late, first pick of the year

It's the first pick of the year albeit a small pick 290g  just big enough for a small feed for the tomorrow evenings meal.  My first attempt in just over forty years.  This year is a pure experiment these runner bean plants were purchased from the local garden centre rather late in the season as I never had any bean seeds of my own...

After getting the garden back to somewhere near normal the removal of a very large hedge,  the construction of the new fence and the building of our conservatory we decided to go totally Organic. We have lived here for nearly seventeen years with no chemical being used in the garden in that time and with out growing any vegetable at all.

Now that we are organic we decided to grow only a few vegetables this year to start with without the use of any chemicals to make the plants produce more the only water used was from water butts no water at all from a hosepipe, to see what the ground could yield.

As can be seen, the ground has produced a good healthy plant, plenty of flowers still left to turn into bean pods,  hmm but very late in the season,   I do hope not to late in the season to give good fruiting results.

I have noticed a neighbour several doors up the road also has runner beans in flower at about the same stage as mine perhaps it is a late-season this year and the bean is not too late to produce a good crop.

Time will tell on that one   I suppose as the season progresses.

yet again more herbs

Well, it started this week with transplanting my coriander seedling. The results it is still a little early to criticise they don't look like there going to make it but, let us wait and see.

Out and about looking for Lemon verbena plants, we found a couple of plants but their sort of end of season conditions, but that doesn't matter as were not expecting to get any use out of these plants this year, give it chance to get established ready for next year with all new growth.

Seen here with the two remaining honeysuckles we bought last week,  we have decided to pot grow these as well still awaiting a pot that why we were out searching the garden centres looking for the right sized pot to house both of them in one container.

Lemon verbena on the left the others honeysuckles. While we looked for the right size pots, we found some lovely young  Basil seedlings.

My two previous attempts to grow Basil from seeds failed miserably. I  bought two small trays, this started me potting and planting, Not just the Basil seedling but,  I also cut a load of rosemary cutting for next years plants and potted and planted both on at the same time.

 These are to be grown on as Indoor pot plants.

These  I will grow on Outdoors to be transplanted later to the garden once established in early spring next year.



My present rosemary plant is getting a little big in its current position. While we are sitting in the garden, it blocks a good view of the lovely roses behind it, so before I rip out the old plant, I have taken a load of new cuttings which I want to get established before I do so.

pink roses on the left, red roses directly  behind

last week-this week

Nice increase in size for weeks watering we have had some heavy rain this week on the days we didn't  I only use rainwater from my water butts, no chemicals used or liquid feeds, purely Organic. 

last week

this week