A lesson learned. This year, I decided to reduce the use of plastics in the tomato greenhouse by using ordinary garden string to support the plants, rather than the plastic string I have used in previous years. What I do is to tie the string through the holes I have made in the bottom of…… Continue reading Collapsing Tomato Plants
Category: GrowHome
2024 – Preparing for a Glut of some vegetables
As I’ve said before, this year has been strange. The cool start to the season meant that many things didn’t germinate when I expected them to (in fact there’s been poor germination throughout). The result was that I sowed some things again and I ended up with more plants than I expected. The second issue…… Continue reading 2024 – Preparing for a Glut of some vegetables
What to do about Moles
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I’d got some molehills in my vegetable bed. Our garden backs on to some fields and, in the past, we’ve had moles at the border between our garden and the fields and (occasionally) coming down the hedge between us and our next door neighbour. However, this is…… Continue reading What to do about Moles
Apple Harvest, Wildlife & Raspberry Pi
A mix of news in this post, some interesting and some not so interesting. Starting with the interesting. We’ve had (what seems like) an increase in the number of Red Admiral butterflies this year and, looking around the web, it seems this is a by-product of global warming (see its not all bad). Red Admiral…… Continue reading Apple Harvest, Wildlife & Raspberry Pi
2023: A Slower year for tomatoes
Every year, I try to keep a record of how my tomatoes (and other vegetable & fruit) are harvesting. Its interesting how each year is different. 2023 has been slow for tomatoes and, as I’ve said elsewhere, the tomatoes are ripening unevenly with greenback on many cultivars. So far (24th August) we’ve had around 12kg…… Continue reading 2023: A Slower year for tomatoes
How Much is Growing Your Own Worth?
We grow our own. Not on a large scale and certainly not enough to be self sufficient. Its essentially something to keep me occupied and for fun. However, I’ve always kept a record of what we harvest and tried to assign a value to that. My better half (frequently) gets cross because when there’s a…… Continue reading How Much is Growing Your Own Worth?
Tomato Seed Collection (2023)
Every year I collect tomato seeds for a number of reasons. Its simple to do and means that you only have to buy tomato seeds if you want to (my main reason to buy seeds is to increase the number of varieties I’ve grown in my effort to find the “best” range of tomatoes. Summer…… Continue reading Tomato Seed Collection (2023)
2023 – First Tomatoes
We were so excited when we finally harvested our very first batch of tomatoes this week. It was such a rewarding moment. There weren’t that many, just a handful, but it still felt like a significant accomplishment. Surprisingly, they ripened a bit earlier than we anticipated. It’s interesting how nature sometimes works in mysterious ways,…… Continue reading 2023 – First Tomatoes
June 2023 – How things are progressing
Until now, June has been hot & dry meaning that the tomato plants in the greenhouses have got away well. Most plants have now got fruit set and, my guess is, we will start to see fruit ripening over the next few weeks (my records show that we get ripe fruit starting mid-July). The dry…… Continue reading June 2023 – How things are progressing
Tomatoes in Pots – 2023
A little early this year, I’ve potted up my tomatoes into their final pots. I grow my tomatoes in what’s known as “Morrison’s Flower Buckets (MFB’S)”. MFB’S are sold cheaply and, with holes punched through the bottom, they seem to be an ideal size. The benefit of growing them in individual pots is that there’s…… Continue reading Tomatoes in Pots – 2023