Left hand side
5 'pointy' Pepper plants plus five Aubergines in big pots. French Climbing beans to go out as are the Sweetcorn - baby ones for stir-fries. One more big pot ready for another yellow tomato. 2 trays sown with mangetout peas. 2 pots sown with nasturtiums - no sign of them yet. Some small tomato plants to go in the hanging baskets and at the end are 2 cucumbers. Also some squash seedlings just emerging
Left hand side
It looks much emptier than last year because the climbing French beans and all the other plants are already outside either in the ground or in pots. Plus I'm not growing baby corn this year. This years 4 Aubergine and 3 Pepper plants in big pots are not so well grown as this time last year because they didn't get going so well and the failure of all but one of my own pepper sowing meant I sent for some which held things up. The 2 cucumber plants look bigger than this time last year and of course there is the sacrificial cucumber plant I wrote about last week.
21st May LAST YEAR
Right hand side
9 various tomato plants with French Marigolds also in the pots to encourage insects in for pollination and another cucumber in the big pot at the end.
21st May Right hand side
THIS YEAR Below
The 4 Ildi yellow plum tomato plants are much forwarder than this time last year, as I sowed them first .4 Big Mama Tomato plants slightly later. The tomato with masses of flowers on the right of the door is one of the cascade trailing mini tomatoes. Last year I squeezed all 4 plants into the baskets on the garage wall. This year I still grew 4 plants but put just 1 in each basket, one in the greenhouse and one in a pot outside the greenhouse door. No French Marigold plants this year as I usually pick up a cheap small tray from a car boot sale. There's a pot of parsley there too. One pot full has gone outside already. The third big cucumber at the far end with a small pepper plant. One empty pot on the right waiting for the final Aubergine plant to get a bit bigger to pot on.
The blog is so handy to be able to see the differences from one year to another.
Back Tomorrow
Sue
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Your veg is much further on than ours. We have struggled with the weather - REALLY hot in the day then cold at night, and my old plastic greenhouse cover needs replacing (like THAT was going to happen this year!) and has holes in it - wish I had a proper glass greenhouse. But stuff is coming on now and the Greek Gigantes are climbing, and first earlies nearly ready to come out of the ground, which will free up another bed. Thank heavens we were given well grown tomato plants is all I can say!
ReplyDeleteI bought a plastic greenhouse online this year from A*di for £24.99 and it is surprisingly robust but I noticed that replacement covers are available on the internet to fit the aluminium frame which is good. Like you, I would love a glass greenhouse but this is my first year of growing so I will see how I get on. I'm still covering everything at night with bubble wrap and fleece as we had hard frosts last week most nights. I put gorilla tape on two areas of the greenhouse and punched holes through it, tied guy ropes to the frame and have pegged it down either side to stop it blowing away in the Scottish wind! I also weighed it down on the inside with large bricks.
DeleteLove my greenhouse. My very first one was a £10 gift - a small timber framed one from a friend I worked with who's husband was building her a much bigger one. We moved it 3 times to new houses until it got too fragile to move again. The wooden frame one which was here is very posh and sturdy but it makes the tomatoes lanky. Glass down to the ground is best.
DeleteI am growing fruit and veg/salad etc for the first time ever. Perhaps you wouldn't mind helping me with something please? I bought 6 raspberry canes (Glen Prosen) from a garden centre several weeks ago, divided them up and planted them in pots. I didn't cut them down, should I? They have been in pots for several weeks now and are doing absolutely nothing. Everything else is growing brilliantly. I bought a cheap, plastic walk in greenhouse (we'll see if it survives the forecast gales up here this weekend) just to see how I get on before committing to something more substantial. The only plants I have outside at the moment are rasps and strawberries. I'm loving growing my own food and will watch your posts with interest. I live in the north of Scotland so we are probably a few weeks behind you with the growing season. This is the first week without frosts most nights. Lots of people donated their own plants and seeds to get me started which has been a brilliant help, especially with the shops now being closed. Happy gardening. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteGlen Prosen are summer fruiting. and yes they are usually cut down to about 9 inches when planted so that all their energy goes into producing runners and new canes. You shouldn't get fruit on the original cane but have to wait until the new canes grow. I've never grown raspberries in pots - not sure how well they will do.
