I have been really pleased with the tomatoes that I have grown in my greenhouse, they have and still are fruiting really well. I have grown Red Cherry and although they are prolific growers they are a little too tart for my taste. Next year I shall try Gardeners Delight or Moneymaker as I have these seeds already. The Sungold have also grown well and taste so sweet, they will be grown again next year. I have grwon some Tumbling Tom in my hanging basket and they are just about ripening now early August.

No diseases to report on any of the greenhouse tomatoes, I think the marigolds have a lot to do with that, detering pests like greenfly etc. Sadly my outdoor Roma tomatoes suffered from blight due to the sunny....rainy....sunny....rainy weather!!!

What a flippin' busy month

I just don't know how people with allotements cope! I only have my garden and it takes quite a bit of my time up, I pop out for a 'few minutes' potter and when I come back in I realise that I've been out for an hour!

These pictures were taken on 17th May, so as you can imagine things have grown since then, especially with the lovely sunny weather that we've all been having.

I have grown far too much stuff as Amanda tells me, (when she can find me amongst the undergrowth.)

It's all been a big learning curve so far, but one that I've enjoyed immensely xx.

Strawberry pot

Strawberry basket

Butternut squash plant called 'Hunter'

Peanut plant

Aw pretty nasturtium

Beetroot radish and carrot box

!st early swifts

Oops bought too many maincrop, won't buy any next year!

Strawberry plant

Tumblin' Tom tomato plant

Double oops..............maincrop tatties again!

Ah pretty dahlia

Ah, er pretty...purpley flower

Yawn ........................ another Dahlia

Aw this is ridiculous now!

Phew.......Raspberry bush, Autum Bliss

Erm ........ Paris Market carrots I think.

6 cabbage my pal Linda bought me for my birthday...............I didn't just get the cabbage though :)

Another Butternut Squash ........ just remind me how much space these buggers need again, I have three romping away nicely.

Cuke again, I have four of these

First tomato

Managetout, mangetout methinks

Sweetcorn on left, mini pop.

Runner beans probably...... methinks

Makes note in diary .... LABEL STUFF !!!!

Organic Dwarf French Beans

My first harvest of Swift potatoes delicious

Stop the clock................stop the clock!!!!!

Well after many many requests to see our Amanda again (snigger) her she is in all her glory, hair groomed make up on, teeth in !!!!!

She was quite sober when this was taken, but as always it all went downhill from then on in, she and Geoff are coming round my house in May for my birthday, we shall get some chinese in and have a good time, I hope so anyway.

Don't worry the strong stuff will be locked away!

This gardening lark doesn't half make time fly by doesn't it? All my seeds planted so far are coming along nicely.

Mind you something did have a nibble at one of my Dwarf french bean plants the other night, it can't have been her next doors because she's usually in a drunken comotosed state by dusk, plus she takes her teeth out so she could only have managed a bad suck!

Anyway my OH went out the night after and found the little blighter half way up the same plant, an inch long slug, obviously coming back to finish what he'd started, so he was picked off and flicked into next doors garden ...er I mean into into the field.

Below are some of my Swift potatoes, coming along nicely, when they flowew I think it's time to feed them. They should be ready early June.

Here are my Early Nantes Carrots, they are quite a bit bigger now as this photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. Plus they are more spaced out aswell, a lot like her next doors.

Here's my Californian peppers, they are in their own pots now and are much bigger and going great guns!

Phew what a busy couple of weeks!

It's all been go go go! I've lots of stuff popping up all over the greenhouse.
So far,
43 leeks
3 cauliflowers - Sno Ball (just a tester)
30 beetroot (pronto)
3 pepper plants
1 bucket of 'normal' carrots .. Early Nantes 5 and a bucket of the round ones.. Paris Market, I shall continue sowing more every couple of weeks.
Some Tumbling Toms and Dwarf French Beans for hanging baskets, I already have some strawberries in a hanging basket.

I also have cucumber, spring onions. radish, lettuce, herbs, big tomatoes for the greenhouse (can't remember their name) and I've just planted some Kelvedon Wonder peas in a 40 litre tub.............again a trial and error thing. Oh and I've just ordered some Snow pea 'Carouby de Maussane'!

I want to try lots of things for my first year and then just grow what thrives next year.

