I have to admit I have been neglecting my blog for the last few months. The endless rain and chilly wind has made me lazy, I have been using any excuse not to have to venture outside or do something garden related so hence I haven’t had much to talk about!
Over the last few weeks we have finally seen some long awaited sunshine and after seeing all the mini fruit and veg plants around in supermarkets and garden centres I thought it was about time I got myself into gear and sorted out our ‘garden’ (it can’t really be classed as a garden yet, more like a decked box).
As many of you know if you have read any of my previous blogs our ‘garden’ is a 6×3 meter decked area with not so much as a tree, shrub or weed. It is a blank canvas for me to get my teeth into. Along came the weekend and I marched my other half off to B&Q. I figured we should start simple – garden furniture and a bbq! We decided on a pub style garden bench and after hours of browsing the isles we decided on a large gas bbq, I can’t remember the make, I have to admit I wasn’t paying too much attention, that’s his area!
Now I class myself as quite a competent person when it comes to flat packs, but I struggled with the bench. Lucky my brother was on hand to help with his muscles!!!
The bench took two of us to build but its simple and looks great, I have to say that for £49 from B&Q it’s a bargain.
My plan is to paint it and I have chosen Coastal Mist a lovely blue/grey colour from the Cuprinol Shades range. After the build I was too tired to do the painting so it’s not been done yet but I’ve added it to the list.
Ta Dah! This is the results. Ok so it’s not much, but it’s a start!
I have ordered my raised beds but they haven’t been delivered yet so as my mum and dad were visiting I got dad to work putting up some trellis. I am planning on having a raised bed along the bottom wall in which I can grow a lovely but prickly rose, I want to try and create a deterrent for burglars as well as a pretty wall.
I bought some beautiful and very comfy deck chairs from Habitat which you can see mum is enjoying while she watches the men work!
So this is where I am so far! What do you think?
Check back next week for an update on how we have got on with the raised beds!
This week it has been lovely and sunny, freezing but sunny which has put me in a great mood and I am getting all excited about it soon being spring and I can get started with the garden. As its still finger hurtingly chilly I have been doing my ‘gardening prep’ from the safety and warmth of my desk. I know what I want to achieve in my new garden but I’m not sure exactly how I should go about it!
Dad is going to help me build the raised beds so I need so thought I would start looking at materials etc so I could get an idea of what it’s going to cost me, I have a feeling it may have to be spread over a few months I think I need to do some serious shopping around to get a good deal.
I have no idea how much decking I will need. I am working from my parent’s house next week so I am going to go down with a list of measurements and ideas and I’m hoping my dad will do some calculation as well as have some good ideas of where I can pick up some super cheap decking.
From looking online decking seems to most commonly used material for raised beds. As I want my beds quite high I am guessing I am going to need quite a bit. I found some great pictures this week to help with my inspiration…. If my garden ends up looking anything like these I will be thrilled!
I found this website woodblocks,they are a great idea and if the reviews are anything to go by they are easy to build and they look fab. They do these fantastic seating/raised bed combos that would fit in perfectly with my garden plans and would house my See It Gro bags perfectly. I may have to see if I can save up for one of their sets.
This double planter set is £636 and would look amazing in my garden. Not sure I really have that much to spare but one can dream!
I have also been looking at seeing if maybe I can find some reclaimed railway sleepers. These could look great although I imagine they are heavy and they only way into the garden is up the front stairs and down the back (very steep) stairs so not sure that’s good idea.!??
I have been thinking about how I can make the most from my See It Gro bags. I have had a couple of ideas which I think could work really well. The size and shape of our See It Gro bags mean that I can be a little bit creative and experimental with how I use them. For a start I was think of growing my dwarf beans in a bag and the using supports inserted into the bag and how about using a metal hanging basket with a grow bag inside, this would look great with hanging tomatoes or Nasturtiums. I am also going to maximise the steps and shelves.
These pots from Bill flowers are great fun and perfect for brighten up a dull looking fence. I think I’ll have to invest in a few. We share a garden fence with a neighbour but they are lovely and as these pots are so pretty I don’t think they’ll mind too much!!
Last week I wrote about the varieties of veg I was going to try and grow this spring. Yesterday I found an amazing little website The Edible Flower Shop, I am defiantly going to pick a few to grow, I love this idea.
Work has been rather hectic for the last few weeks and even with the best intentions I didn’t get a chance to sit down and write my blog! As its Monday morning I thought I’d take the morning to do some research and write my latest entry before the first meeting of the week and the chaos beginning. (I actually just realised its already nearly 1pm so my morning has gone scarily quickly).