DeleteHope your greenhouse survives the windy weather.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Thank you, I will cut them down a bit as they are tall.
DeleteP.S. Nasturtiums here by the bucketload - we are using the raised L shaped bed around the lean-to shed (the "back place") and that is normally one vast bed of Nasturtiums! We have saved several planters of Nasturtiums but now they are going on the compost heap, like weeds . . .
ReplyDeleteI sowed a whole packet of nasturtium and got 3 plants!
DeleteThe gardeners of old wrote copious notes including weather reports as well. Do you have a written planting diary as well as the blog Sue?
ReplyDeleteI've given up on veggies and am in awe of those who have the stamina to keep on going year to year.
I don't have a planting diary - just a little plan of what was where in which bed last year so I change things round.
DeleteWith no going out and about there will be more gardening posts this year I think!
I've struggled with seeds this year, and loads of my things are behind, your greenhouse still looks good and productive.
ReplyDeleteYes seed production isn't as advanced as normal. I put it down to some awful compost I bought from Aldi. I'm awaiting delivery of my plastic greenhouse. I miss my 8 x 10 greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteWe bought really awful shed and fence treatment from there last year. Back to the good stuff this year and it has made a huge difference. But I am really pleased with my plastic greenhouse from them, hope you enjoy yours. See my comment above about how we secured ours down (very windy up here!)
DeleteSome things do seem to be further ahead this year compare with last, although our rhododendron is the same to the day. Interesting you raise nasturtiums in the greenhouse. I used to think of them as half-hardy but round here they have no trouble self-seeding themselves outside in gardens. They are well on already.
ReplyDeleteNasturtium seed never do well for me - indoors - outside or anywhere!
DeleteIt all looks great! I think things are a bit more advanced this year and small wonder many of the babies are already out and about.
ReplyDeletexx
Keeping my fingers crossed for a good harvest
DeleteCertainly some differences there. After the wind this weekend I think I might plant my toms out with a wall of fleece around them. Night temperatures are going to be high enough just hope we don’t get cold nights early June!
ReplyDeleteI hope I've protected everything from the windy weather, the forecast rain lasted 10 minutes here
DeleteYours look much further on than we are here. My toms are not coming on that well, peppers look a bit better, marigolds and gerainiums looking good, all grown from seeds in the conservatory. Outside my runner beans and broad beans are looking quite good, as long as the damn slugs don't get them. I planted cougettes and peas they haven't come up at all. Helen S.
ReplyDeleteI've not sown runner beans yet, want them to be later than the french climbing
DeleteYour greenhouse is beautiful, and well organised. Your plants look to be well ahead of ours. Because the internet has been giving ongoing problems I have spent far too much time outside hoe, hoe, hoeing! Weeds are springing up everywhere, this year I am determined not to let them beat me, though I can't guarantee it!
ReplyDeleteI had a tidy up before the photo! My next hoeing job is the top fruit bed - the small gooseberry bushes have mildew - might get rid of them - they are too squashed and the big bushes look good
DeleteI have such greenhouse envy! I just have a few random containers of seedlings on my kitchen windowsills. Your growth is farther ahead than ours, here. It is nice to see!! -Jenn
ReplyDeleteI love my greenhouse, so glad it was here when we moved in
DeleteComparisons photos from previous years blog photos are brilliant aren't they. Usually that is ... But not for me this year, I won't even look at previous years in the polytunnel because things are simply pathetic in there at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe only plants doing well are in the Net Tunnel and are potatoes ... and I didn't even plant them!!
What a shame about your tunnels.
DeleteMy Charlotte potatoes got really scorched by frost, hopefully they will put up more shoots and now it's so dry here - I can't water as much as the things need really. Windy weather forecast just dries things up even more
We've had quite a few seeds not germinate this year,hot then cold and frosty. Marigolds though have gone mad, we could have a stall ourselves with them!
ReplyDelete