What have you done in the garden today?

[ThreeRingCircus]

I thought it would be a nice idea to share what we've been up to in our gardens.

Today I planted potatoes in buckets (with drainage holes drilled into them.) Six buckets in total, three second earlies and three main crops. I have fond memories of digging up potatoes with my dad when I was a child.... I still get excited rummaging around in the buckets when my potatoes are ready!

I also made up a herb planter from an old plant pot that had been hiding behind the shed. Mint, parsley and thyme planted in that so I'll see how that does.

I fed my pot plants with blood, fish and bone and gave them a water.

What have you been up to?

Do they have to be the same variety?

No, in fact I think different varieties are better.

Technically you don't need another as most blueberries are self fertile, but you will likely get much better crops if you do have more than one.

Also, remember that blueberry bushes prefer acidic soil so lots of ericacious compost when pleating or in the pot. (If you haven't done this you can add as mulch).

I occasionally add used coffee grounds to the base of my blueberry shrubs, it's a bit acidic but mostly because it keeps slugs and cats away from the fruit.

If you go for different varieties, check that it's a similar flowering time. If you have 1 early season and 1 late there's no benefit to having 2.

@Muststopeating - ok, so I bought a blue crop variety, and I’ve just read that Jersey goes well with it because they bloom at around the same time so I’m off to try to find that variety!

I did pot with some ericaceous compost, which I’ve had in the shed for yonks. Hopefully it’s still good 🤔

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn - saw your post after I posted, thanks.

I love this forum, so much sharing of info!

Perfect. I have a Jersey and a Bluecrop - both good.

One of the things I like about blueberries is you don't really get a glut. They flower all in one go, but then the berries gradually ripen over long period - so there are some every day but never so many you don't know what to do with them.

but never so many you don't know what to do with them Couldn’t you just lob them into the deepfreeze? That’s what I do with the surplus of soft fruit. It loses texture, so best used for cooking or on cereal, but still keeps its taste.

I’ve potted mine so don’t know if that will affect yield but even a few blueberries will be a treat.

Couldn’t you just lob them into the deepfreeze?

Depends on the fruit. Our main glut problem is apples - they can be frozen, dried or made into jam, but any of those require significant prep. You can't just rinse and bung like with berries.

Pots are fine for blueberries - ours are all in pots. Just make sure they never dry out. Keep them sitting in a saucer of rainwater at all times.

I planted 12 violas in a small flowerbed by the side gate to fill in some gaps. They look quite pretty with the more established primroses. Thinking about getting a climber to cover the fence there. It is only a small area and I don't want something that will go too crazy. Equally I don't want something straggly and rubbish.

I also potted a tomato plant and a geranium - lost momentum because the dog was distracting me, did a little bit of weeding and asked DH to mow the lawn.

Levelled the new waterbutt, built the second arch for the vine corridor, cut out all of last year's dead stems in the mint pots and rescued the one that was being taken over by oregano.

Re defined my lawn edge and borders as they had become a bit messy. Did lots of weeding, emptied some old pots, planted a few bedding plants. It was perfect gardening weather today. Hoping for round two tomorrow.

Put in some everedge metal strips to replace the rotten wood that I'd originally installed 15 years ago. Nifty stuff and quicker than I'd thought - but a little fiddly.

Sent DH out to stake the raspberries and redo the straining wires.
Picked up a couple of cucumber seedlings to plant out when I'm absolutely confident that the risk of frost is past.

I let DH take a saw to the buddleia and used the prunings to make a woven edge on a new tiny bed reclaimed from the lawn.

Planted out lots of things grown from seed (tagetes, alyssum, yarrow). The beans were making a break for it up the dining room window so they have gone straight outside to take their chances with the cold and the slugs...

I moved into a new build last year and this year I have created and planted a border down 2 sides. Today I added some bedding plants along the front which gives a lot more colour. My other plants have been in about 6 weeks. Some look to be growing but the dwarf eucalyptus is unchanged which I'm hoping is not a bad sign. I spent £250 on plants and I don't really know what I'm doing so hoping that everything survives.

WobblyLondoner - I’m thinking of using Everedge to replace the bamboo edging which is crumbling rapidly. Just how fiddly is it?

I didn’t get on with Everedge. It is very fiddly, you have to fully dig out to insert it, fully clipped together - it won’t ‘push in’, and corners are impossible, so unless your borders exactly match the dimensions of the Everedge sections then it doesn’t really work. I got one border done, amidst much cursing, then asked my landscaper if he’d come and do the rest of the garden. He replied “Nah, don’t like Everedge, you’d be better off just ordering steels to length.”

That sounded expensive, so I didn’t, but after taking to my lawn with my edging sheers yesterday and being appalled at the wobbly results, I might get a quote.

It is pretty fiddly but I got on ok.

There is a lug at one end you have to push through a hole in the next one strip - I found that very difficult (you need an exact alignment and strong hands!). But I did manage - I bent it back and forth a few times before assembling it just to get a sense how best to do it.

I had quite a few corners to get round and that's been ok - I connected the relevant pieces to make sure the turn would be in the right place and then disconnected to bend the steel. The most tricky bit is how best to align the metal with a different part of the garden where the old wood edge is still there - I suspect it will be a bit of a bodge but I'll just plant something there to hide it.

In summary it was a bit of a faff but it looks far better than it did for less than £100 which seems pretty good to me.

I can imagine if I had a much larger expanse to deal with it would be too fiddly. I had less than 10 metres to deal with.

If you freeze blueberries separated out on a tray or dish in the freezer, they will remain intact and not go mushy . I haven’t tried this with blackcurrants, but I think it might work for them as well, because they have quite firm skins. Gooseberries….? Does anyone still grow gooseberries?

I grow gooseberries! Never tried freezing them. We just eat them or the birds do as they ripen. There is never a massive harvest. I think I would just whack them all in a freezer bag and hope for the best if I did.

Thank you, WobblyLondoner. It’s the fixing together that worries me too, as my hands aren’t strong, but I guess I could enlist some help. And I’m bored with wooden edging and can’t find anything I like more, so will have to press on.

@Borris I will keep my fingers crossed for you! Is the soil decent and did you add a lot of compost? I created a new bed a few years ago and I wish I'd hired a digger to really dig down properly as the soil was awful and rubbly and I still struggle to grow much there. I don't want to fill you with gloom! I did create another flowerbed from scratch and that one is lovely!

I freeze most soft fruit by rinsing, leaving to completely dry, then putting one layer flat on a tray in the freezer.
Once frozen they're fine in a tub or bag until I need them.