Winter veg - purple sprouting broccoli

Planted up the winter veg - purple sprouting broccoli.  It's only a small space, so limited to what 'winter veg' I can grow without intruding into early season veg.

This year's crop was great this year and hopefully the pigeons, cats and other beasties won't destroy or damage them before they get a chance to grow.  It's good value as after picking the initial flowering head, secondary shoots appear.

Tomatoes and beans

The runner beans are growing nicely and not yet munched by slugs and snails.  Tomatoes also settling in nicely - ranging in size from beef to cherry.

And finally, the square bed with courgettes and mangetout plus netting and prunings from the rose to deter cats.

 

Seedlings

Pleased to see that most of the bean seedlings have come up - runner beans, french beans and now the mangetout, which came up really quickly.

Disappointingly, only a few of the 'Yellow Pear' tomato seedlings have come up, none of the 'Gardener's Delight' and none of the lemon cucumber or cucamelon - unless they're just much slower to germinate.  Apart from the cucamelon - these were all from Seedy Sunday.

So far none of the flower seeds have germinated but the weeds are doing well.

More seed planting

Mainly flower seeds as there are lots of different varieties I discovered when sorting through my seed store - I might as well use them up and have a bit of colour this Summer.

Runners and french beans have germinated - nearly all of them but still a few to emerge or not - they were new seed.

Only a couple of tomato seedlings have come up.  Hoping more will appear as the weather warms up (?), although so many other seedlings are appearing it's difficult to work out what is the original seed I planted and what has just sprouted out of the compost.

Planted up some mange-tout seeds and purchased a few tomato plants last weekend at Plumpton, a courgette and a couple of cape gooseberry plants.

A colourful selection

Lovely handful of colours - picked fresh for lunch in the spring sunshine.  The last few stems of the purple sprouting broccoli and mixed colours of the chard leaves.

Still a few handfuls to go before the chard bolts and supplementing my Live Below The Line 5 day Challenge this week.

Sowing seeds for 2013

I don't often sow seeds - both because in my small garden I don't need that many plants and also because I haven't had much success in the past.

However after this year's Seedy Sunday - I have plenty of seed to play with.  So - I've planted up:

Runner beans - and old favourite, although I'm not sure what variety as they weren't labelled.

French beans - also unnamed.

Tomato - Gardeners Delight and Yellow Pear.  The tiniest of seeds but as I seem to grow tomato plants quite well in my compost, these should be OK.

Lemon Cucumber - they were lovely before when I've grown them.

Cucamelon - one of James Wong's selections - a mix between cucumber and melon, with a hint of lime.

Any seeds in the shed seem to have been got at by mice.  Most of them were pretty old, so a sort out was needed - bean and peas seem to have been popular.  At least sorting through them made me realise just what a variety of seeds I had - veg and flowers.

Will sow up a few more pots and see what comes up.

Freshly picked broccoli

The broccoli I planted last year has been growing steadily since the Autumn and survived the cold and snow (and cats), earlier this year.

Picked this fresh for lunch with a fishcake - simply steamed - tasted delicious and great to be picking fresh veg from the garden at this time of year.

Homegrown begins another year

Inspired by today's Seedy Sunday event at the Brighton Corn Exchange and James Wong's talk on the Home-grown Revolution, I'm determined to grow something more than slugs this year!

It's reassuring to hear that everyone else was having a tough time last year too and many were growing far more than I was in my little patch.

I don't have the space for rows of onions, leeks and the more traditional veg, so usually plant summer, salad crops.

James' idea of growing the more expensive, less available and more 'exotic' crops that have been disease and pest resistance makes perfect sense for the smaller plot or those of us who don't have a dedicated vegetable plot.

I'll also be trying more from seed this year - especially having picked up a few packets of runner and french beans, lemon cucumber, a couple of tomato varieties and chard.

Related articles

• How Seedy Sundays grew into a phenomenon (telegraph.co.uk)
• Homegrown Revolution

Veg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last ditch attempt

Planted up some mixed chard in both the square garden and my salad box. As not much has been growing this year due to the bad weather and large numbers of snails perhaps this will survive!

I seem to be more successful at growing butterfly food as the Large and Small Whites have taken a liking to my purple sprouting broccoli that I planted earlier this year.

As butterflies are having a hard enough time this year I just left them to it.  More nasturtiums needed next year to distract them.

Fresh from the field

Out for a run this morning along the clifftop and I came back with these.  There are large rings of them and lovely big mushrooms.  Many damaged by walkers and dogs but more than enough - or more than I could comfortably carry back.

It did slow the return down somewhat as it's difficult to run with a handful of mushrooms.

Purple sprouting success

It's finally getting ready to harvest and my most successful cropping so far.  I think my previous attempt didn't even produce this much.  Only a few plants in a small space but something useful to grow over the winter.

Plenty of Greenery

My veg containers this year - looking lush, in full bloom and growing well.  Courgettes are doing really well in their slightly larger containers this year.  I think the liberal application of well rotted manure has certain helped and plentiful watering.

Note the plastic water bottle with the bottom cut off and pushed in to the soil.  This helps the water get directly to the roots.

The runner beans just coming in to flower although the mixed salad leaves, especially the rocket, has pretty much gone to seed and wasn't a great success.  Great to pick the leaves when I needed them but they didn't last long and I didn't do much succession sowing - which didn't help.