Yesterday I went to good old Homebase… my weekly weekend destination for all things DIY. I always browse the garden section even if that isn’t the purpose of the trip as I’m always eager to see what’s on the shelves. For someone who isn’t totally clued up on what to plant and sow when, this is often a good indication, if they are selling it then the time is probably right!!
I know it’s early in the year so there wasn’t much to offer except berry plants (raspberry/blueberry/gooseberry etc) and good old faithful herbs but this got me thinking that maybe I should be planning ahead, thinking about what I want to grow and being more organised when it comes to planting, especially when sowing seeds.
Where to start?
Google as always is my first port of call. There are hundreds of sites all suggesting fruit and veg that can be grown in containers. The RHS and Allotment.org both have pages of useful information as well as lists of suitable ‘mini’ varieties that grow well in containers. Every page I read stresses the importance of the size and depth of the container you chose so I am pleased that I have my See It Gro grow bags to use, they are nice and deep, offering roots plenty of depth, meaning I should get a good healthy crop.
Each site I found lists plenty of varieties to try but what do I actually want to grow…… I love beans, they are my favourite veg and my love for them borders of obsession so that’s going to be top of my list. Then I guess tomatoes, lettuce, chillies (to keep the boyfriend happy) herbs galore (for cooking and I love the smell) and maybe courgettes and peppers and they are great to eat raw or add to cooking.
I spent the morning going through the Thompson and Morgan catalogue and online shop. Thompson and Morgan have 164 varieties of fruit and veg suitable for growing in containers, almost too much to choose from if you ask me but here goes…
These yummy looking tomatoes need sowing soon so I must start thinking about a nice warm spot to start growing my seedlings. Apparently these look great in hanging baskets so I hope they will look good grown in my See It Gro grow bags on the shelf I plan on putting up in the garden, hopefully they will hang over the edge of the shelf and look great.
I grew this variety last year in the work garden and we were swamped by the amount of tomatoes a small plant produced, this is a variety I feel rather attached too so will definitely be giving it another go this year.
Lettuce
Wow there is so many varieties to choose from its difficult to decide. I am planning on sowing this continuously over the spring/summer.
This mixture looks yummy too, nice and peppery as it includes mustard leave and rocket.
Chillies
These aren’t for me but for my boyfriend who loves hot, the hotter the better, freshly cut chillies to sprinkle all over this food.
I actually think chilli plants are really decorative and look great as an outside table decoration. This is a picture someone sent us last year and it’s something I want to try and recreate in my own garden.
Maybe I can try these varieties for the same effect.
Can anyone recommend a ‘hotter’ variety? Maybe I need to do a bit more research on this.
As a Devon girl I think I should support these guys. The South Devon Chilli Farm, they do a great ‘hot’ selection that sounds dangerous.
‘In this set of seedlings, we have six very hot varieties: Bhut Jolokia (over 1 million SHU),Orange Habanero (350,000SHU), Chocolate Habanero (600,000 SHU), Red Habanero(300,000SHU), Red Scotch Bonnet (200,000SHU), Big Sun Habanero (300,000SHU). All of these chillies seedlings respond well to warmth as young plants – 25c is ideal’
Herbs
Herbs are easy and I have growing them down to a tea. I always have mint, I love the smell and it’s great for making fresh mint or even better in Pimms! Other favourites are Rosemary, Thyme, Coriander and Basil.
Courgettes
My parents have always grown courgettes at home and they are a firm favourite in my family and I have missed having a supply at hand whenever I want some. Out of all the fruit and veg I buy on a regular basis the increased cost of courgettes is the one that has shocked me the most and made me start to notice that costs of food have gone up so this is why it make sense to grow the thinks I buy the most of.
This is a climbing variety which is very interesting and I am keen to try. As my small garden is short of space this could be a great way to maximise the wall space.
These cute peppers will look great in a yellow See It Gro grow bag. These are the some similar peppers I grew last year.
I would love to hear what other people have grown in containers and small gardens? Has anything grown really well? Anyone got any advice or what I should avoid! I think I am going to grow half directly from seed and I may buy a few little plug plants too.
As well as visiting my local garden centres I have been looking at D.T Brown and they do some great patio plants so think I’ll be visiting them to buy some plants in the near future!!
In October I moved into a new flat with my boyfriend. Over the last three and a half months we have only just managed to get a sofa, (months of sitting on my outdoor bean bag was getting rather tedious), we don’t have curtains yet and our pile of pictures are sat in a corner and every weekend we talk about putting them up but, so far nothing has happened. I know it takes time but I have run out of enthusiasm, I have a different project in mind…. My new garden!!
During the flat hunt I was adamant that we needed some outdoor space so I could get going with my veg growing. We bought a top floor flat in Balham and although my garden isn’t big or very pretty, I have one and it’s a very blank canvass for me to get my teeth into.
