Comptine's Veggie Glog
- Thread starter Comptine
- Start date
Bumper said:
I sure hope so! I just wish I could start harvesting now! I think my radishes are a week or two away from being harvested, so that's nice at least. I would have thought now would be the perfect time to plant garlic in Australia, but I might just be making the mistake of assuming your climate is identical to mine just 6 months apart
Yeah, tomatoes are doing great, I found a picture of my tomatoes last year at this time, they were about 15cm tall then, tiny things. And this year they're about to flower now, so I'm really pleased. It's going to be a long season. Last year I had some plants last into mid October, so I'm guessing the tomatoes are going to de great. I'm even temped to leave a few suckers on, just because the plant has a long season to grow.
I LOVE my bean trellis! Mostly what I love about it is that it was free, and I only had to screw the pieces together and string it. My friend's hubby works in construction, so he cut the bits up for me and the wood was free.
Oh, now that I have a few pictures I want to share a side project I have with you guys.
I have a friend that lives in a flat, and in their court yard they have a bunch of allotments, one of which is hers. She has a few things on there that were there before she got it, a rhubarb bush, some flowers, a rose plant. And she's put down a few of her own flowers in there. But most of it was going to waste, so I offered to plant and care for a bit of it. There is now a tiny veggie garden of her allotment.
This is an overview from her window.
And this is her actual bit.
The front is random flowers she put down, I care little for flowers. Behind the flowers underneath the wigwams are cherry tomatoes. I'm quite pleased with the wigwams actually, I think they look cute. They'll obviously need larger stakes later, but for now, against the wind, which I think will be the worst culprit. To the left, next to the tomatoes I have 4 courgette plants.
Behind them there are a few rows of carrots, beets, spinach, radishes and dill. To the right of those rows (you can see where I tilled today) are pak choi and cucumbers by the edge, I'm still waiting for that trellis. There is a huge rhubarb bush and roses of some sort at the back. I'm going to put the chard in under the cucumber trellis when her hubby makes one. I want a trellis like this one.
And I have two sweet pepper plants, they'll probably go behind the tomatoes. I didn't have much grass left from last weekend, but the idea is to mulch the entire tomato and courgette area, hopefully the cuke and chards too, and if possible the carrots. I need to put new leeks in, the old ones keep getting covered by her steroid rhubarb bush.
I can't tell how big it is. Could it be 3x8 metres maybe?
I have a friend that lives in a flat, and in their court yard they have a bunch of allotments, one of which is hers. She has a few things on there that were there before she got it, a rhubarb bush, some flowers, a rose plant. And she's put down a few of her own flowers in there. But most of it was going to waste, so I offered to plant and care for a bit of it. There is now a tiny veggie garden of her allotment.
This is an overview from her window.
And this is her actual bit.
The front is random flowers she put down, I care little for flowers. Behind the flowers underneath the wigwams are cherry tomatoes. I'm quite pleased with the wigwams actually, I think they look cute. They'll obviously need larger stakes later, but for now, against the wind, which I think will be the worst culprit. To the left, next to the tomatoes I have 4 courgette plants.
Behind them there are a few rows of carrots, beets, spinach, radishes and dill. To the right of those rows (you can see where I tilled today) are pak choi and cucumbers by the edge, I'm still waiting for that trellis. There is a huge rhubarb bush and roses of some sort at the back. I'm going to put the chard in under the cucumber trellis when her hubby makes one. I want a trellis like this one.
And I have two sweet pepper plants, they'll probably go behind the tomatoes. I didn't have much grass left from last weekend, but the idea is to mulch the entire tomato and courgette area, hopefully the cuke and chards too, and if possible the carrots. I need to put new leeks in, the old ones keep getting covered by her steroid rhubarb bush.
I can't tell how big it is. Could it be 3x8 metres maybe?
Only a month out from when we should have, but trying to get everything right this year.. We built a big compost on the weekend out of recycled corrugated steel, the best things in life are free!Comptine said:
I sure hope so! I just wish I could start harvesting now! I think my radishes are a week or two away from being harvested, so that's nice at least. I would have thought now would be the perfect time to plant garlic in Australia, but I might just be making the mistake of assuming your climate is identical to mine just 6 months apart
Yeah, tomatoes are doing great, I found a picture of my tomatoes last year at this time, they were about 15cm tall then, tiny things. And this year they're about to flower now, so I'm really pleased. It's going to be a long season. Last year I had some plants last into mid October, so I'm guessing the tomatoes are going to de great. I'm even temped to leave a few suckers on, just because the plant has a long season to grow.
I LOVE my bean trellis! Mostly what I love about it is that it was free, and I only had to screw the pieces together and string it. My friend's hubby works in construction, so he cut the bits up for me and the wood was free.
Comptine said:
Judging by the pavers and consistent length of materials, I reckon it's 3x6m. Cool cucumber trellis too!!
