this time last year I did a little picture tour of what was happening in our vegetable garden, and so I thought I would do the same again.
We got rid of the ornamental round flower bed and dug a big new bed in the lawn instead, now home to courgettes, climbing french beans, woad, a couple of brussel sprout plants, a few caulis, minipop sweetcorn and celeriac:
other veg patch in main garden: with runner beans, two varieties of PSB,garlic, mange tout peas, beetroot, rocket, and perpetual spinach.
same bed different view:
small bed next to the greenhouse, with ruby chard, borlotti beans, garlic and sorrel:
greenhouse, with aubergine (not looking very happy), lettuces, and tomatoes, sweet olive and fantasio:
the root bed, not looking that great – needs weeding!, with carrots, parnsips, beetroot, garlic and welsh onions (leeks, swede, spring onion and sugar beet all did really badly….)
pea and bean bed, with peas, three sowings (the forth went in since in the gap) and dwarf french beans:
squash bed, with some sweetcorn (what was left after the mouse invaded our greenhouse), gherkins, pumpkins and butternut squash:
the (new this year) brassica bed, cauliflower, calabrese, cabbage, and red cabbage:
and even more beds dug this year, housing more sweetcorn and potatoes (annabelle, valor desiree and cara):
pumpkin patch – with pumpkin and lurking in the background the last of my vegetable spagetti (really been attacked this year, first by mice then slugs). Shade curtosy of next door’s leylandii…
and finally the old, still falling down, greenhouse home to tomatoes (gardeners delight) chilis, basil and lettuce:
Wow – what a lot of vegetables…loads of space. And I like the greenhouse – a proper no-nonsense one.
Any plans to protect your brassicas from the dreaded Pieris brassicae…caterpillars destoyed 70% of our crop last year even with daily inspections and removals. We have netted the brassicas this year and hoping to keep them free from thieving insectal lavae.
We have all but abandoned carrots in the ground (as it is either stoney or clay) and went for growing them in big bins of soil (collected from mole hills) and sand mix. It has been a massive success – with loads of carrots, really long and sweet. We are going to expand this approach next year with a few more bin fulls.
caterpillars are a constant problem, and we have at least two different whites attacking. We thought about netting, but we have to protect from slugs, and as we dont use slug pellets, this involves collecting the blighters at night by torchlight (neighbours must think we are odd…), and nets would get in the way.
We inspect regularly, and squish eggs as we find them, and any caterpillars that miss the inspection. Red cabbage is easier as they green caterpillars are easier to see, and often they are more visible at night.
Re carrots – first time we have been able to grow them was last year, our last place had stoney clay ground and it was hopeless, but last year we did ok. I had heard the barrels are good though.. also higher than the carrot fly flies, so protects that way too.. so maybe we will have to find something in the barrel line.
I read your blog regularly and am amazed at all your hard work.! The garden is looking good.How are your sheep getting on ? Did you decide on getting a couple of weaners?
I have been given a couple of interesting tips to help in the never ending battle with slugs and mice,which I thought you may be interested in trying.I am going to test them this weekend.
The first ..to protect plants from slugs surround the plants with odd pieces sheep fleece/wool.
The second…apparently mice and rats don’t like the smell of catmint so if planted close to hen houses or newly planted seeds in theory they should be deterred!
I thought I would give both a try,nothing to loose.
oh thanks Sandra, It’s nice to know someone is reading! and I do like getting comments – feels like part of a community sort of thing.
yes we still intend to get the weaners.. it’s jsut that so much need to be done before we get there.. we could use the pig bays as they are, but I really prefer the idea of giving the pigs some actual ground, rather than concrete to root in.. which means moving a huge log pile, a pig ark, a shed, building pig proof fencing and sorting out a water supply.. and the veggies started coming in thick and fast and the time seems all used up! but we will get there.
Sheep are all fine, I haven’t written much as about them as nothing much to report.. apart from Rogan is huge. Perhaps I’ll take some photos soon.
fleece as slug protection eh? interesting.. I might give that a go.. let us know how you get on. I did hear that about catmint – himself suggested planting it all round the hen run!! but for now I have put some in a pot by the back door.
thought i’d take a wander, what a lovely garden, it must keep you very busy.
I have never tried vegetable spagetti, is it easy to grow and does it cook and taste like real spagetti.
keep up the good work
all the best
Russ
thanks Russ – the garden certainly does keep us busy, but we enjoy it, which makes it all the easier.
Vegetable spaghetti, or sometimes called spaghetti squash, is as easy to grow as other squashes, though it climbs given half a chance, so we usually give it trelis or something.
To eat – boil or bake the whole ‘fruit’, then spit open, remeve the seeds and the flesh is strand like – we usually just add butter and have it as a veg.
http://www.colouritgreen.co.uk/vegetablesAZ.htm#v