Growing Veg 2016/#5: Outside Planting & Greenhouse Update
Boy, have I been busy. Since May 1st I have been in the garden every day prepping, planting, watering, weeding and protecting this year’s selection of vegetables. I have developed shapely upper arms from carrying countless 10 litre (10 kg) buckets of water from the house to my vegetable patch. I have acquired in-depth knowledge on the burrowing habits of moles. I am tired, I am tanned and I am happy.
Last year I had four raised beds in my main vegetable plot. While I got good yields it wasn’t enough to fully supply our vegetable needs for the year, so this year I decided to expand. I had intended on doubling the plot to eight beds but somehow I have ended up with twelve. No harm, I thought – I’ll find something to plant in them. Selecting seeds to plant was, of course, the easy part. As we had fully rotavated the entire plot to expand the area, new beds needed to be built and then the earth painstakingly broken down and smoothed over, ready for planting. (From a body workout perspective I can confirm that hoeing and raking work on shoulders, arms and obliques. Remember to switch your leading arm from time to time for body balance.)
Two done, ten left to do.
My planting is now complete, save for one or two small corners. Here’s a full listed of what I’ve planted, including the varieties sown:
- Beetroot, candy cane – Chioggia
- Beetroot, golden – Boldor
- Beans, string green – Saxa
- Beans, string green – Ferrari
- Beans, string yellow – Tara
- Beans, string yellow – Blondor
- Beans, white – Unknown
- Beans, red spot – Borlotti
- Beans, large white – Cannellini
- Broccoli – Rumba F1
- Butternut Squash – Waltham Butternut
- Carrots – Nectar F1
- Carrots – Karlena
- Cauliflower – Nautilus F1
- Chillies – Cayenne
- Corn – Golden Bantam
- Courgette (zucchini) – Astra Polka
- Courgette (zucchini) – Cora F1
- Fennel – Fino
- Lettuce – Grand Rapids
- Lettuce – Saladin
- Lettuce – Merlot (Red)
- Lettuce – Merveille Des Quatres Saisons (Red)
- Melon – Jaune Canari 2
- Onions – Exhibition
- Onions – The Kelsae
- Onions – Unknown (from sets)
- Onion (Scallions) – Parade
- Radish – Duett
- Rocket – Olivetta
- Sage – Common Sage
- Sorrel – Lyonski
- Spinach – Monnopa
My greenhouse plants and herbs were listed in previous posts.
If everything I planted grows to plan I am going to have a very busy harvest and am going to need a bigger freezer!
Fennel plants, started indoors at the end of March, are doing great outdoors.
Early lettuce plants in the polytunnel
We had planted 6 new fruit trees (four varieties of apple and two sweet cherry) last autumn and they are doing well, although we don’t expect any fruit this year.
We have added to these a number of fruit bushes:
- Raspberries – Unknown
- Red currants – Jonkheer Van Tets
- Gooseberries – Hinnonmaki Red
We already have a number of established fruit trees and bushes – apple, pear, plum, damson, sweet cherry, sour cherry, red currants, black currants, gooseberries and rhubarb. All flowered well and we look set for a great crop this year. I see lots of delicious juice, wine, jams, sauces and relishes in my future!
My greenhouse crops are growing strongly. For some reason my cucumbers did not fare well initially and one eventually died, but the rest have recovered and are fruiting well. The plants are already up to the roof of the greenhouse! My tomatoes are also large. All flowered well and I have lots of fruit developing. My peppers and chillies are still small by comparison but again are flowering well and starting to produce fruit. So far I am happy with my seed selection and planting choices.
Weeding is just starting in earnest. I can never understand how the weeds grow faster than the plants. With twelve beds I’ll essentially be working my way through and then starting again, round in circles, for the rest of the season. (From a workout perspective, weeding works on stretching hamstrings and strengthening lower back, stomach and glutes.) Time to have another coffee, convince myself I’m not tired and get to it!
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Some wildflowers and wildlife in the garden
My Food Odyssey 
Very much impressed. Looking forward to your harvest with you. 🙂
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Everything looks great & healthy. Sounds like you are in awesome shape. And to think some people spend a ton of money on gym memberships 🙂
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If only more people knew, Amy – fresh veg AND a workout all rolled into one! 😉
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June,
I Skyped with family in Lazdininkai last night, and they suffered some damage to their (plastic) greenhouse, and it would seem that there was damage inland in Kaunas. I trust that all is well with you guys, and that you didn’t lose any of your greenhouse plantings !
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Hi Mike. We did have that storm here in our village and some trees came down (see photos in link below) but thankfully our polytunnel and garden were not damaged, other than a few leaves on my zucchini plants. The weather seems to have settled now again. Hope your family’s damage was not too extensive.
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Your produce pictures are beyond belief, super-spectacular! My organic produce is not so commercially attractive, having been nibbled by insects and whatever. Still tastes good, nutrient dense and a blessing! Oregon Vegetable Grower Lindy
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Thanks Lindy. Delighted you like the photos. I’ve been lucky with insects so far this year. Happy planting!
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This is stunning and uplifting and inspiring and I thank you. I’ve shared the post on FaceBook to give a similar great green vibe to my friends.
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Oh, thank you Osyth. That is really lovely to hear. I do fear that these posts about planting vegetables are boring as sin to people who don’t grow veg themselves, which is why I try to intersperse them with a bit of humour and some nice photos. Thank you so much for sharing on FB – that’s very much appreciated.
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Not boring honestly not a smidge 🙂
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Wow June that is hugely impressive! You obviously have a great talent. I can’t even keep my herbs alive. Does that mean you don’t have to buy fruit or veg at all?
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Thanks Donna! I don’t know about talented but I certainly work hard at it! The plan is to get to a stage where we don’t have to buy any fruit or veg, or very little at least. There are certain things we can’t grow, like citrus fruit, and some we don’t grow yet, like potatoes. I definitely think we will have enough fruit and juice to see us through to next summer but we may still need to supplement veg, depending on what does and doesn’t grow.
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I just had a look at your other posts and I think what you’re doing is great. It must be a real sense of achievement after all your hard work. I hope the crops are successful.
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Thanks Donna. I do remember a great sense of achievement when I finally got finished harvesting and processing everything last year. I was completely knackered, but a nice kind of knackered. Fingers crossed I get a good crop. 🙂
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Fantastic June (and Arunus no doubt!), Surely you can’t comsume all of those veg, herbs and fruit, as wonderful as they are, do you intend to go ‘commercial’?
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Thanks Gary! I know it sounds like a lot of veg, but if you consider that it needs to feed us for a whole year it’s not that much. Five portions a day for two people for 365 days is a lot of fruit and veg! Much of the fruit will be turned into wine and juice and more will be made into jams and sauces. I actually worry that we haven’t planted enough! We may have too much of some things, but I reckon we’ll end up trading for veg we didn’t grow (such as potatoes) rather than selling. We’ll see how it goes. It’s only my third year growing, though, so my hope at this stage is just that everything will grow!
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