[Closed] STW Growerists - How does your garden grow?

I've spent the last couple of weekends decimating my garden. I'm taking a minimalist approach because I [s]can't be arsed[/s] don't have the time to maintain it and its yields were crap anyway.
Gone are the raspberry bushes, strawberries, spring onions, mushrooms, herbs and other assorted remnants of the previous owner's shennanigans including the composters which were full of all kinds of crap including animal bones, 'organic' packaging and bras.

I'm putting in a new shed, some bedding plants in pots and a sand pit for the young-un. gardening can **** off.

Hmmm...

Imagine a cross between Khe San, Passchendale, and Omaha Beach only with soil and fewer gun emplacements then add a few struggling brambles and one small patch of lavender. It's a work in progress...

Last owner of my place turned the front garden into a block-paved wasteland. So I've just had a tonne of topsoil delivered to fill the two planters I've made. Filled them with flowering perennials bought as plugs. Could really do with making another two.

Need to plant out the second strawberry patch and I might bung in a few potatoes.

Tomato seeds have just gone in the greenhouse. Last years chillies (scotch bonnets) were too hot, so I need to find a milder variety.

Rampantly and chaotically. I'm gonna lose the kids in there before long. Napalm will be the only cure in some sections....

Tarmac

Too busy for gardening but pleased to report that the bluebell shoots are looking incredibly healthy. Am full of excitement and can't wait til I can enjoy that heavenly scent. 😀

You're obsessed, woman! 😀

Ain't that the truth Cap'n. 😆 Soon I'll be visiting by bike my favourite Hampshire bluebell woods, it's an annual pilgrimage. 8)

Well, there are quite a few nice woods around my part of Hants as well....! 🙂 YGM.......

Slowly up here in Edinburgh, apart from the moss and weeds.
Fortunately the spring bulbs are coming through to brighten the place up.

Got some chocolate habaneros.
Not entirely confident they'll grow, so it's just wait-n-see.

Fortunately the spring bulbs are coming through to brighten the place up.

Our first set of Daffs are dying off!

Tulips are up and almost open.

I planted three roses last WE, two climbing, up the workshop and one bush. Also added a Crab Apple tree as part replacement for a Sycamore I took down. Going to add a Silver Birch as well.

[url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/13201343324_1f2e827eed_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/13201343324_1f2e827eed_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/13201343324/ ]Crab Apple[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr

Blackberry bushes are in abundance this year, also looking forward to chilled nettle and dandelion root tea in the summer sunshine. 8)
The pallet of mixed slabs look just as good on the pallet as lying flat on the garden in my opinion and i certainly won't be ruining neighbours weekends by mowing, strimming and generally making a noisy bloody nuisance of myself.

Am full of excitement

I read that differently...

I've inherited 2 mahoosive, leaning, garden dominating apple trees. They will have this year, then sadly, chopped down when both gardens are levelled.

I believe they were gifts from old owner to his wife many years ago 🙁

Meh.

Just made a start on ours this weekend..
We only bought the hosue last year, so its all a bit of a blank canvas apparently.

The wife has been busy buying plants, and running around with a sketch pad.

I'm just there for labour..

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Even the Eric helped out..

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And yeah, I've seen the slipped tile... 😳

I like the monkey puzzle 😀

Do you really want a massive f-off tree in the middle of that garden in years to come?

We cleared our garden last week. Some seeds out in trays atm - might have to bring them in this weekend, frost is forecast.

Do you live next to Sherwood forest?

(Cool dog 😀 )

Do you really want a massive f-off tree in the middle of that garden in years to come?

Well at least you get the pleasure of cutting it down and creating an STW wood pile!

[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2694/13201170913_8ac0e4625b_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2694/13201170913_8ac0e4625b_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/13201170913/ ]Wood store[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr

[i]Just made a start on ours this weekend..
We only bought the hosue last year, so its all a bit of a blank canvas apparently.

The wife has been busy buying plants, and running around with a sketch pad.

I'm just there for labour..[/i]

Its already looking good. But you might want to relocate that Monkey Puzzle to the bottom of the garden.

been turning more of our garden over to fruit & veg. trampoline has gone, which helps. No immediate pics but last year, was potatoes, various brassicas, some fruit trees newly planted (after old plum tree died a death and had to be dug out), rhubarb, beetroot, strawberries (plenty of those), raspberries, and a greenhouse to house tomatoes, chillis (still got some jam made from last years), herbs... I like my garden..

oh and some flowers and shrubs and tings...

