Growing your own veg

KMA · Feb 17, 2017

Old McDonald said:
Nothing sad about you or your post. After about 65 years farming and gardening I still find some things exciting. Yesterday it was seeing the signs of colour on two wild daffodils - the tiny little ones from which cultivated varieties have been developed. The day before it was the first almond flower open. Once you stop being excited about your land, and nature too, it is time to stop.

So very true, for much of my life it's been the first calf or lamb, the eye-wateringly bright yellow broom and the gentle scent of clouds of Blackthorn blossom on a chilly spring morning. Nowadays it's the first snowdrop, blackbird fledgling or seedling. Mother Nature can be truly wonderful in so many ways (she can also be a right cold-hearted bitch at times too).

KMA · Feb 18, 2017

Finally got my act together and put in some soft fruit

Gooseberry - Invicta x2, should crop May-July

Raspberries

Glen Lyon, x4 should crop June/July
Cascade, x4 should crop July/Aug
Polka, x4 should crop Aug-Oct

Kidds · Feb 18, 2017

May I ask the size of your Invicta bushes, were they potted and sorry to be rude but how much too?
The reason I ask is I am thinking to produce them and interested in prices and size of bush purchased. I grew a dozen in pots this year in my tunnel and performance was exceptional ( been growing them outdoors all my life)
Top tip for your gooseberries is to keep a good eye on them for sawfly caterpillar. Turn your back and the leaves will be stripped off. I control them when I see them on a small scalewith one of those squirty bottles from the supermarket. Active ingredient is thiachloprid (same as Calypso).
They come in several flushes so just spray when you see them, I needed to do mine 3 times last year but twice is quite common.
@KMA

KMA · Feb 18, 2017

KMA · Feb 18, 2017

For some reason my phone posts the pics on their edge.

The Invicta came potted and not that big but with a decent root ball around 18" above ground with a spread of around 12". Can't remember the price but I got them with the rasps with a voucher I got for my birthday back in November.

Not their final place but needed to get them in the ground until I get some ground cleared for a soft fruit area at my dad's which isn't going to happen any time soon. I'm at the stage where I know what I want to do but it's going to take years rather than months, with lots of temporary beds. Got some apple and pear trees in serious need of pruning but could do with some advice first.

Kidds · Feb 18, 2017

Thanks.

Nice strong looking bush. It seems that folk no longer grow gooseberry bushes on a leg these days but from a stool instead which I think is a bit of a shame. I guess it doesn't matter too much though.

I went to the local garden centre this afternoon and they had bushes pretty much identical to yours for about a tenner I think. I thought it to be reasonable value.

Send some sideways pics of your apple trees and I will give you some sort of advice as best I can from pics.

KMA · Feb 18, 2017

Will do but I may have to hack some of the jungle down to find them

, nah seriously they're nice established trees (40+yrs) that have been trained along a trellis and are still very productive but have been neglected since mum died, in fact the whole of dad's garden is a bit of a nightmare and will take a hell of a lot of work to put right.

Thanks for the heads up about the sawfly.

Old McDonald · Mar 3, 2017

Chasingmytail said:
Wood chipping need 3 years rotting before being combined as they steal nutrients never put fresh chip into good poo. We mix cow poo with straw bedding with tree cuttings (tons and tons). Refer to mixing combinations on the net to make good compost.

That has always been my view too, but see this short article and 2.42 mins video
http://thealmonddoctor.com/2015/11/14/whole-orchard-soil-re-incorporation/

I am also aware of some recent work in southern Europe on olive orchard renovation that shows similar satisfactory results.

I started my own small scale experiment shortly before I saw The Almond Doctor article. I am using olive tree prunings (in 2015 I chipped them) laid out into a windrow slightly wider than the tractor and I run over the windrow as I apply more prunings. I sowed yellow lupins into the 2015 prunings last autumn and they are growing well.

I am not quite finished the current pruning, but over time I will post the continuing results.

