tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83758954585077744302012-02-16T17:05:11.011-08:00Michellenoreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-42865391331386951182010-03-16T08:41:00.001-07:002010-03-16T08:53:13.764-07:00

I've seen ginger for sale in a few garden centres recently, and decided to give it a go. After reading up online about it, I've gone down the thrifty route and bought some ginger from my local supermarket. According to most of the articles online, there is barely any difference between ginger from the supermarket or the garden centre - apart from the price!I soaked it in a bowl overnight, then

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-89859509300082865882010-03-16T08:27:00.000-07:002010-03-16T08:54:16.280-07:00

We've had a very busy couple of weeks in the garden. Along with continuing with successive sowing, I'm trying to keep on top of transplanting the young seedlings that are fast outgrowing the propagators.Although I've seen most of my seeds germinate, it seems that I didn't provide them with enough light :-(The broccoli in particular have long white stems, but tiny little leaves. Fortunately the

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-31222556535700772572010-03-04T11:38:00.000-08:002010-03-04T12:23:47.376-08:00

These little seedlings are jalapeno peppers that I planted on 14th Feb. The other peppers sown at the same time have also begun to come through, but as yet they don't need to be planted on. The onions are coming through slowly, but the leeks are doing very well and I've planted about 2o of those seedlings into pots too.On 21st Feb I sowed some strawberries, mint and some more friggitello and

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-31220496941190035512010-03-03T12:42:00.000-08:002010-03-04T11:55:48.544-08:00

Well, after the coldest Winter that I can ever remember, it's been fantastic to get outside and start preparing for Spring. We constructed three raised beds and I've been busy sowing seeds ready for when (if!) the frosts finally stop. On 14th Feb I used my new propagator to sow leeks, onions, golden bell peppers, Romanian peppers, Hungarian hot wax peppers, jalapeno peppers, red cherry peppers

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-19158460923001866732009-11-01T10:35:00.001-08:002009-11-01T10:58:58.080-08:00

Well the veg patch has finally been flattened. Work is slowly progressing on the garden and most of the plants have been moved to their new home. The final project will be to create a new set of raised beds in the end third of the garden. The dimensions of the new area will be about 20ft x 30ft, in what is currently the lawn. Although today was rainy and very windy, it was my only opportunity to

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-15876273117888924612009-11-01T10:02:00.000-08:002009-11-01T10:30:54.944-08:00

Loosely connected to Halloween, I am stuck for ideas on what to do with the only butternut squash growing in the veg patch. On Saturday Kitchen yesterday I watched a clip where they recommended seasoning the squash and sticking it in the microwave for 5 minutes. This is an appealing idea as it's so convenient and is probably the healthiest ready meal you could get. However, I just can't bring

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-82953933576339458862009-11-01T09:38:00.000-08:002009-11-01T10:30:35.292-08:00

Yesterday I got into the spirit of Halloween at the very last minute. I bought the last pumpkin in the market and did a very bad job of carving. I'm now left with all the pulp and seeds from the inside and I can't bring myself to just throw them in the compost bin. Instead I've decided to keep a few of the seeds and have a go at growing my own pumpkins next year.For me, the carving was a

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-67173430572692708302009-11-01T09:16:00.000-08:002009-11-01T10:31:30.688-08:00

A few months ago I managed to get hold of some free packets of seeds from the BBC's Dig In campaign. I got them a couple of months too late to plant the tomatoes, but I gave them a go anyway and have been amazed at how well they've turned out. We're into November now, and they're still going strong.Although I don't eat tomatoes myself, I gave a couple to my mum and she assures me that they are

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-1421764692535223182009-09-23T08:33:00.000-07:002009-09-23T09:02:18.557-07:00

As part of the garden redesign, I spent Saturday helping (oh, alright - watching) my Dad put up a rather large screen. The new design is intended to break the garden up into sections, starting with a patio and large planting area, then a square lawn, then a veg patch at the end. This is going to consist of 4 raised beds, making the veg patch 4 times bigger than it currently is. Unfortunately, one

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-65610780715847853232009-09-18T11:57:00.000-07:002009-11-01T10:32:20.554-08:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I took a fairly heavy handed approach to checking my sweetcorn and just pulled one of the cobs off the stalk. Having researched this further, I found a useful article at examiner.com. This article gives some useful tips on when your sweetcorn should be ripe. Apparently, the silk coming out the top should be brown. A few days after this happens, the sweetcorn

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-49310857535561040772009-09-14T13:10:00.000-07:002009-11-01T10:32:37.411-08:00

For the past couple of weeks I have noticed the trees changing colour whilst I've been out and about. But I can now officially announce the arrival of Autumn, because I've made an apple pie with fruit from the garden! Ever since I was little, I've associated Autumn with apple pies and crumbles made by my Grandma. This year has been extra special for me as it's the first time I've made a pie

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-68826886821854093692009-09-13T14:36:00.000-07:002009-11-01T10:33:01.696-08:00

As briefly mentioned in my last post, I have a habit of planting my seedlings in one go, without giving any thought to how big they will eventually get. This turned out to be a particularly large problem with my cabbages. Basically, the people to cabbage ratio was heavily against the humans. Despite our best efforts to give them away and eat cabbage for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we still

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-69874356650628427132009-09-12T09:09:00.000-07:002009-11-01T10:33:28.858-08:00

While digging up my cabbages a couple of weeks ago, I unearthed a very welcome guest to the veg patch. Meet my little friend Toadie! He's currently living in a pile of turf that has been dug up to expand the patch. The eventual plan will be to convert an old tree trunk into a more permanent home for him.The veg patch is now bursting at the seams and my next project is to work out the "footprint"

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-18269630801700996472009-08-30T11:25:00.000-07:002009-09-14T14:42:04.370-07:00

In keeping with my mantra of "very little effort, money or skill", I can honestly say I've done nothing to prepare my soil. I know the books tell you to get your soil pH levels tested, mix certain ratios of poop to mud to get the best soil, and rotate your crops so all the nutrients aren't sucked out.While I'm sure that all of these things make for a far better crop than mine, I'm only feeding 2

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-15005738512740569612009-08-29T15:18:00.000-07:002009-09-14T14:38:01.103-07:00

The veg patch was born in the spring of 2007, when a bare area of mud became the future site of my foray into self-sufficiency. I bought a bag of potatoes (Desiree, I think) and stuck them all in the ground. Next thing I knew, little tufts of green were poking their way through the mud and I was hooked. Over the next few weeks, I bought a load of seeds - onions, radishes, spring onions and

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375895458507774430.post-82103688439882552942009-08-15T14:31:00.000-07:002009-08-30T03:27:59.858-07:00

Welcome all, to the Vegetable Patch Journal. This blog is designed to share my experiences as I try my hand at "the good life". I bought my house in 2007 and have had some successes (and many failures) in growing my own food. With the help of some family members I have some grand designs for the garden this year, the most ambitious being increasing the size of my vegetable patch fourfold. Work

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0