New Year, new season

On Saturday 2nd March we will be at the Melton Road Market to take orders for this coming seasons BIG project (Bridgford Instant Gardening).

If you had a bed last year and want to renew your membership, please come to the market and pick up the laminated planting schedule and your first plant of the season; the strawberry plant.

Please bring £5 for this, to set you on the way to some home grown vegetables.

Once you are on the new list you will be contacted when the next pack of plants are ready.
They are being grown at my house on Musters Road and once ready to be transplanted, I will make sure you can buy them at an extremely reduced price at the Melton Road market. £30 for over 150 plants.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Last meal from my BIG bed - 5th February 2013

After a wet and cold winter (although we are still in the middle of it) I managed to harvest everything that was still in my BIG bed.

mini carrots (chardonay) were eaten with the leek soufle.
the red spring onions, leek and feta pasties weren't bad either.

The bed is not totally clear, it just has a few winter lettuces in it, which I expect to harvest in the next few weeks.

Will then sprinkle the bed with volcanic rock (which I bought from the Iona School in Sneinton) this is supposed to put replace  minerals that will have been taken up by the vegetables so we should be ready for an other great growing year ahead.

Last week I sowed the first tomatoes (yellow stuffer) and to my suprise the seedlings are already up!
Tomorrow, I will be sowing the first lot of mixed lettuces.
Hopefully they will be ready for the April Melton Road market.

June plants have arrived

Yesterday I went to the Melton Road 'market' where Audrey of Stonebridge City farm had put together the June pack of vegetable plants to be planted this month. Due to lack of space in her car she could not bring the french beans but they will come next week

I am not sure about the compost, a bit too woody for my liking but I will give it a go.
in the area where the carrots are to be sown, I have sifted out most of the wood so that it is a fine seed bed.

Had a little bit of trouble with little slugs attacking my basil. As I don't want to use chemicals, I will try to get enough crushed egg shells to go around the bed to deter the little naughty ones.

Claudia's inspirational garden

I am writing a little piece to go on to the garden at Taste on Clumber Road as we expect that their customers might be interested in knowing a bit more about square foot gardening.
looking for pictures I came across this website and thought you may like to see how Claudia did her gardening: WEBSITE

First Plants have arrived!

On the 5th May, Audrey came with a tray of little gem lettuces, a pot of leeks, red forest spring onions and some marigold.

Due to the small size of the Tomato plants and the bad weather forecast, Audrey had not brought with her the tomatoes, or bush beans.

I think next year the tender plants should all go in in June.

Little gem lettuces: 3 x 3 plants
Leeks 4 x 4 a little close but could work out OK, we need to see
spring onions: 4 x 4
Marigolds in the same square as where the tumbling tomato is going to go.
Have planted them in the inside of the square so that if the tomato wants to tumble over the edge the flowers won't be crushed

How to get your spacing right

Surfing the web I came across this video which could be helpful when you plant your plug plants in your bed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4pSkgyJfLE Just watch it this month that you don't put your frost tender plants like tomatoes, beans, courgettes, peppers etc out as they might be killed overnight if the temperatures drop and we get a ground frost.

Sally and Ed's Instant Garden in the making

Just received some nice pictures from Sally and Ed showing us the process of setting up the garden.