I’ve just been out harvesting my onion crop. Out of the 40 or 50 seeds I planted I only got a yield of 15 onions which was a little disappointing, but the onions I did get are fantastic. The onion top-right in the picture is flipping enormous!! To prevent such disappointments next year I have just ordered 300 sets from marshalls so next years onion haul will be needing a wide-angled lens. Along with the onions I also ordered a pear tree, garlic, some Amelia strawberries [ well I had to really ] and various vegetable seeds.
A few weeks ago I transplanted a load of strawberry runners from my outdoor plants into used Chinese take-away tubs. I’ve got about 25 new plants above but I think a few of them wont take. Still, between the strawberry plants pictured above and the 12 Amelia variety I just bought I think the family Steele will be having a bumper harvest of strawberries next year. Which is fortunate since Amelia is pretty much addicted to them.
The pepper seedlings which my Dad gave me in March have matured well but I think they would have benefited from being in bigger pots, having the greenhouse at a higher temperature and not being grown in my home made compost. My home made compost was lacking a little and in future will be added to the raised beds along with my leaf mulch. I’ll stick to shop bought compost for seedlings until I get better at home composting…or get a wormery thingy 🙂
The one and only beef tomato that made it from the donations off Joan next door is ripening well. It will be a treasured part of a salad and the seeds will be saved for next years attempt when I’ll consider feeding the flipping things 🙁
So the conclusion to the 2008 growing season is definitely could do better. Still, it’s been a pretty shitty year for growing stuff but I have high hopes for 2009 now that I have taken out a subscription to "Grow Your Own".
P.S. Pictures of my homegrown sweetcorn still to come.