Spuds

 

Earthed up the spuds that were sown out about a month ago. Also gave them their first spray for prevention of Blight - next year I am going to give the potatoes that are know to be most resistant to Blight a try as I would prefer not to have to spray.

 There were a lot of stones and rocks still in the soil so decided to use them as paths for around the raised beds. Hadn't been sure what I was going to use for around the raised beds whether to go with membrane or bark or fancy stones. This will do as a temporary measure and also gives me somewhere to keep the stones I keep finding! So far I have just put them down loosely - will sort them properly later on in the season - to do it right, I should clear off the stones, level it, put down membrane, clean the stones and then place them back - just so much done (and still to do) so far this year, I can't face it right now.  So far I have 3 of the beds surrounded and at least the same again of stones/rocks to pick. When weeds grow in the gaps between the stones, I am going to control them with vinegar (really only effective on young weeds or else you have to re-apply frequently).

 

As you can see from the above photo we are still waiting on delivery of our stone circle - would you believe Indian Sandstone has to come from India :-) On a ship somewhere in the ocean with no docking date - we have tried other types of stone, but no other style does a 5m circle. If we had known we would be waiting so long ( over 2 months now), we could have designed it for a 4m circle of which there are a lot of different stone types available(and in stock!).

The onions that were planted out later on are doing well - as they are directly in the soil there are a lot of weeds that keep popping their heads up so constant vigilance is needed to keep them under control.  I grew onions in slits cut in membrane before which was great as only a minimum of weeds managed to poke their heads out (at the slits). Might be something to try for next year. My hoe has taken over a life of its own at times and sent one or two of the poor onions flying!

The beginings till now on the veg plot and raised beds

Ok, here are some of the different stages from what we started with to where we are now.

These first four are from Feb this year

This is the main view from the gap in the wall at the front of the house.

This was the first raised bed built. We used 6 scaffolding planks which gives us an 8x4ft bed. We lined the base of the raised bed with cardboard to reduce the amount of weeds that will grown up through the bed. The cardboard will break down over time. We also lined the inside of the beds with plastic ( not shown in the photos) to reduce the amount of moisture hitting the inside of the boards so they might last an extra year or two before rotting.

We also decided to paint each of the beds some bright colours.

This was the mound of earth we had left over from our build. We used it to fill the beds along with homegrown and store bought compost. We used the remainder in the new flower beds.

This next photo is from April where we have the rough outline of the path. All the beds are in place and painted up and some even planted up!

The outline was a great idea until the mini digger started and the line was gone in mins. Still though I don't think we got it too far wrong.

Great when you have a load of helpers! At the end of the path we have the hardcore down for a nice stone circle - just waiting for the lovely people in Roadstone to deliver it!

Path is now completed - thankfully - great to be able to get down to the beds without trailing muck in around the place. Also made a start on the flower beds either side of the path.

In the background I have the peas potatoes and onions down ( the latter two planted a bit late due to waiting for all the other to complete).

Will update with more details on all thats growing shortly and more detailed photos!

Return to you about garden finally - been busy!!

Ok - been away from this far too long - but trust me, I never left the garden. Will update tomorrow with a load of photos from different stages. We got "distracted" by landscaping our garden, putting in a path, getting groundwork done for patio, moving loads of soil around, rock picking and still more rock picking.
The bed order changed slightly from my initial plans.
Bed 1 - garlics, onions, scallions, leeks

Bed 2 - bok choi, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, calebrese (brocolli)

Bed 3 - carrots, parsnips, beetroot, radishes

Bed 4 - potatoes

Bed 5 - took this out of rotation - just growing strawberries, lettuce - plan to also put in some bush tomatoes too as a trial.

Also, directly in the soil - peas, potatoes, onions, leeks

Growing horseradish in a pot. Never seen it grown before! Interesting times - not sure as yet when to harvest and will be on the lookout for recipes.

My apple, plum trees and berry bushes planted last year are also showing flowers so we are hopefully looking at a first crop this year,

Rhubarb isn't looking so healthy - who would have known slugs love rhubarb.

Also have tomatoes growing indoors in preparation for my greenhouse ( aldi/lidl special), some chillies (cheated with them, bought them from B&Q as a small plant), basil, corriander (first batch nearly ready to eat!!).

Okay- decided to upload one of the finished photos - will have to wait till tomorrow for the rest of the stages. Hopefully I plan to upload sections on different vegetables/herbs and other plants with tips/tricks I come across. I will also upload some recipes of interest that link in with the food I am growing. Always tastes so much fresher when its homegrown.

The path (new) leads down to the multi coloured beds - there will also be a patio down there shortly(as soon as roadstone get around to delivering it!). This way we will be able sit down of an evening and if you get the munchies, you can just pick from the beds directly,