The veggie patch is producing like mad now.

Posted on August 2, 2009 by daveyboi

A couple of weeks have past and I will try and bring you up to date with news from the veggie patch.

Monday 20th : A strange day as I have been banned from the main office for a few days due to swine flu being around the workplace. That is good for me as I can not get any more paperwork and projects dumped on me :) When I got home I picked about thirty pea pods for my evening meal. There is something therapeutic about shelling peas I find.  After the meal I decided to deal with the excess of courgettes and made a couple of jars of courgette and ginger jam. This nearly ended in disaster as it started to burn on the bottom but luckily it did not taint it at all.

Wednesday 22nd : I picked the last of the broad beans and a few peas that had appeared on the few early plants that had been over taken by the prolific crop on the gutter sown ones.

Friday 24th : A long weekend break! Friday and Monday off as holiday. Planned to do so much but not in the mood really. I cut the first cabbage and it is massive. I also received some  Whippersnapper tomato seeds from a friendly guy on Allotments 4 All website this is a heritage variety. Whippersnapper was commercially available until about 15 years ago, produces an abundance of attractive, small, oval, pinkish-red fruit. A very early variety, it is ideal for tubs and hanging baskets. I am hoping that next year I will be picking them by now.

Other than watering and a little weeding the rest of the weekend break was filled by shopping and my trip to Worthing and reading for a break from computing.

tomatoes_turning Thursday 30th : The sun has returned and a couple of the Bejbino Tomatoes have started ripening at last.

Looks like I will get some tomatoes this year after all.

The other two varieties are not yet showing signs of turning colour yet though.

Friday 31st : I finally ate the last of the cabbage I cut last Friday. It has been cabbage at least once daily for the whole week. I think coleslaw is the only thing I did not make in the end.

Saturday 1st : Picked the first of the runner beans and some carrots from the tub. Otherwise it was wet again.

Sunday 2nd : Sharpened an old pair of shears I found whilst sorting out the shed and trimmed the grass around the veggie patch. Also trimmed the hedge a little as well. Cut the tops off the potatoes in the blue barrel tubs and cleared the runners off the strawberry bed again.

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BBC NEWS | Education | Universities ‘fail on standards’

Posted on August 2, 2009 by daveyboi

You can tell the summer is here at last. The annual rubbishing of the exam results take to the headlines in the news yet again!

Each year the news finds ways of criticising the standards of the education of  the youth of today whether it be GCSE, A levels or University degrees.

These students have worked hard to obtain the grades they receive. One can not compare education of today directly with that of the past either as the world is changing all the time.

I have been following a few of the students that originally appeared on our TV screens back in 2003 in the series That’ll Teach ‘Em.  The series took some students that had just finished their GCSE exams and put them in a replica 1950’s school to take “O” level exams of the 50’s. The results were quite startling for those of us the actually took the “O” Levels. It really highlighted how things have changed over the years.

To get back to the issue I have watched how those students have progressed through the years following the series. Those that dropped out along the way and pursued other ways forward from the university route. Others who did not quite get the “A” levels results they required and had to take a year out to get into University. 

The amount of work they put in to get their degree. The endless hours of library research, the numerous essays, deadlines to be met and the need to get those elusive extra marks to get the first or 2:1 they wanted. The holidays spent working and then studying in evenings as well. I am not saying they did not also party and take part in the usual university activities and socialisation but work dam hard they did.

I had the privilege of reading the dissertation of one of the students and I found that the standard was exceptionally high. He was rewarded with a 2:1 which at the start of the final year was a borderline possibility.

Therefore do not take the headline grabbing falling standards as a true reflection on all Universities!

BBC NEWS | Education | Universities ‘fail on standards’

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My Annual Visit to Worthing Festival

Posted on July 26, 2009 by daveyboi

Today I paid what has become my annual visit to Worthing. Nothing like a day at the seaside normally and the past few years it has been scorching hot. However I was not so lucky this year as it started spitting with rain as I got near Worthing.

seagull

As I was sitting waiting for my friends to arrive outside the multi-story car park I  was joined by two seagulls!

The festival or to give it it’s correct name the Worthing Lions Festival is held around the last weekend in July each year. The main attractions are a big firework display on the Friday night, a market on the Saturday and on the Sunday a American Rod and Custom Car Show along with the Bus Rally. Other events also take place over the weekend including local charity stalls and fund raising and are all centred around a funfair.

worthing2009

For me the buses are the normal attraction but as we got near them it really started raining.

