Getting started

Going backwards – and then forwards

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:35:00 GMT

After three weeks of sowing a wide range of things at home in the raised beds, hardly anything had germinated – apart from two poor rows of radish! So I decided to delve deeper and see if there was a bigger problem than just the cold weather. And I’m glad I did.

Two things became apparent. The soil had ‘capped’ and had become compacted under the compost mulch I’d put on in the winter. Also, the soil was full of tree roots from a barrier of trees just outside the fence. So, although my raised beds are no-dig beds, it was time to dig them both over. Each one yielded a wheelbarrow full of tree roots and the soil had become badly compacted. So after a couple of hours or so of sweat (and a few tears because I hadn’t thought of it earlier in the year) I’d got two new raised beds full of lovely, un-compacted soil and no tree roots. So let that be a lesson to you all – just because you use a no-dig system, every now and again (my two beds have been in place for four and six years respectively) they do need digging over. The only thing left to do then was re-sow everything. Hopefully now I’ll get good germination and better growth.

Sowing the seeds of success

Geoff Hodge — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:38:00 GMT

Well hopefully. Although I've got to say it's a slow start to the year - probably not warm enough for seeds to germinate properly and, as a result, not much is showing in the veg plot at home. Of all the things I've sown so far only the radish and broad beans are doing anything. How's everybody else getting on?

I've spent a few hours on the allotment this week, doing some more weeding and tidying up. I also planted out a new Coronet family apple tree, which came courtesy of Springfield Nurseries in Ireland. This joins the other two Coronets, which fruited magnificently last year.

Getting back in the saddle

Geoff Hodge — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:20:00 GMT

Having had a prolonged veg-free start to the year - I blame the weather and too many other things to do - I've finally managed to getthings started in the veg garden.

I know it sounds like an excuse, but last year we started too early, everything grew too much before the weather was right for planting out/planting up and we spent a fortune on heating and supplementary lighting. This year we're taking a more natural, relaxed approach. Well, that's the plan (and the excuse) anyway.

The end of all good things

Geoff Hodge — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:02:00 GMT

Well, actually, it's the end of a lot of bad things! I've started clearing out the greenhouse and beds of all the summer crops and consigning the plants to the compost heap - and boy the compost heap's getting big.

Although there are still a few peppers and chillies in the greenhouse I've started to clean it out ready for the late autumn and winter inhabitants - all the tender and exotic plants from the garden. Yes, shock horror, the greenhouse becomes veg free (apart from a few salads) during the winter. I've started to clean it - the structure and the glass - and given it a good autumn clean; it looks very appealing in there at the moment I have to say.

Mellow fruitfullness abounds

Geoff Hodge — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:25:00 GMT

OK, so this is it. Autumn is officially here - not only judging by the calendar, but also by the nighttime temperatures - on Saturday night it went down to 4C. So that's pretty much the end of the main veg growing season.

I spent Saturday going through crops tidying up, disposing of the ornamental aubergine plants and sorting through the tomatoes to remove leaves to allow as much sun as possible to get to the fruit - the latter may now have been a complete waste of time as the fruit will probably fair better indoors.

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!).