Morning Light: The Fetchland Gardening Wire

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Rosehip Jul 2022 8:15pm, 18 Jul 2022 25,829 posts	0 Rosehip I have emptied 3 250(ish) litre water buts and the slimline 120l one. Got the hosepipe out last night to water the veg and gave everything a good soaking 9pm ma ddirected at roots - and also sprayed the runner beans to help set the flowers and wash off some of the blackfly. Everything looks a bit sad again, but will have to cope until it rains/the weekend, whichever comes first apart from saved water from the kitchen which will go where it looks most needed. Still have a little water in the butt out front for flowers, but won’t water them from mains
Hanneke Jul 2022 8:50pm, 18 Jul 2022 91,236 posts	0 Hanneke I am showering in the bath with the plug in, then use the water for the plants. Every little helps.
Garfield Jul 2022 9:07am, 19 Jul 2022 16,781 posts	0 Garfield Good idea!
Flatlander Jul 2022 5:54pm, 23 Jul 2022 2,542 posts	0 Flatlander I hung out my washing today which was a bit of an effort. However, while I was out there I caught the delightful scent of my Stargazer lilies - that means I haven't lost my sense of smell! The lilies are small this year, only 2 feet high instead of the usual 4 feet - shows what a lack of water does.
GimmeMedals Jul 2022 7:11pm, 23 Jul 2022 22,977 posts	0 GimmeMedals The lack of water is making such a difference isn't it. My second bush of blueberries have ripened but are tiny and lack juice so are inedible. Disappointing after the first bush all ripened and got gobbled up by the birds whilst we were away.
3M (aka MarkyMarkMark) Jul 2022 10:52pm, 23 Jul 2022 18,725 posts	0 3M (aka MarkyMarkMark) Garlic! Feral garlic, since its the survivors of last years failed crop. And its small, courtesy of the lack of rain at the right points. But it'll be good for cooking.
EvilPixie Jul 2022 4:11pm, 27 Jul 2022 34,359 posts	0 EvilPixie I live in the midlands and we've done a bit of veggie gardening the last few years with on off success mainly because we aren't gardeners! But I was thinking (next year I guess!?) about peppers and toms and mini cucumbers. Would these need to be under glass? also is there an easy way (I have cats) to grow lettuce all year round? I guess I need to be more organised and factor in the garden like I do exercise
Garfield Jul 2022 4:15pm, 27 Jul 2022 16,801 posts	0 Garfield I'm interested in the lettuce growing, though I've had little success with it in the past. Mostly it's bolted as soon as it sprouted!
EvilPixie Jul 2022 4:22pm, 27 Jul 2022 34,361 posts	0 EvilPixie ^^ exactly!
3M (aka MarkyMarkMark) Jul 2022 5:13pm, 27 Jul 2022 18,763 posts	0 3M (aka MarkyMarkMark) EP, Garfield, I'm pretty sure that if you want to grow lettuce all year round you'll need some kind of heated greenhouse in winter! Bizarrely though, I think it needs to be relatively cool/moist, since as soon as it dried out and got warm a couple of weeks ago mine too bolted (and went bitter)! But in "normal" British summers it's not a problem I've had. I typically grow one of the cut and come again varieties, start them out in the greenhouse, move them into the veg bed in late May, and they normally go though to about late September, harvesting leaves as we need them. I've just planted some additional seed to try to replace the "bolted" ones from this year!