However I did manage to get a quick look around and this year there was many more buses present.

 

 

8859vr

AEC Regent V 8859 VR, that was operated by Mayne of Manchester. Built in 1964 by Neepsend Coachworks of Sheffield which built bodies to the East Lancashire Coachbuilders designs between 1964 and 1968.

 

 

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LRV 992 a 1956 Titan PD2/12 bus converted in the early 1970′s to open top with a Metro-Cammell-Weymann 59 seat conversion for Portsmouth Corporation.

Unfortunately the rest of the pictures were no good as rain got on the camera lens.

The day finished off with quality fish and chips eaten whilst watching the American cars leaving the show.

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Harvesting and rain is the current position.

Posted on July 19, 2009 by daveyboi

Still managing to keep up with eating the courgettes just. Also harvesting the broad beans, beetroot, lettuce and peas as required.

On Thursday we had a really heavy spell of rain which flooded the pots. The two with the latest sowings of spring onions and beetroot were the main disaster area. I rushed out and covered them up with the compost bin lids but the damage was already done I think.

The tomatoes still seem to be surviving in spite of the few leaves dying off so maybe I will get some this year. If only we could have a few days of sunshine to ripen the first ones quicker.

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Harvesting the container potatoes

Posted on July 12, 2009 by daveyboi

It has been a mixed weather week. A little cooler at last but still warm but with a fair few rain showers mixed in as well.

I picked some more broad beans during the week. On Saturday walking Laddie I found one ripe blackberry on the brambles so will not be long now before they start producing their wild crop again. This is about a week earlier than last year.

 

Today I decided to see how well the potatoes in the crate had done as they were starting to die back a little.

As you can see from the pictures the outcome of the crop.

They were planted on the 11th of April which is thirteen weeks ago.

I was surprised at how dry the compost was as it rained most of the day yesterday.

Full details of how they were planted can be found in the post here.

The actual yield was 5 1/2 pounds in total from the ten tubers. I did notice two things when harvesting of interest. Firstly the seed tubers were still reasonably hard and intact rather than rotting away and there were signs of more possible tubers that would of increased the yield if they had been left longer.

On a final note some of my tomato plant leaves have gone funny. I just hope it is something minor rather than lose the whole crop for a second year running.

I will let you know more on this in my next update.
I also had some broad beans and pulled some more beetroot.

more_beetroot

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crate_potatoes2
crate_potatoes4
crate_potatoes_crop
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Heat wave hits us and watering is the main pastime!

Posted on July 5, 2009 by daveyboi

On Monday I had a salad which included Lettuce, spring onions, beetroot and new potatoes from the veggie plot.

Tuesday evening I trimmed all the runners off the strawberries in the pots and removed some of the older leaves as well.

Thursday night we had a little thunder storm with about 30 minutes of heavy rain at last.

Friday I had the day off and cleared up the strawberry bed. I found quite a few strawberries in the process. I packed away the netting cage till next year.

broad_beans Saturday I made some strawberry jam from the strawberries I found on Friday. I got two jars and a little left over. I also picked some of the broad beans which have been ready for a week or so.

Still having to water a lot though.

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Cheeky Mouse adds insult to injury!

Posted on June 28, 2009 by daveyboi

On Monday I found seven strawberries ready to be picked that the mouse must of missed. However on Tuesday the cheeky mouse had found another ripe one and to add insult to injury had dragged it on top of the mouse trap to eat it!!

So if the mouse had found one I decided to search the strawberry patch better and found another 12 strawberries for myself. I also cut another 4 courgettes and gave one away to a friend who called by. I also dug the other row of potatoes and got a slightly better crop than from the the other row I dug a fortnight ago.

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Thursday I found another 19 strawberries so I have managed to get some after all this season.

The runner beans have flowers appearing as you might be able to make out in the picture. Also the peas that were planted out the other week from the gutters are growing like mad and started to flower already.

Friday it is starting to get very hot and humid as well and the forecast for the weekend is high humidity as well so I bought a little hand sprayer and when I got home sprayed the tomatoes with bordeaux mixture to be certain they will be safe if blight hits the potatoes.

Saturday I did hardly anything all day except try and stay cool and read a book while watching to see if I could catch Mr Mouse at the strawberries.

