Harvested Cabbage from 2012

I've just been looking through my blog which I must say I have neglected over the last few months, due to my move and I've come across a few blogs I'd started, this being one.

Last year I grew my first ever batch of Cabbage and I'm happy to say that they turned out very well. I was a little reluctant as I did loose quiet a few in the first few months, but during the summer they came on leaps and bounds and I got four great heads of Cabbage to show for it.

These have since been chopped up, blanched and put in the freezer for when I need them. So far I've made Cabbage and leftover vegetable soup with one batch.

                                                        Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: 2012

                                                        Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: 2012

 

                                                       Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: 2012

Cabbage Growing Stronger

I may have had a few down turns with the Cabbage to begin with, I lost around 6 of my batch when they were first planted out, but they seem to going from strength to strength now.

                                                                  Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: April 2012

I have six plants growing away at the moment in two different spots on the balcony, some in a pot near the back, which I need to constantly water and a couple in the large tub hanging over the balcony, which get a lot of water from rainy May/June months we've currently having.

                                                                                   Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: June 2012

All doing well I'll have some great Cabbage to share with the family soon.

Re-potting in March: Part One

It was a little chilly and also a little rainy on Saturday, but I managed to pop onto the balcony and re-pot a few of my vegetables from the mini-greenhouse, which have been overwintering for a few months now and the Sweet Pea plants, which I've been growing in doors.

Last weekend I bought a new large pot with a lovely red flower design on it, which I filled with Grow Your Own Growbag compost from HomeBase, as this has up to 6 weeks feed within the soil and some water crystals. I planted the seven Sweet Pea plants that have grown to around 20cm tall, at the back of the pot supported by small canes and at the front of the pot I planted four of the thirteen Cabbage plants with collars, which have been overwintering in the mini-greenhouse.

                                                                                  Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: March 2012

                                                                                  Photo: Laura Lunt  Date March 2012

As for the rest of the Cabbage plants, these were re-planted in the long tube that recently held my herbs. Along with some of the old compost from the herbs, I added the last of the organic compost I had, mixing this together and then I added a top layer of the GYO Growbag compost, with some water crystals added for extra help with watering. The last nine cabbages were then planted around 10cm a part, with a Cabbage Collar added to each plant.

On the balcony itself, I re-potted the Carrots and Leeks, which have been slowly growing and again have been overwintering. The Leeks were separated and around 5-7 Leeks were added to each pot, as for the Carrots, these were carefully moved into larger, deeper pots for better growth, and all of these again contained the GYO Growbag compost and water crystals.

                                                                                  Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: March 2012

                                                                                  Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: March 2012

To help some of the other plants feed better, I also added a Miracle-Grow Controlled Release Tablet to each of the Garlic and Onion bags, as these will slowly feed the vegetables when they are watered for up to six months.

And all of the plants and vegetables on the balcony were then well watered.

The Big Winter Clean Up

The Big Winter clean up has been going on for a few weeks now; I've just about stripped the balcony of all the plants I have been growing. My handy new Secateurs and Pruning Knife have been put to some good use, during this time.

The first to go was the Baby Sweetcorn stalks; these did get pulled out as soon as the Sweetcorn was picked. Moneymaker and Gardeners Delight Tomato plants, which were starting to look a bit on the dead side, along with the Courgette plants were next, I only ever got one Courgette in the end, but next year I'll hopefully get a better crop. After that went the Aubergine plants, now they did flower a lot but much to my disappointment, no much else, like the Courgettes I will have another go next year.

                                                          Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: Oct 2011

Other things done during the clean up included, repotting the Strawberry Runners which are now snug in the Mini Greenhouse and also potting up the Serrano Chili plant and Pepper (sweet) plant that I had in a shared tub hanging over the balcony, hopefully once it gets colder I can take these indoors and try to keep these for next year. The Pepper (Sweet) plants still have peppers on, which are just starting to turn red.

And last but not least the Mini Greenhouse has also gone up and it's now outside, not only does it contain the potted Strawberry Runners, but I've also potted up some Cabbage and Carrot seeds. The whole place has had a bit of a clean and alls I have to do now is cover up the Strawberry hanging baskets and a few of the other plants with fleece and we are ready for the snow, that’s if we get any this winter.

Winter Veg - Arrived and Ready to Plant

All the Winter Vegetables I'm going to attempt to grow this year, have now arrived from Mr Fothergil's and as a little added bonus, they also sent me two free packets of seeds, which they do with every seed order, this is what I have:

                                                                       Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: Sept 2011

Early Purple Wright Garlic x2 buds
Radar Onion Sets x250g
Cabbage Advantage F1 Seeds x100

Free Seeds: Pepper (hot) Hotscotch & Mimulus (extra choice mixed)

I'm looking forward to planting these all out in the next couple of months, which will hopefully mean I'll have some great early Vegetables at the beginning of next Spring.

What to Grow over Winter?

Autumn / Winter growing has always been a mystery to me. I normally just leave the balcony bare and wait for February to come before planting seeds for the summer. But this year I have a few ideas about what to grow, normally I'm not a great Winter grower, but I've been researching some vegetables that can be grown over the Winter months, for early harvesting in May / June.

I decided on the selection of vegetables in the table above. For me Onions and Garlic were a must have, I've gone for Onion Radar Sets and Early Purple Wright Garlic Bulbs (soft neck), both easy to grow and won't bolt in the winter months, so I should get a good growth. It was pointed out to me that Onions can be planted in early March and still arrive June / July time, but I'd like to try these over winter and I will save some for planting in March just in case disaster strikes.

During my research I also found that Winter greens were good to plant, such as Spring Cabbage, Pak Choi and Leeks, now I'm a little late with the planting of my Elefant Leeks (this should have been done last month, as the packet states) but as I'm growing from seed in a propagator indoors, I'm hoping this will help give them a good start. The Pak Choi seeds, free from Garden Kitchen, have been planted straight outside and have replaced the earlier pulled carrots from their pot. These were just sprinkled into the pot, covered with a layer of compost and watered well. The Spring Cabbage I've gone for is Cabbage Advantage F1 seeds, these are good for planting all year around, from March to September, so I should be able to keep a very good supply going.

I also had some leftover Onion (Spring) White Lisbon Winter Hardy seeds, which can be planted up till September and will stand over winter so they can be used in Spring. The only thing left to sow in the propagator is of course the Carrots, I've opted for the Carrot Early Nantes 2 another variety that should have been sown in July, but fingers crossed, they should be fine in the propagator and hopefully I'll have some ready for Christmas time.

As I only have a small Balcony, I'm hoping this will be enough to see me through and keep me busy during the Autumn / Winter months and hopefully I'll have plenty to harvest, leading up to the Summer seed planting I'll begin in February.