Archive for June, 2011

The day I got given a greenhouse

I was on my way out yesterday morning when my neighbour from a few doors down stopped me and said, “Would you be interested in a mini greenhouse? I bought one for myself but I won’t be using it now and I thought you might like to have it.” Strangely enough, I had been thinking about getting a mini greenhouse but had been reluctant to actually go out and spend the money, particularly as most mini greenhouses you buy seem to consist of flimsy metal shelving covered with a giant plastic bag. Anyway, when I got home, our new greenhouse was waiting for us! As you can see, it’s a considerable step up from the giant plastic bag type of mini greenhouse. It will do very nicely as a winter home for our strawberries and will hopefully allow me to extend the cut & come again lettuce growing season a month or so further. But it will really come into its own next April/May, when the tomato season comes round again!

Double courgette

The “grow them in big pots” policy for my courgette plants seems to be enjoying a measure of success, at least it is now that the weather is getting a little warmer. The pots in question are really buckets that started life as containers for industrial/catering quantities of golden syrup. If you spend 15 minutes poking a heated metal skewer through the bottom to create drainage holes, you have a superb container for growing courgettes and runner beans (three bean plants per bucket seems to be about right). Speaking of courgettes, I’ve decided to combat the dreaded blossom end rot by removing the flowers once the courgettes have reached about three inches in length. The one on the right is quite impressive – it’s two Golden Zucchini courgettes that have fused together early on, to give this double yolked beauty! It’ll (almost) be a shame to eat it.