After a very slow start to the year, suddenly it is go go go in the veg garden.
There are the first broccles appearing. I love growing broccoli, it is so well behaved and it tastes so wonderful.
The potatoes are growing well. I have kept them well watered as being in containers they are more at risk of drying out than if they were in the ground. There has been very little rain until the last day or so and watering has been needed.
In the
Vegebag that I was sent to trial there is the first signs of broad beans. This is Broad Bean Robin Hood and so far so good.
I am also growing lentils in the Vegebag and they are flowering. Now bearing in mind that I had no idea what the plants and/or flowers would look like, these flowers are incredibly pretty. They are also quite tiny, probably 5mm across. If each flower is one lentil then you need a lot of flowers to make up a tablespoon full. I am fascinated to see how many lentils I get. I did plant some lentils in the veg borders but did not water these very well so at the moment they are more crispy than any plant would wish to be.
The peas are starting to flower.
The French Beans are considering flowering,
and the courgettes are pretending to be a bus. I will wait ages for the first one to come along and then several arrive at once. Bring. It. On.
In the greenhouse the aubergines are flowering.
The chillies are flowering...... and.....
these are sweet potato
'Makatea Treasure Island', bought from Thompson and Morgan at a discount price as I am trialling them for them. I have tried growing sweet potatoes previously to no success. I had decided they were not a realistic possibility. That was several years ago and different cultivars are now available. I also grew them outside previously whereas this year I decided to reuse a packing container and grow them in the greenhouse. I am keeping them well watered and you can see how much growth they are putting out. They seem to have settled in quickly and if nothing else they are decorative. So keep your fingers crossed for me and I will report back on progress.
The luffa are also in the greenhouse, planted into a bag of compost that is inside another old packing container. I am really hopeful that these do well. The first sowing did not go well but I rarely sow more than half a packet of anything just in case of failures. The second sowing as you can see, is doing well so far.
Finally the
PlantBox living wall planter I am trialling is looking stunning. Now before you get all harrumphy and start muttering about 'that doesn't look very veggy to me', I direct your eyes down to the perpetual spinach in the bottom tier and some lemon coriander. The petunias and nicotinia are helping attract pollinators to the veg container gardener close by so they are playing their part. The water reservoir system certainly seems to be working as the plants have not wilted at all. I am keeping an eye on the water levels and topping them up, but it really seems to be working very well.
and they look wonderful. I cannot tell you how pleased I am with it, it is just so pretty I keep looking at it and smiling.
Its all getting a bit exciting!
Stay safe all and be kind.
Your veggies are looking good and flowers mean there will be food soon - hurrah!
ReplyDeleteThe sweet potato is interesting, I hope it grows well then we may try it next year.
I grew loofah before - got two successful loofahs and looking back, it was exciting. I’ll have to put that on my list for another year too! This list keeps growing!!