Sunflowers!!! Van Gogh eat your heart out!

my lovely tidy clean garden!
re-dug veg patch with onions and caulis covered up

my two small but perfectly formed pumpkins - starting to ripen up now
small perfect pots - the rest are left to grow on
Van Gogh's delights
I grew these all by my own self
Anyone for a Jalepeno!!!

What a busy day today, i have re-dug, weeded and tidied the plot and the garden, collected the last of the jalepeno's, then I cut my sunflowers and put them in a vase, as I thought I cant see them in the garden so I will look at them in the house instead, feel really pleased with myself, I looooove Sunflowers!!

The potatoes are coming along considering that the slugs have eaten all of the leaves, the four other planters have been moved to the greenhouse, so we will see what will happen by christmas.

Look at my pumpkins!!!! out of 3 plants I have ended up with two, considering the summer we have had and the plants getting powerdry mildrew, they are ok and will ripen ready for the end of the month, hopefully, i only grew them for halloween anyway.

So now everything is tidy, I even cut the grass today and cleaned out the shed, I am ready for the winter, the onions are coming along nicely and there is still some beetroot to be had, shame the brussels were mullered by the caterpillars!

I Wont be back now, until more than likely spring, so happy christmas everyone and a great new year xx

Autumn is now upon us!

some sorry looking sweetcorn!!

Well thats it, summer has gone and left us, what have i done, we look we had some sweetcorn and it was lovely......so next year i am not doing runners i am doing more sweetcorn!

not bad for a first attempt i say!

well, i still have beetroot in the ground and planted out some all year round caulis and some red cabbage and have planted 100 onion sets, so fingers crossed. The small amount of leeks i planted are now coming along and if i can get the bloody caterpillars off the brussels then they would be great, but god its like a plague!!!!!

The jalapenos are really going red now, but the pots have had it really, the darm slugs have got to them and i hate slugs.

But i did have my tip posted in GYO about using pegs to collect the slugs and received a £10 voucher for T&M so that cheered me up, dont know what to get now though!!! LOL!!!!

So not much else to tell you all, really i not done much, just watching things grow and get cold whilst doing it!!!!

See you in the spring xx

ps. Started my degree in Early Years so hoping that i stay on top of study and get some stuff done in the garden!

Rain, Slugs & Caterpillars !! ARGH!!!!!

One of my potatoe plants mullered by the slugs!
on the sole remaining cabbages - not mullered by caterpillars
big & little - both delicious
3 beans heinz
still flowering & tasty runners

truss of Gardeners Delights
big and beefy going redder by the way
time for a pea anyone!
5 pumpkins - please swell
Butternut squash - gonna on i dare ya to grow

Well good old August never let us down did it, rain, rain & guess what, rain!!!! Well a bit of sad news, my sis left to go to New Zealand on 23rd August, but the good news is I am talking her into a greenhouse as veg is so expensive out there, so heres hoping!

Well what a month, I pulled up the onions and they are drying now on the greenhouse floor and seem to be doing really well, i need to string them up soon!

Ok the brussels, cabbages and caulis have taken a beating from the caterpillars, but i made a garlic & chilli fire spray and it stinks, but so far the cabbage white butterflies are staying away, but it needs to be reapplied especially after rain, but i learnt the hard way and needed gloves.

I have sown some carrots in pots again, some speedy seeds, which i am gonna place in the greenhouse to grow on and i have sown some all year round caulis, to see if i can beat the pillars!! I have also sown some pak choi in troughs, 2 in the greenhouse and 2 in the garden, but I want them all to grow as this is one of my fav veg, oh and dont forget two planters of speedy seed beetroot, i am so loving the beetroot.

Well yesterday, i realised i had Powder Mildrew on my pumpkins & squash and had to strip the affected leaves, but hoping that they still survive as i so want pumpkins for halloween, i will be keeping an eye on them, but have learnt that the weather doesnt help, if it is damp, so need to water in the mornings and not the evenings as this doesnt help!

I think that could be about it for now - oh no i forgot the gorgeous toms in the greenhouse, they are all ripening up and all taste gorgeous and i will defo be growing Gardeners Delight again, as cant get enough of them!

Just forget - my potatoes, i have added more compost and staked them, because i think the slugs have got to them and i so want them for Christmas, so please keep growing or i will be so upset on xmas day!!!!

Lets hope that september brings some sunshine!

Cricket balls & Beetroot!

my tidy patch now weeded for hours!
chilli plant is still growing
look at the sweetcorn, it wont be long now
lovely, lovely cucumbers
basil having a growth spurt

my first harvested cuce
look at the size of that beetroot
runners for tea
i think these could be beefsteak???

well, here we are again and the veg is still going strong! the toms are the most surprising, they are getting huge! I dont know what variety they are as i threw the packet away, but i am sure they could be beefsteaks as they are so so so massive, i cant wait to eat them.

the sweetcorn as still a mystery to me, one lot are small and one lot are huge, the seeds are from the same packet, but one has just flourished and one hasnt but then again the cobs are coming on both, so i dont mind!!

now i have established that the cuces are marketmores and they are outside cuces, i moved them and wow how they have grown, i have loads and loads on them and they taste lovely, had three from them already.

