Back on our temporary forum before the official G&G, I promised someone (Broadway?) I'd post before and after photos of my garden, so...

I don't have a "proper" Before photo, because the garden was so overgrown you couldn't actually get in there! You'll just have to imagine the head-high brambles and buddleia the size of Yggdrasil

I hasten to add that nearly all the work below was done by our excellent gardener, Mark Johnson. I just planted the veg and helped my husband build the bike shed (behind the trellis in the second photo).

Phase 1 - after clearing the jungle:

   

Phase 2 - Fences and sheds done, old raised beds planted up

   

Still to come - new raised beds, lawn, etc.

Have 3 children up the mountain with me, on forced WimBerry picking today... Looking forward to a nice WimBerry pie and custard as a reward later.

Anyone else out picking?

Morning Folks
 
I want to replace the rickety old fence at the entrance to the plot with a row of lavender and wondered what peoples thoughts were regards seeds v cuttings?
 
Is it too late this year to start anything?

After having harvested 7 cucumbers on I pulled yesterday was very bitter, I don't know the variety but the only change I have made is to start feeding it with a seaweed solution I have now washed through the compost a couple of times with fresh water and will see if I can clean the plant a bit will let you know how it goes but has this happened to anyone else I have not removed any male flowerers, but I recon if it was that the previous ones would have been bitter

For the first time this year I’ve had a net tunnel over half my brassica bed. They’ve all grown twice the height of the ones not covered. But none of the cabbages have hearted up. Have I used the wrong sort of netting? It was just some fabric I had in my sowing box. A stretchy fine hold netting. Would the colour of the fabric make a difference to what heat was produced within the tunnel or something. 
I don’t think they’re going to do much now, even though they look very healthy.

August is a good time to sow spinach - according to the books - but what Spinach?

Joy Larkcom says that several different plants are popularly termed spinach (and a rummage through my seed packets confirms this!).
1. True or ordinary spinach. Spinacia oleracea
2. Leaf beet Beta vulgaris subsp cicla.. This includes perpetual spinach also known as spinach beet, silver beet and Swiss chard, also know as seakale beet and silver chard.
3. New Zealand spinach - Tetragonia expansa
4. Mountain spinach - Atriplex hortensis aka Orache.

Another that I know -
5. Tree spinach - Magentaspreen, Chenopodium giganteum

I'm about to sow 1 and 2 but its not that simple.
There are 2 sorts of Ordinary spinach - heat tolerant "round seeded" types for summer crops and "prickly seeded" types for autumn/winter. I have Giant Winter spinach seeds so take that as a clue to them being prickly seeded. The rest I'm not so sure about!!

At this point I'm starting to realise why I rarely grow spinach and, if I do, have little success with it. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure that I like it!!

Maybe I'll stick to Swiss chard - its prettier than spinach.

Any spinach growers here who'd care to share their experiences?

I've never seen one of these before - the rotund disc snail, or the common button snail in French (bouton commun)!

       

Morning Folks

Again a planning question for next year...

So from what I'm reading I should avoid adding manure to the beds I plan for roots (and onions??) next year, is this correct?

If so the year after will roots (and onions) be ok in the previously manured beds?

For the first time I've grown  a CFB called Coco blanc á rames.  They say the beans can be dried, which I assume means leave them on the vine to ripen and go crispy and bring under cover.   I don't have much experience using dried beans so can you tell me whether when using should I follow the usual precautions to boil for 30 mins, like kidney beans, then use in whatever recipe?

Hi all,

I have some white crown-flowered peas drying right now. I have two questions (which may both be quite dumb...).

1. I believe a little pea moth grub crawled out of one of the drying peas when I opened the pod. Is this pea and/or whole pod destined for the bin? (Gross but almost weirdly cute as well...)

2. Can you use dried/drying seed from the same year to start a new plant?

Thanks