Obviously Time to put some pictures on this blog, just to show you how things have come on.
I built this 'greenhouse' out of our old gazebo frame, the awning has long gone I think, anyway we never use it. So I decided to lash some plastic we were given by a friend a couple of years ago when he was moving over the frame, so here goes, don't laugh! I have already had one crop of Mizutani and Mustard salad and just replanted everything, so the bags look a bit empty. I am hoping those are aubergine plants. I forgot what they were when the label washed off. I feel quite proud of them whatever they are!
I am just going to explain the waterng while the pictures load. I was too tight to go and buy a 'named brand' watering system. So I bought a submersible pump though for that deep water cistern I found in the yard.
Then I ran the normal hose round the edge of the frame and suspended any old water containers I could find. Made holes in the caps with the soldering iron, and put a restrictor made out of cut up plastic wine corks in the bottle end of the hose, and put another bt in the other end as a bung. Then I put lots of tiny holes in the section that rests in the bag.
Now all I have to do is switch on the pump and my little watering system does the rest, had to fiddle a bit so that some got more water than others. When I want to feed them I put the water in a water butt, add the feed and then dump the pump in the water but.
I have a simple snap lock connection for the hose, so I then go off to water the greenhouse. I am going to try a split so I can set the same thing in the greenhouse, and put the timer on the electric supply rather than a 'tap'. Then I can work out how long it needs to be on and set it on a 7 day timer.
This lot must have been in about 5 weeks.
I built this 'greenhouse' out of our old gazebo frame, the awning has long gone I think, anyway we never use it. So I decided to lash some plastic we were given by a friend a couple of years ago when he was moving over the frame, so here goes, don't laugh! I have already had one crop of Mizutani and Mustard salad and just replanted everything, so the bags look a bit empty. I am hoping those are aubergine plants. I forgot what they were when the label washed off. I feel quite proud of them whatever they are!
I am just going to explain the waterng while the pictures load. I was too tight to go and buy a 'named brand' watering system. So I bought a submersible pump though for that deep water cistern I found in the yard.
Then I ran the normal hose round the edge of the frame and suspended any old water containers I could find. Made holes in the caps with the soldering iron, and put a restrictor made out of cut up plastic wine corks in the bottle end of the hose, and put another bt in the other end as a bung. Then I put lots of tiny holes in the section that rests in the bag.
Now all I have to do is switch on the pump and my little watering system does the rest, had to fiddle a bit so that some got more water than others. When I want to feed them I put the water in a water butt, add the feed and then dump the pump in the water but.
I have a simple snap lock connection for the hose, so I then go off to water the greenhouse. I am going to try a split so I can set the same thing in the greenhouse, and put the timer on the electric supply rather than a 'tap'. Then I can work out how long it needs to be on and set it on a 7 day timer.
This lot must have been in about 5 weeks.
This is where the hose comes in. I was explaining on the musings from the margin blog that none of the cucumbers or squashes in here were setting fruit. No bee activity.
So I looked up on the web how to hand pollinate them. The squash flowers I did a couple of days ago have changed very suddenly, and it looks as though the fruits are setting.. result!
I think I need to stop the squash plants from getting any bigger, as they are in growbags, and just concentrate on getting about 4 from each plant.
So I looked up on the web how to hand pollinate them. The squash flowers I did a couple of days ago have changed very suddenly, and it looks as though the fruits are setting.. result!
I think I need to stop the squash plants from getting any bigger, as they are in growbags, and just concentrate on getting about 4 from each plant.
Greenhouse, the tomato plants look Ok. I am going to use organic growbags in here next year. I might dig out all the soil and change it, if the following soil solarisation thing works.
I have a water butt filled off a roof behind the greenhouse, another bit of Heath Robinson pipework propped up on a bamboo tripod. Then I plug the hose into the water butt and water from there. I fill up the plastic bottles so the plants get a long drink. I put a couple of capfuls of feed in a full butt, and just water very dilute feed.
I have a water butt filled off a roof behind the greenhouse, another bit of Heath Robinson pipework propped up on a bamboo tripod. Then I plug the hose into the water butt and water from there. I fill up the plastic bottles so the plants get a long drink. I put a couple of capfuls of feed in a full butt, and just water very dilute feed.