The tomato planter is hidden away at the back with three different varieties - a few more being in pots elsewhere on the patio.

Mangetout Planted Up

Planted up a couple of rows of mangetout in the new raised bed.  They'll be more easily accessible and don't grow as tall as the runner beans, so may be easier to reach and harvest - as and when they get going - if the slugs and pigeons don't get them first!

A New Raised Bed

Busy planting up this weekend and assembled a new raised bed - bought in kit form from the garden centre - deeper than the last one, which was starting to come apart and slightly smaller - this one being square rather rectangular.

Lined and filled with soil, compost and a good helping of well rotted horse manure along with coffee grounds, gleaned from a local coffee stall.

It's in the same place as the last one, at the bottom of the garden which makes the most of the afternoon sun and is where I intend to grow the beans this year ... there's still time to get them planted.

The new wicker containers on the patio, planted up with courgette and cucumbers.  Gooseberries are fruiting well in a pot at the back (it really needs to be repotted at the end of this year!).

Chilli peppers are planted up in the pots to the left.

Planting Upward and Onwards

Filled up the newly constructed 'salad box' with compost.

Planted up ...

Tomato plants - two Money Makers, one Beefsteak (bought today) and an Alicante.  Still have a couple of tomatoes plants to find a home - another Money Maker and one Black Cherry.  Seedlings are starting to sprout so will also have some normal cherry tomatoes too.

Courgette plant - bought on Saturday, which is getting munched by slugs and snails already.  Surprisingly one of the courgettes I planted is finally starting to come through.

Three cucumber plants (bought today) - outdoor ones.  Giving up on the seeds I'd planted.  I also have a yellow, cucumber plant.

Peas - not something I'd usually grow but I bought a pot today and will see what happens.  More likely to be slug fodder.

The second sowing of runner beans are just starting to come through.  The four other plants are growing strongly and will get planted up as soon as I get hold of some well rotted manure.

Planted up some more mangetout from a freshly purchased packet.  Hopefully these will do better than the last lot and not take too long to come up.

Sifted out a load of compost to fill up pots and container from the second bin - along with a load of bindweed - it gets everywhere unfortunately.

Pick Up A Plant Or Two

Another opportunity to pick up some more plants for the garden at today's Saltdean Fund Day.  First off was an Alicante tomato, runner beans - Scarlet Emperor, courgette and from another stand - two massive, practically ready to fruit, Money Maker tomato plants and a round yellow courgette.

At least some people seem to be more successful at growing from seed, so better to benefit from their green fingers and pick up a few plants and get a head start, rather than my so far abortive attempts.

Also much better value than the garden centre.

Seed Success ... or Lack Of

Well the seed planting wasn't a great success - only four runner beans have sprouted out of twelve sown.  Two beetroot seedlings appearing.  Also, one squash plant has just broken through.  No sign of the mangetout or dwarf french beans, radish, courgette ...

I shouldn't be too surprised - some of the seed was very old - although some of it wasn't and should still have been in date.  I'm much better at growing things from seed unintentionally ... like tomato plants, melons, grapes and assorted other plants which just appear where they weren't planted.

Plumpton College - Plant Sales

A few additions to add to the vegetable garden for this year, picked up at Plumpton College yesterday.  Grown by the students at the agricultural college and on sale at their Open Day.

Two tomato plants - way ahead of the one's I've sown - which haven't emerged yet.  A 'black' cherry tomato and good old Moneymaker.

Two chilli peppers - one 'Big Jim', a large variety (as it's name suggests) and a 'Jalapeno'.  We'll see what transpires.

The basil and chive seeds are just starting to come through - no sign of anything else yet.

It's always exciting at this time of year - lots of starter plants and seeds starting to grow and it won't be long until they're growing away and hopefully just a few weeks when they're being picked.

2011's sowing

Now I realise that many people will have been tending to their vegetables and planting since the beginning of the year but with my small acreage I only really focus on what I can grow in small spaces and so tend to get started later in the year.

I've just finished planting up my first lot of seeds for the year.  Seeing what I can grow from seed - rather than buy as plants.

• Beans - a mix of runner, mangetout, dwarf french.  Some of the seed is really old, so planted plenty incase only a few (none?) come up!
• Courgette
• Squash - little gem and butternut
• Cucumber - did really well last year
• Tomatoes (gardeners delight and marinade ).  I've never planted from seed before - although my compost is usually a good source of tomato plants, so I have accidentally!
• Herbs - basil (two varieties) and chives.
• Radish
• Beetroot

Goodness knows where they'll all go and I haven't finished there - there's still the leafy veg to go - salad, spinach and no doubt peppers - sweet and chilli.

Getting started in the garden

Out into the sunshine to start work and get ready for this year's planting.

I've bought two planters specifically for this year's crop of veg - in addition to the square foot bed which despite being overgrown is still being used as a cat litter tray.

Emptied out the pots from last year, including the growbag and used the soil to fill one of the wicker planters.  It's quite deep, so probably too deep for salad crops but I'm sure I'll find something to go in it!

Last year's salad box is looking a little weather beaten, so may not be used this year.  I've got some spare wood left over from the replaced compost bin which might do instead.

The other planter is even bigger - ideal for runner beans and of course I'll need somewhere for cucumbers and tomatoes.

As ever, great expectations for what to grow this year - what actually crops over the summer depends on slugs and snails, cats and the weather.