

The breeds I keep are not worth fattening imo

Nor mine - I tried a couple, however I can sex at hatch which is a big help.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

We have lots of molehills.

perfick - I remember my neighbour Jackie Phillips climbing over the chainlink fence at the bottom of our gardwns to go collecting molehills in the field behind for potting up tomatoes in his greenhouse.

 

[pargyle]

perfick - I remember my neighbour Jackie Phillips climbing over the chainlink fence at the bottom of our gardwns to go collecting molehills in the field behind for potting up tomatoes in his greenhouse.

Moles in my garden would need to be tungsten tipped !

 

[Erichalfbee]

Moles in my garden would need to be tungsten tipped !

We have two fields. They are both just topped in the autumn and are fertile grounds for Barn Owl hunting. we do nothing about the moles. In a good year we get long runs of tunnels with heaps of soil thrown up in. spring and autumn. Last year there were very few and so far this year it's the same. The ground, even though one field on a slope, is waterlogged. Bumbles and wasps built nests in the disused ones.

 

[enrico]

Yes but cocks aren’t a waste. You just eat them.

Oh that begs a response.......but I am far too polite

 

[pargyle]

We have two fields. They are both just topped in the autumn and are fertile grounds for Barn Owl hunting. we do nothing about the moles. In a good year we get long runs of tunnels with heaps of soil thrown up in. spring and autumn. Last year there were very few and so far this year it's the same. The ground, even though one field on a slope, is waterlogged. Bumbles and wasps built nests in the disused ones.

On most of my garden if I dig down more than a few inches I hit Fareham clay with flints - it's the stuff that Fareham Bricks were made from - the brickworks is still there but are now just an industrial heritage museum - the ponds that formed in the clay pits are now the centre piece of a wildlife reserve where we regularly walk with the dog - although the most of it has been waterlogged since Autumn as the underlying clay just holds the rainwater from dispersing.

 

[Erichalfbee]

On most of my garden if I dig down more than a few inches I hit Fareham clay with flints - it's the stuff that Fareham Bricks were made from - the brickworks is still there but are now just an industrial heritage museum - the ponds that formed in the clay pits are now the centre piece of a wildlife reserve where we regularly walk with the dog - although the most of it has been waterlogged since Autumn as the underlying clay just holds the rainwater from dispersing.

Ideal place to put a pond, then.

 

[pargyle]

Ideal place to put a pond, then.

I've already got one ! Without all the involuntary ones every time it rains !!

 

[Moobee]

We have had weird weather this Spring, but my first suspicion when that happens is slugs, along with their more middle-class brethren who own their own homes.

James

I always save some wood ash from the log burner to scatter, slugs etc don’t seem to like it much.

 

[Moobee]

On most of my garden if I dig down more than a few inches I hit Fareham clay with flints - it's the stuff that Fareham Bricks were made from - the brickworks is still there but are now just an industrial heritage museum - the ponds that formed in the clay pits are now the centre piece of a wildlife reserve where we regularly walk with the dog - although the most of it has been waterlogged since Autumn as the underlying clay just holds the rainwater from dispersing.

Gosh, I don’t miss Fareham clay although we’ve got Bracklesham clay instead which is greyish and after a storm & with a very low tide, you can see big flat boulders of it in the sea which people like to dig through searching for fossilised sharks teeth.

 

[enrico]

I always save some wood ash from the log burner to scatter, slugs etc don’t seem to like it much.

we use that too. I have a whole dustbin full

 

[enrico]

Gosh, I don’t miss Fareham clay although we’ve got Bracklesham clay instead which is greyish and after a storm & with a very low tide, you can see big flat boulders of it in the sea which people like to dig through searching for fossilised sharks teeth.

Ours is Somerset Clay. Snot Green that makes Blue flaky boulders (Blue Lias) that they build the houses with. Then they wonder why they crumble.

 

[pargyle]

we use that too. I have a whole dustbin full

Yes ... I use wood ash but you can't use too much, it affects the soils ph in the same way that lime does - but tends to dissolve faster - I save all our egg shells and crush them up - very effective slug barrier that lasts longer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

woke up this morning to a gentle reminder that we're not quite out of the winter. had to de-ice the truck before popping down to Amanford for fresh bread.
had my grandfather's words about not doing much before the end of April ringing in my ears as I recalled my tomato plants had started showing in the greenhouse yesterday

 

[Midget Gem]

I use horse bran. Put a generous ring round newly planted seedlings. Slugs love it and seem to eat it in preference. If I'm feeling really keen, I go out after dark and there are gangs of slugs eating the bran which I can pick off and dispose of, but TBH I rarely bother as I am a lark not an owl. It's cheap - a large sack from a farmers' supply shop was about £12 last year and I'd still have some left if the wind hadn't blown the lid off the bin it was in and soaked it all to a mouldy brick! No harm to other animals as far as I know and it just rots down into the ground.

