|
Home > Archive > UK gardening > May 2007 > Walk around my plot
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
Walk around my plot
|
|
|
| Just took a few photos this morning while the ground was too wet for
any gardening - I want to dig the last of the new deep beds I've been
preparing. Photos at
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rodsgarden/Rod's%20plot01/page1.htm
No captions, they are mostly self explanatory. The big cage is a
legacy from when shoots were held on the Estate and pheasants were
reared just over the wall.
I cultivated this plot for 31 years as part of my work, running this
25 acre private garden but now I've retired the new head gardener is
scaling down the veg for the Hall so I've 'inherited' one of the
three veg plots. There were already 2 old deep beds and I'm converting
the rest of the plot so there will be 8 deep beds in all about 47 feet
long and 4 feet wide.
As you can see my wife and I are fond of veg ;-) and I'm enjoying
playing at seeing what the results can be with all the constraints
off.
To make things more interesting to yer average amateur I'm doing
without using any of the available greenhouse facilities.Anything
started indoors has been done on the window sill in my workshop and as
I said in an earlier post I've been experimenting with hardening off
the 'nearly hardy' or early season veg when the seedlings are barely
showing in the plugs. Peas are started in short lengths of plastic
guttering to avoid mouse damage and to give earlier cropping of the
early variety - rows across the bed. Some of the photos show the
succession given by making sowings at 2-3 week intervals. Onions are
heat treated 'Red Baron'. I've made room for some flowers for cutting,
especially border carnations and pinks which I haven't grown much
before and sweet peas that I've never had time to grow properly before.
| |
| Muddymike 2007-05-17, 5:25 pm |
|
"Rod" <rodcraddock@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:1179423855.966323.124150@q23g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> Just took a few photos this morning while the ground was too wet for
> any gardening - I want to dig the last of the new deep beds I've been
> preparing. Photos at
>
> http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rodsgarden/Rod's%20plot01/page1.htm
>
> No captions, they are mostly self explanatory. The big cage is a
> legacy from when shoots were held on the Estate and pheasants were
> reared just over the wall.
That's impressive Rod. Thanks for sharing it with us. I for one would like
to see more pics as the season progresses.
Mike
| |
| Russel Sprout 2007-05-17, 5:25 pm |
|
"Rod" <rodcraddock@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:1179423855.966323.124150@q23g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> Just took a few photos this morning while the ground was too wet for
> any gardening - I want to dig the last of the new deep beds I've been
> preparing. Photos at
>
> http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rodsgarden/Rod's%20plot01/page1.htm
>
> No captions, they are mostly self explanatory. The big cage is a
> legacy from when shoots were held on the Estate and pheasants were
> reared just over the wall.
>
>
Man, that's bordering on industry, not gardening.
Q. Do you really need all that iron-work and plasic?
| |
| La Puce 2007-05-17, 5:25 pm |
| On 17 May, 18:44, Rod <rodcradd...@lineone.net> wrote:
> Just took a few photos this morning while the ground was too wet for
> any gardening - I want to dig the last of the new deep beds I've been
> preparing. Photos at
> http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rodsgarden/Rod's%20plot01/page1.htm
Blimey! You're feeding the hundreds and thousands! Fantastic. Please
do send more pictures. But ... where's the flowers?!
| |
|
| On 17/5/07 20:41, in article 9oudnUsnAuKZLdHbRVnyvwA@brightview.com,
"Muddymike" <MikeRogers@mattishall.org.uk> wrote:
>
> "Rod" <rodcraddock@lineone.net> wrote in message
> news:1179423855.966323.124150@q23g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>
> That's impressive Rod. Thanks for sharing it with us. I for one would like
> to see more pics as the season progresses.
>
> Mike
>
>
I agree. That's a thing of beauty all in itself. The ground is so clean
and the plants so healthy - more later, please!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
Devon County Show 17-19 May
http://www.devoncountyshow.co.uk/
| |
| judith.lea99@googlemail.com 2007-05-17, 5:25 pm |
| On May 17, 6:44 pm, Rod <rodcradd...@lineone.net> wrote:
> Just took a few photos this morning while the ground was too wet for
> any gardening - I want to dig the last of the new deep beds I've been
> preparing. Photos at
>
> http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rodsgarden/Rod's%20plot01/page1.htm
Rod what a great veggie garden, where did you buy the white protective
covering from?
| |
| Bob Hobden 2007-05-17, 5:25 pm |
|
"Rod" wrote ...