KMA · Mar 3, 2017

Dropped the off the trailer load of chippings which will be used as part of next winters bedding for my sons ewes after that the whole lot will be put in a heap with more cattle much added to break down further for 3 years before being dug in. Brought back over a ton of well rotted pure sheep muck to use this year.

KMA · Mar 19, 2017

1st early tatties (Lady Crystl and Express) planted today only 5 planters of each but made the mistake of putting to many in last year. Plan to have the 2nds in this week but given my progress (lack of) with the raised beds anything could happen.

Last of the garlic (Picardy) finally in, all the others and the Langor shallots up through.

KMA · Mar 29, 2017

The Invicta gooseberries seem to be showing plenty of leaf in spite of a lot of abuse they've received and the pear trees seem to have a lot of buds which look about to burst, nothing yet on the rasps.

The tatties and runner beans seem to be quite happy in 14" diameter x 10" deep round mineral containers but I hope to have at least one raised bed ready in time for the beans. I now have more than enough old round mineral tubs for this year's tatties.

The garlic and onions did fine in 7" deep 1m long planters last year as did the beetroot. The garlic and shallots are already looking very strong.

Lettuce (sweetheart) needed 6" depth. This year I'm going with little gem which will be grown on in old mealworm tubs (from feeding the birds).

Growbags are maybe 4" deep and the toms did OKish last year, at 3 to the bag, this year they're in individual rectangular mineral tubs measuring 14"Lx11"Wx10"D filled with a 50:50 mix of general purpose compost and sheep sh!t.

I've just lifted the last of the Autumn King carrots from the shallower rectangular 10" deep mineral tubs but will be putting them in tubs that are an inch deeper this year. Starting with Nantes then switching to Autumn King later on.

Stuart J · Apr 2, 2017

Has anyone made field sized cloches like the ones in the picture here?

I'm considering making some for courgettes and pumpkins, but would they be ventilated enough? Would high tensile wire do for the hoops?
@Kidds

field-vegetable-crops-rows-covered-polythene-cloches-protection-plants-under-plastic-strips-plastic-covering-40008821.jpg

Kidds · Apr 2, 2017

Yeah I've made one or two over the years.
Plain galvanised wire, (you won't bend high tensile will you?) Make a former out of a sheet of ply with some nails through it for the shape. Put a couple of loops in the wire too for the string to tie to. A bolt rather than a nail for the former on that bit.
Just an obvious "U" shape, the loops end up at ground level so leave enough after the loop to poke in the ground.
Tie down with a length of string with a loop tied on each end hooked over the loop on the wire.

Yes it will get very humid in there. The courgettes and pumpkins will love it but so do fungal disease. I would guess the problem would get too much once the plant actually started to touch the plastic.

KMA · Apr 2, 2017

No where near on the same scale but I'm growing courgettes (Midnight F1) for the first time this year (or trying) planted them in the propagator a couple of days ago. have filled tubs (same size as the toms) with finely chopped well rotted sheep sh!t for when I plant them out. To start with they'll be under cloches made from old 5ltr water bottles, I'll also put a little plastic bottle upside down in the soil so I can get the water and feed to the roots without touching the leafs. The joys of small scale growing

I also have part of a roll of heavy duty plain lurking somewhere, in the "that'll come in handy some day" pile

Osca · Apr 2, 2017

Would courgettes actually need all that much help? I have always been swamped by them if I have grown them, and I am not the world's most successful gardener...

Kidds · Apr 2, 2017

Stuart J · Apr 2, 2017

Osca said:
Would courgettes actually need all that much help? I have always been swamped by them if I have grown them, and I am not the world's most successful gardener...

I'm in Aberdeenshire. Cool climate and strong easterly winds at times.

Stuart J · Apr 2, 2017

Kidds said:
View attachment 495048

Those yours?

Kidds · Apr 2, 2017

Kidds · Apr 2, 2017

Stuart J said:
Those yours?

Yes.
Acres upon acres of the things

Growing your own veg

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