1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,480 Welcome to Gardening with Ben, the podcast where we dig into the soil of 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:09,119 our gardens and the depths of our green funds. I'm your host, Ben, 3 00:00:09,359 --> 00:00:12,839 here to guide you through the joint of gardening, from sowing seeds to 4 00:00:12,919 --> 00:00:18,399 reaping bountiful harvests. Each episode will explore tips, tricks and tails from the 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:25,399 garden and allotment, sharing insights from ourself and stories from our own back garden 6 00:00:25,559 --> 00:00:29,839 adventures. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just getting your hands dirty for the 7 00:00:29,879 --> 00:00:34,520 first time, there's something here for everyone, So grab your brew and gardening 8 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:41,920 gloves and let's get growing with Gardening with Ben. Hello, garden enthusiasts, 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,920 and welcome to Weekend Gardening, the podcast where we dig deep into the soil 10 00:00:47,039 --> 00:00:51,119 of our green and blooming world. I'm your host Gardening with Ben, here 11 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:56,960 to cultivate your passion for all things gardening, from the tiniest of terraces to 12 00:00:57,079 --> 00:01:03,359 the grandest of greenhouses and allotments. Every episode, we'll explore tips and tricks 13 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:08,640 to make your garden five, share stories from fellow gardeners, and answer your 14 00:01:08,719 --> 00:01:15,040 burning horticultural questions. Whether you're seasoned, green from or just starting to plant 15 00:01:15,079 --> 00:01:19,879 your first seedlings. There's something here for everyone, so grab our gardening gloves 16 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,959 and let's get our hands thirty. Well, welcome back to a brand new 17 00:01:25,159 --> 00:01:29,040 gardening episode with Gardening with Ben. It's been a few days since our last 18 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,879 podcast, but we're here with a brand new episode. And guess what. 19 00:01:34,159 --> 00:01:38,959 It's Friday, so the weekend is finally here. And what a week we've 20 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:46,439 had. I don't think it's got above zero where I am in temperature. 21 00:01:46,519 --> 00:01:52,599 It's been absolutely freezing cold, so cold, it's been frosty all the time 22 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,359 it's been, I say, and today was my first day off work, 23 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:57,840 so I thought, I'm going to go down to the allotment and go and 24 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,879 have a look and see if I can actually do anything. And guess what 25 00:02:02,319 --> 00:02:07,359 I got down there. I couldn't do a single thing as the ground is 26 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:13,120 rock hard and it was all frozen over. And I say, but I've 27 00:02:13,159 --> 00:02:16,000 popped down for ten minutes or so. But at least it got me out 28 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,759 of the house, which was the main thing. And yeah, I just 29 00:02:19,759 --> 00:02:23,280 don't like being stuck in the house all the time, so it's nice to 30 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:25,560 just go outside and be in the fresh effort bit. So we enjoyed a 31 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:31,199 bit of peace and quiet down there. So what's happening down at the allotment 32 00:02:31,199 --> 00:02:37,919 at the moment. Well, I went down and it was all frosty and 33 00:02:38,159 --> 00:02:42,479 iced over. I was looking at my roob barb and my roobarb had all 34 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,319 died again. It were all doing really well. It was shooting up really 35 00:02:46,319 --> 00:02:52,520 good. But obviously this cold weather and frost has killed it off again and 36 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,919 it'll have gone back into hibernation which happens all the time, and it won't 37 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,840 It had started growing too early. It wasn't time for the rhubarb to be 38 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,719 growing at this time of year, so it was it doesn't matter that it's 39 00:03:05,759 --> 00:03:10,479 died off again. It's it doesn't usually start growing properly till March April time, 40 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,360 so I'm not too fuss that it's died off and withered back again. 41 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:21,599 So what's our plans for the allotment this weekend? Well, looking at the 42 00:03:21,599 --> 00:03:27,280 weather forecast, it's going to turn back into double digits again the temperature, 43 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,120 so it's looking about thirteen degrees on Sunday. But there is a storm forecast 44 00:03:31,159 --> 00:03:35,120 as well, so we've got to keep his eye on that. But I'm 45 00:03:35,159 --> 00:03:40,800 hoping to get down to the plot tomorrow and start working on resorting on my 46 00:03:40,879 --> 00:03:46,759 beds out and getting them all ready for this year. As we're middle of 47 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:51,240 January now, so we've got plenty of time to get all my plot tidy 48 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,919 and sorted. We've still got plenty of time to get that done well on 49 00:03:55,039 --> 00:04:00,919 track for that, but I'm going to be digging up all my old beds. 50 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,960 I'm going to be moving all my paths, resorting out all my edging 51 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,879 and everything like that. So it's quite a big job which I'm hoping to 52 00:04:08,919 --> 00:04:14,080 get done. But once it's all done and sorted, it should look absolutely 53 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,800 fantastic. So I can't wait to share the photos with you on that. 54 00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:21,319 And if you're not following me on Instagram, make sure you're head over there 55 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:26,839 now and give me a follow called Gardening with Ben and come and say hello. 