My big success last year was making the garden more Bee friendly. A lavender hedge was a great success:

[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7415/9542246784_533cc4c72a_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7415/9542246784_533cc4c72a_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/9542246784/ ]Bees on Lavender[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr

and a load of Phacelia behind the workshop

[url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3754/9138101176_5a3df311c4_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3754/9138101176_5a3df311c4_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/9138101176/ ]Bee on Phacelia[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr

Grass, about an acre of it. Bit less this year, as building a shed for the mower. Oh, and weeds. The mrs's has some veggies, and trying to get the kids to grow some, but they just like digging in dirt.

Unfortunately, as the weather gets better, I have to commit every other Sunday to garden duties, so less time for riding.

Well at least you get the pleasure of cutting it down and creating an STW wood pile!

Yeah, I only have a little log store at the minute...
Holds about 2 cubic meters of wood...

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The garden isn't my domain, my wife does whatever she wants in it, which generally involves short lived things with flowers on.

I have an allotment, which I have hops, gooseberries, strawberries, black currants, white currants and raspberries on a permanent basis, and currently have growing 2 types of broads (early and main crop) purple sprouting broccoli and the tail end of some Kale from last year, just lifted the last parsnips, first sowing of turnips, carrots and radish went in at the weekend, with 2 week sowings from now on. Planning for more parsnips, more carrots, bean and peas and some cabbage, planning to add a brassica cage to fight of the birds next winter.

[i]My big success last year was making the garden more Bee friendly[/i]

I've got plenty of lavender, but that Phacelia looks nice.

My "lawn" is mainly moss in winter and clover in summer. So last summer I let the clover flower, which was great for attracting bees. Made walking around barefoot a bit of a gamble though 🙁

I've just ordered two mahoosive bamboo plants that will just get bigger but will fit nicely in the corner of the garden, I've been calling it my japanese garden for two years and finally will have something vaguely oriental in it, they'll go with the stone buddha, stone bench under a large old apple tree. I've ordered clumping varieties to help them stay single specimens but before I plant them I will need to dig a hole and line it with the bamboo barrier plastic to make sure... these are bamboos that end up with 3 inch wide canes inside a couple of years. fab.

The "lawn" currently consists of moss, clover, chives, dandelions, ragwort, some grass and other, unknown plants. At least it's green.

I do gardens for a living and don't have the energy to really look after my own properly, but I do have 4 veg beds at the back and there are strawberries and herbs going from previous years. This year I'm going to be sowing peas, french beans, a couple of pumpkins for the wife, lettuces, radish, rocket, carrots, potatoes and parsley, filling in gaps around the garden with little patches of berhs here and there. I simply can't be bothered with indoor propogation, and as I don't currently have a greenhouse I have to choose things that can be sown direct. I admit the pumpkins will need started indoors but that should be it.

I also want a few more small shrubs and perennials in the front garden as that really should be an advert for the business! Hoping that the plum tree gives fruit this year (it didn't last year as it had been moved in the autumn before). The apple tree fruits fairly well and this year should be even more productive. I do enjoy having some fresh stuff to eat, esp. herbs. I am going to grow big batches of parsley and freeze them this year too.

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I do enjoy having some fresh stuff to eat, esp. herbs. I am going to grow big batches of parsley and freeze them this year too.

Oh yes! Plenty of 'erbs growing for me as well. Currently made up of chives, basil, bay, thyme, sage and parsley. Need to get some coriander in there as well, I think.

Raised beds went in last year

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebygomm/9602503094/ ]Raised beds and path[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ebygomm/ ]ebygomm[/url], on Flickr

We had a pretty good year considering the late start although won't bother with celeriac again. Pumpkins being put somewhere else as they took over last year. Otherwise we are doing peas, beans, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and leeks.

rocket (obv) tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, cucumbers, enough Scotch Bonnets to feed the world, runner beans (nom nom), catnip, beetroot, strawberries, blueberries, coriander, radishes, cabbage

Random herbs esp basil, thyme, mint

I actually mowed the lawn on Sunday.

Got plenty of strawberries, so will be making hanging baskets from several plants and making them into presents.
Rhubarb
purple flowering broccoli is yummy atm
spinach
raspberry canes were cut back a few weeks ago and showing signs of growth
small apple tree.

In the next few weeks is sowing time for tomatoes, cucumber, leeks, peas, beans and maybe some pakchoi.

Not growing potatoes this year as I can buy them cheaply.

Herbs are growing well, must tackle the runaway mint though.

maybe some pakchoi.

is that easy to grow? I love pakchoi.

I haven't grown it myself, however a friend did and she said it was really easy.

Raised beds?
Yeah, I've built some of them too...

Just need to paint the house now.. 😳

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Even Esme was impressed.

