Veg Plot Diary

Dear Veg Plot Diary

My diary is an online journal of all my activity on and for my vegetable plot, from buying seeds to harvesting vegetables.

Today I have mostly been…

6th April 2012

Broad Beans in April

Staking Broad Beans which are almost flowering,
Preparing and digging over beds and adding compost for new sowings,
Bought Veg Seed for this years sowings
Fixing cloches and mini greenhouse glazing panels,
Drawing up a Plan for my lettuce garden, and other two plots,
Planting Potatoes in Pots

Tuesday 27th December 2011

I’ve got itchy green fingers and need to start growing veg again so have started a test on windowsill. I’m sowing lettuce seed in a coir tray and coir seedling pots.

Wednesday 16th to Sunday 21st August 2011

Bridgewater Climbing Beans

Harvesting:

Bridgewater mottled purple and green climbing beans,
More yellow and green French Beans,
Marfona Potatoes (roast potato sized)
Peas ‘Jaguar’

Observations:

Tiny runner beans forming (white lady variety),
Kohl Rabi fattening up
Winter Spinach seedlings growing well.

Wednesday 10th August 2011

Baby Carrots and French Beans

Harvesting:

Yellow and green French Beans,
Baby Carrots
Shallots

Observations:

Bridgewater climbing beans, pods growing,
Runner beans flowering,
Kohl Rabi, Pak Choi and French beans seedlings growing well.

Friday 22nd July 2011

Marfona Baby Potatoes

Harvesting:

Early Shallots,
Baby Carrots,
Spring Onions,
Green french beans,
A few potatoes.

Sowed:

Pak Choi – Rubi,
Kohl Rabi – White version (to fill the gaps),
Radish – Pink Beauty
Winter Spinach,
A couple of rows of French green beans.

Sunday 3rd July 2011

Radish Peas Cabbage Harvest

Harvesting:

Mange Tout Peas – I’ve left it too long to pick as mange tout so I’ve podded them to eat the fresh peas,
Radishes,
Giant Spring Cabbages.

My french beans are flowering in pots on the decking, so not long now for the beans!

All Change:

With the last of the mange tout, my plants had powdery mildew so took them all out of the raised bed,
With the cabbages removed, there was enough room to plant out the pumpkin and more runner beans,
Added some bamboo canes for the established runner beans,
Radishes bolted so pulled out them as well

Saturday 18th June 2011

Vibrant Veg Harvest

Another two bowls of Mange Tout harvested – Purple Podded and Giant Green Podded.

Too much to eat so I have frozen batches of them. Harvested baby radishes as well.

French beans are flowering! so not long before the purple, yellow and green beans.

Saturday 11th June 2011

Runner Bean Seeds

Sowed the following seeds:

Pea – Jaguar (in pots and bed 3)
Runner Bean – Celebration (in pots)
Swede – Best of All (1 row in plot 2)
Carrot – Autumn King (1 row in plot 2 and 3)
Lettuce Mix – Red and Green Salad Bowl (1 row)
Kohl Rabi (Superscmelz, Purple Delicacy, Noriko) (2 rows, plot 2)
Spinach – Matador (1 row, plot 1)
Pumpkin Munchkin (7 seeds in 5 pots)

Harvesting:

Spring Cabbages – Pixie
Purple Mange Tout
Green Mange Tout,
Pea – Twinkle

Other Comments:

Lettuce Bolted and had to be removed,
Found 2 slugs and mass of greenfly on lettuce,

Monday 30th May 2011

Purple Mange Tout Flowers

Harvested 1 Spring Cabbage
Harvested a bunch of Lettuce
Photographed Mange Tout Flowers
Picked some tiny peas
Thinned out radishes again
French Beans in pots have wind scorch
Runner beans in plot germinating slowly

Saturday 21st May 2011

Pea Twinkle Pods

Removed the giant cloche from Plot 1 to release the mange tout plants
Used 6ft bamboo canes to make a support for the mange tout
Built a temporary cloche using crate wooden planks, horticulture fleece and bamboo canes to go over carrots, beans and shallots
Harvested last kale plant and bolting lettuce
Removed yellow lower leaves from cabbages
Thinned radishes

Sunday 1st May 2011

Bridgewater Climbing Beans

Sowed 4 rows of Runner Beans (White Lady)
2 rows of Major Cooks Climbing Beans
2 rows of Bridgewater Bean

Tuesday 26th April 2011 – Sowings and Plantings

Weeded Mange tout Plot
Planted Shallots out – 2 rows next to Mange Tout
Sowed green french beans – 2 rows next to shallots

Monday 25th April 2011 – Bolted

Autumn Cauliflower

Purple Sprouting Broccoli has bolted due to spring heat of 25 degrees C
Autumn Romanesco has bolted (flowered) as well.
Spring cabbages doing well, some eaten by caterpillars
All spring sowings have germinated in plot including carrots
Mange tout doing particularly well in the heat
Shallots and potatoes ready to plant out
Harvested winter lettuce from pots on decking

Sunday 17th April 2011 – Sowings in Pots

Sowed French Beans (purple, yellow and green) in pots on the decking
Sowed Lettuce in hanging baskets

Sunday 10th April 2011 – Harvest and Maintenance

Harvest of PSB and Kale

Fixed the top bar on the cloche hoops to prevent them from collapsing,
Shallots in cells tray, 3 have sprouted and all have rooted, will be ready to plant out in next few weeks,
Harvested one plant of Purple Sprouting Broccoli,
Harvested some of the Kale,
Pulled off yellow and holed leaves off bottom of spring cabbage plants,
Removed 1 Spring Cabbage Plant that had bolted,
Removed one large green caterpillar from inside of cabbage plant,
Checked on new seedlings and weeded plots.

Saturday 26 March – Maintenance
Fixed the Cloche hoops and put the netting back into place.

Saturday 19 March – Sowings:

Mange Tout (purple and green podded varieties) – 2 rows of each, 4 rows in total
Carrot – Nairobi F1 – 2 rows in Plot 1 next to broccoli
Spring Onion (Purplette and Silverskin) – 2 rows of each, 4 rows in total in Plot 2
Lettuce – Simpson Black Seeded – 2 rows in Plot 2
Peas – Twinkle – 4 half rows around the spring cabbage in Plot 3

Also planted the Shallots in compost in cell trays for the mini greenhouse.

Friday 18 March 2011 – Received Shallots from Simply Seed

Wednesday 16 March 2011 – Plot Plans