Broad beans and Peas Sown

I had an hour in the greenhouse yesterday and managed to plant some broad beans and peas, whether they'll survive the mice is another matter. I've read lots of old books that recommend dipping them in all different (toxic) things to keep them away but I've done none of that. I've raised them all up off the ground so hopefully that should help keep the little blighters away until they start growing. 

Lots of pots full of plants and seeds

 Broad beans were planted in pots and peas in a length of old guttering I got from a job I had last year. The seeds are quite old so I have my doubt as to whether they will grow or not (I found them in an old box I had at my allotment so they're at least four years old).

Peas in gutter

Fig becoming root bound

 I also managed to separate and  pot up some of my cuttings that I took at the end of the summer, like rosemary, gogi and chilean guava. My figs got put into a slightly larger pot to incourage a bit of growth over the next year, they have to have their roots restricted to fruit but it's worth giving them some fresh compost and soil to keep them healthy.

The garden seems to be on the edge of taking off and I love getting ready for it! The next two months are always really busy in the garden but they set the standard on how much you'll grow for the rest of the year. 

Are you getting ready?

Greenhouse Clear Out

With the sun shinning I managed to have a bit of time in the garden yesterday to get a few jobs done. My youngest "assistant" has been poorly all day and spent a large chunk of the afternoon sleeping in bed, she's just a bit under the weather with a bad cold and a bit of sickness, but when they're little it hits them hard. 

A little messy

 Me and Ev decided to get some jobs done close to the house (within range of the baby monitor), one of which was to sort out the mess that is my greenhouse. I got all the old tomato plants down and stacked in the burning pile and the buckets of compost taken down the garden and piled up ready for a mammoth raised bed I'm planning. 

 I then swept it out and brought in a few plants I want to have a little extra protection. My Chilean Guavas have put on loads of growth over the summer and it would be a shame to loose them to a hard frost. My fig "cuttings" are now four feet tall and show little embro fruits on them, so I might have a fig or two next year if I'm lucky, I still think it's best to keep these young plants in the greenhouse although I plan to plant some out at some point.

Fig trees over 4ft big now

Spent compost/soil mix ready to make a raised bed. Crocks and rocks in the bucket ready to be reused new year.

Show's how warm it is - Ev spent ages playing with caterpillars all afternoon 

My cuttings and strawberries grown from seed.

If it was colder I would have done all this sooner, but it's been so mild things are just only just starting to die off. I'm starting to feel a little bit more organised in the garden which is a good thing.

A quick question - does everyone else bring their bay trees into the greenhouse to over winter or do you just risk it and leave them out (assuming they're in pots like mine)? How often do you water plants over wintered in a greenhouse - like me when you remember - Or are you more organised?

Fig Jam

A glut of figs isn't something I've had to deal with before, but luckily we've got some friends in the village who have three huge fig bushes in front of their house and they don't really like figs!

 I picked a good sized bag full and then set about making some jam. I never bother looking at a recipe, just weigh the fruit once it's been topped and tailed and then add the same quantity of sugar (2 1/2lb of each). I did add a large cooking apple to give the mixture a bit of extra pectin to help it set and make it go a little further.

A Rev Wilks apple - a good early cooker

 

The finished bottles

It reached setting point pretty quick and wasn't a difficult jam to make. I have only tried a bit of it so far but its got a lovely subtle taste to it. It made five jars but it still helps keep our jam stocks up! 

Anyone else made jam with something that wasn't run-of-the-mill lately?

Ground Layering Fig Trees - Part 2

Back in July last year I did a post on ground layering fig trees and today I dug them up to see how they did.

 The first one came up with good roots growing where it had been in the soil, so I was optimistic about the others.

 However that optimism was misplaced as the rest had either a tiny bit of root on or none at all. Only a 40% success rate with just two showing roots out of a possible five.

In future I think I'll stick with taking cuttings from fig trees as they worked well in the past (see my two other posts here and here) and it's less work as once the cuttings have taken they're already in the pot so no need to handle them twice.

Ground layering works well with some plants (like hazel or blackberries) so I'll use this method with other things and I might give air layering a try later in the year as another method of propagation. What methods of propagating trees and bushes does everyone else use and do you all experiment with new methods?

Ground Layering Fig Trees

We've got some friends in the village who live on a beautiful old estate full of amazing trees and buildings. When we first went round a year or so ago I noticed a huge fig tree/bush against a shed opposite their house and asked if I could try an make a fig tree or two of my own from it.

A lrage fig tree with loads of fruit

 The cuttings I took from my mums last year are doing well but I thought a few more fig trees won't hurt (and if it comes to it I can always sell them if I have too many!).

Stripping the branch

 The first thing i did was to find some low down branches with no fruit on. I then stripped away some of the leaves, leaving around three on the end. Then I scrapped away some of the outside layer of the branch, the plan being that this is where the roots will start to grow from.



Pinning the branch in the ground

I dug a little hole and pinned this branch to the bottom of it. Filled up, the plan to leave it for a few months at least to create some roots. The bamboo cane is so I can find them and to stop the mower from cutting them off

Covered over - waiting for some rain on it now!

I did five of these so I'll let you know in a few months time if any have taken!

The next tree I want to propagate from is their mulberry tree, so any advice for that one will be appreciated!

Fig Cuttings Have Taken

Back in August I posted about taking some cuttings from my mothers large fig tree

Well out of the four cuttings I took, two seem to be sprouting new leaves. A 50% success rate for a first try is pretty good I think. I'll leave these in this pot for a while longer yet to get established before I move them on.
I've also found a massive fig tree/bush at a friends house so I'm going to try air layering (as suggested by Texan) later in the year with those - Anyone have any advice/experience on air layering?

Creating Fig Trees

In the past I've had a bit of a problem keeping fig trees alive. They've always been fairly small and in a pot, and they've rarely lasted more than a winter and certainly never given me any fruit, but I still want to be able to grow them! I just love the fruit.

My mothers fig tree - never given a fruit but it's huge (didn't restrict the roots enough I think!)

Long term I'm planning to build some pits against the south side of the house (when we extend) to grow them in. But that wont be for a few years and I can't bring myself to spend any more money on fig trees with death wishes. Instead I'll try taking some Summer cuttings and maybe some Autumn ones later in the year so I can have some free plants!

My mother has got a large fig tree with some branches I can steal so that seems like a good place to start. There's lots of conflicting information on the Internet about how to do it so I'm just trying a mix of the best I read and see what happens. If they don't take I'll let you know, so don't copy this method!



Cutting the leaves in half to reduce how much water the cuttings need

The cuttings I took were around 6" long of this years growth. I cut just below where a leave has grown out, then trim the leaves off leaving about three on eahc cutting. The larger leaves I cut in half as I hope this will reduce how much water they need but still let them photosynthesis and reduce die back.
 

Sandy, gritty compost for cuttings

I then dip the tips in rooting powder and place them in a pot full of compost mixed with grit and sand.

Lets see how long these last!

 I put four in the pot, round the edges, and I'll check in a few weeks to see if any roots have started to grow. I'm leaving these under a cold frame (or something similar - I've got to build/find one yet) out of direct sunshine.

At worst I've got some compost and at best I've gained a fig tree or two! Might try blueberries next! Anyone else got any tips for cuttings?