> Just took a few photos this morning while the ground was too wet for
> any gardening - I want to dig the last of the new deep beds I've been
> preparing. Photos at
>
> http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rodsgarden/Rod's%20plot01/page1.htm
>
> No captions, they are mostly self explanatory. The big cage is a
> legacy from when shoots were held on the Estate and pheasants were
> reared just over the wall.
>
> I cultivated this plot for 31 years as part of my work, running this
> 25 acre private garden but now I've retired the new head gardener is
> scaling down the veg for the Hall so I've 'inherited' one of the
> three veg plots. There were already 2 old deep beds and I'm converting
> the rest of the plot so there will be 8 deep beds in all about 47 feet
> long and 4 feet wide.
>
> As you can see my wife and I are fond of veg ;-) and I'm enjoying
> playing at seeing what the results can be with all the constraints
> off.
> To make things more interesting to yer average amateur I'm doing
> without using any of the available greenhouse facilities.Anything
> started indoors has been done on the window sill in my workshop and as
> I said in an earlier post I've been experimenting with hardening off
> the 'nearly hardy' or early season veg when the seedlings are barely
> showing in the plugs. Peas are started in short lengths of plastic
> guttering to avoid mouse damage and to give earlier cropping of the
> early variety - rows across the bed. Some of the photos show the
> succession given by making sowings at 2-3 week intervals. Onions are
> heat treated 'Red Baron'. I've made room for some flowers for cutting,
> especially border carnations and pinks which I haven't grown much
> before and sweet peas that I've never had time to grow properly before.
>
Very impressive Rod, reminds me of some ironwork I've seen on some French
fruit farms near Toulouse. (to keep the hail stones off).
Why not use the Greenhouse as it's there? You are making thing more
difficult unnecessarily. I have a very small greenhouse attached to my
garage that I start all our veg seeds off in, well actually mostly in a
heated propagator, then they go onto the garage roof to grow on and harden
off.
I think we will also have to consider the gutter idea for our peas although
covering the seeds with fine wire mesh and covering the edges with soil
(they then try and dig through the mesh) seems to have stopped the mouse
onslaught such that we might actually get a reduced crop.
The Red Baron never grow that large for us and seem a bit more temperamental
than the normal onions.
The smell from Carnations and Pinks grown "hard" on the plot is wonderful,
even the none smelly ones from a florist get their full scent back if you
are able to propagate them.
Good luck and welcome to retirement.
--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK
| |
|
| On 17/5/07 23:07, in article 5b4207F2rg0utU1@mid.individual.net, "Bob
Hobden" <bobh@invalid.com> wrote:
<snip>
> The smell from Carnations and Pinks grown "hard" on the plot is wonderful,
> even the none smelly ones from a florist get their full scent back if you
> are able to propagate them.
> Good luck and welcome to retirement.
AHA! That's something we can send you, Bob, if we haven't already! I've
lost track. Ray has a plant, bred by someone else whose name I forget - Ray
will remind me. It's a pink called Green Lanes, which never went into
commercial production because its stems are pretty short. But it has a
scent that I think is incomparable. If R has some going spare, I'll send
you a couple. I absolutely love pinks, even though they're unfashionable
these days.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
Devon County Show 17-19 May
http://www.devoncountyshow.co.uk/
| |
|
| "Russel Sprout" <s@idontthinkso.net> wrote in message
news:5b3ruhF2qj080U1@mid.individual.net...
>
> "Rod" <rodcraddock@lineone.net> wrote in message
> news:1179423855.966323.124150@q23g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>
> Man, that's bordering on industry, not gardening.
Like I said, we like our veg ;-)
> Q. Do you really need all that iron-work and plasic?
>
The big cage is a legacy from when gardening here was like gardening
in a b****y big fowl pen - however it does protect from pigeons.
Eventually though I aim to have all of the brassicas under enviromesh
to protect against cabbage root fly, aphids and caterpillars.
It's also impossible to grow decent carrots here without protection
from carrot fly.