This is my bee tree! Borage is a wonderful plant with so many uses. The flowers are lovely in salad, and gorgeous crystallised in jam and on cakes. The borage flower is also supposed to be something that lifts your mood, so I do go up there and munch through a few every day. The bees love this plant. I am letting another one grow. They grow so fast!
I have let this lot of coriander go to seed as I need more seed. I replanted in the plastic growing shed. I have had a lot of watercress too. We have eaten all the salad stuff I planted with Tuppeny Bear and Penny Lion, they are obviously very green fingered as all the seeds came up!
I still haven't managed to grow ocra, but the plants aren't dead yet!
I gave up on the upside down tomatoes in the plastic containers. I think other things would grow in them, but I didn't look after them very well.
There are a few random perennials in that white tray and Tarragon that has just had a hard cut back in the tub behind it. It seems to like it there.
I have let this lot of coriander go to seed as I need more seed. I replanted in the plastic growing shed. I have had a lot of watercress too. We have eaten all the salad stuff I planted with Tuppeny Bear and Penny Lion, they are obviously very green fingered as all the seeds came up!
I still haven't managed to grow ocra, but the plants aren't dead yet!
I gave up on the upside down tomatoes in the plastic containers. I think other things would grow in them, but I didn't look after them very well.
There are a few random perennials in that white tray and Tarragon that has just had a hard cut back in the tub behind it. It seems to like it there.
These are the cucumbers hiding. We have had about ten of them so far. There are four just about ready, and loads more to come. Must be all those busy bees!
It seems quite happy doing whatever it likes, so I just let it get on with it!
I have to explain what I am up to here. I have a very bad infestatio of bindweed in my veg patch through neglect of duty. I read that you can 'cook your soil'. The idea is to make a huge mud pie, thats very wet, wrap it up in plastic and let the sun 'boil' the soil. Apparantly it kills off all the bad bacteria, diseases, weeds, seeds of weeds, and hopefully any of the fine bindweed flilaments. It also promotes all the good bacteria, and plants love it..... we will see!
I just don't want to use glyphosphate if I can help it. So I will put up a photo gallery of the current state of play. I think I might leave this here, and use it as a framed bed for something that I can plant in about 2/3 months, that I can build a coldframe over and get to start early for next year. I put a layer of old carpet under it, then 4 sheets of corrugated plastic that were going to the dump. Then the plastic, and built the earth into this bed using 4 planks and some old breezeblocks. I don't want to put this earth anywhee until I am sure it has no bindweed! Wish me luck, it was hard work shifting all this ground, and sieving it to make sure it was realy clean and had no large bits of bindweed!
I just don't want to use glyphosphate if I can help it. So I will put up a photo gallery of the current state of play. I think I might leave this here, and use it as a framed bed for something that I can plant in about 2/3 months, that I can build a coldframe over and get to start early for next year. I put a layer of old carpet under it, then 4 sheets of corrugated plastic that were going to the dump. Then the plastic, and built the earth into this bed using 4 planks and some old breezeblocks. I don't want to put this earth anywhee until I am sure it has no bindweed! Wish me luck, it was hard work shifting all this ground, and sieving it to make sure it was realy clean and had no large bits of bindweed!
These are the broad beans, and the pods are just starting at about 3 inches long. We only got one feed of peas, but they were wonderful. I need to do some research on peas. I didn't realise some of them only have one lot of peas, and others carry on. I was a bit worried that the flowers on the broad beans looked black and scabby, then having looked at a few of other people's questions about them found out they are meant to look like that!
Oh heck, I have tried a few times to rotate this picture, it's another one of those where weebly has a mind of it's own!
Anyway that has kept me busy most of the day! I suppose some people would rather go to work! I might still have to go and get a job, nah, just don't spend any money!
Oh heck, I have tried a few times to rotate this picture, it's another one of those where weebly has a mind of it's own!
Anyway that has kept me busy most of the day! I suppose some people would rather go to work! I might still have to go and get a job, nah, just don't spend any money!
Hollyhocks at Sunset.
I thought this looked nice, A lovely end to my day, it's taken ages to get hollyhocks!
I might have a go at turning this round tomorrow, I am too tired to keep trying now!
Sometimes it's hard to get things to work.
I thought this looked nice, A lovely end to my day, it's taken ages to get hollyhocks!
I might have a go at turning this round tomorrow, I am too tired to keep trying now!
Sometimes it's hard to get things to work.
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