First off I've started some of my own sweet potato slips, they are doing really well.
So this is my first experiment of this year & it seems to be a success so far. My second experiment is going to be hydroponics, well on the smallest scale possible.
I have a pond in the garden, now with only 3 fish (they all seem to die on me) & it's always been dead space, pretty but not useful. So I have invested in some rockwool & made myself a floating garden.
Step 1 |
step 2 |
step 3&4 |
Forgot the important part, I didn't even think about whether rockwool expanded or not, I can safely say it doesn't. So cut to the size you want & don't worry. The wool holds enough water to keep these polystyrene planters just low enough to keep it all wet but still high enough for it all to float, so far so good.
If they grow ok then I may invest in some special pots & a sheet of polystyrene to make it better but for now this is the cheapest way to try it out. I don't know if I could do the fish part though, growing fish for food. I know I couldn't eat these, they are comets, I may have to take a look & see what fish are edible & can stand cold temps through the winter.
Now my potatoes are growing well, they were started in the greenhouse in a large pot, I have been earthing them up & they are now outside. I think all chances of frost are now gone this far south.
potatoes started early |
Runner beans have been started & some are up already. Cucumber, pumpkins & squash have been sowed into the heated propagator. A few tomatoes have germinated but don't seem to be doing very well. I need to sow some plum types for cooking.
carrots |
parsnips |
During the winter I didn't get to do much gardening, we were unlucky that we didn't get any snow (my dogs love snow) but it was wet & cold & uninviting. I spent the time indoors being very bored but I did learn how to make soap, I was hoping I could sell some of it but there are so many rules & regulations so unfortunately I can't. It's a shame the government don't help small business or allow rules to be waivered for small scale sale, I mean you can't even bake a cake & then sell it to your neighbour, you have to give it away. They could always allow you to sell with no rules up to a certain turnover or something, like less than £10k. Never mind, the rules are there to protect buyers. We can blame Europe for all the silly H&S rules.
Hopefully I will remember to keep up with the blog this year, report on my experiments & let you know if they are worth the time & effort.
Happy gardening