Also the beets, well, i have pickled 3 jars now, picked a load today and have more in and the big one in the photo is the size of a cricket ball, just hope that its ok and not woody!!

I spent hours today in the garden, weeding and tidying up the plot and also dead heading the strawberry plants as recommended on the grapevine, cor that place is a source of information everyday, i am also gonna plant some onion sets for the winter and also get some over winter cabbages!!

I havent taken pics of my squashes or pumpkins, but the flowers are huge and they are taking over the garden ha ha ! not that i mind as i have seen a squash growing, so hoping now that they continue and i can make some nice soup, it would also be nice to have some pumpkins from the garden for halloween as last year i missed the boat and we didnt have any, at least i would have fresh ones from my own garden.

See ya all soon xx

so much growth is happening, its scarey!!

a sunflower on its side! upsey daisy sunflower!!
look a cucumber wow!!
more toms - getting big!
the veggie patch with onions and caulis!
Robbie the adopted cat - he adopted us!

look at the runners, running away
caulis are getting bigger

the sweetcorn even bigger now

carrots - tasted lovely
beetroot - some pickled and some roasted - yum yum
sideways view of sweetcorn which now has husks growing
toms are everywhere

well not been on here for a while, been very busy, but as you can see there is veg everywhere, the days have been busy and the weather not too bad. The beetroot tastest delicious. On sunday i sowed about 27 potatoes in pots and bags, so hoping for a good batch for Christmas time.

Also, tasted one of the Gardeners Delight toms and still a bit bitter, but full of flavour, they are getting red now.

I bought a pepper plant with about 6 huge peppers on it and have re-potted it up. Also on sunday, i pulled up the lettuce and rocket and mizuna that has now gone to seed, so will sow some more this week.

The jalapeno is really growing and has about 20 chillis on it! Also had some runners and they were nice, but stu said i needed to cook for longer - how dare he criticise my beans ha ha.

You will also see a pic of Robbie the cat, he has adopted us and is staying for now, we know his owners and they moved away and he keeps coming back, so i think he will stay now and the kids love him, i have dewormed and defleaded him as well, ha ha - poor thing, but he is very friendly and likes us, well i think so.

The sweet corn is growing so much now and i can see at least 5 corns growing, the other little one has now started to grow as well and i dont know why it was slower, but it will soon catch up. The pumpkins and squashes have now got flowers so hoping to get some good crops from them and the sweetpeas are a hit and i keep cutting off the flowers and putting them in vases.

Oh how i love growing things!! roll on the rest of the summer, i want to sow more carrots for xmas and hopefully we will be eating all our own veggies, that would be a success.

See you soon x

Is the summer ever gonna come!

the caulis are growing - thank the lord
my pumpkins - hope to plant them out in two weeks

parsnips, parsnips everywhere and not a one to eat.............well not yet anyway!

the jalepenos have flowers - stu is happy
look - gardeners delight, growing OMG!
runners are running away
The veggie plot! looking good, now with leeks and cabbages as well! oh and the brussells for christmas
My sunflower is getting very big!

Yum yum pigs bum!! and they are mine all mine!!
My first ever sweet peas - arrrrrrrrr
The salad "coffin" is doing well with Rocket, Cut & Come again and Mizuna
Big sweetcorn & little sweetcorn - what a way to go!
The toms are growing & growing as well as the cucs! will they ever stop!

i cant believe how everything is growing, wow wee!! i am so excited - i cant wait for the caulis, this summer i am also gonna grow some Pak Choi, love the stuff.

Exciting stuff as tomorrow i am off to meet fellow "Grapes", Heywayne and Piskieinboots, we are meeting at a pub in Wendover and I will be taking some pics and putting them on the blog.

I dont know if i have put this before, but next year i am gonna use grow bags stood up for my toms are they are about to fall over, but it is not taking away from the fact that they are really really growing and i couldnt believe it when i saw the cherry toms on the gardeners delight!

The strawberries are tasting delicious and i cant understand why i ever bought them in tesco, i cant get enough of them, i so hope that more flowers come, as i want more and more.

One thing i cant understand is that the sweetcorn were planted at the same time and are in different pots, but the ones in the blue pot arent as bit as the one in the planter, i may start feeding just to see what happens, but none the less they are looking really good and i am so pleased.

I also think i have got rid of the snails in the garden, i dont see half as many and my veg is staying quite intact, so perhaps i have the sorted.

More posting soon and more pics of the veg as it is harvested, by the way, i have seen the beetroot growing and also the carrots are coming along great!