We can't seem to grow strawberries in out garden. Too wet I think.

We can't seem to grow strawberries in out garden. Too wet I think.

TeeToo and Mrs TeeToo

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😀

Pop the plants into pots, planters or hanging baskets

Then we forget to water them (or go on holiday) and they die 🙂

I think I just thought a great application for a Raspberry Pi.. hmm..

Then we forget to water them (or go on holiday) and they die

Try some of these;
[img] http://homebase.scene7.com/is/image/homebase/935146_R_Z001?$TMB$&wid=312&hei=312 [/img]
[url= http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=935146 ]Clicky[/url]

They have a sort of reservoir at the bottom that can't over fill. So, you can fill it up and go away for a couple of weeks without a worry. If it rains, the reservoir refills. Encourages good root growth too.

is that easy to grow? I love pakchoi.

It's quite easy to grow a lot of "oriental greens" - your actual fairly chunky pan choi is a little harder, but doable, but don't underestimate some of the other greens (Komatsuna, Mizuna, Mibuna, Tatsoi etc.) - great in salads etc. and grown a bit bigger can be cooked in stir try too.

I'm going big on Spinach this year, It grew well last year and just taking a few leaves at a time means you get plenty from them.
Carrots are in too but there a first for me, plan to get some lettuce going and tomatoes at the weekend. Oh and will be putting some of the sticky bands on the fruit trees, seem to be feeding several ant colonies last year.

Parsnips in (just harvested the last of last years batch), carrots & lettuce. Some strawberry plants from last year too.

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All a work in progress.

Planted the onions, garlic and first early potatoes the other weekend, and to be honest I have lost track of what the other half has been doing, but I believe we have various flavours of lettuce and tomatoes well on their way, along with carrots, beetroot, peas, sweetcorn, broccoli, cabbage... all sorts really...

Although we have grown stuff before, this is our first attempt to grow the majority of our veg for a year. It's going to be interesting!

Next job is to finished digging and weeding the last of the beds, before moving on to constructing the chicken ranch and finally the pig palace...

Last January we moved to a house with a proper nice garden, if a bit too flowery. Although I like spending time pottering in the garden only a pensioner would have the time to keep the garden looking good and by the end of the summer it was looking untidy. So last summer I straightened and cut back all of the flower beds edging them with gravel boards, and put down turf where the beds had been. I also made two large raised beds for veggies.
Fast forward to this year and hundreds of bulbs that I missed when redoing the beds have sprouted up - some through the new turf. The plan is to move the bulbs to the edge of the beds and to a few select open areas then cover the rest with weed control material and slate chipping between the shrubs. Also have a greenhouse to put up and the patio needs repairing.
Last weekend I planted 13 Laurels for a new hedge out the front, I made the mistake of doing this with a fairly large hangover, by the last hole I was ready to crawl into it a die! Should look great in 5 years time.

We have four seed trays now sprouting thousands of tiny plants. My wife is thinking of just splitting each into 16 chunks and splanting those. I think I'd prefer to try and spread them out a bit more easily.

Is it likely to be possible to separate the seedlings at all? Can we just stick them in nice finely tilled soil and hope they don't get eaten by the garden destroyers?

My garden is just bare grass with an overgrown/weedy planter at the minute. Once I get it cleared out I want to grow some food, what's easy/low maintenance?

My chilli seedlings are a good couple of inches high now. Planted out the six strongest looking seedlings and looking good so far!

Slugs. Last year we harvested a 2L bottle full of slugs and snails every couple of days, probably 25kg of slugs. Should easily beat that this year. Trying to grow ANYTHING other than grass and brambles is an exercise in futility.

Not had as much time this year due to our 8 month old. But, my friend is looking after the chilli seedlings for another month as I don't have room for any lights (1st pic). Really hoping this year turns out similar to last year so we can get some more bumper crops.

Going to grow a few tomato plants but don't really have time for much more veg this year.

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Every seems much further on than us.

Planted up some strawberry hanging baskets yesterday, 7 in all and finally got to sow seeds for: tomatoes, broccoli, flat leaf parsley, runner beans and lots of leeks.

Scattered some wild flower seed over the rough bit and chopped down an annoying laurel that was cutting out light (or rather hubby did).

Didn't have time to mow the lawn though, this will wait.

Put my back out while scarifying the lawn on Saturday afternoon, after getting a deadleg from falling off my bike on Saturday morning. Getting old sucks!

Already mowed my lawn 3 times. Determined not to let it get straggly this year.

Jody, Why's there a banana hanging on your chilli plant ❓

Patiently waiting for the peanuts and chocolate habaneros to grow. Was a bit late starting them I think.

