Pottering from our garden

 POTTERING FROM OUR GARDEN

Spring has sprung

Earlier today while on my way to my workshop I spotted the first signs of fruit beginning to form on the red currents that I potted into large pots last year, (these can be seen in an earlier post here.).

I immediately took a look around the garden at the rest of our garden fruit plants and sure enough they're all beginning to produce small fruits, spring is well underway.

This year only a few weeks ago we planted three raspberries (below) dormant plants with no leaves at all,  all are now well underway.

lonicera x tellmanniana

It's shaping up to be a good summer, I planted this back in June 2013.

later that year It only grew one flower it was beautiful. 

I never noticed what was behind the flower head it has a complete circular leaf formed around its stem, I have never seen honeysuckle like this before this year it is covered in buds. later in the year it is going to be stunning, I  need to get some more trellis to help support it.

Originally it was at the front of the house planted on the end of a hedge which stopped at the front corner on our carport that we had     ( now long gone ) It just never grew well at all and never flowered.

The hedge was taking all the nutrients from the soil. When I took down the carport and removed the hedge, I dug out the what was left of sorry looking honeysuckle I planted its remains into a large pot,  threw it down the far end of the garden while I built the new fence and completely forgot it till the following spring. 

I then planted it where it now, it's now catching the early morning sun till early afternoon this is the results, bought from a supermarket for a £1  bargain. I am so glad it has survived. 

busy little bee

after the gales of the last few days  I was walking around our garden looking for wind damage luckily found none, but spotted this little chap busily working the apple blossom on my tree. I popped straight indoors grabbed the camera and snap him before he could move on just look at the size of his pollen sack crammed full, nature at its best, love it.

New quality fence panels

Well, it is about time I posted here again, I have a new shed arriving in mid-may. Sorry guys no post on building a new shed. Its proved cheaper to buy one this time rather than build one,  that's a sign of the times hey.  I have to move things around in the garden to make room for a greenhouse later on, (Edwin's fault). Unfortunately for me, the sunniest spot in the garden for the greenhouse is where we have a large tin shed, its too large to be moved and fitted elsewhere in the garden so it has to go, but before that, I have to store its contents, hence the new shed.  The only place for the shed means more work for me first replacing two fence panels.

Started making them today, the garden centre that I usually buy all my garden materials from has now closed down which is a real pity they only sold quality products, I cannot source these panels elsewhere in southern England only cheaper flimsy version, crap.

Luckily, I have timber stored from when we removed one of our decks when we erected our conservatory a few years ago.



Framework all cut and assembled ready for tomorrows featheredge boarding.

Ok, Here we go again,  today lovely sunny day time to crack into the panels and nail the feather edged boarding as seen on the right.

I used 40 mm wire nails you can use ring shank nails if you wish but it is not really necessary for your choice.

First I set up a sliding square to space each individual boarding at the right space to match the existing panels that I already have.

My panels are 2m square you will have to decide what spacing you require depending on the size of the panels you may already have,  or this may be decided if your matching existing panels, or again possible just filling a cap in hedging, or similar.

Shown on the left panel partly completed with the square setup to decide correct spacing for board spacing, with my spacing  I used 18 boards to complete a 2m panel width.

Heres both panels are now completed,  all that left to do is a machine out two capping strips to fit the top edge of panel its main purpose is to run off any rainwater to stop the end of the feather edge from rotting over a period of time.


Now both panels are complete, it is now time to remove the old panels and concrete gravel boards and cut back all the brambles from the side of the panels.  Number one son is not available till Monday night to help lift these panel into position as these are very heavy, I need to slide these panels down a concrete groove in the posts which will take three of us, two to lift these into the groove.


OK  there made,  now its time to lift out the old panels, well lift out maybe a slight exaggeration fall out is nearer the truth.

