Category: Blog

End of the Tomato Season

OK, so that’s it, the season has ended. The last of the tomatoes were picked yesterday, the plants removed and today was spent tidying and sweeping to make sure that everything is neat and tidy for the winter. The total crop wasn’t that large (about 40kg) from about 30 different cultivars. I didn’t spend as…… Continue reading End of the Tomato Season

2018 – Mid September Update

Greenhouse 1 Greenhouse 2 So, here we are in the middle of September, the days are beginning to get shorter and (this year at least) the tomatoes are starting to slow down. So far may greenhouses have produced about 26kg of tomatoes, a mixture of all sorts and colours and I’ve been reasonably pleased. Many…… Continue reading 2018 – Mid September Update

2018 Update

Simple announcement, I’ve now updated the list of tomato cultivars to include those I’ve grown in 2018. That brings to 161 the number listed. 2018 has been a somewhat peculiar year, the tomatoes are early because of the weather. Which is probably a good job because I didn’t do much in the way of thinning…… Continue reading 2018 Update

Polytunnel Vegetables

  We’re now into late May so the polytunnel is beginning to get planted up. Up until now, its been providing us with lettuces and swiss chard but the swiss chard is coming to an end so now the summer vegetables get added. I’ve decided to follow through with similar planting to last year, Dwarf…… Continue reading Polytunnel Vegetables

Bokashi Composting

I stumbled across this the other day. It’s an informative podcast about Bokashi Composting and it reminded me that I need to start my Bokashi up again. For those (many) of you who haven’t heard of Bokashi Composting, it’s an Asian technique re-introduced in the early 1980s which uses a starter inoculated with microbes to start…… Continue reading Bokashi Composting

The Weather is improving

The weather gods must have been listening when I last posted, the weather has improved (somewhat) and we’re now back to what I would expect to be getting in April (showers and sunshine). So spring has come with a rush and we’ve got peculiar combinations of plants in flower in the garden at the same…… Continue reading The Weather is improving

When should I sow my Tomato Seeds?

I ask myself this question every year. The seed packets say “sow in late winter” (when’s that?) or “late January to March” (more understandable) and, in different years, I’ve tried sowing from early January through until early April. I think the answer depends upon a lot of variables some of which you can control and…… Continue reading When should I sow my Tomato Seeds?

Starting the Year

Right, first day this year when the weather seems to have been good enough to think about being out in the garden. The ground seems to have been so soggy this year that walking around will do the grass harm and there’s no point in digging the ground as it will be in clods and…… Continue reading Starting the Year

Can a Waterbutt of water affect the temperature in a Polytunnel?

I’ve seen a number of discussions as to whether putting a waterbutt filled with water in the polytunnel would help to avoid frosts and (possibly) encourage earlier growth by raising the average temperature in the polytunnel. Whilst there was a general opinion that it would help, I had a feeling that any improvement would be…… Continue reading Can a Waterbutt of water affect the temperature in a Polytunnel?