We're having a go at growing shallots for the first time this year. The variety we're going for is Hative de Niort, a variety that is often used for exhibition, but can also be used in the kitchen just the same. We're planting out slightly later than you ideally would (typically this could be done... Continue Reading →
The product of successive sowings
We've mentioned before that successive sowings of crops is a great way to spread out the length of time you are able to enjoy a particular vegetable. It also hopefully prevents you having massive gluts of each vegetable where you find that you've got enough to be eating it three times a day, and then... Continue Reading →
Early container courgette update
The 4 plants we started off in the polytunnel and moved outside last weekend are loving life so far! It's amazing how much they've grown in just 7 days. They've grown so much in fact, that we've had to tie them up this week. We tie the plants up to the stake every 4-6" to... Continue Reading →
Container courgettes are now planted out
We sowed our main sowing of courgettes for containers on 26 April. These were planted outside in their containers on 24 May, so they don't take long really! As a reminder, we have a Midnight and a Sunstripe in this sowing. As with our other planting out in containers, we make a hold just larger than the pot the... Continue Reading →
Mint on the move
The mint cuttings we took a few weeks ago have now rooted (we've had less success on that front with the apple mint, but we'll come on to that) and are starting to grow on. This photo is one of the peppermint cuttings, which is rooted and we pinched the top out of a week... Continue Reading →
Planting out our peppers
Our pepper plants were now large enough to be planted out into their final containers. The plants stand at about 6-8" tall and are all starting to get flower buds (and one miniscule pepper has been spotted in the case of one!) which is a good sign. We have decided to grow these in the... Continue Reading →
Container courgette progress
As a reminder, the two varieties we're growing in our main sowing of courgettes for containers are Midnight and Sunstripe. Both are designed to be grown in containers, but one is green and one is yellow! This is what the plants look like now. And weirdly enough, even though the Sunstripe that we originally sowed didn't germinate so we had... Continue Reading →
Tending to tomatoes
Chris has grown his own tomatoes this year (perhaps he'll write an update on those at some point), but I didn't start any off from seed as I already had too many other things on the go. Dad has grown lots of different varieties though, so I've been helping him look after his, and last... Continue Reading →
Moving the early container courgettes outside
Our early sowing of courgettes that we are growing in containers have been growing on along the pathway of the polytunnel to try and get them to crop a bit earlier. After a couple of weeks of slow growth (which always seems to be the same with courgettes!) they've started growing more steadily over the... Continue Reading →
Planting out the sugar snap peas
We sowed some sugar snap peas, Cascadia, on 26 April and yesterday, these were big enough to plant out. We constructed a climbing frame for them to grow up out of some old square wire fencing which we stretched across the bed and held in place by tying it to a few stakes, one at... Continue Reading →