The Potting Shed

[Tâf]

Never grown it before but the bloke up the back gave me some Fennel today

It depends if you grow it for foliage or the "bulb", I only grew it for the "bulbs" which make a difference to a meal the kids didn't appeciate.

[Nana of 9]

We have fennel in our herb garden. It's right at the back because it grows to about 5ft tall. If you let it set seed, you'll have hundreds next year - either that, or a long hoeing job!

It tastes of aniseed. God knows why I ever grew it - I loathe aniseed.

[dogsmum]

We have fennel in our herb garden. It's right at the back because it grows to about 5ft tall. If you let it set seed, you'll have hundreds next year - either that, or a long hoeing job!

It tastes of aniseed. God knows why I ever grew it - I loathe aniseed.

OMG I didn't realise it grew that tall
Yeah bloke up the back said he has it growing all over the place, he has a huge garden & just leave's everything to seed & go wild in the bottom part.
Oh I love aniseed, he gave me some leaves & I was munching on them

[Tâf]

I steam the split bulbs, and serve with butter-fried fish

[dogsmum]

I steam the split bulbs, and serve with butter-fried fish

Yum, sounds lush!

[Tâf]

It makes for a change in the usual flavours of a meal, the missus calls it "perfumey"

[Tâf]

172 pots washed and sterilised... my hands were going blue near the end... now they tingle.

I put up the bean sticks and decided how to grow the peas this year... no peasticks, so I'll try string.

Next stage "SOWING!!!!" 

[fred]

peas well up

broad beans a couple of inches, some gaps to fill

A few gaps in the onions and shallots to fill

most of the spuds out a few inches  (Wearher prophet say frost but met office say no.)

greenhouse with a full compliment of tom plants.

lettuice sprouting outside

runner beans in small pots in the greenhouse to germinate

all in town.

given up here as too marginal weather wise.  Five lots of carrot seeds sown and not a carrot to be seen.  Peas not germinated after several sowings.  Spuds gone to austraila. Not a strawberry to be seen.

[dogsmum]

My Dwarf Broad Beans are out & about 4'' now

[Tâf]

Did some sowing in pots in the greenhouse:

5 types of bean, peas, 4 types of chilli, mini cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet peppers.

More sowing tomorrow, flowers and things.

No-one local seems interested in free plants this year (after last year's poor crop) so I'll have loads of spare seed again. But they're queuing up for chilli plants!

[fred]

Lettuice seeds have sprouted.


I just hope that this year SIL will pick leaves fronm the pick  and come again instead of taking the whole plant

[Tâf]

I've got a bag of salad mix (the one that is 99% vermiculite) that I sow in waves so I can nom when bored. The missus takes whole plants too. 

No way am I growing carrots in the beds again this year (too many slugs) so I'm going for potfulls on the patio. Ditto Spring Onions that I've never had any success with. I may even try the long beetroot in pots too for a laugh (the seed cost me 1p, so it won't be a loss at all).

[Tâf]

Had a little chat with a new neighbour, and he is growing EVERYTHING in growbags this year. Both the commercially sold ones, and ones he has made out of bits of tarp. He has 4 cubic metres of finished compost in the garden of his last home, and the new owners have allowed him to take it all away bit by bit.

[fred]

growbags are a pain in the posterior.  Too little volume and not enough nutrients. Dad has decided to have three bags in the greenhouse this year.  Bugga for me as I'll have to call down there every two days to water and feed them. Far rather have them in the ground (dug out every year) and fed and watered when needed.

[Tâf]

I think he intends to stand them "on edge" as he asked to see the support racks I made for them years ago. That's about the only way to get fairly long carrots.