Nice allotments, its great that the exist in some areas. Trellis looks interesting, works great if the produce below gets sun 
Bumper said:
Ah, a month behind isn't too bad. Absolutely, I love free stuff, most of the time it actually works better than the stuff you pay for. I think it might be because you have little expectations for it and when it works it's brilliant. Ah, could be 3x6, I'm terrible at eyeing measurements. It's big enough to grow some things for fun.
dragonsfire said:Nice allotments, its great that the exist in some areas. Trellis looks interesting, works great if the produce below gets sun
Where she lives it's mostly retired people, so they all decided having an allotment plot is much nicer than just a lawn. We get a bit of extra sun in the summers here in Sweden, our days are already 18 hours long, getting longer still. We peak at 18 and a half where I live end of June. Chard and other green things can get by with as little as 4 hours I read, so I think that even if it gets a little shaded under the trellis it'll still be enough to grow something.
Quick picture update time! Things are exploding! And Fruiting!!
I'm attempting to grow pumpkins in a sail bag. It's a 50 litre bag of peat, I've obviously made drainage holes in the bottom, and a few on the sides just in case. I'm not looking for a bumper harvest here, I'd be stoked with one of each. I'm growing a Chirimen and Winter Luxury squash. And I'm growing them mostly for the looks, we're not huge pumpkin fans in my family.
Conservatory tomato group shot. I have 11 full size tomatoes out here. most are in some stage of flowering, and I thing I have 2-3 fruits that have set.
Now this is a fun one. I buried my tomatoes really deep when repotting, and I notice that I have a stem coming through the grass clippings that I put on the greenhouse cherry tomatoes. I pull it out and it has a bit of a root system going. The blanch itself isn't very long, but it does have flowers at the top, lots of them. So for fun I put it in some soil, and took it inside so that it wasn't in full sun and heat. It seems to have taken, and I see a bit of yellow in the flower there. This has been happening with quite a few of my tomatoes, so I've got about 5 'extra' ones.
The runner beans up the cherry tree experiment is going well. There are a few bush beans in there too.
Peas and runner beans slowly climbing the trellis. Carrots at the front is adding some greenery.
I can't tell if the garlic is slowly getting ready now or not, I feel like the leaves are going a little yellow. The radish bed was dug up, since I seem to have some worm eating the radishes in there. I put in onions that I started from seed a few months back, and some more beetroot. The herb and beetroot bed is doing well, I've harveted the thyme twice so far this year.
In front of the greenhouse I've put lots of lavender. I should probably keep it IN the greenhouse to attract good insects but I just can't fit it in there. I have a small pot of corriander there too, and the dead bush will probably become another corriander pot.
It's getting really hard to walk in here now.
And balcony grow is taking off. Two pots of beans, bush and bread beans. One pot with carrots. Three pots of kale. I've found three or four tiny caterpillars or something on the leaves, but they were super small, and did little damage. I did kill them, and I'm hoping I might not have to get a net to cover the plants.
I need a bump if you guys want to see more pictures inside the greenhouse.
I'm attempting to grow pumpkins in a sail bag. It's a 50 litre bag of peat, I've obviously made drainage holes in the bottom, and a few on the sides just in case. I'm not looking for a bumper harvest here, I'd be stoked with one of each. I'm growing a Chirimen and Winter Luxury squash. And I'm growing them mostly for the looks, we're not huge pumpkin fans in my family.
Conservatory tomato group shot. I have 11 full size tomatoes out here. most are in some stage of flowering, and I thing I have 2-3 fruits that have set.
Now this is a fun one. I buried my tomatoes really deep when repotting, and I notice that I have a stem coming through the grass clippings that I put on the greenhouse cherry tomatoes. I pull it out and it has a bit of a root system going. The blanch itself isn't very long, but it does have flowers at the top, lots of them. So for fun I put it in some soil, and took it inside so that it wasn't in full sun and heat. It seems to have taken, and I see a bit of yellow in the flower there. This has been happening with quite a few of my tomatoes, so I've got about 5 'extra' ones.
The runner beans up the cherry tree experiment is going well. There are a few bush beans in there too.
Peas and runner beans slowly climbing the trellis. Carrots at the front is adding some greenery.
I can't tell if the garlic is slowly getting ready now or not, I feel like the leaves are going a little yellow. The radish bed was dug up, since I seem to have some worm eating the radishes in there. I put in onions that I started from seed a few months back, and some more beetroot. The herb and beetroot bed is doing well, I've harveted the thyme twice so far this year.
In front of the greenhouse I've put lots of lavender. I should probably keep it IN the greenhouse to attract good insects but I just can't fit it in there. I have a small pot of corriander there too, and the dead bush will probably become another corriander pot.
It's getting really hard to walk in here now.
And balcony grow is taking off. Two pots of beans, bush and bread beans. One pot with carrots. Three pots of kale. I've found three or four tiny caterpillars or something on the leaves, but they were super small, and did little damage. I did kill them, and I'm hoping I might not have to get a net to cover the plants.
I need a bump if you guys want to see more pictures inside the greenhouse.
Always nice to see a lush green house
All looking nice and healthy
All looking nice and healthy
Right! Last pictures!
Cherry tomatoes are flowering!
And setting fruit!