56 00:04:26,879 --> 00:04:30,240 It's always good to form new people and new followers, so we're going 57 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:34,120 to be doing that. And just as I've been thinking about it, actually 58 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:39,199 I need to pop over to the shops and get some bird seed as all 59 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:43,399 my bird seed had gone from my bird feeders because of us. Like I 60 00:04:43,439 --> 00:04:46,040 say, the ground is frozen up at the moment, so it's hard for 61 00:04:46,079 --> 00:04:51,680 the birds to get their seeds and the protein and the fat what they need 62 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,879 to keep them going through the wintertime. So we need to go to the 63 00:04:55,879 --> 00:05:00,279 supermarket and get some seed for them to keep them filled up. So I 64 00:05:00,319 --> 00:05:02,879 love looking after the birds. It's great to see the birds down there. 65 00:05:03,199 --> 00:05:08,879 Yes, it does attract the rats and everything like that, but I do 66 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,079 like to see the birds down there and attract the blue tis, the robins, 67 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:17,959 the sparrows, the fringe. But yeah, we'll have to see if 68 00:05:17,959 --> 00:05:23,040 we can get some blue. It's in our bluetick boxes again. That's the 69 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,839 key thing to try this year. And one of my other jobs this weekend 70 00:05:28,199 --> 00:05:31,240 is that one of the ones what I was hoping to do last week was 71 00:05:31,399 --> 00:05:36,600 to sew on my peppers. I need to get my peppers. So if 72 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:41,360 you could see what my tomato plants look like now, they look absolutely fantastic. 73 00:05:41,399 --> 00:05:46,000 They're getting nice and taller. We just need there them to start getting 74 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,959 the second leaves on, the true leaves, as obviously the first ones aren't 75 00:05:49,959 --> 00:05:54,680 the proper leaves. But we need them to start getting the proper leaves on 76 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,240 now and start picking up a bit. I keep turning them around every day 77 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:03,160 so that they don't get too lagging grow too bad. But yeah, we 78 00:06:03,199 --> 00:06:08,000 need to get all those peppers planted this weekend. And I've got my normal 79 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,240 sized peppers, and then I've got my bite sized peppers, which are really 80 00:06:11,319 --> 00:06:15,279 tiny peppers which will do look nice. I bought them from Tesco and took 81 00:06:15,319 --> 00:06:18,879 all the seeds out and some dried all them out. So if we can 82 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:24,839 get all them planted tomorrow, that's another job well done. And it's all 83 00:06:24,879 --> 00:06:28,120 coming on good. I've got a lot of good plans this year for my 84 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,759 alotman and we've got as melons to try and grow as well. We're going 85 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,959 to try and grow some melons down at the allotment again this year. We're 86 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,279 going to give them a good try. Now that I've sorted out all my 87 00:06:39,319 --> 00:06:43,439 shed and everything, it should be a lot warmer in the summer and we 88 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:47,360 should get some really warm temperature in there, because obviously melons do like the 89 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:53,399 warmth to get growing nice and well, and the same for peppers. Peppers 90 00:06:53,439 --> 00:06:57,759 need the warm weather. But the tomatoes, the small cherry tomatoes can be 91 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,839 grown outside. They're fine. The beef ones I'm going to be growing them 92 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:06,079 indoors. Those are the ones that have got started from seed at the moment. 93 00:07:09,519 --> 00:07:12,600 I wanted to start them off a bit earlier so that we can get 94 00:07:12,639 --> 00:07:15,319 lots and lots of beef tomates off them, because it will take a while 95 00:07:15,399 --> 00:07:20,079 to ripen them once head obviously bigger to martyrs. But yeah, we're going 96 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,120 to give it a try this year. We're gonna get some good varieties of 97 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:29,399 stuff growing and a few new things that I've not tried growing before, which 98 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,399 I'm certainly looking forward to showing you all and letting you see how well we 99 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:38,319 can grow stuff. And I wouldn't class myself as a professional gardener. I'm 100 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,240 still an amateur. Even though I've been doing a lotment ting for about twenty 101 00:07:42,319 --> 00:07:46,120 years now, I'm still learning every single day. There's new things to learn. 