Lifestyle

The Greenside Up Veg Patch

May 3, 2012

My Vegetable Garden (3rd May 2012)

If you missed the first video clip in April I mentioned that the food produced here is for family and friends. We don’t sell the fruit or veg but freeze, preserve, dry or make into wine everything that isn’t eaten. Pretty much all of the planting and sowing is done by myself, though Mr G is great with a fork in the autumn and spring months and builds fabulous sturdy structures.

So what’s been happening over the past month? After a slow start the recent rain and then a bit of warmth over the past couple of days has seen the plants (including the grass & weeds) start to pick up again.

Outside the leaves on the potatoes have broken through the soil so they’ve been earthed up protecting them against blight, frost and the tubers rising to the surface and going green. It’s my first time growing potatoes under a mat so I’m interested to see how they compare with the rest of the crop.

The Brussels sprouts and cauliflowers have been planted out having been sown from seed on the heated bench a few weeks ago. Today I sprinkled some organic slug pellets around them in an attempt to protect their new leaves from the hungry little munchkins. The different kales were all started a bit later so a bed has been prepared ready for them.

Brussels Sprouts

Mange tout pea seeds were sown directly into the soil yesterday against the pea support and a green manure of phacelia sprinkled in between to prevent weeds taking over the empty space. There are some toilet roll pots with mange tout coming up in the polytunnel that will be ready to plant out soon, filling in any gaps and giving an earlier crop than the seeds.

One veg we like to be self-sufficient in are the onions and garlic so have two beds on the go which I’ll be adding some leeks to in the next few weeks. The onions have been planted at different times with a couple of bags of shallots only added to the collection last week so they’re all at different stages.

The last veg bed outside will host the ‘others’ so parsnips, chard, beetroot, radish and spinach have all be sown directly and I’m patiently waiting for the seedlings to appear. Carrots will be sown shortly.

In the polytunnel there’s a bit more action…. the globe artichoke is forming, peas are growing and sweetcorn, lettuce, carrots, rocket and broad beans all coming along. The strawberries have almost finished flowering and the fruits forming. There are lots of seedlings on the bench too. Tomatoes, peppers, aubergine, mange tout, scarlet, Tuscany and curly kale, courgettes, cucumbers and winter squash – am starting to wonder where to put everything!

So that’s it for this month and as you can see May will be a busy month planting everything out. If you have any questions or observations about anything I’m doing in my veg patch feel free to leave a comment or ask.

7 Comments

  • Reply La Vie en Rose May 3, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    Dee, LOVE your video’s – so good to see everything at different stages as I’ve never had a veg patch! Amazing to see the difference between stuff in the tunnel and oustide! I really must get cracking on making a veg patch having seen yours – although I think mine will be a LOT smaller to start with!! My Dad was an amazing veg gardener – wish I’d paid more attention now! never tasted anything like his veg – you must get such a kick out of eating all your hard work!!

    Sharon

    • Reply greensideupveg May 4, 2012 at 9:15 am

      Thanks Sharon, glad it’s helping and inspiring! Start small is definitely my advice, perhaps even a few veggies in containers to start like the window box lettuce or tumbling tomatoes that can be bought in garden centres. If you like it you can try for a bit more next year 🙂

      • Reply La Vie en Rose May 4, 2012 at 12:44 pm

        Really inspiring!! window box lettuce- like the sound of that! thanks Dee! I’m just laughing at the line below – please prove you are senient! – barely, think I need more coffee . . .

        Sharon

        • Reply greensideupveg May 5, 2012 at 11:52 am

          hehee I dont know if I can control that (still finding my way around) but glad it made you laugh 😀

  • Reply Móna Wise May 4, 2012 at 7:39 am

    Dee,
    I love your video too and have a question. Why do you have those little pebbles around the Brussels sprouts? Is it for better drainage or to keep the slugs away?

    • Reply greensideupveg May 4, 2012 at 9:14 am

      Thanks Mona! The pebbles are organic slug pellets though judging by the amount of slugs I picked off the bed early this morning not entirely convinced they’re working!They’re supposed to soak up the mucus from the slug causing it to dehydrate.

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