So this is what I have to work with…
Decking and four blank walls, no grass, no trees or shrubs, no soil!
Luckily for me my lovely boss lets me have as many See It Gro grow bags as I like so I should be able to quickly brighten up my little garden.
I was speaking to my dad while I was at home for the holidays and he has very kindly offered to help me (when I say help me I mean he will do most of the work and I will bring him tea) put in some built in seating and flower beds. I want some bench seating with storage underneath and some corner beds. I love the bright designs and flexibility that our See It Gro bags bring so I want to incorporate them into the design somehow. I was thinking of have a thick border around the seating which the bags will look great on?
Below is a couple of rough sketches of what I’m thinking…Even when hydrated See It Gro bags are relatively light compared to traditional peat grow bags so I am going to maximise space by using a few shelves, this way I can grow hanging varieties that will hang over the edge of the shelves, maybe I’ll try tomatoes, strawberries and maybe nasturtiums for bright patches of colour? As for the rest of the garden I am still thinking. I have been sat at my desk reading the latest GYO Magazine and going through their year planner which is great for finding out what to sow, plant and harvest when. I would quite like to grow beans this year? Maybe I need a trellis in my garden somewhere???
This is the garden if you are stood on the stairs from the flat.
This is the garden looking towards the flat.
I have been trawling the Internet for ideas and I have come across some amazingly clever solutions. I love the idea of growing in the old boxes. I’m not sure I would use all of the ideas out there in my garden but some of these ideas are great and, as its still early in the year I still have time to redesign. Below are some pictures I found on Pinterest. What do you think? Does anyone have any other ideas??
Happy New Year and let’s hope 2013 brings a more successful harvest and a little more sunshine than last year!
This year we had a bumper crop of See It Gro tomatoes and when the cold weather set in we were left with so many green tomatoes that I thought we should but them to good use.
This is just one of the trays of green tomatoes we had left!
I have been meaning to make some chutney since September and it was only a few weeks ago that I finally got around to making some! I love Riverford and found a great and very easy recipe on their website.
What you need:
750g green tomatoes, washed + chopped
350g shallots or onions, peeled + chopped
200g cooking apples, peeled, cored + chopped
300ml malt vinegar
small piece root ginger, peeled
a few yellow mustard seeds (optional)
2 red chillies
100g raisins
1 tsp salt
200g brown sugar
I cut up the tomatoes, onions and apples and put them all in a large pan and added half the vinegar.
I brought everything to the boil let it gently cook for half an hour. I put all the chillies, ginger, and mustard seeds into a muslin bag and added the bag to the chutney mixture along with the raisins.
I continued to cook the mixture on a low heat for about an hour making sure I stirred it occasionally to make sure the mixture didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. I added the salt, sugar and the rest of the vinegar, stirring well until the sugar dissolved, cooking until the mixture had thickened.
Take out the muslin spice bag.
Sterilised the jars in the oven and while the chutney is still warm put the mixture into jars and seal.
Leave for 6 weeks to mature.
I haven’t tasted it yet but the chutney mixture smelled amazing and the pots will make a great addition to my home made Christmas hampers.
I brought the See It Gro chillies inside last weeks and I’m glad I did, if the amount of ice I had to scrap off my car windscreen the other day was anything to go by I had my timings spot on.
This year we have had a bumper crop of chillies and I started to look around to see what we could do with some of them. A friend of mine recommended a chilli pepper jam recipe from the River Cottage Preserves book and seeing as we had plenty of chillies to use I set about making chilli pepper jam.
The shopping list…
100g Chillies
750g Bell Peppers
50g Root Ginger
350ml Cider Vinegar
1kg Sugar
50ml Lime Juice
1 tsp Salt
I started by slicing all the peppers and chillies in half and removing all the seeds. I then finely cut all the chillies, peppers and ginger (the recipe said I could use a food processor but I didn’t have one), because the chillies I used were very hot and I spent the evening crying which was the only downside to this recipe for me, next time I will beg, borrow or steal a food processor!
I added everything I had chopped into a large sauce pan, added the vinegar and let the mixture simmer. I then added the sugar, lime juice and salt, making sure I was stirring constantly to make sure the sugar dissolved. I brought the mixture to the boil and let it boil for about 4 minutes. I then removed it from the heat; let the mixture cool for 5 minutes and then I poured it into clean jars.
I was thinking that these cute jars would make great Christmas presents and would look lovely in a little hamper next to my sloe gin and my green Tomato chutney (which I plan on making this week). I love giving home-made gifts especially if I have grown the fruit and veg myself, it’s satisfying, fun and so easy.
I think I need to do some serious shopping around to get a good deal.
