Getting started

Bank holidays - I love 'em

Geoff Hodge — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:43:00 GMT

You can't beat a good bank holiday to get loads done in the garden. Having spent so much time away recently, we spent all three days getting the garden back into shape and finishing off a few projects that we'd got part way through. One of my main objectives was to give the veg area a good seeing to.

The beefsteak tomatoes obviously were never going to do anything, so they got cleared out of the greenhouse, which made lots of room to space out the remaining tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers. One of the aubergines has actually set a fruit, although I don’t hold out much hope of it getting to edible size this late in the season. The peppers are doing really well and we’ll have lots of chillies to keep us going through the autumn. Photographer Tim Sandall is having his own Chilli Festival in a few weeks’ time, so it looks like we'll be able to add to his endeavours.

In order to get all the grubbed up tomato plants onto the compost heaps meant that the finished heap had to be emptied and this was used to top up the beds and as a mulch around the rest of the garden.

Next job was to have a good tidy up of all the other crops – removing dead, damaged or dying foliage, remove spent plants, weed and generally make everything ship shape.

By the end of Saturday I stood back, lent on my hoe and thought ‘phew’ things are back to normal.

There was plenty to harvest and deal with. Although the tomatoes at home have generally been disappointing we’ve had a few fruit here and there and this weekend everything that was ready was harvested to make a rich tomato sauce, which along with some runner beans made a fantastic sauce for salmon steaks. The ‘Hundred & Thousands’ tomato plants have been cropping well and consistently and the tiny cherry tomatoes are great to eat raw and add a hint of sweetness to sauces. Sunday’s gourmet meal was pork with roast beetroot (red & orange) and carrots.

On Saturday we had a real ‘rock and roll lifestyle’ evening and spent hours cleaning, topping and tailing and peeling shallots and by the end of the weekend had six jars of them pickled and ready to store. Similarly the onions were cleaned up and put into store. Clare was a bit miffed as she was hoping to get three that were good enough to enter into one of our local shows next week but we just couldn’t find three that were the same size and shape. The potatoes that we harvested last weekend were similarly cleaned, sorted and put into boxes for storage in the garage.

As always, there were plenty of courgettes to harvest, so many so that Clare decided to bake a courgette cake. I realised she was baking, but hadn’t realised that it was courgette on the menu until I had my first slice to eat and noticed the green flecks. How was it? Well, it wasn’t long before I was tucking into my second slice; I think that answers the question! Moist & yummy is another answer; as you'll see I'm a real connoisseur when it comes to food.

By the end of yesterday the whole of the garden was looking much better, I’d moved a tonne of gravel, I ached all over, I’d eaten well from produce we’d grown ourselves, and was wondering why I’d been moaning about what a waste of time, money and effort gardening was a couple of weeks before! A happy ending to a happy bank holiday.

Mixed fortunes

Geoff Hodge — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:28:00 GMT

Right! This is getting silly! I know each year in the garden is different – but I just wish they were different in a good way. Two years ago we were over-run with tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and aubergines and the freezer was swollen with ratatouille. Last year was the ‘blight year’ and tomatoes and potatoes took a bit of a hammering. This year – it has been beans all the way – in all their forms. But the tomatoes, peppers and aubergines…!

We’ve just come back from a holiday in the south of France – every day hot, sunny and glorious. And while I’m lying next to the pool trying not to become a British lobster I’m thinking it MUST be sunny back home and all the fruiting crops must be bursting with fruit. Luckily, the mother-in-law was house sitting so everything would be fed and watered as and when needed.

Where's the summer gone?

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:33:00 GMT

I haven't blogged for a few weeks - simply because I haven't been around much the last few weekends to get any actual gardening done. After spending the weekend at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show we've spent the following weekends visiting family, goings to christenings and having a weekend away in Pembrokeshire - revisiting old haunts that I used to go to as a child.

This weekend has been the first one spent at home for ages - and yes there has been some inevitable catching up to do in the garden. Naturally, I've been doing things in the evening after getting back from the office, but it has only been 'maintenance work'. And to be fair, that's what tends to happen at this time of year: watering plants in containers, feeding plants in containers, tying in plants to supports (we've had some really windy days, which have caused even the runner beans to comeaway from their supports), sideshooting tomatoes - and, the one thing that makes all the hard work worthwhile - harvesting.

