2011 - a reawakening

So, 2010 stopped suddenly for the suburban veg plot blog in July. Needless to say I have excuses, nay reasons, galore for it.
Reason 1 - mainly time-related. The wedding was fast approaching which involved many visits to Belfast, many phone calls and emails to caterers, suppliers and wedding guests alike to ensure that everything happened on the day, in the right place, at the right time. And it did. Even the sun came out (a novelty for Northern Ireland!) so our garden setting was just perfect. If any gardeners out there are thinking of tying the knot and are looking for a garden-related reading, then this one went down very well indeed.
Reason 2 - erm, time-related again?? Went on honeymoon for three weeks and then life was very busy after that...?
Okay, okay, enough of the excuses. I got entirely out of the habit of blogging and there always seemed something else that needed doing.
Now we're in 2011, and there are seeds to be sown and winter veg still to be harvested, so all this raking up the past really isn't helping. Talking of raking, why did no-one warn me that putting chickens to free-range into a garden with very stony borders would only result in said stones ending up all over the lawn area? We started off by raking them up and throwing them back on the borders only to find them on the lawn again in just a few hours. Now we do regular stone collections and transfer them to the suburban veg plot to create paths between the raised beds - which also serves to keep down the weeds.
As well as the reawakening of the suburban veg plot blog, the garden itself is reawakening in the recent mild weather. Wild birds are returning, blue tits and blackbirds mainly, enticed in by peanuts, fatballs and saucers of mealworms. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that blue tits will settle in the nest box on the fence as a couple of them have shown something of an interest in it.
The strongest signs of new plant growth (aside from the snowdrops and crocuses) are the buds on the blueberry bushes (one Jersey and one Ozark Blue). These were new acquisitions in the autumn of 2010 and so this year will be the first harvest from them. They're in large pots on the patio, as the soil in the suburban veg plot is too alkaline, though they may be moved into the front garden if space becomes tight. As ever, my plans would fit an allotment rather than a suburban garden!

Black times ahead

I must be very good indeed at growing tasty broad beans. Well, certainly the local population of blackfly seem to agree. The autumn-sown Aquadulce Claudia escaped the onslaught - we had 3 harvests from them during May/June. But the spring-sown broad bean mixture have been plagued by them since they threw up their first shoots. I've tried the various remedies - squishing them (I can't bear doing it, even wearing gardening gloves), spraying with a soap solution (works to a certain extent but doesn't actually vanquish them all) and pinching out the leafy tops (they colonised too quickly along the entire height of each plant for that to have any effect).
So, though I'm loath to admit it, I've given up fighting. At least if they're on the broad beans then they're not infesting anything else in the suburban veg plot.

Lazy blogger...

apologises for the lack of posts. I'm still here - and the suburban veg plot is flourishing - though the same cannot be said for the herbaceous borders after their encounter with the chickens...

The warm sunny weather in Hertfordshire is really doing the garden good. I'm eating fresh salad leaves nearly every day - 'just like you get in M&S!' (I'm sure there's a compliment in there). This is the first year I've grown salad in the suburban veg plot and I have to say I'm delighted with the harvest. Previously I'd tried growing salad in pots in the kitchen but barely managed to get micro leaves before the whole lot turned up its toes and gave up. Now I've got very healthy rows of rocket, mizuna and baby mixed salad leaves.

The celeriac seedlings were planted out in early June and are really growing well. They were tiny little things back in February but I'm hopeful of a good harvest in the winter. Bring on the celeriac mash!!



My little bit of companion planting seems to be having a positive effect. I planted out nasturtium seedlings in my broad bean beds - probably slightly later that I should have done though. The broad beans grew at a much faster rate and it's only now that the nasturtiums have started to flower. But they look very pretty nestled in between the tall Aquadulce Claudia plants and the beetroot and they do seem to be the only plants in the vicinity with black fly on them. Sacrificial plants is the correct term I believe. And just in front of the raised bed you can see my mini leeks awaiting a vacant bed.

Behold the chickens...

Yes, chickens have arrived at the suburban veg plot!! We collected 3 ex-batts on Saturday afternoon and since then have been amused by their cautious and comedic exploration of their new surroundings. So far they haven't been let out of the Eglu run but we might give them a run out today. The suburban veg plot beds have been fenced off from the main lawn area, so that should keep the crops chicken free when we come to free-range them!

