Earthing up Potatoes plus flowers and outside progress

As mentioned in my last blog post the Potatoes have grown really well and had actually started falling over out of the bags...

I have today got round to filling the remainder of each bag up with compost and standing them up a bit prouder:

The falling down Potatoes. One thing I really do wish I had done is make the wooden Potato planter idea which I have linked to elsewhere and, when I get a chance, will look up the link and put it here. They have grown so well it would have been nice to have been able to care for them a little more as these little bags really are NOT big enough at all.

This is one of the Potato plants (not sure which variety) which has been lifted and supported better by the addition of more soil around it. Hopefully this will also fill with Potatoes.

Whilst I was outside I took a few progress pictures; this is the Foxglove which is looking like at least one of the plants has survived; it will not grow fast enough for me to see a result however I think I have learned a bit and will be planting many of these in my next garden.

This is the bed with the Coriander in it, with the shop bought one clear at the front, and the stringy seed grown plants looking wind blown, but if you look closely showing signs of green returning to them. I am confident these will now take and provide herbs next year.

This slightly blurry picture is the Chives which have definitely taken and will now probably go mad like the ones before at my old garden.

Finally for this brief update I have got flowers on my Begonias which are on my bedroom windowsill right next to my head as I sleep so I am now getting some nice whiffs off them (which makes a difference, in my bedroom I can tell you...)

This Begonia just has one flower on it but it is very pretty indeed.

This one is slightly larger and is covered in flowers. I hope that these will live for more than one year; it would be nice to have these every year.

Anyway, that's me for today.

Keep growing, keep reading

A ton of soil is a LOT of soil

The potatoes have, as previously described, been growing too fast for me to cover them up using soil dug out of other parts in my garden so I decided to get myself a ton of topsoil to sidestep the problem.

This was delivered yesterday and wow a ton of soil is a lot.

The soil ready for moving to the potatoes.

I bought this soil from Springbridge: the link is here. This was a VERY easy transaction, and their delivery driver dropped it off exactly where requested on the form, despite the fact I was at work when it was delivered.

So, with the soil delivered all I had to do was cart it down the garden to the potatoes.

It took six or seven loads of the wheelbarrow to cover everything to my satisfaction

The potatoes in the car tyres are doing really well, I'm now up to five tyres high!

This is the main bed potatoes, before I covered them...

... and this is after.

Now I have a little bit of very good advice: If I were to grow potatoes again I would do them ALL in the tyres (or the clever wooden frame linked elsewhere on this site) as it is proving a COMPLETE pain in the rear to earth up these main beds.  I have heard someone saying you can also grow the potatoes length ways, by leaning the plants over as you earth up; obviously most of my plants I can't do that with as they're planted closely together but that could be another option; plant each seed potato at the head of a defined trench (between retaining walls) and every now and then lean it over GENTLY and earth it over, guiding it down the prepared trench.

Anyone with any additional thoughts on this please do contribute :)

Finally, a few more pictures of flowers around the garden that I took this morning before leaving for work.

 A potato flower :)

 A rose - gorgeous

 The bush with the above rose on it

Blackberry blossom :)

right, enjoy :) that's my lunch time done with..

Earthing potatoes, and lots of progress

So I was whinged at at work today because there was no blog last night so I'm here again with a super update for you.

Bear with me, this is VERY long update, but I hope you think it's worth it.

First of all, I have just finished properly earthing up my potatoes, both by filling in the ones in the tyre, and bringing in some earth from elsewhere in the garden and doing the main bed potatoes.

Me and my big belly doing the earthing up of the main bed potatoes

Both tyres are now full of earth, and I am going to add the third tyre in the next few days.

The potatoes are looking REALLY strong (particularly the ones in the tyre) so I'm really hopeful for a good crop.

I've no idea how to know when to start harvesting though (a theme that is going to go through this whole post).

I also cut the grass today and I've started an "open compost heap" as my contained heap is REALLY close to full.

I am covering it with the tarpaulin in the background, and turning it regularly.

I now have a large number of progress photographs for you lucky, lucky people.

There are some exciting things actually :)

Stuttgarter Giant Onions (any hints on when I'll know these are ready to harvest?)

Karmen Red Onions (as above, hints on harvesting tells would be very useful)

Red Sun Shallots (ditto for harvesting clues)

Casablanca Garlic (the leaves are starting to go brown; does this indicate anything?)

My housemate today took a little leaf from the garlic and onion and proclaimed the flavour "gorgeous" so that is very promising for the taste of the bulbs....

The cabbage coming on nicely underneath the bird-protection-netting.

Parnsips showing well; I have about 5 or 6 lines like this one :)

Carrots also coming through in clumps; I must not have sowed these very well ;)

A very bad photograph of an apple that is growing at the base of one of the flowers on the apple tree :) YAY!

Chives, with one fully open flower (and others on their way)

Corriander growing upwards; it is interesting cos our plant from last year grow outwards more...

Parsley. This week we cut enough off this to put into eight bags and gave them away to people at work :)

Some of my tomatoes that I am keeping outside at the moment, doing very well.

The tomatoes that I am keeping inside; again looking healthy. I have a LARGE number still to give away (I've given away 24 already, and have orders for another 13 so operation Give-Away-The-Tomato-Plant-Seedlings is going very well)

The peppers, coming on well with 6 different seedlings now obvious.

The chilli plants. And yes I am VERY jealous of Jon's which are apparently about a foot high now. gutted.

The sweetcorn; I reckon this will be good to go out this weekend! Outstanding!

Greek Basil, bought by my girlfriend and being kept in the Kitchen windowsill  herb garden

The Kitchen windowsill herb garden; nothing showing yet, but still I wanted a picture.

So the only two things at the moment which are not showing are the Mint and the Spring Onions.

I have been asked a LOT over the last couple of days (for obvious reasons) for my hints and tips for growing tomatoes so *drum roll* here they are (please do feel free to correct me, or suggest more for this section:

• Water them regularly; they are thirsty
• Do not put them where they will be subjected to direct sunlight for hour after hour; this will burn them. They like sunlight, but also like shade
• If they do get burned (see earlier blog) then remove the effected leaves; this seems to help (I do not know why)

That is the sum total of my "what do I do with these tomato seedlings you just gave me?" responses :)

So, if anyone can advise me on more tomato care, or indeed on the "when do I harvest these onions/shallots/garlic", I would be most grateful.

Thanks for reading this stupendously long blog entry.