Up to date & happy

Geoff Hodge — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:05:00 GMT

Despite some other commitments this weekend, I've managed to catch up with my backlog of veg jobs.

I picked the last crop from the broad beans that had been inhabiting the growing frame at home (that's where they were overwintered) and then cut down and pulled up the plants - stripping off all the nitrogen-rich root nodules and digging them back into the soil. This left space for the melons. I planted out three of these and then had a blinding flash of inspiration; they grow as ground cover so there's plenty of vertical room for more peppers. Eight plants have gone in and the warmth and light should ensure a good crop.

Itching has been scratched

Geoff Hodge — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:06:00 GMT

My itchy fingers from last Friday were well and truly scratched over the weekend - I had a good catch up at home and at the allotment.

My main bug bear was the number of tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, cucumbers and squashes that needed to be potted up into their final growing pots. So, armed with a trusty tenner I went to my local independent garden centre and bought three 70-litres bags of compost. This equates to 22 final growing pots, and so now most of the plants have a resting home to grow into. Once potted up they needed some bamboo cane supports and tying in. So now everyone's happy!

Itchy fingers

Geoff Hodge — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:08:00 GMT

Boy, how they're itching! Last weekend I spent absolutely nil time in the garden and there is lots that needs doing. The recent lot of rain hasn't helped - poor light levels have drawn everything up, only for the weather to bash it down again.

My non-gardening sins of last weekend were due to extracurricular activities. On Saturday I was putting together some information for the Garden Media Guild, of which I'm a committee member, web editor and newsletter producer.

Stenner line

Geoff Hodge — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:11:00 GMT

Last night I gave a talk to the Kimble & Ellesborough Horticultural Society. Like most gardening club evenings they had a raffle and, unusually, always give the guest speaker a strip of tickets too. To my delight I won a prize! To my further delight one of the prizes still sitting on the table was a tray with six pots of Stenner runner beans. These are the ultimate showing runner bean - selected by Brython Stenner - or 'Taffy' Stenner as he was known.

I've never grown these before - and I've certainly never eaten them, so I'm looking forward to planting them out this week. If they don't match my taste expectations I can always put them into a show!

Back in the saddle

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:17:00 GMT

Having spent five long days at Chelsea Flower Show, the Bank Holiday weekend last week was the perfect opportunity to recharge my batteries - but I didn't even have the energy to do much in the garden. Apart from walking the plot checking on things (the best way I think to nip pest and disease problems in the bud before they get out of hand), doing a bit of hand weeding and looking after any watering needs I decided to give actual hands-on gardening a rest.

This weekend I realised that decision was a mistake! Everything needed doing!! The most urgent task was to look at all the young veg plants growing in cell trays, modules and pots and start planting them into their final growing positions or repotting them. I love this job as I know it means that actual crops are not far behind (hopefully). So I potted up cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes and peppers.

A few days away

Geoff Hodge — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:39:00 GMT

There'll be no veg gardening for me this weekend - or for the next few days for that matter. I'll be at the Chelsea Flower Show until Tuesday afternoon,so won't be getting my fingers dirty at all for four days.

Look at the RHS Online at the shows blogs to see how I get on at Chelsea.

Phew, what a scorcher!

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:59:00 GMT

Another atypical early May weekend got me out of bed early Saturday morning to start the rounds of watering. By seven o’clock the hose was busy giving relief to gasping plants.

All the young plants in the lean-to frame needed looking at, so I got out my faithful flat Tubtrug, filled it with water and gave everything a good soak. This method not only ensures the compost is thoroughly moist, but gives me the opportunity to pick up each plant and give it the once over. A couple of the peppers had started to develop greenfly, so these were squashed before the plants had their much-needed soak. As everything is growing furiously it also gives me the opportunity to re-space everything, but this meant a few things had to come out to make enough space. The peas had already had a period of hardening off as Clare was going to plant them at the allotment on Sunday (I wasn’t going as I had the excuse of watching the last day of the Premiership on telly!).

Don't get caught out

Geoff Hodge — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:51:00 GMT

A word from the wise (or at least someone who nearly got his fingers (or his plants) burnt - literally!): don't get caught out by this spell of hot weather like I nearly did.

I got up early yesterday morning as I had to go to RHS Garden Wisley. I'd opened the lean-to frame and the greenhouse to let in some air, but as the frame contains a lot of newly potted seedlings I wanted to ensure they didn't get too cold or blasted by wind - so only opened the glass doors a tad. I didn't get back from Wisley until late and it was too dark to see anything much in the garden. I checked everything early this morning and lots of the young plants were visibly panting for water. I had a look at the max/min thermometer and it registered a high of 39C yesterday!

