Gardens and gardening 2025

  • 218 replies
  • 53 subscribers
  • 6386 views

Hi everyone, I used to post a lot in a previous Gardens etc until my wife was also diagnosed with cancer just over 2 years ago and she went through such a hard time so my time was taken up with not just Mrs Tvman but I was not good because of the rise and fall of red cells, white cells, neutrophils and platelets. 

The good news is that I have a little bit more free time to garden. I never stopped because it's in my DNA to get working in the garden. I'm also a wheelchair user because of a serious back condition called spinal stenosis and the pain is so great that I'm only able to work in short bursts.

So let's see photos of your gardens or allotments, whether they be large or small or maybe you only have room for pots and troughs in a balcony or back yard. 

My speciality for the last 40 years is vegetables and I have won hundreds of prizes over the last 20 years or so. I have had vegetables in show that have made me Northern Ireland champion for my sins. Unfortunately, since covid some shows have ceased therefore I haven't entered any for a few years. 

I've a few photos below, that's if I can remember how to insert them! It's been a while.

Below is a photo of the contents of my greenhouse, there are tomato plants left and right of the pathway. Also just past the tomatoes are cucumber plants against that have frames for them to climb up. The cucumber variety is Mini Munch, they're a small variety that are sufficient for a few salads 

The plants in the large pots below are aubergines, variety Black Beauty and inbetween the pots is a seed tray in which spring onion seeds have been sown which of course haven't germinated yet. Over here in Northern Ireland we call spring onions "scallions" and apart from in salads we have them with butter in mashed potatoes and that dish is called "champ". Believe it or not that was served as a stand alone dish that we had when I was small, some 60 years ago. Just mashed potatoes with small pieces of cut up scallions, cooked slowly in real butter then a dinner plate was loaded up with champ, a hole made in the top and filled with more butter then everything was mixed together and eaten. Along with an Ulster Fry in the morning, no wonder we had the highest rate of heart disease in Europe! 

Last photo below for this post is a bed of garlic (on the left), shallots in the foreground and at the far end for those of you eagle-eyed is a few red and white onions that are just 2 or 3 inches high. They are grown from onion sets that are small immature onions and usually come in a net bag weighing 250g and there are about 70 in total.

You'll notice that I have wire netting around the beds, that's because 3 years ago I had a rabbit problem. 35 years without them, 1½ years of rabbits and none since! The wire netting is staying for a while yet!

What about some photos from anyone else?

Tvman 

    1. Hi all, i am a proud first veg grower! I have returned from my travels to a successful crop. Very small scale but I planted a few pots when trying to occupy my time a little while ago. Strawberries, lettuce and radish good to go, peas I think need a little longer and hopefully tomatoes and beans to follow. I have sewn another batch of raddish and some spring onion. Is there anything else that a novice could try at the time of year?

    Many thanks

    Marie x

  • Hi Marie, and well done, they all look fab,  you've certainly got the gift. I would recommend some carrots, the stumpy ones, pak choi and chard which you should pick when it's under 6 inches, if you have any brassica seeds sow them quite densely,  an inch apart and pick them when small too 5 inches is enough. Good luck.

    Eddie xx 

  • Hi Marie, wow you've done really well there. What sort of beans are you growing now? Don't know if you like broad beans but it's not too late to sow some, also runner beans is a perfect choice and dwarf french beans too. It's not too late to sow peas for another crop. How about little turnips too? More cut and come again lettuce will give you fresh lettuce leaves right through to October/November. You'll still be able to get seed potatoes if you wanted to try them.

    Looks like you'd have the skills to attempt any of my previous suggestions and Eddie's also. It's still only May so the soil is nicely warmed up.

    Tvman 

    Love life and family.
  • Everything is coming along nicely apart from the kohlrabi (turnip cabbage?) which has just just shot up without actually forming the cabbage. Too much fertiliser? Any ideas?

    Patrick xx

  • Thank you Eddie, definitely beginners luck but I'm enjoying it. Thank you for your recommendations I'm popping to the garden centre tomorrow so will have a look for some more seeds. 

    Marie xx

  • Thank you tvman, I'm having a go at runner beans but they are looking a little feeble at the moment. I'll see what else I can find tomorrow,  grateful for the recommendations. The weather is still clear blue skys here, a lot colder but still no rain.

    Marie xx

  • Hi Patrick, I can offer no advice on your query but your photo looks fab to me.

    Marie xx

  • Hi Patrick, I only ever grew kohlrabi once, the hardier purple variety, but I was told to grow them like pak ckoi,  in the spring and autumn being best and never let the soil go dry. There's still plenty of time to sow more.

    Eddie xx