veggie patch?

[Dragonfly Fi]

We have turned our TINY little garden into a bit of a small holding, we have chickens down the bottom and a budding veggie garden at the top

we have two levels, the top is probably 2.5 by 4m and the bottom the same again

chickens are fab, clucking about and laying an egg each a day (we have 4 of them)

in the veggie garden (and the neighbours wall - lol) we have a number of tomato plants which are going crazy in the heat,

a pumpkin plant which is doing really well dispite being in a bit of a too hot bit of the garden and could do with being moved next year
butternut squash (hanging in there)
courgettes (going mad)
onions (going mad)
garlic (going mad)
cabbage - happening
potatoes galore in pots and in the ground
an old onion that started sprouting in the kitchen which we just planted
shallots
sprouts (though we dont know which are sprouts and which are cabbages)
a herb garden
corn
broad beans in pots and in the ground
dwarf beans (weird things)
carrots (not happening right now)
parsnips (again not happening)
alpine strawberrys just around and about, (going mad)
and chilli plants in the house

anyone else got anything going on?

 

[Rosie's Mummy]

Wicked! I have in the ground: Spring Onions, Lettuce mixture and French beans - I have to go in the ground runner beans and 6 courgette plants. In planter bags I have 3 bags of first early potatoes and 3 bags of second early potatoes, in pots I have carrots, lettuce and strawberries I recently came to the end of my purple sprouting and leeks which were delicious! If my garden were bigger I think I would be putting in some pumpkins and cabbages

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

i just saw a hanging basket full of strawberries! they will be on the cards for next year

 

[Rosie's Mummy]

My strawberries are in a planter that hang on the fence - they have been in there since last summer and have come back with a vengeance! There is so much more I want to do in the garden but knowing that I am going to get a little heavier and then have a baby I dont want to give myself too much work!

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

Oh were only a couple of weeks apart - i do nothing in the garden, my awesome new husband is quite happy to potter around 3 days a week weeding and making sure his pumpkins are okay Hes so funny with his garden i love it

i just about manage to cover the potatoes over every now again, and marvel at the new growth on the tomatos but its mostly down to him i must say!

I had a look but its too late now to plant strawberries, though i am wondering wether to plant them anyway so that we get a better yield next year - what do you reckon?

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

sorry i meant that as 'oh we are a couple of weeks apart Yay excited by that' rather than 'your only as pregnant as me lady get out there planting stuff!!!' because i just read it back and thought it might have sounded like that lol

i certainly couldnt handle a veggie garden by any stretch of the imagination at this point in time!

 

[JJ Mum]

Sounds great Big bump - well done

Lovely to hear that someone else has chickens!! I have 4 of them too. One French Maran, one white leghorn, one Bluebelle leghorn and one Rhode island red (all hybrids for laying) They are so nice to have , and makes you really feel like you have a smallholding. I would love a pig , but think thats a step too far for the neighbours patience, and size wize an issue too.

Have planted , cucumbers, lettce, carrots, red and yellow tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, butternut squash, pumpkin, yellow and red and chilli peppers, first early, second early and maincrop latge potatoes (first time tried pots), squashes sproting brocli for winter and leeks , celery, celeriac and aubergine (lkots of untried ones there this year!). I have planted my fruit bushes (been living in pots for years, poor things) around the outside of the chikckens extra run area and have 3x goosberrys, 3x Rasberrys and 3 x blackcurrents, (2 balckcurrents a bit mangy from aphid damage, found some organic treetment so hopefully!). and 1x logan berry (new this year). I also have rubarb and herbs in pots for cooking, and lots of strawberry pots, my daughter keeps trying to skateboard around!!

My birthday is in july, so I treated myself to two patio fruit trees, (just got to save up for huge pots now!) they only cost £14.99 each one, and so make a great early bday pressie for me . One is morello cherry and the other pears , (should only grow to 2 metres max , 1 metre wide leaf coverage), we are going to get those little dquare trolley things, so I can move them around when plated in a larger heavy pot (incase I choose the wrong place on patio or re-arrange when guinea pig dies and hutch goes!).

lovely to see some gardeners on here X

 

[Mervs Mum]

I would LOVE chickens!! We have spuds, carrots, onions, tomatoes, salad leaves and we are going to get some strawberries. My hubby does it all but I can tell you that when we eat our own stuff it tastes 100% better! It's so fresh!!

