Growing your own veg

[JohnGalway]

They look well enough. My concern would be fungal diseases at low altitudes, but I am sure you can keep these under control.

Haven't the foggiest notion what I'm doing apart from the very limited care instructions sent with them, will be learning on the job.

 

[Old McDonald]

Haven't the foggiest notion what I'm doing apart from the very limited care instructions sent with them, will be learning on the job.

I have always considered my farming and gardening around the world in the same way. It is all a long, slow learning job. Yesterday I was given some seeds (all from Thailand) for Kaffir Lime, Roselle (a hibiscus) Chinese Chives ( which I have fortunately discovered is just another name for Garlic Chives) and Bird Pepper. No idea how and when we might use them, but interesting all the same - if the seeds germinate.

 

[renewablejohn]

Harry Ferguson made a box to sit on top of those 3xridge ploughs. Probably still a few about. They save a heap of work if you can find one. YouTube probably has some vids of them in action - it did a few years ago.

I have the tubes for planting straight from chitting trays. Once planted you take the tubes off and use it for ridging up.

 

[Old McDonald]

Any photos? I do not understand your description of what you do. Ferguson's planter did the job in one go. Two people sat on the typical Fergie seat on the planter and dropped a potato down the spout whenever the bell rang. No ridging up needing to be done afterwards The potatoes went into the bottom of the ridge.

 

[renewablejohn]

Any photos? I do not understand your description of what you do. Ferguson's planter did the job in one go. Two people sat on the typical Fergie seat on the planter and dropped a potato down the spout whenever the bell rang. No ridging up needing to be done afterwards The potatoes went into the bottom of the ridge.

This is a fergi planter but instead of the hopper and seats you put the chitting trays on the planter and two people walk behind putting the chitted potatoes down the tubes in time with the bell. Once planted and potatoes just showing out the top of the ridges the rows would be dragged with a 9 tine drag then ridged up again with the planting ridger but with the planting tubes removed.

 

[KMA]

We've still got a drill harrow sitting around somewhere, ah the days of acres of swedes in drills, up and down with the web seeder, fergie harrows and scarifier. Even more the utter pleasure of shawing them by hand on a frosty morning, forking them into the trailer, forking out to the cattle and not knowing you'd nearly amputed a finger until you were in the house for lunch and the blood started flowing again.

Good old days my ar5e

 

[Pasty]

I used to sit on one of these behind our old Major. Can't recall the make / model but at 5 or 6 it was all I was good for. Ding. Spud.....That was a video game in those days! Only me on the machine though and had to shout when the bag was empty.

 

[KMA]

Just about finished the first raised bed which is just as well as these little beans will need planted out in a few days. Started 20 off on paper towel about 10 days ago, then transferred them to pots as they germinated,14th seedling appeared overnight

 

[KMA]

Courgettes were started the same way a day later, only need a couple so have 9 surplus

 

[Old McDonald]

This is a fergi planter but instead of the hopper and seats you put the chitting trays on the planter and two people walk behind putting the chitted potatoes down the tubes in time with the bell. Once planted and potatoes just showing out the top of the ridges the rows would be dragged with a 9 tine drag then ridged up again with the planting ridger but with the planting tubes removed.

I was brought up to grow potatoes in a different way to most folks. Ridge them as they are planted and keep them that way. I do this by hand in the kitchen garden - ridge them as I plant. If extremely weedy the ridges could be knocked down (by hand with a draw hoe) and then re-ridged, but normally either leave them alone, or just run the ridger through and it would knocl out the bulk of the weeds. For te last 50 years or so I have knocked down the first flush of weeds when very small. Originally paraquat and later glyphosate.

 

[renewablejohn]

When we used to do market gardening then everthing was grown on potato ridges to get the depth of soil with the beds made firm with ridge rollers then fashion changed and the centre ridge of the fergi ridger removed and replaced with a crumbler and mould board to produce deep beds.

 

[KMA]

First raised bed all planted and the seedlings seem to have settled in, still got surplus courgettes and runner beans.
All the maincrop tatties (Orla Cara and Setanta) are finally in and parked in every spare area until I have the third raised bed in and can find a permanent location , the garlic are huge but will need moved when I can (the convenience of having them in planters)
All the varieties of strawbs have started producing flowers.
The air temperature is steadier without the wild variations between night and day I'd been having, still surprisingly high through the day though. Have started taking one of my soil temperature readings from the first raised bed which is consistently 2 degrees higher than the planters I'd been measuring previously though I'm still averaging them out.

Temps for today

Air
max 27.5
min 9.2
9am 9.9

soil 12

rain (24hrs) 7mm

Slugs, during the dry spell I wasn't getting business in my slug traps but in the first 24 hours of rain the traps were well visited and had to be refreshed

 

[Chasingmytail]

Try selling surplus plants courgettes and beans worth a go. For the effort youve put in there will be someone desperate for plants and even if you get £2 I think its worth it at least it covers the seeds. If not the schools would prob love to have them.

I havent had much free time - Ive noticed the weeds are really coming back and wonder if I'll ever get on top of the blighters. At least my Saturday boy is kept busy cos there isnt much happening animal wise so this ties him over for a couple of hours. I dont think I could do this by myself. He weeded inside the poly too. Even an hour extra help is great for catching up.

 

[KMA]

Thanks, good ideas. I've got primary school less than 100yds down the road, not sure courgettes would do with them though, I did start to put the word out at the weekend though a village swap-shop would be handy. I do know they've got some beds but I don't think they've touched them this year. I can probably off load the last two beans on my son.

Planning to start off some lettuce and beetroot in the propagators today to plant out into the 2nd raised bed when I get it finished (hopefully by the end of the week). It's very wet and windy her today so I'm doing indoor stuff.

 

[JohnGalway]

Maris Bard peeking out

 

[renewablejohn]

Keep hilling mine up and covering with plastic as quite normal for frost here until early June.

 

[JohnGalway]

Keep hilling mine up and covering with plastic as quite normal for frost here until early June.

Right beside the sea here, reckon I'm safe enough regards frost now. New sprayer ordered for blight spray - won't arrive until 2 June though

 

[Old McDonald]

Right beside the sea here, reckon I'm safe enough regards frost now. New sprayer ordered for blight spray - won't arrive until 2 June though

Is blight a possibility before then? I suppose being on the coast, and mild, it is likely to occur earlier than most places. The dry weather keeps it away from us until at least August when dew seems to start it off.

A Cara in flower today, but a catch crop. They always seem to come up early and not be frosted. Never worked that one out. Plant early and they get hit by cold weather - not necessarily sub zero to "frost" them. A min of 2.9º at the end of March knocked a lot of things.

 

[JohnGalway]

Is blight a possibility before then? I suppose being on the coast, and mild, it is likely to occur earlier than most places. The dry weather keeps it away from us until at least August when dew seems to start it off.

A Cara in flower today, but a catch crop. They always seem to come up early and not be frosted. Never worked that one out. Plant early and they get hit by cold weather - not necessarily sub zero to "frost" them. A min of 2.9º at the end of March knocked a lot of things.

I was poking around another site earlier and Met Eireann had a blight warning last year not much later than this, possibly the 17th of May.

Planted my first ever spuds on St Patricks Day one year, it was that cold I couldn't feel the tips of my fingers, had a bumper crop.

 

[KMA]

My Express got a bit of a frosting early on but seem to have recovered well enough, after that I started heaping up in the evenings up if I thought a frost was likely.