Garden 2006 Growin'

Thought I would make a thread of what is growing in my garden this year. I have some petunias, sunflowers, opium poppies, and some that I forgot the name of but have some pretty flowers.

This garden is in the UK and most the seeds were planted in propogators around april time. I have some recent photos of how they are all doing which I will add later.

Happy gardening,

Silvine

 

sunflowers



petunias



group shot of some unknowns



opium poppies

 

The soil used is from last year when we had some tomatos. You can see in the group photo the seedlings are suffering from potassium and magnesium deficiency.

I guess I should have mixed in some organic stuff with the dirt before this season but I forgot. I am thinking of transplanting these babies outside when they root through the pots.

The sunflowers are pretty rough because we have a lot of rain recently and they been attacked by a slug I guess. Bit of black rot around the leaf edges where they brush up against each other. The plan was to have a few sunflowers in one pot to keep them small.

Had some problems with the opium poppies. In the green house I only have two left. I did have a propogator with 40 plug holes pretty much full of the poppies but one hot day they all wilted leaving just two. There are some in the garden (I planted 6000 poppy seeds in all) but they died off for what ever reason, prolly slugs. I am thinking of buying some more seed to sow over winter so they get a better start next year as I really like this variety of opium poppy. I want a garden full of these poppies!

It is still early in the season and I take photos twice a month at most so this thread will not be updated for a while. I also have some 'egg plant' (quite a few) in the garden already planted out.

I am thinking of using miricle grow chemical fertiliser with the ones in the pots to help them with their deficiencies as they are not going to be eaten. I prefer organic gardening with stuff like tomatos though.

It has not been the best start to the season here in the UK with only one or two sunny days so far and mostly rain.

I used to cultivate cannabis since '98 to '05 pretty much all the time indoors getting 3 to 4 harvests a year each year with out fail. But since getting busted too many times I decided to continue cultivating but flowers and stuff, not cannabis. Prolly this is why I have opium poppies in my garden which is perfectly legal in the UK.

I have quit drugs btw...No longer do I take charlie or ganja, 'phet...just sticking to spiritual enlightenment with magic mushrooms!

Okies - have a good one and I will keep posting as the year goes on to show you the fruit of my labours.

 

Nice

My husband and I live in the house that my inlaws lived in for 40 years. We have a lot of flowers popping up again that they planted 3 years ago, all kinds, and are becoming a bit overwhelming. So, a lot of those flowers (3/4 of them, actually) have been dug up and sent to either my inlaw's new place, to my sister in law's, or to my uncle's. We've replaced the empty space with tomato and cucumber plants, beans of all kinds, hot pepper plants, and a multitude of herbs.

 

Beautiful

 

Thanks for the messages. I hope you enjoy this photo diary - I will try and update at least once a month.

Although the opium poppies were planted late it does mention they bloom july to september so perhaps there is enough time for them to flower.

Also, I am unsure but I think I have some very pretty F1 white and pink flowers and hopefully these will show this year.

Oh, cerridwen - we had tomatos in the greenhouse last year. They became very lanky but produced some good fruit. My neighbour at the time had a very tiny tomato plant in a small pot not much bigger than the size of a clenched fist. It had many tomatos on it - may be more than our lanky variety

I guess there is a trick to growing tomatos and if I remember correctly there was a young boy 12 years old or so some years back in the UK that got the world record for having the most tomatos on a single plant - the plant had around 500 or 600 tomatos!

I think we were lucky to get close to 30 on ours

Good luck with the garden and I hope you follow this thread as gardening makes me very happy and to share it with you also makes me happy.

Silvine

 

Its just finally now warm enough to start planting a garden here.
planted potatoes and corn and peas and beans last week. Just putting the tomatos and other bedding type plants in this weekend.

I tried something different with my tomatos this year, supposedly they grow better/faster with red plastic mulch under them, so I'm trying it.. I have such a short growing season
although the camomile is just now starting to flower

(and the flax and strawberries tho I dont have a pic)

 

Sorsha,

Welcome aboard!

Keep us updated or at least post some harvest shots - it's cool to see how every thing grows all over the world

The red mulch with the tomatos is some thing I have not heard before - I'd like to see how it goes. Also, we used to have a patch of strawberries come up every year - it was only last year we decided to move them in to containers. There is nothing better tasting than homegrown fruit and veg

Good luck,

Silvine

 

It seems to work. My own tests have comfirmed clinical trials, 10 - 12 % over all better plant. The kelp added to the compost plus the red plastic is over all (for me) almost a 27% improvement over those planted in just the compost, with pine straw mulch. Plus they were much more drought tolerant and they can stand a light frost.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

Heres some photos of my garden.




These were all taken on May 5th so the onions are much much bigger now! Theres peas going in the other two patches within a week or so aswell.


Thats a view from the upstairs window.


Raised beds I made. Right now there full with lettuces, onions, and herbs.

 

no pics of my garden til i get it all retilled n replanted...... long story short, large amounts of water for lengthy periods is not good for seeds... so the few that did grow but all out of order are being transplanted this weekend and the last of my tomatoes will be put in the ground as well.....

also have potatoes in and they are doing well,,, corn and okra are up too..

 

1 June 2006

Egg Plant:



Opium Poppy



Sunflowers

 

Unknowns

 

Silvine-
On the second picture of your unknowns, the plants with the rosy ring? Those are geraniums. I used to work with them all the time. The other plant in the picture looks like a violet of some sort. The others, I have no clue...

 

Hi Shambhala,

I was hoping some one could ID them I had some packs of seed from the last two years that I planted - but the packs got threw away!

I remember one may be pink flowers:

EDIT: Yes - after googling geraniums these are the ones with white flowers with pink centers - very pretty.

Also, are they supposed to have the rosy ring or is it a nutrient deficiency?

Silvine

 

Such beautiful green, healthy plants!

 

The rosy ring is decorative, on some geraniums but not others. Not a nutrient deficiency, dont worry if its more pronounced on some plants than others.

 

Peruvian Torch and five 3cm Peyote



ps. Thanks for the tips Sorsha

 

Update: Some are forming buds

Petunias, Egg plant, one unknown - planted up in garden...



Sunflowers - also forming buds



Geraniums - planted out as greenhouse way too hot for them now



Opium Poppies - transplanted up, still in greenhouse

 

One unknown - suspected vine forming buds



Psychedelic cactus group shot



Did have three of these - two were planted outside and disappeared overnight

This one stays in the greenhouse - does not seem to mind the heat



Non-psychedelic cactus cuttings