--
Rod
My real address is rodthegardeneratmyisp
| |
| Bob Hobden 2007-05-18, 1:25 pm |
|
"Sacha" wrote
after "Bob Hobden" wrote:
> <snip>
>
> AHA! That's something we can send you, Bob, if we haven't already! I've
> lost track. Ray has a plant, bred by someone else whose name I forget -
> Ray
> will remind me. It's a pink called Green Lanes, which never went into
> commercial production because its stems are pretty short. But it has a
> scent that I think is incomparable. If R has some going spare, I'll send
> you a couple. I absolutely love pinks, even though they're unfashionable
> these days.
That would be wonderful, thanks. We too love pinks/spray carnations etc
provided they still have their "cloves" scent. Short stems are ideal in a
garden setting, the long stems ones designed for florists get blown over in
a garden/allotment and never look their best. Being in the middle of a total
rethink of our small garden I have been looking for the old fashioned short
stemmed garden pinks recently without success so your kind offer is perfect
timing. :-)
Have you our address?
--
Regards
Bob H
| |
| Bob Hobden 2007-05-18, 1:25 pm |
|
"Rod" wrote after...
> "Russel Sprout" wrote in reply to
> Like I said, we like our veg ;-)
> The big cage is a legacy from when gardening here was like gardening in a
> b****y big fowl pen - however it does protect from pigeons. Eventually
> though I aim to have all of the brassicas under enviromesh to protect
> against cabbage root fly, aphids and caterpillars.
> It's also impossible to grow decent carrots here without protection from
> carrot fly.
>
When we tried to grow under environmesh the plants didn't seem to like the
reduced light but if it's high on your frame then it will be more like a
giant polytunnel.....there's a thought.
I think the Carrot Root Fly is everywhere these days but an 18inch high
solid barrier seems to help as does planting lots and discarding the damaged
ones, a bit like White Rot in onions. With environmesh over them we had a
significant germination problem. I've started trying to breed root fly
resistance into our Long Red Surrey carrots by choosing perfect untouched
ones to replant to flower/seed etc. but it will be a long process which I
doubt I will ever achieve 100%.
--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK
| |
|
| On 18/5/07 17:51, in article 5b63t3F2qp0s4U1@mid.individual.net, "Bob
Hobden" <bobh@invalid.com> wrote:
>
> "Sacha" wrote
> after "Bob Hobden" wrote:
>
> That would be wonderful, thanks. We too love pinks/spray carnations etc
> provided they still have their "cloves" scent. Short stems are ideal in a
> garden setting, the long stems ones designed for florists get blown over in
> a garden/allotment and never look their best. Being in the middle of a total
> rethink of our small garden I have been looking for the old fashioned short
> stemmed garden pinks recently without success so your kind offer is perfect
> timing. :-)
> Have you our address?
email it to me, please Bob. I keep thinking I've got my address book sorted
out both on the computer and in the book, but never seem to get it straight.
I'll ask Ray what he's got atm. I know he took a whole lot across to a
pinks nursery, so I hope he's got enough to send you a few. It's just
wonderful!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
Devon County Show 17-19 May
http://www.devoncountyshow.co.uk/
| |
|
| On 18 May, 18:02, "Bob Hobden" <b...@invalid.com> wrote:
> When we tried to grow under environmesh the plants didn't seem to like the
> reduced light but if it's high on your frame then it will be more like a
> giant polytunnel.....there's a thought.
> I think the Carrot Root Fly is everywhere these days but an 18inch high
> solid barrier seems to help as does planting lots and discarding the damaged
> ones, a bit like White Rot in onions. With environmesh over them we had a
> significant germination problem. I've started trying to breed root fly
> resistance into our Long Red Surrey carrots by choosing perfect untouched
> ones to replant to flower/seed etc. but it will be a long process which I
> doubt I will ever achieve 100%.
>
We've had good results the last couple of years with quite low
enviromesh protection, but yes light admission is probably a bit
better with a higher roof. As for germination, we have had some patchy
germination of earlies, though in some cases I'm sure they've
germinated and been eaten by slugs before we even noticed they were
up. The later sowings are fine - in fact a bit too good, I'll need to
thin the maincrop. Long Red Surrey - that brings back memories, buying
seeds by weight out of a sack in an old seed shop. Good luck with
selection of that strain.