Trying to decide what else I can stick in some planter things to go on the balcony. Something edible, rather something pretty. Bonus if it scares away skyrats.

@29erKeith

makes them ripen

^ Exactly Andy. It was well into September and I had lots still to ripen (about 6-7kg). Shut the greenhouse and put a Banana in or under each plant and the Ethelyn released from them speeds up the ripening process.

Planted some rows of potatoes this year - Desiree and Charlotte (I think).

Nice tip Jody\Andy, I new about that in the fruit bowl scenario, but just hadn't put 2 and 2 together and thought about it in the green house. Pretty sure I'll do that as I always end up with a loads of green chilli's at the end of the season too. cheers

I'll take a photo of my veg patch tonight too and post up progress so far

Thought it may have been too early to put some small tomato plants out.
All deaded. 🙁 Oh well, only cost me £2 for six of them! Will put some more in next week, I reckon.

Sweet peas are rocketing up, though!

I was worried about some peas I put out the weekend before last too. They caught a bit of frost bit it was mild and thankfully they seem ok.

Ah yes 'deaded' happens to a lot of things I've grown over the years.

Salad leaves now sewn and some sunflowers seeds (for the birds).

Just need to purchase some cucumber seeds or plants next. Nothing as delicious as home grown cucumber in a salad.

29erKeith - we've had peas out in Feb before, they've dealt with frost & snow OK. But they don't seem to crop much before the ones that go in a few weeks later.

Now the clocks have changed I can get home and do a couple of hours work in the garden in the light!

Just sorted two beds outside the workshop (which was just a rubble pile).

Climbing rose at the back of each to go up a trellis (to be fitted), then Rosemary, Lavender and Thyme in front. All aimed at keeping the Bees happy.

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More shrub planting this WE. All aimed at being Bee / Butterfly friendly to maximise the wildlife friendliness of the garden....

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Raised beds built and part-filled at the weekend. My wife is going to plant seeds with our little girls over Easter.

One of the best things that you could do to attract wildlife is put in a pond. It doesn't have to be big (ours is only a metre x metre).

If you have young children, put wooden slats across for safety, this still allows birds to bathe and drink, also frog and toads to have a home. They in turn will rid your garden of all the slugs, snails and other things that eat the fruit, veg etc.

One of the best things that you could do to attract wildlife is put in a pond. It doesn't have to be big (ours is only a metre x metre).

I want to, but OH has a frog phobia, so it's banned. A bird bath might be the best compromise I can get.....

haha, can understand. I love frogs to look at, however if one comes near me I'm in a tis.

Anyone else grow Dhalias? I tried some Bishop of Llandaff last year and left them in over winter - light sandy soil with decent drainage and hardly any proper cold weather over the winter, but there's no sign of them shooting yet. I had a furkle with my fingers and the tubers still seem to be firm enough, but I'd have expected some action by now...

A few from the sunshine this afternoon.

Wisteria is in full bloom. The smell is almost overpowering, but so bloody lovely that it isn't!
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A few of my chilli plants basking! (Found some old chopsticks I was given at a conference in Shanghai to stake them out with. Seemed appropriate somehow!)

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My oregano is going a bit mental. Some lovely, lovely lemon thyme lurking behind it.
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Oh, and a triffid. 🙂
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Have just taken two of my bigger chilli plants out of the lightbox and potted them into flower buckets.

Teetosugars- your neighbours with the high fencing. Why would they be that inconsiderate?!

At the rate my chilli plants are growing, I don't foresee anything before Christmas.
11 out of 12 Chocolate Habaneros look like that front one above.
8 out of 10 Bird Eye ones look about the same height, and one has looked like cress for about a month.

Will order a selection of other ones (Habs and Naga or something) from more reputable sources and start them a bit earlier next yr.

Well I tried to grow tomatoes and chilis in the garden. All have failed and died due to cold I think. I'll try again but keep them in the windowsill I think haha

I'm hopeful of a bumper fruit harvest this year. The relevant plants have had long enough to mature now.

Raspberries, Gooseberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries. Our Rhubard is doing extremely well, and the freshly rejuvenated herb garden is looking promising too. Salad boxes just starting to come to life, fingers crossed.

Must remember to keep an eye on the Cherry trees this year, poor harvest last year but brilliant the year before that.

Our fruits are coming along well, got pears, cherries, blackcurrants and rhubarb all coming along nicely 🙂 got to net over the cherry tree tomoz or the bastard blackbird will be on em again, it's not bothered about anything else, just [u]MY[/u] cherries 😈