102 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,959 It's new stuff that I see magazines all the time, and yeah, 103 00:07:50,079 --> 00:07:55,680 I enjoy it. I enjoy trying all the new things out and different things 104 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:00,600 to try from the allotment, so I will be sharing it with you all. 105 00:08:01,079 --> 00:08:05,399 And this episode basically was just a little catch up and to get that 106 00:08:05,439 --> 00:08:09,560 episode out there because I know people do love them, and if you're new 107 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,399 to these podcasts, make sure you do give us a follow up, Make 108 00:08:13,439 --> 00:08:18,839 sure you do subscribe to the podcast so that you get notifications when you podcasts 109 00:08:18,839 --> 00:08:22,079 come up. And we're going to be getting a lot of episodes out this 110 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:26,279 year. I'm going to aim for two hundred episodes in a year, so 111 00:08:26,439 --> 00:08:30,720 that is a big target. It can be tricky to record some of these 112 00:08:30,759 --> 00:08:35,879 episodes because obviously I do live a busy lifestyle with the allotment and work and 113 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,360 blog in for you all. But we're going to try and get two hundred 114 00:08:39,399 --> 00:08:43,320 episodes out this year, and if we manage that, I'll be a happy 115 00:08:43,399 --> 00:08:46,039 lad. But each episode of wanting to grow a little bit more, grow 116 00:08:46,039 --> 00:08:50,480 a little bit more, get a few more followers. And it's good to 117 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,879 see how much people are supporting these podcasts and enjoying them. And I do 118 00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:00,200 appreciate the support on them. And I love sharing my allotment journey with you 119 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:03,159 all and my gardening journal. I love seeing that you can see what I'm 120 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:07,200 up to down at my lotment, my successes, my failures, and I'm 121 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:11,559 always one for telling you all my failures. I don't mind. I'm not 122 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:16,320 one of these gardeners that will tire pumpkin to a plant just to pretend that 123 00:09:16,399 --> 00:09:20,240 I've grown it and stuff like that. I show you how things are, 124 00:09:22,399 --> 00:09:26,559 how real it is, and how many failures you can have. And if 125 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:30,360 you have failures, it's just a case of keep trying, just keep trying 126 00:09:30,399 --> 00:09:33,879 and doing it again until you have success. Some years you can do really 127 00:09:33,879 --> 00:09:37,720 well with crops. A year after you might do absolutely rubbish and wonder why 128 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:43,240 I've done rubbish when I'm doing exactly the same. But that's how gardening goes. 129 00:09:43,639 --> 00:09:48,120 You have your successes, you have your failures, and yeah, it's 130 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,639 pretty much like that a lot of the time. So it's a case of 131 00:09:52,879 --> 00:09:56,120 my motto in life what I always set at the end of my podcast, 132 00:09:56,159 --> 00:10:01,039 which is keep smiling, keep shining, and keep guardening with Ben because you 133 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:05,840 do need to keep gardening and keep smiling throughout it all, as it does 134 00:10:05,919 --> 00:10:11,480 help a lot with mental health and it helps me so much in what I 135 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:16,519 do. So I hope you've enjoyed this little catch up. We are hopefully, 136 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,240 like I said, back at the allotment tomorrow, so I'm going to 137 00:10:20,279 --> 00:10:24,200 be sharing tales from the allotment tomorrow and sharing what I've been getting up to, 138 00:10:24,399 --> 00:10:28,000 So stick around. Make sure you don't give us a follow. If 139 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,840 you've not listened to all my three hundred episodes, what are on you? 140 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,279 Crack them on? I've a listened to him. There's plenty of episodes for 141 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:41,039 you to listen to on you So until next time, remember, keep smiling, 142 00:10:41,639 --> 00:10:45,919 keep shining, and keep gardening with Bed. Everybody until next time. 143 00:10:46,039 --> 00:10:52,080 We'll see you all later. And that wraps up another episode of Gardening with 144 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:58,000 Ben. Thank you for joining me in this journey. Remember every seed planted 145 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,120 is a step towards a green world, and every day is a chance to 146 00:11:01,159 --> 00:11:07,440 grow something beautiful. Keep nurturing your gardens and your souls. Until next time, 147 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:13,159 I'm gardening with Ben reminding you to let your garden be your sanctuary. 148 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,200 Happy gardening, and see you in the next episode. Remember, keep smiling, 149 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,720 keep shining, and keep gardening with Ben.