Why aren't I using the greenhouse? Occardosity I suppose and also
wanted to refresh some of the techniques I used when I had my lottie
when I was first working in a bank after I left school. Also, some
plant health considerations - I wanted to be sure of clean plants to
put under the enviromesh. There's no point in using it if you are
going to put in plants already infested with aphids and cabbage root
fly - I'm sure that when indifferent results are reported, this is a
frequent cause.
The Border carnations and Pinks are collections from Allwoods - all
alleged to be scented so I'll be interested to see what they're like.
Won't get much from the Borders this year of course - just one flower
per plant if I'm lucky - That's why 'Puce' couldn't see much of the
flowers. If I get any spare cuttings later on I'll let you know. I
don't think any of the Pinks will be much more than 12" high and some
of them are already making nice little clumps.
| |
|
| On 17 May, 23:03, "judith.le...@googlemail.com"
<judith.le...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> On May 17, 6:44 pm, Rod <rodcradd...@lineone.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> Rod what a great veggie garden, where did you buy the white protective
> covering from?
It's 'Enviromesh', available in small pieces from most GCs or in big
rolls from some growers' sundries firms. IIRC Agralan are the main
suppliers of commercial size rolls. Some firms also advertise a making
up service for tunnel covers etc.
BTW what I didn't say in my original post was about the 'Fort Knox'
strawberry cage - we're practically in a wood and squirrels are a
nightmare with plastic covered fruit cages - if there's cherries or
strawberries the other side they'll get through anything short of
strong wire. We've hadloads of enviromesh and plastic netting shredded
overnight.
| |
|
| On 17 May, 22:57, Sacha <s...@gardenweeds506.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> On 17/5/07 20:41, in article 9oudnUsnAuKZLdHbRVny...@brightview.com,
>
That's a thing of beauty all in itself. The ground is so clean
> and the plants so healthy - more later, please!
> --
I should have put the macro lens on to show you the weed seedlings
since the rain started - won't need the macro lens in a day or two ;~)
I wanted to take some photos before anything got picked because that
always spoils the looks of the thing.
| |
| judith.lea99@googlemail.com 2007-05-18, 5:25 pm |
| On May 18, 6:39 pm, Rod <rodcradd...@lineone.net> wrote:
> On 17 May, 23:03, "judith.le...@googlemail.com"
>
> <judith.le...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> It's 'Enviromesh', available in small pieces from most GCs or in big
> rolls from some growers' sundries firms. IIRC Agralan are the main
> suppliers of commercial size rolls. Some firms also advertise a making
> up service for tunnel covers etc.
> BTW what I didn't say in my original post was about the 'Fort Knox'
> strawberry cage - we're practically in a wood and squirrels are a
> nightmare with plastic covered fruit cages - if there's cherries or
> strawberries the other side they'll get through anything short of
> strong wire. We've hadloads of enviromesh and plastic netting shredded
> overnight.
Rod I want to use something to keep off the cabbage whites, will
Environmesh do it?
| |
|
| On 18 May, 21:30, "judith.le...@googlemail.com"
<judith.le...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> Rod I want to use something to keep off the cabbage whites, will
> Environmesh do it?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Yes and most other pests so long as you don't take them in with your
plants or trap cabbage rootfly pupae under the net by not rotating
your crops.
| |
| judith.lea99@googlemail.com 2007-05-19, 5:25 pm |
| On May 19, 9:55 pm, Rod <rodcradd...@lineone.net> wrote:
> On 18 May, 21:30, "judith.le...@googlemail.com"
>
> <judith.le...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> Yes and most other pests so long as you don't take them in with your
> plants or trap cabbage rootfly pupae under the net by not rotating
> your crops.
Now I will have to find a supplier locally as Notcutts is a bit
expensive.
Many thanks
| |
| Janet Tweedy 2007-05-21, 1:25 pm |
| In article <9oudnUsnAuKZLdHbRVnyvwA@brightview.com>, Muddymike
<MikeRogers@mattishall.org.uk> writes
>That's impressive Rod. Thanks for sharing it with us. I for one would like
>to see more pics as the season progresses.
>
>Mike
>
>
Oh yes definitely. A closer look at the type of vegetables and how you
are growing them as well!
What are the frames for, do you actually have the luxury of a vegetable
cage!
