Gardening Knowledge for FREE!

So, if you want to learn about growing your own veg or flowers, then why not get down to the local library and grab a few books for free!?

The library is one of my favourite places to be, because I am obsessed with books, and I can get them for free there.  I have to avoid Amazon as I will no doubt be tempted to buy something if I go on it.  But with the library you don’t have to worry, as long as you return the books on time.

I have learned an awful lot about growing my own vegetables so far, but have a long way to go, so I took a trip to the library today and got some books:

1. Charles Dowding’s Vegetable Course
2. The Gardener’s Year, by Which?
3. Chicken Coops for the Soul, by Julia Hollander

The chicken book slipped in as an extra fun read, and because I am tempted to get some chickens of my own, but still undecided whether to go for it or not!  Anyone else got chooks?  Do you recommend them?  I’d love to get some, but don’t want to get in over my head!

Thanks for reading!

Cucumber progress and Hot Peppers!

My cucumbers are all doing great, can’t believe how nicely they are coming on now.  After a shaky start, when nothing seemed to be happening, they are now looking more promising.  Must of been the spell in the airing cupboard that got them going?!  Well whatever it is, I’m pleased.

Also my tomato seedlings seem to be enjoying their new bigger pots!  They are looking nice and perky.

My cucumber seedlings and tomato seedlings:

Cucumber seedlings coming through!

Cucumber seedlings coming through!

Tomato seedlings loving their new pots!

And my hot peppers have started coming up too – very happy about this as planted them weeks ago and thought the seeds had rotted.  Seems as though I put a few too many in one of the modules, but I can thin this out.  Just glad there is some activity here at last!

The Hot Pepper seedlings:

Hot Pepper seedlings

Hot Pepper seedlings

 

Thanks for reading!  And thanks to everyone who has been sharing and liking my posts.

Potting Tomato Seedlings On and more..

Today I took my tomato seedlings in to the greenhouse to pot them on.  Potting on is what you need to do when your seedlings have grown too big for their initial cell/pot.  I chose 12 of the best seedlings and discarded the others, apart from two, which I have left in the greenhouse as an experiment to see if it is warm enough to put the rest of them out there.

My tomato seedlings are now nice and snug in some 3 inch pots of their own.  I only handled the seedlings by the leaves, I did not touch the stems, as that can damage the root system and stem.  The tomato seedlings were then brought back into the kitchen to keep warm.  You should not try to harden off plants on the same day as potting on, so I’ve heard!

I also took a look around the greenhouse to see what was happening.  And there was not much happening to be honest!  I moved my lettuce and coriander into my new mini greenhouse (which is now living inside my proper greenhouse) to give them some extra warmth.  I got the mini greenhouse as a mother’s day present from my little ones.

I then put a cloched hoop tunnel over my remaining seed trays (broccoli, cabbage, broad beans, garlic and leeks), and then put a cloche cover on top of that!  So they have two layers for warmth now.  Once some seedlings start to come through I will then decide whether to remove one layer.

My mini greenhouse, with coriander, lettuce and some extra tomato seedlings!

Other veg seeds under protection in the greenhouse

Even more protection!

So that’s it, an update on my garden.  All going to plan so far.  My hot peppers have started to come through, and so have my cucumbers.  My normal peppers have not come through at all yet! These are all living in my kitchen until it warms up a bit.

Thanks for reading!

Free seeds and an update on tomato seedlings!

So this morning my Grow Your Own magazine arrived with the post and there was some lovely free seeds on the front: Brocolli, Leeks, Courgettes and Celery (2 packs).  I am very pleased and will be planting them all soon.

I also checked my tomato seedlings, which had been snuggling in the airing cupboard and nearly all of them have popped their heads above the soil!  They are a little yellow though, and I think this is due to the lack of light, so I have taken them out of the airing cupboard and back in front of the window to cheer up a bit.

Some pictures:

Free seeds!

Free seeds!

Free seeds!

Tomato seedlings

Tomato seedlings

A Nice Warm Bed & New Plants!

Some of my little seedlings seemed to be struggling to germinate, so I took them upstairs and into the tank cupboard for the night.  Well, I was so surprised this morning when I saw that two little tomato seedlings had sprung up over night!  I am very pleased.  I am going to leave them in there a little bit longer to see if anymore can come up.  The cucumbers have not come up yet.  I am not sure if they have rotted due to too much water.

And now for the new plants.  My children brought these home from the garden center for me yesterday!  Three little new plants for the garden. Love them!

Some pics:

 

More Potatoes Chitting Away

I went out yesterday, and although slightly later than planned, got some more potatoes to chit.  They are now in trays/recycled egg boxes on top of the kitchen cupboards and will hopefully sprout some shoots.

I have got the maincrop Maris Piper variety as I heard these do better than earlies.  I also have a few Charlotte variety.  Hope to see some shoots soon!

Thanks for reading!

Some pictures:

 

Maris Piper potatoes chitting

Maris Piper and Charlotte potatoes chitting

Maris Piper potatoes chitting

Maris Piper potatoes chitting