Now to attack the undergrowth next door and chop back all the massive brambles.   Corner post which was concreted into position some ten years ago when I put up the original rear fence. Now it is settled and has gone out of plumb as can be seen in the photo.  I drilled a 10mm hole through the top of the post and into the other post as well just out of shot in this photo I then bought four 125mm eye bolts and pulled it back plumb again with a straining wire.


The existing panels were only 1m high with about four 150mm concrete gravel boards under each of them in this corner many years ago I had a small compost heap hence the concrete boards to stop early rot of the panels, one still clearly seen in this photo these were all removed, they will be used elsewhere in the garden later.

Ok, it now Monday night myself and my son Ian lift the panels up and straight into position with no struggling at all, both panels fitted with ease first time as well which was very nice.


Well here they are fitted finishing the back fence off properly, now the composted area has now gone and it has become a completed full 2m high fence which returns around the corner, ready for when I  remove the last hedge,  but that another post.

Now they're finished and fitted its completed this corner nicely, next   I have to remove and store this pile of timber and concrete gravel boards elsewhere clearing the decking area ready for my new shed to arrive in mid-may. enjoy.

End of season veg

Well, here we are mid-October, Were just back from our Holidays in Holland, been back a few days now so today it was time to gather in the remaining harvest, next week  I'll start prepping the garden for the winter clear all the old runner bean plants old tomato bags  De-weed the garden from the last three weeks growth etc, then.

Its that time of year to get decorating again, bedrooms this year, plus back into the workshop to start a  complete refurbishment of an old Elu Mitre chop saw you can follow this refurbishment over on my blog the workshop parts are ordered so in about ten days OK, in the meantime its back to the garden.

The last of the overripe tomatoes, if we had been away from any longer they would have been past use.  These will just about be enough to make a small bowl of tomato soup, six plants done really well this year, but not as good as other years.

The green toms were all that was leftover, not sure as yet on what ill use these for probable some diabetic sugar-free chutneys.


Golden delicious the last of this year's fruits these have done especially well this year, the best  for about four years, we've  had two other picking a few weeks ago  some went to a friend nearby and the other went to Holland to Louise's.

I always leave the windfalls to nature birds and bees you know that sort of thing, the apple is shown here will be sorted carefully into eaters and the others boiled down into apple sauce, and the remaining ones made into apple tarts etc, yummy.

last but not least the remaining stringy runner beans now long past eating, as shown here to dry and shrivel out over the following months, yep you guessed it next years planting beans hopefully.

This year's disasters, all the red and yellow pepper plants, all the basil plants, total disasters,  four of the twelve rosemary cuttings never made it, but the others seem to be doing fine, all four clematises are doing fine and so are the three honeysuckles doing well.

This only leaves my first attempt at growing  Celery still to be cut as when needed, what do you think?.

All the above was grown without any chemical assistant, no fertilizers pesticides etc and no water from the mains either, all water came from my water butts, any recipes that may come from the above will in time appear over on Simply Organic.

Enjoy.

late, first pick of the year

It's the first pick of the year albeit a small pick 290g  just big enough for a small feed for the tomorrow evenings meal.  My first attempt in just over forty years.  This year is a pure experiment these runner bean plants were purchased from the local garden centre rather late in the season as I never had any bean seeds of my own...

After getting the garden back to somewhere near normal the removal of a very large hedge,  the construction of the new fence and the building of our conservatory we decided to go totally Organic. We have lived here for nearly seventeen years with no chemical being used in the garden in that time and with out growing any vegetable at all.

Now that we are organic we decided to grow only a few vegetables this year to start with without the use of any chemicals to make the plants produce more the only water used was from water butts no water at all from a hosepipe, to see what the ground could yield.

As can be seen, the ground has produced a good healthy plant, plenty of flowers still left to turn into bean pods,  hmm but very late in the season,   I do hope not to late in the season to give good fruiting results.

I have noticed a neighbour several doors up the road also has runner beans in flower at about the same stage as mine perhaps it is a late-season this year and the bean is not too late to produce a good crop.

Time will tell on that one   I suppose as the season progresses.