Growing veg

This year, more than ever, growing our own veg is really important. The three of us sharing an allotment plot, each had a veg plant box, before the lock-down and have since decided that there are enough plants to put some in our own garden plots and some in the allotment plot.

Added to that we had harvested beans from last year’s bean plants and have planted them in starter pots. We also have seeds from mail order to plant straight into the ground.

We had given up growing broccoli in our garden because we were put off by the amount of caterpillars that would be on them. At the allotment, last year, we netted them to keep the butterflies off of them therefore keeping them free of caterpillars.

This year my husband has built a frame from bits of wood and netting left over from the allotment so that we can grow them in the garden again.

Broccoli frame
Frame open
Inside the frame

This gave my husband another project to occupy him and the hinges and handle were in the shed in his “may come in handy one day” collection so this cost nothing.

I couldn’t resist a photo of the germinating beans as I love the way the potting soil rises like a cake in the oven as the bean sprout pushes it’s way through.

Beans at different stages of growth

We will be giving any spare plants to our neighbours too. Hopefully this will be a productive year for both the garden and the allotment plot.

I wrote the post above yesterday and today a runner bean has pushed through causing me to realise that the photo above is actually a sunflower.

Sunflower on the left and runner bean on the right

I thought I had better show the correction, for the knowledgeable among you, who would have picked up on my mistake. We had forgotten that there were a few sunflower seeds in the mix of collected seeds.

I am amazed how quickly this runner bean has come through and opened it’s first leaves. I am sure there will be many more over the coming days.

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4 Responses to Growing veg

  1. david says:

    I wish you the bestof luck with all your vegetables: certainly, the broccoli is well protected!

    • Carol says:

      I had been put off growing broccoli because of the caterpillars. The first pickings used to be great then the caterpillars would be all over it. I would wash and inspect thoroughly and then in the pan of boiling water caterpillars would float to the surface and it put me off and the rest of the broccoli went to the girls instead of us. The frame has meant that we can look forward to harvesting broccoli again. It is a veg that you can pick and it keeps on sprouting again so I am looking forward to plenty of it this year and the frame can be used every year from now on.

  2. marion says:

    It all looks good and heathy plants, I set 16 trays of 5 beans, when they came through
    put them out for sale saying they had to be looked after, to put them out in the day, and bring them in at night,I have never tried this before, I sold all 16 trays in 1 and a half days, and now have people knocking on the door, to ask if I will have more, so have now set another 30 trays. I have also done the same with courgettes, sold all my 1st lot, and have set more. Look very good, what Richard have built for your greens. Sure you will have a good crop now.

    • Carol says:

      You are doing really well with selling your plants. We will have plenty to give the neighbours some which is good while we are locked in and plenty of veg for ourselves too.

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