My flower plants are French Marigolds, nasturtiums and three pots of Sweet peas.

So far I am really pleased with how everything is growing, I realise that the nice weather has helped but I'm still going to take a bit of credit for it :)

Pictures to follow, I have a new phone and I'm buggered if I can get them on the computer!

Springs nearly here!!!!!!

It's just around the corner and I'm full of mixed feelings, excitement of course but I'm also nervous about the whole thing, what if Spring and Summer come and I'm faffing around not sure what to do and then ending up doing nothing!


This last couple of weeks I've been planting Leek seed (in toilet roll tubes) because they need a long route growth, some Beetroot (Pronto) seeds, these are small beetroot that can be picked early, and some Cauliflower (Snowball) again this can be picked whilst still small. I'll only be growing abou 12 of the beetroot and cauliflower as an experiment because of course space is limited.


I have all my tubs in the garden now, I've managed to get 10 builders tubs in bought from B & Q, 18 black buckets that were only £1.00 each from Asda a few weeks ago. I have 5 growbags that are on a large wooden box that's about 3 foot tall so I shall use those for lettuce, radish herbs etc. plus they will be out of the reach of slugs. I shall sow every 2 weeks so that I don't end up with a glut of stuff ready for picking at the same time.

The buckets I shall use for sowing carrots and spring onions in, again sowing every couple of weeks. I have some strawberry plants in one of my hanging baskets and shall try tumbling tomatoes and dwarf french beans in the other two.


The builders buckets shall home climbing french beans and I'm not sure what else yet.


In the greenhouse I shall have tomato, pepper and cucumber plants.


My sweet peas are already about 6 inch tall and my marigolds and nasturtium are growing nicely. I shall plant the latter two near to my vegetables because apparently they are a good distraction for nasty insects.


The frog kidnapping plan seems to have hit a slight hicup, Amandas frogs seem to have forgot what they should be up to! She told me last night on the phone that she knows the frogs are in the pond because she hears them jumping in it as she staggers past on an evening with her empty bottle of wine in hand (I've seen her - honest).


I shouldn't call her too much because the other Sunday she bought me a pressy to help me with my gardening quest, she mustn't have had her glasses on though because on one of the items it says 'To someone special', she's up to something you know, I just have to find out what !

Here's my pressies a teeny trowel and baby watering can aw how cute. Thanks face-ache! : )

All my babies are growing

Well I planted some sweetpeas only a few days ago and already 13 out of the 15 are 2 inches tall!

12 out of 15 of my marigolds are up and running.

All of the 11 tomatoes that I potted in their first pots have survived.

I have just planted 4 pepper seeds 'Sweet California Wonder', I'm hoping for 3 of them to grow and I shall be growing those on in growbags in the greenhouse when the weathers warmer.

Nothing else to report really, except that I'm getting really nervous now at the prospect of Spring arriving. I worry that the Spring and Summer will come and go and I've forgot to do everything and in the end I've done sod all !

I'm going to grow some 'pretty' veggies in the front garden too, it's West facing so I'm hoping they will get enough sunlight in there. I might grow my peas and beans in it along with some others that don't nesscessarily look like 'free food' to all that passes. I'll take some piccies of the front garden soon, and then I can hopefully look back and see an improvement (hopefully).

I've told Amanda to get her home brew wine started, ready for some serious bartering in the summer, her wines lovely, I've tasted it, well she said it was her home brew, but come to think of it I do take quite a few boxes of 'posh wine' deliveries in for her.........Mmmm maybe she's pulling a fast 'un and she doesn't brew any herself. Watch this space.............

Re-potted my tommys

They are still quite small but I had originally planted the seed a bit too close together so I wanted to give them their own space.

Again a bit of trial and error, but I did talk to them whilst I did the 'operation'. Any hoots I hope they all survive I am going to grow some in the greenhouse and some against the south facing garage wall (bit of insurance there in case we get a cool summer this year).

The tomatoes are called 'Red Cherry. I am also going to grow some in hanging baskets too, I think they are call 'Tumbling Tom' tomatoes. I've also heard that there's a variety of veg you can grow in hanging baskets, I'm going to give other things a go, it seems a good idea with me having limited growing space on the floor!

Oh, I nearly forgot I planted some sweet peas too for a bit of colour and nice smell in the garden plus I want to attract some insects............. : )