Glorious Bank Holiday

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:38:00 GMT

There’s only one thing that I like more than the weekends – that’s a three-day weekend, commonly called a Bank Holiday! And what a wonderful one it was too.
Saturday was spent doing general ‘life’ things to get them out of the way, so it freed up the other two days.

I did get time to go down to the allotment. The grass paths were in desperate need of mowing, so I quickly whizzed around and got them looking decent. Next job was to earth up the spuds, which have started to show through. Then finally put up some supports for the peas, which Clare planted out and devise something that Heath Robinson (who’s correct name, apparently, is William Heath Robinson) would be proud of, involving mesh, string and metal pegs to keep off the damn pigeons.
During Sunday morning and early afternoon I was busy in the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire studios on Dougan Does Gardening answering questions. We had a few veggie ones, including: was it too late to sow runner beans – well, no, it’s possibly a bit early; how to stop leeks bolting – it wasn’t really bolting in the true sense of the word, it was how to stop leeks going to seed now, and that’s easy – lift them and eat them!; why were tomatoes and chillies producing brown, shrivelled leaves – it turns out they had been planted outside (already) on a very cold, exposed balcony!
When I returned home there was some general gardening to do, lead by Clare who had been busily hacking back the holly.

It's all my fault!

Geoff Hodge — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:14:00 GMT

I'm really sorry about all the rain we've had over the last couple of days - I think it's my fault.

You see, I planted out some broad beans and some other bits and bobs on the allotment on Monday, but forgot to take the watering can. I went back on Tuesday and gave everything a thorough watering to settle them into their new home. Within about 45 minutes of finishing, the heavens opened and it hasn't really stopped since. So I apologise.

Massed seedlings

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:06:00 GMT

As predicted last week, this weekend involved plenty of pricking out and potting on. And, as far as the veg garden was involved, that was about the size of it.

That’s the problem with any form of seed sowing – the seeds only take up a pot or tray when you sow them, but each plant needs its own cell in a cell tray or individual pot to grow on in and the room these take up can be phenomenal. Especially when the – ‘can’t bear to throw it out’ syndrome comes into play.
The propagators were full of pots of germinating or germinated seeds and young seedlings – including I don’t know how many different cultivars of peppers and tomatoes, aubergines, melons, cucumbers, courgettes plus some flowering ornamentals (but we won’t mention them here!). So, there was only one thing for it – a strategy had to be thought up. The answer, in the end, was quite easy. *** out everything into individual pots and cell trays and move them into the lean-to frame. This was full of the shallots, onions and leeks plus broad beans and peas. There was only one thing to do – move the peas and beans out to harden off and ask girlfriend Clare to go get a tan at the allotment and plant out the allium crops. This she did with her allotment buddy Michelle and came back three hours later with very sore, red arms – sunburn in April!
Having cleared out the propagators of the seedlings that needed pricking out, there was just one more thing to do this weekend – fill them up again with more pots and trays of seeds. Clare and I set up a production line in the conservatory and after a couple of hours had sown more peas, French and runner beans, an assortment of brassicas, three different squashes, sweet corn and leeks.
We ran out of compost and trays so popped along to the garden centre where, as usual, unplanned purchases joined those things we’d gone for – a couple more cucumber plants and, despite the already burgeoning National Collection of Tomatoes that was growing at home, I was taken by three plants of tomato ‘Black Russian’.
Luckily, we plan to swop some of the tomatoes with friends, so we won’t have to grow them all on and we always give some to Gino from the Pasta Shop – always a good idea to keep in with the local shopkeepers!

Now this veg blog only contains a bit of the work I got up to – all my general gardening can be read on my own blog.

Crazy weekend

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:10:00 GMT

Yet another forecast for a mixed bag of weather meant that this weekend I needed to get cracking early – just in case, just in case things turned really nasty and put the kybosh on my plans. As a result I was out in the garden by 8o’clock on both days.

The weather wasn’t as bad as I’d expected – Saturday was great until about 5o’clock; Sunday started out dull, damp, dingy and wet, but by 11.15am(having gone indoors for American pancakes and The Archers) it had stopped raining and the rest of the day was fine.