Horticulture.

[Chris Hobson]

Years ago, my wife and I decided to have a go at growing vegetables. We kept it up for maybe about four years. The summer of 2012 was so wet that our garden was mostly under water for the growing season and then, in May of 2013, I was diagnosed with diabetes and decided to use my time getting fit instead. It was fun while it lasted. Although the little money saved by doing it isn't really worth the amount of work needed, it is very rewarding.

Now that I am retired I've decided to give it another go. Initially digging over an area of turf to create a veggie patch is pretty back breaking work. Fortunately though, when it comes to first clearing the ground, I had some help.
The moveable chicken run gets positioned over the area that you wish to clear and in no time at all the ground is stripped of vegetation. The digging is still hard work but less so than it would have been without their help.

The greenhouse is now full of pots and seed trays as I'm starting off the season's vegetable collection. The list of stuff that our garden will hopefully be supplying is as follows:
Apples, Blueberries, Broccoli, Carrots, Cherries, Chilli Peppers, Chives, Courgettes, Lettuce, Onions, Oregano, Pears, Plums, Potatoes, Rhubarb, Rocket, Runner beans, Sprouts, Strawberries, Sweetcorn & Tomatoes.
I have a few other packs of seeds that I have yet to plant, we got a load cheaply in assorted multi packs so I'm working through these to see if there is anything else I fancy growing.

 

[rebrascora]

I sowed a few seeds yesterday and it is exciting waiting (hopefully not in vain) for them to germinate. It always feels slightly magical how seeds germinate and grow into plants. I used to feel the same about baking. Sometimes it works well and you are successful and sometimes it doesn't for a whole variety of reasons, so there has to be a "magic" element to it. My seed trays and pots are currently sitting on the back seat of my old Freelander where it is lovely and warm and sunny. Who needs a greenhouse!!

 

[Drummer]

If the courgettes do well, try spaghetti squash - they are fun - and they do turn out like strands of spaghetti - near enough.
The hens will supply good fertilizer.

 

[Leadinglights]

I grow various squashes, sowed the seeds yesterday, Crown Prince, Butternut, Honey Bear, Baked Potato, Turks Turban, they do ramble around rather so you need space or you can get them to grow upwards over a support.

 

[Lesley P]

sorry it's upside down just to show you my greenhouse is full of seedlings at different stages. Enjoy

 

[Leadinglights]

View attachment 34779
sorry it's upside down just to show you my greenhouse is full of seedlings at different stages. Enjoy

They look to be doing really well, I was a bit late getting my seeds sown.

 

[rebrascora]

They look to be doing really well, I was a bit late getting my seeds sown.

Me too, but better late than never, which is what happened last year.

 

[silver minion]

Our chicken run will become our brassica bed when we move them to a new run next year. They have completely cleared the existing grass and weeds. We have topped it up with several wheelbarrows of chipped pruning and mulch. They dig through it for bugs and treats fertilising as they go.
Meanwhile we have a few veggie beds on the go. Hoping for broad beans, celery, sweetcorn and squashes plus a mixed salad selection. Tomatoes,cucumbers, peppers and chillies in the polytunnel as usual. Trying to grow melon this year. It failed last year but we are optimistic this time may work.

 

[Chris Hobson]

The only seedlings that I have so far are the pepper plants. I start these off very early on a windowsill because they take forever to grow. I have some red chillis and some scotch bonnets. These were grown from the seeds taken from peppers bought at the supermarket so they can be like playing Russian roulette when it comes to levels of hotness.