Starting From The Ground Up (Again)

Hey all, remember me?

Probably not as I haven't been on this blog for the last year! In my defence I've spent the last twelve months completing university and starting my first graduate job; which has kept me busy.

Now that things have settled down for me, I do plan to become more active on this gardening blog in the new year. No entirely sure what can grow in January, especially with the British frost coming but there might be some indoor herbs I can start with.

Do you know any easy-to-grow herbs... especially ones that I can cook with? It might be quite fun to grow catnip, the herb that makes cats go wild with delight. My cat Monty would like that I think.

Anyway, enough rambling. this was just a quick blog to let you all know that I am returning and cant wait to get my fingers green again. Keep a lookout for the new post in a few weeks time on our Facebook page here

All the best for the new year,
Matt

Green or Red Tomatoes?

Hello budding horticulturalists! I'm back after almost a whole month without blogging (apologies for the absence). I've started my first graduate job since completing university so I can't get away with waking up at noon and writing these blogs quite as often as I'd like to!

The great thing about tomato plants is that they are brilliant at looking after themselves. I've learned that if you place them in sunshine and water them twice weekly they don't need much more nurturing than that. As you can see by the picture below, the amount of foliage has doubled since my last post on here, furthermore (and most importantly) there are now at least a dozen tiny green tomatoes on each of my three plants which are waiting to ripen within the next few weeks!

You may have noticed that I've increased the length of the wooden rods as the tomato plants just kept on growing and were about to topple over! Problem averted they are almost ready for my first harvest! I'd love to hear some suggestions as to what I can make out of my tomatoes when they ripen. If you have any suggestions, I would be delighted to hear them.

Lastly I would like to remind you again that The Veg Garden blog has its own Facebook page where you can keep up to date with all the latest posts, progress and just fun information. Simply click the banner below and hit the "like" button.

Thanks for reading, remember to share and comment! I'd love to hear from you all.
Happy growing!

Getting Serious With Tomatoes

The past few weeks have been pretty weird. Firstly, I must admit that for the second year running, I (or rather the slugs) have totally demolished my vegetable patch, leaving nothing but a few stalks. The major lesson learnt from this has been to invest in some good quality protection for my crop next year, otherwise I am doing all this work in vain.

On a happier note, my windowsill plants are progressing well. The stalks are big and strong and I have managed to acclimatise them to the outside temperature and they now sit on my garden wall. Hopefully the slugs wont eat them either!

Now, the exciting bit. Contrary to this blog's name, I have finally decided to invest in 3 tomato plants, which means of course buying a grow bag, wooden canes, and other materials to protect them. I have bought a variety called "Gardeners Delight" named because they are relatively easy to grow and suitable for beginners like me.

As instructed by my gardening books, I have positioned them on a south-facing side to gain maximum exposure to this lovely sun we are enjoying in the UK. Apparently, all I have to do now is to water them once a week and pull off any new shoots growing to ensure that all the nutrients absorbed go to the fruit and not the leaves. Which is lucky as I plan to eat them not admire them! Ha.

Thanks for reading and if you have ever grown tomatoes or have any tips, then please leave a comment either here or our new Facebook Page

Happy growing!
Sherwin

From Pot to Plot

This morning I donned a pair of muddy green wellies, armed with a tea in my left hand and a shovel in my right, I set off to work. With regards to my previous blog post describing my worries of the vegetables getting too big for their pots, I decided to transplant my shoots into the plot shown below.

 

This plot sits nicely tucked away in my back garden and I spent the majority of this morning raking the soil, making it suitable for the transplanting. So far the two rows in the middle contain beetroot and carrots, and on the right, I've also planted a further helping of beets and radishes.

So if all goes well, I should be having a salad fit for a king!

Furthermore, left with an empty set of pots, it seemed an awful waste to discard them to the shed, so I filled them with some fine soil and planted an array of cottage garden flowers. The packet said that these should take a maximum of 28 days to shoot from soil. Now its just a waiting game.

I'll post in another few weeks when there is some progress! (hopefully).

I hope you all enjoy the nice weather we're having in the UK!

Happy gardening.

 

 

Shooting Up From The Soil

If there is one thing I have learned from this whole process, it is that you appreciate the finer details of life when you grow your own produce. 

Every morning, before I brush my teeth, my small shoots get a showering of warm water and a few kind words of encouragement. It seems that my approach to growing in pots has paid off massively, resulting in beautiful natural green leaves and (hopefully) a fresh young bulb hiding beneath the surface of the soil.

As you can see from the picture above, I've invested in a lot more pots each containing a mix of carrot, beetroot and radish seeds.

It's come to the point however where the plants are getting too big for their pots which may restrain the veg from growing to it's full potential. They will probably need transplanting in a couple of days, which could be risky as the plants may not grow as well in another environment.

Only time will tell...

Signs Of Life

Hey guys,

My luck has been overwhelming, the veg pot I planted only a few days ago has already got healthy shoots springing up! 

Due to this success, I thought "hey why not", so I've taken my project to a bigger pot and and now attempting to grow carrots and beets (the pot on the left). 

Can't wait to see how they turn out in a few weeks time! 

Until then, stay potty!

Sherwin

Spring Has Sprung!

Hello and welcome (back?)

As you may have known, last year I undertook a horticultural adventure which found me messing around in the back garden planting an array of vegetables that didn't exactly grow....

Anyway, I'm back for another round and I won't be beaten! This year I'm planting pretty much the same vegetables as last year, with one major difference: they ell be grown in a different way.

Last year I planted all my roots in the plot of earth that I spent days labouring over for no apparent success. So this year, the majority of my seeds will be planted in pots! This makes growing conditions easier to control, hopefully increasing my yield.

Let's start with my miniature radish pot:

It sits quaintly on my windowsill, but don't underestimate it. Over the coming weeks I will be posting regular updates on it's progress.

As always, if you have any suggestions, please let me know (as I have no idea what I'm doing).

Until next time!

Sherwin