Terminal terminology

This week I learned the difference between hardy, half hardy and tender as plant descriptors. And I'm baffled.
Let's start with hardy - that's an easy one. A hardy plant is one which will withstand extreme cold, winds and frost. In your veg garden, this would be the likes of savoy cabbage, cavelo nero and overwintering broad beans.
Now it starts to get bizarre. Any normal person would expect half hardy and tender to operate on a sliding scale towards wimpishness in the face of harsh weather conditions. But no, that would have been far too straightforward and intuitive. Instead of which, tender is used to describe a plant which may be killed by a frost and half hardy is the term applied to a plant that will certainly end its days if confronted with a below zero temperature.

Logical? Hardly! I'm sure that's been confusing the amateur gardener as far back as the advent of the max/min thermometer. To whoever makes up these terms, can I suggest something? Next time you're dealing with a plant lacking in the cellular and substantive fibre to stand up to a bit of chilly weather, try leaving the word hardy out of it.

top gardening tips for hot weather

Phew, what weather we've been having this past week! Saturday was soooo hot - particularly if you happen to be climbing Mt Snowdon like we were. And that's "climbing", not "getting the train up, having an ice cream and then getting the train back down". There are 7 walking routes to choose from when it comes to getting up that big Welsh mountain and we decided to challenge ourselves by doing one of the toughest - The Watkin Path - 3.5 hours up and then 3 hours down again. Gradient aside, the sun for the first 2 hours made for a very hot and exhausting walk. However, armed with factor 50 sunblock, a cotton neckerchief to keep the worst of the sun off my neck and a plentiful supply of water for along the way, I got to thinking about sun and heat protection for the suburban veg plot.

One of the best investments I've made for the veg plot thus far is an automatic greenhouse vent opener. It's basically a hinged arm hydraulically controlled in response to rising temperatures. As the internal temperature in the greenhouse rises, the arm starts to push the window open. Gardening magic at its best and perhaps the best £25 I've spent.

Last year I also bought some water-retaining products to use in hanging baskets and pots. Both the granules, which you mix with compost when potting up containers and the mats, which I've found most useful for hanging baskets have proved their worth. It's so nice not needing to water them numerous times every hot day and the various fruit and veg growing in them still seem happy enough to start flowering.

And finally, if I get chance this weekend, I'll be applying a coat of Coolglass on one end of the greenhouse. This white pigment (titanium dioxide) is mixed with water and painted onto the glass panes and acts to reflect the sun's rays thus keeping the temperatures down and preventing plants from drying out too quickly.

Hopefully those measures will go some way to maintaining my veg growth if the sun stays with us this summer!

Local runner goes foraging

I regularly go out running in my local area. Actually, I should correct that - I'm more of a fast jogger really. Anyway, whatever speed, I often take in a cycle route created from an old local railway line. It's nice and shady when the sun is out, it provides shelter from the bizarre weather we've been experiencing (hail showers last week!) and although it's heavily used by dog walkers, yummy mummys, cyclists and other runners/joggers, it's nice and wide so there's rarely a bottleneck.
Well, last week when I was out I passed a clump of plants that had pretty white flowerheads that reminded me of aliums. As I ran on, I tossed this about in my mind and came to the notion that they were wild garlic. Luckily for me my runs are 'out and back' so I encountered said clump again on my way home. Without missing a stride I swung down and plucked out a leaf as I ran past and was rewarded by that lovely fresh mild garlicky scent. Mmmm, I just had to have some for the suburban veg plot.

So yesterday found me, trowel in hand, heading down the cycle path to get some of my own. The garlic is in two large swathes on opposite sides of the path, which got me wondering about the origins of it. Suburban gardens back onto the path at both sides, but two householders living at exactly the same position along the path deciding to toss plant debris over their respective back fences sounds like too much of a coincidence for me. I assume it must have grown from seeds ingested by a bird elsewhere and then excreted from one of the many tall trees overhanging the path. Whatever the reason, the wild garlic has flourished well there.

I got myself a couple of plants in flower and have now installed them in a semi-shaded corner of a border. Can't wait for the first stir fry!