Gardening thread 2019

Hair Flick

Hair Flick

Striker
Contributor
Well the snowdrops and hellebores have got the year off to a cracking start, lovely flash of colour in the beds.

Taking some raised beds out to France in the hope it makes keeping a decent veggy plot a bit easier to manage given we're not there all the time to keep down weeds etc. I'm thinking of a load of weed suppressant cloth with a decent layer of gravel over it should make the beds easily accessible and more manageable.

Has anyone got any early seeds planted out yet? What's hot on the SMB's Good Life list this year?
 


I'm hoping to get out and the plot turned over this weekend - some bloody hope..

It'll be the usual, spuds, carrots, beetroot, onions, French beans and the likes for me. Those are our staple stuff. Going to have a good go at some leeks this year and some butternut squash which I'm developing a liking for. Need to get a start soon. The whatever takes me fancy as the year progresses.

In the greenhouse, i'm going all Italian this year. I have 3 different Italian tomato varieties I brought back last September.
 
We have snow forecast this week so I'm doing nowt yet.....

Overwintering spring cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli in the polytunnel is looking promising.

I've tidied up a bit and hoyed manure on me emerging rhubarb but that's about it
 
No seeds set away yet
Will get some onion seeds away tomorrow.
And maybe some leeks too
Chilli seeds will get set away at the end of the week when I get the heated propogator sorted in the shed.
Seed potatoes have been bought, but a tad too early to chit them
 
Beautiful Almond blossom in full bloom here,all over the countryside as well, some even started to show before Christmas, unusually early.
Grand crop of Lemons, though the old Orange tree hasn’t produced so well this year.
New Mandarin tree has produced for the first time.

Just been repotting some cacti which had grown too big for their pots and taken a few strong shoots of others to set them away.
Bourganville is looking brilliant as ever and not been badly affected with the cold spell.
Likewise with the African Bush Daisies.

Lots of Money plants, so easy to grow, just stick a cutting in the soil and away they go.
Dollar Plants doing ok also, though the
Dinero plants are looking a bit scruffy.
Can’t be bad, growing my own money, eh ?
 
Bad_mother said:
We have snow forecast this week so I'm doing nowt yet.....

Overwintering spring cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli in the polytunnel is looking promising.

I've tidied up a bit and hoyed manure on me emerging rhubarb but that's about it
Click to expand...
Next door's rhubarb is starting to poke a couple of shoots up, haven't seen any action from ours yet but the badgers have been rooting around there most of the winter so they might have snaffled the lot.
 
At the start of the month I planted cayennes, habaneros and jalapeños, cherry tomatoes, Alicante tomatoes, basil, Thai basil, holy basil and cinnamon basil, coriander and some lavender and other flowers. Most have started to germinate. I have seedlings of one type of tomato but not the other just yet (I didn't label the pots to find out which is which) and one type of chili (jalepeño or habanero) has not germinated yet but everything else is on the go (except lavender and the flowers). Waiting for some of the tomatoes to get bigger to re-pot with some of the coriander and/or basil.

The missus bought me a cayenne plant also that has 3 chilis mid way and I bought a strawberry plant on Saturday that has been re-potted into a bigger pot. Also the missus bought me a lemon tree so I'm hoping that bears some fruit in a few months time (May supposedly).

I think the coriander will be the first thing ready from what I've read in growing cycles. Looking forward to eating some of the produce. All being grown on my balconies in pots although spending some of the time indoors as it's been a bit nippy/windy.
 
lenshack said:
Beautiful Almond blossom in full bloom here,all over the countryside as well, some even started to show before Christmas, unusually early.
Grand crop of Lemons, though the old Orange tree hasn’t produced so well this year.
New Mandarin tree has produced for the first time.

Just been repotting some cacti which had grown too big for their pots and taken a few strong shoots of others to set them away.
Bourganville is looking brilliant as ever and not been badly affected with the cold spell.
Likewise with the African Bush Daisies.

Lots of Money plants, so easy to grow, just stick a cutting in the soil and away they go.
Dollar Plants doing ok also, though the
Dinero plants are looking a bit scruffy.
Can’t be bad, growing my own money, eh ?
Click to expand...
I'm hoping to catch our Camelia out in blossom when we get over there. Usually we get there later in the year when it's been and nearly gone. Lots of evidence of blooms but dropped off by the time we get to see it.

You growing cacti outdoors? Guess there's no danger of frosts where you are?
 
kossoff said:
At the start of the month I planted cayennes, habaneros and jalapeños, cherry tomatoes, Alicante tomatoes, basil, Thai basil, holy basil and cinnamon basil, coriander and some lavender and other flowers. Most have started to germinate. I have seedlings of one type of tomato but not the other just yet (I didn't label the pots to find out which is which) and one type of chili (jalepeño or habanero) has not germinated yet but everything else is on the go (except lavender and the flowers). Waiting for some of the tomatoes to get bigger to re-pot with some of the coriander and/or basil.

The missus bought me a cayenne plant also that has 3 chilis mid way and I bought a strawberry plant on Saturday that has been re-potted into a bigger pot. Also the missus bought me a lemon tree so I'm hoping that bears some fruit in a few months time (May supposedly).

I think the coriander will be the first thing ready from what I've read in growing cycles. Looking forward to eating some of the produce. All being grown on my balconies in pots although spending some of the time indoors as it's been a bit nippy/windy.
Click to expand...
Far to early for toms surely? Don't set mine away to mid March.
 
Flared Hicks said:
I'm hoping to catch our Camelia out in blossom when we get over there. Usually we get there later in the year when it's been and nearly gone. Lots of evidence of blooms but dropped off by the time we get to see it.

You growing cacti outdoors? Guess there's no danger of frosts where you are?
Click to expand...

Yes they grow outdoors ok. It’s a very rare occasion when there’s enough frost to do much damage, though it did happen one year a long time ago. Usually the lowest temperature is round about zero.

I used to grow some veg, but I’m not so fit now and being away all Summer it was difficult to manage or get the full benefit, so I gravelled the veggie patch over and stuck a few fruit trees in.
Fresh veg is so cheap here all year round, it’s hardly worth the effort anyway.

I have a good neighbour who keeps the rest of it watered during the Summmer heat.
 
If it was up to me, I would concrete it over

But it’s not, so the preparations are being started for a lot of vegetables to be cultivated this year
 
Little early in the season for me. Set my chilli's away, Scotch Bonnet, Bhut Jolokia Chocolate, 7 Pot Yellow and a few Trinidad Scorpion's. Need to get my first early spuds and onion sets soon.
 
Flared Hicks said:
Well the snowdrops and hellebores have got the year off to a cracking start, lovely flash of colour in the beds.

Taking some raised beds out to France in the hope it makes keeping a decent veggy plot a bit easier to manage given we're not there all the time to keep down weeds etc. I'm thinking of a load of weed suppressant cloth with a decent layer of gravel over it should make the beds easily accessible and more manageable.

Has anyone got any early seeds planted out yet? What's hot on the SMB's Good Life list this year?
Click to expand...

Can you not pay a local old boy or young'n a couple of euro's a week to keep the weeds and that down Flicky?
 
I'm gonna plant a queen seeds easy bud back end of April and maybe a dwarf auto strain and hide them amongst the red hot polkas and foxgloves in the front garden. Two plants is my max like cos the end up stinking.
Gonna have some tumbling toms on the fence anarl
 

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