 

[pargyle]

Busy day in the garden, finally got my seed potatoes planted in the bags - 6 bags of Charlottes and 10 bags of Duke of York (Not tried these before but were recommended as an early cropping all-rounder - time will tell). Planted them in a 3-2-1 mix of my compost, leaf mould and seived soil left over from my hedging trench with a top dressing of fish, blood and bone. I'm running out of home made compost now, although I have loads of leaf mould it does not have enough goodness in it I use it to bulk out my compost.

Remade my barrow seive with some new mesh and seived about 6 barrowfulls of compost (note to self - must get on with a more mechanised solution !).

Pulled up a zillion sycamore seedlings - I thought I had cleared them all and more still appear - when will they ever stop ?

Planted out my next tranche of broad beans and prepared the beds for the runners and french beans. Potted on a load of sweet peas, pricked out a tray of tomatoes - kissed goodbye to my experiment to grow melons as all seedlings that had germinated have wilted and died (not sure why - I understand that they are susceptible to cold and the greenhouse is not heated). Found a loganberry that had layered itself into the ground next to the tub that its parent plant is in so gave it a proper home in a pot. Had to water my fruit bushes that are in tubs - despite all the recent wet weather we've had no real rain down here for 5 days and the wind and sun had left the tubs looking very dry and leaves wilting.

Finally strained my cumfrey tea which has been stewing since last summer ...

 

[enrico]

Busy day in the garden, finally got my seed potatoes planted in the bags - 6 bags of Charlottes and 10 bags of Duke of York (Not tried these before but were recommended as an early cropping all-rounder - time will tell). Planted them in a 3-2-1 mix of my compost, leaf mould and seived soil left over from my hedging trench with a top dressing of fish, blood and bone. I'm running out of home made compost now, although I have loads of leaf mould it does not have enough goodness in it I use it to bulk out my compost.

Remade my barrow seive with some new mesh and seived about 6 barrowfulls of compost (note to self - must get on with a more mechanised solution !).

Pulled up a zillion sycamore seedlings - I thought I had cleared them all and more still appear - when will they ever stop ?

Planted out my next tranche of broad beans and prepared the beds for the runners and french beans. Potted on a load of sweet peas, pricked out a tray of tomatoes - kissed goodbye to my experiment to grow melons as all seedlings that had germinated have wilted and died (not sure why - I understand that they are susceptible to cold and the greenhouse is not heated). Found a loganberry that had layered itself into the ground next to the tub that its parent plant is in so gave it a proper home in a pot. Had to water my fruit bushes that are in tubs - despite all the recent wet weather we've had no real rain down here for 5 days and the wind and sun had left the tubs looking very dry and leaves wilting.

Finally strained my cumfrey tea which has been stewing since last summer ...

Our potatoes are showing through the ground. Not the Charlotte yet but the Sagita needs earthing up every day. The Charlotte in pots in the greenhouse are well on the way though.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sagita

I’m really sold on these, thanks enrico. Had some really big spuds last year.
We are away from home at the moment so spuds will go in bags at the weekend

 

[JamezF]

Our potatoes are showing through the ground.

My Charlottes are up, mostly. As are quite a few volunteer potatoes. Need to get rid of them sharpish so they can't spread blight to this year's plants.

James

 

[pargyle]

Our potatoes are showing through the ground. Not the Charlotte yet but the Sagita needs earthing up every day. The Charlotte in pots in the greenhouse are well on the way though.

I grew Sagita last year on your recommendation - had a good crop from them and they were nice potatoes - mine suffered a bit from scab but that's probably because I grow them in bags of compost - it wasn't a serious infection and doesn't affect the flavour or growth. I was a bit late this year buying my seed potatoes and I could not get any Sagita so I went for Duke of York as they are quick growing, first early and a low height plant (My Sagita last year had foliage that was near 4 feet high !) Both the Charlottes and the DoY were very slow to chit this year and were only just ready to go in.