I'm getting the veg patch ready for this year's plants. Today I built the bean frame for the climbing beans, with bamboo poles given to me by Leo. The tomato stakes are in, although the tomatoes are only at the two leaf stage. I have decided to try out the idea of watering them by using plastic bottles with holes in, buried in the ground next to the plants. Porous terra cotta pots are in favour at the moment, as a water saving device, but they're way too expensive relative to the value of veg that they water. The plastic pots are free.
There is manure on the bed next to the tomato bed; this area is for brassicas and I will need to rotovate the compost in before I plant them out.
I have mowed the grass area next to the veg patch, but I read that dandelions are one of the bee's most valuable sources of food at this time of year so I have carefully avoided mowing them.
8 comments:
Massive amount of work ahead there, Mark.
Tomatoes are a fabulous plant for any garden!
I sowed about sixty seeds a while back, and when they didn't seem to want to germinate, I got another three packets to make sure and yup...now they've all come through, so we'll have well over a hundred plants...!
Luckily, I've got a list of several friends who want some, so we won't get swamped by the time they're of my hands!
This Spring has been a bit dodgy here, (Kent), so I don't reckon we'll get a crop until late July!
I like your bean frame - we'll put up a wigwam of canes as usual, but runners are an absolute staple here!
Hi Scrobs, I too tend to germinate too many tomata plants, but we have here a self-help group who swap goods and little services. I put plants outside ou local bistrot, advertise them on the self-help whatsapp group and they're gone in half an hour.
Just a thought, Mark, but is 'Blight' a problem for your tomatoes over there?
We've had years where it took out the whole crop, but last year was perfect and I heard nothing about any attacks!
I think you're allowed a more liberal growing experience with the use of many chemicals which are banned over here, but - say - if you wanted Bordeaux Mixture, (unavailable now), one goes online for copper sulphate and lime and can make one's own!
Organic methods like soluble aspirin do help as well, and willow twigs around the roots can be beneficial!
Hi Scrobs, I have had problems with mildew on the tomatoes, but only in rainy years. It can be cured or prevented by spraying with bordeaux mixture, that is a copper fungicide I think, and seems to count as 'organic'. I plant the short French marigolds around my tomato plants to keep bugs off, and that seems to work very well. It's pretty too. I save the marigold seeds from the flowers each year. Planting carrots alongside leeks also seems to reduce bug infestation. I've not yet tried other bug prevention tecniques.
Hi Mark,
Funnily enough, we don't seem to get too many bugs like leek moth, but carrot fly is a real pest, and while carrots can easily grow, we need a strong, tight mesh to keep the blighters out! I agree about marigolds, which Senora O'Blene always wants, so we always buy the French ones! I've never thought of saving the seed, so will do this year!
I've been growing carrots in buckets about two ft off the ground in recent years, but the yield is poor, so this year, I'll bite the proverbial and mesh them again!
Hi Scrobs, even if you don't have a problem with leek moth, it's worth planting your carrots between rows of leeks, since the leeks help to keep the carrot fly away. I think the smell of leeks confuses them, or something.
Fascinating, reading that exchange.
Post a Comment