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk
| |
|
| My real address is rodthegardeneratmyisp
"Janet Tweedy" <jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:q1+q93M1DdUGFw19@ukonline.co.uk...
> In article <9oudnUsnAuKZLdHbRVnyvwA@brightview.com>, Muddymike
> <MikeRogers@mattishall.org.uk> writes
>
>
>
> Oh yes definitely. A closer look at the type of vegetables and how
> you are growing them as well!
> What are the frames for, do you actually have the luxury of a
> vegetable cage!
Yes, but it's a legacy from when this was a shooting estate and
pheasants were reared just over the wall. The moment the young birds
could fly they were over into the kitchen garden and they were
devastating, I could go in there some mornings and find a couple of
hundred young pheasants in the crops. This was in my early years of
working here and struggling with various forms of temporary netting
covers - after some years and a particularly bad attack I finally got
the estate to let me make these cages. Shooting finally stopped here a
few years ago when my old boss died but the cages remain and they're
still a useful protection against pigeons in this well wooded area.
As for growing methods, it's all fairly conventional deep bed practice
plus careful watering (properly - more later) and just watching the
crops and their response to me and the conditions.
Watering is something that drives all head gardenersand nursery
managers mad. It seems to be almost impossible to teach and persuade
anyone to put enough on, in the right place and without blasting the
plants out. So not wanting to teach you to suck eggs ;~) this if for
anybody else wondering why things aren't doing well. Dribbling a bit
of water down a row of peas won't do, you need to visualise the extent
of the root run of the mature crop and at least get the whole volume
of that soil thoroughly wetted. Don't rely on nature to provide all
the water container crops need but be mindful of overwatering.
Thoroughly water seed drills before sowing in dry conditions. If
planting container grown plants (especially large expensive ones) out
in the garden, watch them like a hawk for the next couple of growing
seasons. If you're planting a £20 plant, dig a £50 hole (with
apologies to Geoff Smith for the misquote and updated figures) and
incorporate plenty of well rotted organic stuff and making sure the
bottom of the hole is draining OK.
You're probably losing the will to live so I'll leave it at that for
now.
--
Rod
| |
|
| "Janet Tweedy" <jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:q1+q93M1DdUGFw19@ukonline.co.uk...
> In article <9oudnUsnAuKZLdHbRVnyvwA@brightview.com>, Muddymike
> <MikeRogers@mattishall.org.uk> writes
>
>
>
> Oh yes definitely. A closer look at the type of vegetables and how
> you are growing them as well!
> What are the frames for, do you actually have the luxury of a
> vegetable cage!
Yes, but it's a legacy from when this was a shooting estate and
pheasants were reared just over the wall. The moment the young birds
could fly they were over into the kitchen garden and they were
devastating, I could go in there some mornings and find a couple of
hundred young pheasants in the crops. This was in my early years of
working here and struggling with various forms of temporary netting
covers - after some years and a particularly bad attack I finally got
the estate to let me make these cages. Shooting finally stopped here a
few years ago when my old boss died but the cages remain and they're
still a useful protection against pigeons in this well wooded area.
As for growing methods, it's all fairly conventional deep bed practice
plus careful watering (properly - more later) and just watching the
crops and their response to me and the conditions.
Watering is something that drives all head gardenersand nursery
managers mad. It seems to be almost impossible to teach and persuade
anyone to put enough on, in the right place and without blasting the
plants out. So not wanting to teach you to suck eggs ;~) this if for
anybody else wondering why things aren't doing well. Dribbling a bit
of water down a row of peas won't do, you need to visualise the extent
of the root run of the mature crop and at least get the whole volume
of that soil thoroughly wetted. Don't rely on nature to provide all
the water container crops need but be mindful of overwatering.
Thoroughly water seed drills before sowing in dry conditions. If
planting container grown plants (especially large expensive ones) out
in the garden, watch them like a hawk for the next couple of growing
seasons. If you're planting a £20 plant, dig a £50 hole (with
apologies to Geoff Smith for the misquote and updated figures) and
incorporate plenty of well rotted organic stuff and making sure the
bottom of the hole is draining OK.
You're probably losing the will to live so I'll leave it at that for
now.
--
Rod
My real address is rodthegardeneratmyisp
|
|
|
|
|