June 2012 Blog Posts (67)

Due to the poor performance of some of my crops I decided to do a bit of late sowing to try and make up for it. So more carrots, french beans, runner beans and lettuce  have been sown - maybe this lot will be a little more successful.

Catching up after our holiday.........

I was able to take home the first broad beans this week!!

http://mrsgreenfingers.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/is-that-a-broad-bean/

A plot update

Despite the majority of stuff being slow and behind due to the weather, the Cabbages seem to be doing very well

I lifted some potatoes, carrots, cauli's and onions not looking too bad…

On Tuesday evening I stayed up a little late watching a film and went to check the chickens around 12am...walked out and heard a rather strange noise...my dog Vader didn't seem bothered so i got brave and opened the gate into my veg patch.  My neighbour in his wisdom had decided to put on his sprinkler.  Most of which seemed to be going into my garden, over my chicken coop and more importantly my veg patch... So i got wet and as it was so late could only stand in my wellies wailing and…

Watered.....

This morning I picked my first peas of the season.  They have been slow in coming and haven't grown as tall as I would have liked - but at least I have a harvest. continued at A Woman of the Soil…

In between the rain showers we harvested this years winter-planted garlic...read more

http://varieties.potato.org.uk/menu.php

I found this site very useful

http://vegplots.blogspot.ie/2012/06/strawberries-tomatoes-chilli-peas.html

I love love love the taste of home grown strawberries - even the Wexford strawberries for sale at the side of the road have nothing on these - they are taste sensations! I picked all that were ripe last night so there aren't as many in the photos - but there are plenty more coming that will be picked very soon!!…

 update on the goings on in the green house for this year.......read more........

Grew them this year for the first time on my allotment plot, they are producing a nice crop which I tried the first of today, but have to admit I am slightly disappointed with the flavour, not as good in my opinion as Charlotte.

Too late now for this season but would welcome any suggestions for a tasty slightly waxy texture first early with superb flavour for next year. 

The soil is free draining and chalky with a limited amount of sun daily, size of crop per tuber not…

today saw me harvest my first crop of garlic read more....

This is from the http://www.giyireland.com  website during the year. Food for thought maybe?

Tip of the Day - 21 Jun, 2012

How much land do you need to be self-sufficient?

What do you think? An acre? Five acres? This is a question many of us have wondered Im sure and Jim Cronin addressed it in great forensic detail at his course in GIY Wex last week. Jim reckons…

There really is no other way of saying it, this year the kitchen garden has been pants. Record breaking hot March weather, subsequent and unremitting torrential rain, persistent cold temperatures, fuming storms, in addition to exceptionally lethal slug vandalism and uncanny pigeon mutilation, amount to the perfect recipe for disaster. With the bulk of painstakingly grown produce mullered, and end of June nearing, one can't help but wonder if there is still a chance to avoid the vegetable…

So, it's been more or less a year since we got the call, got shown round a bunch of weed-stricken plots and made the choice of our own half-plot of smallholding heaven. Read More...…

Not sure what's been going on this year, it might be the weird weather we've been having here, but I've tried to sow a couple of batches of Pepper (sweet) since February and I've had no luck, so much so, that I decided to give up a couple of weeks ago and buy a couple from my local garden center.…

Last October I planted the Onion sets I bought outside on the balcony, these have been over wintered and growing ever since. I noticed over the last few months that the Onions have been developing just above the soil and they've been getting bigger and bigger every time I've popped out to check. …

I may have had a few down turns with the Cabbage to begin with, I lost around 6 of my batch when they were first planted out, but they seem to going from strength to strength now.…