Bean transport ... hopefully they survive a ride, they're a little "leggy" and are going to need some support in the ground I reckon (especially on this windy day!) This is half aquadulce broad beans and half vespa field beans. And it's about time I got a second sowing in.
Pondering seed saving: do I need to worry that field beans and broad beans might cross-polinate?
@kellyromanych Alt text for scents is next level. #growyourown.
After several weeks work the new alotment polytunnel is finished with planters and pots ready to plant seeds #growyourown #allotment #ukallotment #plants
Job I've been meaning to do for about a week... parsnip seeds spread out on damp paper. Trying this method for the first time.
What other seeds do people try pre-germinating before planting in the ground or modules?
@Hellybootwader The leeks are looking really good.
I have a load of babington’s leeks doing well with no sign of allium leaf miner damage over the year.
The daubenton’s panache has overwintered well too after being protected since autumn.
Turkish rocket and Siberian purslane are perennial veg winners here too. #PerennialVegetables #GrowYourOwn
Mission accomplished. Grateful for friends who are coffee roasters.
Insulated bottom and top with bedding straw. Basically as cozy as a potato can get.
Spoons be damned, the Haida potatoes are going in the ground (well, bags) today, because for Gus they have become an undying obsession. He truly believes they are his potatoes and how dare we interfere in their destiny. No other potatoes will suffice. Their little eyes are fully budded, and I don't see any more sub zero temps, so today will have to be the day. Granted, I understand his obsession, though mine has less to do with them looking like mouse sized party favours.
Ah, so Just Seed are one of those examples of something that comes up on Evilzon a lot but in fact you're actually better off going direct to their own website. (Note I speak from being in the UK here!)
I use Just Seed because they're the only place I've managed to source a "correct" form of Japanese green shiso (perilla) from. Everywhere else has the less-frilly large leaved Korean variety. Shiso seeds have a short viability so our 2 year old packet seems to be kaput, so time for some new ones (and we should remember to gather our own seed, much like with parsley our best shiso crops have been once that self-seeded, unlike the parsley unfortunately that hasn't sustained itself year on year... not sure why.)
Righty, got a bit distracted by yesterday evening's happenings which derailed me from the old tomato planting task... have caught up on that now ... so that's 10 varieties of cordon tomatoes sown, plus two varieties of tomatillo, and some cape gooseberries.
Now tucked up in the "hotfridge" for speedy germination.
First beets are up! and some different color radishes that should be the Black Spanish.
Commercial compost sieved and microwaved ready for getting the tomato seeds in, just waiting for it to cool down now. Should hopefully be some excess for other seed planting, trying to catch up a bit. I only really bother to sterilise compost for the hot germinated plants, it seems to prevent mould and algae formation, and prevent "damping off" issues which I've experienced before. The seedlings grow strong and are then potted on to non-sterile soil, which includes some vermicompost if I can manage it.
Lots of greens to eat atm after being away last week. Spinach, kale, chard, many lettuces, parsley, and a Snowball cauli on its way. Have wong bok, DePurple cauliflowers, purple kale and korean mint as seedlings atm too
Pineapple update: the baby pineapple continues to grow and is looking more like an actual pineapple, day by day. Watching it grow just delights me! But it's also a lesson in patience, since a pineapple fruit takes six months to mature.
Basil is looking good, I've kept a loose cover over it so it's not drying out fast. Peppers are starting to grow fast with roots seen in the smaller pots and the latest transplants in the big pots aren't dying so maybe not over fertilized but we'll see.
Some nettle fermented plant juice in the making next to some seed sprouts in the growing. #GrowYourOwn #Ferments #Gardening
#GrapeSaga #GrapesOfWrath #VinegarSaga
I also managed to strain the vinegar today - it looks good without all the must in it. It tastes like sweet vinegar, quite nice. And has lost all the alcoholic aromas. 1.5L which is what I predicted.
Fingers crossed that all goes well. Another 1-2 weeks of stirring each day.
Plus.... You know I sometimes lose things, right? (eg dehydrator trays). When I started the vinegar ferment I cut up an old but still wearable tshirt top to cover the jar, as this ferment needs to have access to oxygen. I cut out 2 pieces. Last time I changed them over I washed the first and put it away carefully in a spot I'd remember.
Famous last words.... I can't find it for love or money. 
The first nettle harvest of the year. Nettle soup will be on tomorrow’s menu and I’ll start making some nettle fermented plant juice too.
Good food for us and good food for the plants.
Nettles are a great addition to a compost heap too. #GrowYourOwn #Allotment #Gardening
March 23, 2025. The baked custard is hot, hot, hot. The apples, rhubarb, and duck eggs are from right here. We are fortunate. The rhubarb plants are still hibernating and none of the bulb plants are up yet. Baking with colorful rhubarb is the answer. #minnesota, #growyourown, #rhubarb, #gardening.
Weather just got more and more rubbish through the day... so ended up doing an 8 hour shift of potting on and seed sowing!
That's 74 #chillies potted on, across 26 varieties!!
We'd better get cracking with finishing that #allotment greenhouse build, the polytunnel isn't going to be enough this year.
I've pricked out overgrown lettuces and badly etiolated chard, did the best I can with them. It's not something we need loads of though, hopefully some will make it.
Did some multisown mixed radish and four varieties of beetroot.
In the flower department: swan river daisy, "black" hollyhocks, chamomile from tea bags, and tobacco.
Plus herbs: 4 varieties of basil, and some old shiso seed which may or may not be viable!
And have popped this year's tomatoes and tomatillos into chamomile, they'll go in soil tomorrow (? maybe, lol.)
RIP my snakes. Just kidding, it was potato-planting day. Trying Princess La Ratte (nutty fingerling) and Carla Rosa ("hardworking") this year. #GrowYourOwn #garden #gardening #allotment #potatoes #solanum
