Monday 1 July 2024

🌿🌿Keep the Hoe Going ! 🌿🌿

 

                                        Sweet Peppers Corno di Toro Rosso

                  Will soon be ready . They need a little bit more sunshine .


        Cucumbers going crazy in the greenhouse ?         Let them ! 

They are on the Epiphyllum side of the greenhouse . The "safe "side .


Cucumbers hiding !  C. Beth Alpha and C. Femspot these varieties do best for me . 6"-7" lovely crisp , crunchy and  refreshing .

They do take a lot of watering mind ...even more than the tomatoes , but it is so worth it !


Noticed this shoot coming up through the bench  .


Looking down I see a tray of French Beans that I had forgotten about ! and......


.......... there are beans there ....already !

I will lift them all onto a tray under the greenhouse bench and dump some compost over their roots and just let them continue growing .  I have more on frames outside ....no need to disturb them .


Tomatoes  ..... need to take off a few of the lower leaves to let in some light .

I like them to grow as nature intended them to grow  , 8ft tall x 6ft wide , wild  and fully laden with fruit .  I don't pinch off all the side shoots  ..just one or two maybe and any yellowing leaves . 

I don't have any yellowing leaves just yet . 

I do allow them to scrabble about , but not so much as the Cucumbers, as on this side of the greenhouse are all the proper prickly cacti .  . . and I mean proper prickly . . . like dangerous . So I restrict them from growing too close to my cacti .


I haven't had much success growing tomatoes or cucumbers outside . I do this every year and this works for me .

A polytunnel would probably be the very best way to grow them , but I harvest enough for the two of us and the flavour is so much better than the supermarket can give you . Supermarket cucumbers taste horrible .....blurghk !

I'm feeding them now too . Every couple of weeks or so .


Outside the Runner-beans are really getting away now , winding themselves up the bamboo canes .

 
          It is lovely to hear the sound of happy bees .



I've been tidying up this bed . Weeding around the edges , before the grass begins to grow into the chicken wire .
 The french beans on the right are being so slow to get going , but when they do, the plant on the left hand side of the pic , should begin to flower to attract in the bees .


I can never remember , tell me , is this Oregano or Marjoram ? 
Anyway , the bees love it 🐝🐝🐝🐞🐝🐝🐝



My botanical brother reminds me "to keep the hoe going !"  and this is so true .



 Which do  you prefer ?  


A nice old vintage hoe . It's been kept beautifully sharpened !


                 It really cuts those weed seedlings down .


                               The Peas are still there .   🐁



   The retro hoe from the  70's . Never been sharpened . This hoe is good only if I've spaced things out properly ....which I don't usually do . 🌿🌿🫛Cramming in as much as I can like I do !  🌿🌿🌿


 Well , when I first saw this , I did think it was an expensive gimmicky thing ,and not sure whether to buy or not  but , as it turns out , this is the one for me !      Absolutely brilliant ! 

It gets in between the plants , the narrowest of gaps and easily sheers off the weeds .

                                  🌿🩷      I am in love with this hoe !   🩷🌿

   No-one is allowed to touch this hoe . This especially applies to my husband who has a tendency to use a tool for the wrong job .

                                                             MINE !


He's busy making another bonfire at the moment  .



The African Keyhole bed is looking more and more lush every day . There is another bed beside this one which I didn't get round to planting up and it has become absolutely riddled with weeds and stuff .


                                                 Nightmare ! 
We should really have a bonfire here to clear it , but can't at the moment because on one side it is too close to the African Keyhole Bed and on the other side are my lovely Black currants bushes .


   And that , my lovelies , is my next job !   Mmmmmm....... black currant crumble and cream  .

                                                        🌿🩷🌿

                      











2 comments:

  1. Your garden is looking good, my runner beans are a poor show this year. I've been busy netting everywhere, bloody pigeons, trample and nibble everything.

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  2. I use the Dutch hoe most but Martyn prefers the claw tool. Our blackcurrant bushes need a serious sort out.

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