Got my small herb shelf here, basil and more corriander. As well as two sweet pepper plants I need to put down in my friend's allotment.
Got a tomato sucker planted in some soil an the left. Middle is a left over kale plant. Right is my one and only cabbage plant, that I'll repot as soon as I get some more soil.
My five aubergine plants. They may be small.
But things are happening!
And the courgettes are doing great!
As are the bush beans!
That was all for today. I might take some pictures of my friend's allotment tomorrow, I saw her radishes there, for a second I thought they were beetroots because they were HUGE.
Cherry tomatoes are flowering!
And setting fruit!
Got my small herb shelf here, basil and more corriander. As well as two sweet pepper plants I need to put down in my friend's allotment.
Got a tomato sucker planted in some soil an the left. Middle is a left over kale plant. Right is my one and only cabbage plant, that I'll repot as soon as I get some more soil.
My five aubergine plants. They may be small.
But things are happening!
And the courgettes are doing great!
As are the bush beans!
That was all for today. I might take some pictures of my friend's allotment tomorrow, I saw her radishes there, for a second I thought they were beetroots because they were HUGE.
Look at that flower cluster!
The cherry tomatoes have been hitting the roof of the greenhouse lately, it's quite the jungle in there! The full sized tomatoes are doing well too, but one variety seems to have started developing BER which is really strange. I feed it it with tomato fertiliser every 5-7 days, there are slow release ferts in the soil, and I water pretty much daily, I should not be getting that.
The cherry tomatoes have been hitting the roof of the greenhouse lately, it's quite the jungle in there! The full sized tomatoes are doing well too, but one variety seems to have started developing BER which is really strange. I feed it it with tomato fertiliser every 5-7 days, there are slow release ferts in the soil, and I water pretty much daily, I should not be getting that.
Looks like the ferts work well, hope they taste great
dragonsfire said:Looks like the ferts work well, hope they taste great
Cheers! I'm stoked with how my grow is going so far, it's only the end of June and I'm way ahead of where I was last year. We've had amazing weather since the start of May, and the plants have been thriving.
I think I'll put up a few more progress picks whilst I'm at it.
Peas have run out of trellising, but the good news is that they are loaded with flowers. The beans are nearing the top, and I think I saw a flower or two on them now. The carrots at the front are doing great, I don't think it's long until the first harvest. I think I have round Pariser Markt carrots that will be the first to mature, I believe it was 70 odd days to maturity.
It's getting harder and harder to walk in the greenhouse. I cannot see the peppers that are behind the tomatoes by the south wall. Cucumbers are flowering like crazy. Turns out one of my courgettes likes to climb. And one of my supposed bush beans liked climbing too.
I've had quite a few courgettes flower by now. I harvested two tiny ones that did not look like they had taken. But between 5 plants I think I'll have plenty of fruit.
Watering and fertilising in the greenhouse has become quite difficult too. When I planned what to put on there I was intent on using every little space to maximise it, the greenhouse is only 6.2 square metres, which isn't huge as far as greenhouses go. We bought it last year, and that was also the first year I started growing things, so everything that went in there was very last minute sort of 'Hey, let's grow that!' It took ages for the greenhouse to be put together, some parts were missing when we got it and out of stock when we called them. It was a mess. This is what it looked like last year.
Gave the tomatoes in the greenhouse a well needed pruning. I took off a lot of the lower leaves, and I can finally see my peppers down there! I hope the pollinators will take notice as well now.
Given the foliage the plants have, I doubt they'll notice I stripped them of some leaves.
Something add is happening to my garlic. They're setting bulbs inside the stem. Turns out this is a way for them to reproduce, it's called garlic bulbil. Typically happens when the plant is stressed in any way, some varieties are more prone to it than others. You can grow garlic from them, or eat them. It just takes a bit longer to get giant garlic heads from these bulbils.
Given the foliage the plants have, I doubt they'll notice I stripped them of some leaves.
Something add is happening to my garlic. They're setting bulbs inside the stem. Turns out this is a way for them to reproduce, it's called garlic bulbil. Typically happens when the plant is stressed in any way, some varieties are more prone to it than others. You can grow garlic from them, or eat them. It just takes a bit longer to get giant garlic heads from these bulbils.
I'm doing small harvests every day now, which is super nice. I con pick a few cucumbers daily, and carrots if I'd like. Peas are filling up now, I've harvested a few, mostly I just eat them right be the plant and chuck the shell down next to the plant so that it can turn into compost. Climbing beans are flowering. Planted some new bush beans. Been harvesting kale and swiss chard once a week. So, here's a few pictures I remembered to snap.
Finally found one of my elusive purple carrots, I should have white ones somewhere too.
Space? Who needs space? I've cut the top of the cucumbers that have reached the roof.
Finally found one of my elusive purple carrots, I should have white ones somewhere too.
Space? Who needs space? I've cut the top of the cucumbers that have reached the roof.
Nice little jungle in their. Those carrots must be sweet
Are you using a specific seed for those colours, or toss of the dice?
Was interesting to learn a while back that carrots were not originaly Orange.
Was interesting to learn a while back that carrots were not originaly Orange.