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

mmmmm yummy! JJ Mum dont tell me where you live or you will find a heavily pregnant lady sat on your porch covered in fruit juices

sounds divine i wish we had the space for some fruit trees!

what sort of size is the Morello cherry tree? Liam reckons we might be able to squeeze a fruit tree pot or two in if they arent too enormous

Also, how much space does a raspberry bush take? and what sort of environment do they need? shade or full sun?

Our chickens are great, we have a Maran, a Gold Laced Wynadotte, a welsummer and a little cou cou

they are funny and such brilliant characters - we have two adopted bantams coming to live with us next month too Chickens are great for keeping the slug population down and we find they cost next to nothing to keep - we made their run out of a recycled table and some other bits n pieces (same as the veggie garden really!)

Yay for small holdings!

 

[Mervs Mum]

Oh we have an apple and a pear tree too but they were already there!

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

I would LOVE chickens!! We have spuds, carrots, onions, tomatoes, salad leaves and we are going to get some strawberries. My hubby does it all but I can tell you that when we eat our own stuff it tastes 100% better! It's so fresh!!

i cant wait, when mum comes from australia we are going to have fresh meringes made from the chickens, fresh strawberries from the garden and all the fresh veggies too

i cant wait to be cooking and think 'oh i need a potato' and get to GO AND DIG ONE OUT OF THE GROUND

the idea fills me with joy

 

[racheldee]

ohh i wish i could have chickens but my jack russell would terrorise them

 

[mamalove]

I would love to have my own veggie patch, but we just moved to a new house so no time for this year.

I grew up eating organic fruit and veg that my parents had when we lived in our country. We had fresh duck eggs and goats milk every morning alongside with tastiest fruit and veg you can imagine!

Hopefully next year i'll start on time and i can give my children that.

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

heheeh i dont think dogs bother with chickens so much, they tend to have a go and get alot of beak and feathers and just avoid!
the smaller varieties might not bode as well but big chickens are pretty big!

 

[racheldee]

i just get scared as she is very crafty with the birds that come in the garden to eat the bread we put out
also when i took her to the field where i walk her she's not scared to have a try at the geese that settle there either

 

[Rosie's Mummy]

sorry i meant that as 'oh we are a couple of weeks apart Yay excited by that' rather than 'your only as pregnant as me lady get out there planting stuff!!!' because i just read it back and thought it might have sounded like that lol

i certainly couldnt handle a veggie garden by any stretch of the imagination at this point in time!

I know its ok! I picked up some Bronze Fennel, Lemon Balm, Feverfew and some Dill yesterday - now all I need to do is smoke my homegrown salmon and I'll be set I love gardening, my dream is a small holding after growing up on a farm with chickens, goats, sheep and numerous cats! It is probably one of the most self-satisfying things in the world for me, being able to pick your own veg and not have to deal with the packaging! One day I will have my 100ft garden! Until now I will make do with the space I have.

Nice to know that there are like minded gardening peeps on here

BB - You can put strawberries in now, they should be fine

 

[JJ Mum]

Another good gardening weather day today, gonna put in some very late seeds, better late than never tho!

RM - how do you get a homegrown Salmon?

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

Oh well if shes willing to take on GEESE!!! i would not get chickens, that jack russell has a death wish!

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

sorry i meant that as 'oh we are a couple of weeks apart Yay excited by that' rather than 'your only as pregnant as me lady get out there planting stuff!!!' because i just read it back and thought it might have sounded like that lol

i certainly couldnt handle a veggie garden by any stretch of the imagination at this point in time!

I know its ok! I picked up some Bronze Fennel, Lemon Balm, Feverfew and some Dill yesterday - now all I need to do is smoke my homegrown salmon and I'll be set I love gardening, my dream is a small holding after growing up on a farm with chickens, goats, sheep and numerous cats! It is probably one of the most self-satisfying things in the world for me, being able to pick your own veg and not have to deal with the packaging! One day I will have my 100ft garden! Until now I will make do with the space I have.

Nice to know that there are like minded gardening peeps on here

BB - You can put strawberries in now, they should be fine

Oh i would LOVE a goat, if we had space (which we really, really dont terraced house, tiny garden an all)
if we had space i would have a goat, then next a couple of piggies

we would probably let the pigs in the house though to be honest, we are a bit strange like that and they are good guard pigs!

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

We just bought two hanging baskets and six strawberry plants not expecting too much of a yeild this year but next year we should get 2 pounds odd of strawberries from each one

very exciting!