Sunday I got a text from blight watch with a warning of potential of blight. I am glad I sprayed the tomatoes now. The day was spent doing lots of little odd jobs. I planted out one of the courgette plants and most of the trial lettuce plants where the two rows of potatoes had been. Potted on the pepper plants and sowed another pot of boltardy beetroot and one of spring onions.

strawberry_crop

I also had another rummage around the strawberry bed and got another tub full of strawberries. I also cut one lettuce and two more courgettes and pulled some beetroot (first of the year). I also pulled the remaining few spring onions from last year’s late sowing.

 

tomatoes_setting

On a final note I found a couple of tomatoes have set on the bejbino cherry tomato plant. This variety is well ahead of the other two varieties I sowed so I am looking forward to see how it performs overall.

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The Produce is starting to arrive now.

Posted on June 24, 2009 by daveyboi

I missed my weekly update last week mainly because the main activities of sowing and planting out are nearly at an end for this season now. I have again decided against cropping through the winter in order to allow time to try and improve the soil and level the whole vegetable patch out better. At the moment there are sort of steps down to where I added the extra space in spring and now when watering it is mainly running down to the bottom of the patch.

So I will now give a quick run through of the notes in my diary.

Monday the 15th: Picked another courgette and noted three of the peppers I had sown have germinated.

Tuesday the 16th:Had another courgette and gave everything a good watering.

picked_gooseberries

Wednesday the 17th:

Pricked out the trial lettuce seed (which had had nearly 100% germination ) into individual pots.

I do make a note that they are not very strong in the stem.

Also I picked my first crop of gooseberries from the bush I planted a year ago.

Over the weekend I just watered and weeded and picked another courgette.

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First courgette ready!

Posted on June 14, 2009 by daveyboi

It has been a pretty quiet week this week. Nice weather has kept me watering and feeding the containers and the patch in general. Along with some weeding really makes up most of the week.courgette_ready

On Friday evening I decided that I would pick my first courgette. This is the first time I have grown them and although I did sow a couple last year which did not germinate I am really pleased with their progress this year.

On Saturday afternoon I decided to dig up the row of early potatoes that had given me a scare a few weeks ago of maybe having blight.

first_early_potatoes

Since then they have made little growth and started dying back completely. As you can see from the picture a pretty poor yield for ten plants.

One had been attacked by slugs and one had a couple of scabs on it but no other signs of disease.

I left them out in the sun to dry after washing them but when I came to bring them in about ten of them had disappeared! I really could not believe it until I remembered the picture I had taken and sat here in the evening matching the ones I had with the picture and confirmed my suspicions. Guess I better get a web cam or two setup to keep an eye on the rest of the veggies now.

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Pottering around the veggie patch

Posted on June 8, 2009 by daveyboi

With the start of June it is now a case of looking forward to some produce from the vegetable patch at last. On Monday I sowed some of the free trial lettuce seeds I had received with my seed order from D T Brown. It is a cos lettuce and is called Gelbus. I know it is late but I also sowed a few pepper seeds in pots to see if I have any better luck with germination now it is warmer.

courgette

Tuesday and the first courgette is in flower. I also notice something has been digging in the peas growing in the gutters.

On Wednesday the first of the dwarf french beans has germinated and been destroyed. When I was taking Laddie out for his midnight walk I caught sight of the culprit a mouse! strawberries_mouse

 

By the weekend I find most of my strawberries detached from the plants in the pots now I reckon this must be down to this mouse. Down to the garden center and get a mouse trap I think is the order of the day. As much as I would like to get mad at this mouse it is a trap that catches them live so I can move it on into the countryside.

peas_in_gutter_1

Over the weekend I side-shooted the tomatoes and put a first tie to the canes. I  also gave them a feed.

 

Black fly has just started to appear on the broad beans so removed the tips.

 

 

peas_in_gutter_2

I also topped up the compost in the potatoes growing in the half barrels.

That will be the last top up of the all the potatoes in containers now I think.

 

 

 

peas_in_gutter_3

I also planted out the peas I had grown in the gutters as you can see from the series of pictures.

I had a bit of a job sliding them into place but all seem to be doing well in the end just hope the mouse does not find them before the trap.

 

 

peas_in_gutter_4

The rest of the weekend I did little odds and sods like washing the used plant pots ready for next year and putting the cloche cover away after a clean up although I will probably put new polythene on it for next season.

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