My Gherkins are almost ready to plant out. I sowed them about a month ago under fleece outside. They germinated quite quickly but then some bad weather meant that they have been growing very, very slowly. The sunny weather last week has quickened them on a pace though. And now they’re nearly ready to go out.
I’ll plant them in a sunny patch with a cane for each one to grow up. You can grow them along the ground like Cucumbers but I find that they use up too much room that way. From seven plants I should get around six or seven Gherkins per plant which means around 50 pickles! Yey!
It’s time to clear out all the seedlings from my coldframe to make room for my Melon plant. Most seedlings have been planted out but there are still a few left. From bottom to top there is Drunken Housewife Lettuce, some Greyhound Cabbage, and a solitary Courgette plant. Once they’re planted out in the garden then I can transfer my Melon plant in.
The seedlings you can see in the top of the frame are too small to transplant yet but will make their exit soon. My Melon is the variety Ogen. I’ve grown it from seed and I have one back up incase it doesn’t thrive. It will spend the rest of the summer in the coldframe with the lid propped open. Hopefully, this will create the right conditions to produce two or three ripe Melons. Fingers crossed!
My Winter Density Lettuce are just coming into their own and it’s nearly the end of May! I’m so glad that I planted two varieties of winter Lettuce because the Winter Gem hearted up early and are now all gone but this variety is still going.
After this harvest I’ll have three Lettuces left in the ground which I’m saving for my camping trip at the weekend. After that the summer Lettuces will be centre stage, Marvel of the 4 Seasons, Drunken Housewife, Parris Island, Tom Thumb and Oak Leaf. Can’t wait!
What Lettuce varieties are you growing? And which is your favourite. Mine is still Marvel.
Nothing like a week of blisteringly hot weather to get everything growing huh? This is my little rabbit planter that I sowed some Coriander in. The seeds are the ones I saved last December and they seem to have germinated very well. Last week the seedlings were just popping through.
A week later and they’re in full swing. I officially love summer!
The Balcony Gardener send me these seeds last week. I just love the way they are packaged. The designs on the front of the seeds are lovely and they make me feel good about being a gardener in the 21st Century.
I think traditional seed packers could learn a thing or two from this type of design. My hunch is that the kind of people who used to buy seeds are being replaced by a different kind of buyer but the seed packet design really hasn’t changed much has it?
Does anyone else have examples of simple, lovely seed packet design?
The Balcony Gardener seeds are available here.
A few weeks ago I was on cloud nine because my other Pear tree flowered this year, which means I was in with a good chance of getting some pollinated flowers. And guess what? It worked. The flowers did pollinate and there are tiny Pears growing on the trees. Hooray!
I have Pears growing on both trees (Conference and Doyenne du Comice) and I counted a total of 18 Pears. Whoohoo!
I have never tasted a home-grown Pear but knowing how good Pears ‘can’ taste even from the supermarket my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I can’t wait. I’m hoping the taste will be worth the wait of almost three years!
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These are my Borlotti Beans that I sowed a while ago under cover in my coldframe. They germinated within a few days and have been happily growing ever since. They are getting a bit big now so I think it’s time to plant them out.
I’m pretty sure that the risk of frost is over and we have a good forecast for the week ahead. But I’ll keep an eye on the weather report just in case there is any freak weather – in which case I’ll throw a bit of fleece over them for the night. But they should be fine.
I’ve put up my traditional bean poles, tied together with some garden twine. And I filled the trench with half-rotted compost about a month ago so I think they’ll be very happy in their new home.
I’ve never grown Borlotti Beans before – I’ve always grown Runner Beans. I’m intrigued to see what colour the flowers are and how the red pods look against the green foliage. It will be a first for me!
I learned something today. I always thought that as soon as you had hardened your Tomatoes off then they should go straight in the ground – assuming there’s no risk of frost, that is. But apparently there is another factor at work, that of overnight temperature.
Apparently, you’re looking for a consistent temperature of not less than 55F (12C) at night. If the temperature is lower than this then the plants may not set fruit and it might actually set the whole plant back.
I find Metcheck to be pretty good for in-depth weather reporting (in the UK at least). It seems that the temperature is still fluctuating to lows of 44F ish or even 38F here in the sunshine state of Bath. But that next week is showing a consistent night temperature over 55F.
So home-sown Tomatoes will stay tucked up under fleece for now. But next week, who knows, they might find themselves in the ground.
How are your Tomatoes doing? Any tips on other factors that affect when to plant out?
After a wonky start due to some cheeky little mice my Peas are doing very well. I have virtually a whole row of them that are about an inch and half tall. That’s means only one thing, it’s time to deploy the Peasticks that I half-inched borrowed from a local estate.
My Peasticks lead a solitary life. Housed for most of the year in my potting shed, they are suddenly called up for duty in mid Spring and dispatched accordingly.
I don’t just use them for Peas you know – oh no. They have a plethora of uses, from holding up floppy Cornflowers, to doubling as Mangetout holders, and they have even been known to come to the rescue of a Sunflower or two. Yes, they’re very useful and in my opinion you can never have too many of them.
There will always be casualties. Like today for instance. I thrust one of them into the soil only to find I’d hit a stone and the whole thing broke in half – unfixable, it was.
This is not the only way to support Peas but I do love the rustic look that they give. And they’re pretty darn good at their job too.
What have you got planned for supporting your Peas? Any novel ideas?
We had a few friends round for a BBQ today so it was the perfect opportunity to cut three of my Winter Gem Lettuces that have been happily growing in the coldframe all Winter.
They have hearted up nicely over the last week and were hitting perfection today so I went for it.
Winter Gem are just like Little Gem’s except they’re way more Winter hardy. They taste virtually the same too – nice and crispy and perfect with a good sharp dressing.
I sowed them back in October last year and basically fretted and fussed over them all Winter, particularly during our bout of snow. Then in early March I thinned them out, which is what allowed them to grow lovely and big.
I’d say growing Winter Lettuce is the perfect use of a coldframe or greenhouse. It makes use of your frame during an empty period and by the time you need it they can either be harvested or transferred to your main plot – I transferred my other Winter sowings (Avalanche Cauliflower and Winter Density Lettuce) a couple of weeks ago.
So come this October the first thing I’ll be doing is sowing some Winter Lettuce.
