Welcome to Gardening with Ben, the podcast where we dig into the soil of
our gardens and the depths of our green funds. I'm your host, Ben,
here to guide you through the joints of gardening, from sowing seeds to
reaping bountiful harvests. Each episode will explore tips, tricks, and tales from
the garden and Allotment, sharing insights from ourselves and stories from our own back
garden adventures. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just getting your hands dirty for
the first time, there's something here for everyone, So grab your brew and
gardening gloves and let's get growing with Gardening with Ben. Hey, everyone,
and welcome back to a brand new episode of Gardening with Ben. Well,
it's been a while since our last episode, but we have been so so
busy and I'm here to tell you everything that we have been up to down
at the Allotment recently, and then the next couple of episodes, I'll be
telling you the monthly jobs are what we need to plant and what jobs need
doing in the garden and an allotment. So where have we been and what
have we been up to? Well, I've been away this Easter weekend I
decided to get away for a few nights and enjoy myself and just be able
to chill out and relax really, as I have been doing too much at
the moment, so I just needed some time to myself to enjoy a weekend
away. But now we are back, and now we are back into it
and hopefully cracking on with everything down at the allotment as it's getting to that
time of year when it's starting to get busy and we've got lots to get
done, and I keep buying more and more plants. But yeah, what
have we been up to down at the plot. Well, last month we
planted all my march seeds what needed planting. That consists, of course,
yet marrows, pumpkins, lettuce, beet root, sweet corn, peas.
We've got all them in. And then today we started planting a lot of
our march seeds, so that includes runner beans and climbing beans. We've got
all them in. And we've planted a lot of runner beans this year,
so hopefully we get a good crop. And those are using the seeds for
my dad's runner beans last year what he grew, so I haven't had to
purchase any seeds. I've just used all the ones that he got from his
old plants, so hopefully they'll Germany and we'll get some good crops from them.
And also this week I've also planted all my potatoes. Yes I'm a
bit late we're planting them, but we've got them all in and I'm planting
them in boxes again this year. As when I've planted them in the ground
in the past, when I'm digging them up when they're ready, I tend
to end up putting a fork through one, or I end up leaving a
load to baby ones in the ground, and I keep getting potatoes a year
after year from them. So if you grow them in a box, you
will obviously just be able to empty the box and get out all the potatoes
without having to stab them or dig around for them until you find them.
They'll all grow well in the box. And as well with growing them in
a box, what you can do is like what I'm doing, is I'm
actually growing them inside in my polytonnel at the moment where it's a lot warmer
and there's no chance of frost to slow them down or with them away.
They can get a good headstart in my polytunnel where it's probably about five to
ten degrees warmer in there than it is outside, so they'll get that kickstart
and headstart and hopefully a better crop from them. But what I'll do is
when it gets to about March maytime, I'll pully move them outside, like
keep some watered with the rain, etc. I'm having to keep watering them
while they're inside, but they won't need much water at the moment because they've
only just been planted. If you get me, they'll need more water as
the season moves on and the plants start growing and the potatoes start growing on
them, because without the water, you won't be able to get lots of
little potatoes growing on the planet. So hopefully we'll get a good crop from
them. We did it last year and we got a decent crop from my
potatoes, So fingers crossed we get another good crop formed potatoes that we grew
this year. And yeah, I'm growing Charlotte and I'm growing I can't remember
the other one. I'll have to check, but we're definitely growing Charlotte potatoes.
We've got two varieties that we're growing, So fingers crossed we do get
a good crop and they turn out absolutely fantastic, so we got them growing.
So everything's coming along pretty much now, and yeah, I'm impressed with
how it's all coming along. Everything seems to be growing fast in the shed,
which is a good thing because I didn't have my shed last year.
My shed had collapsed the winter before and I hadn't got around to rebuilding it.
Also, I didn't manage to start off any seeds last year. I
had to purchase all the plants that I wanted plant in, which, yeah,
it's an expensive job. Obviously, you don't get as many plants because
you're only buy a view in a tray stuff like that. So we didn't
have many plants growing last year. So we've got a lot to do this
year, and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we'll start doing all the
pricking out and start planting them up. But we won't be planting anything outside
until it gets to May time, when the chance of frost has passed.
Some plants, yes, can cope outside with the frost, but I tend
to just wait until May and since everything's passed, then I'll plant everything out
and hopefully everything will grow fine. The same goes for runner beans. Like
I said, I plant my runner beans this week today. And what I
do with my runner beans, rather than start them off in the ground,
I start them off in plant pots. And I do the same for peas
until they get to a decent height, and then I'll plant them outside when
they're big enough to survive. Because when they've tied it and small my soul
come along. Rats, they'll coming along. They'll sniff them out and they'll
eat the bean and you'll end up losing it, so you'll end up with
hardly any crop whatsoever. So I want them to be at a decent size
so that they can protect theirselves. And when they're big enough, what I'll
do is I'll put a bottle around it and some netting to stop any pigeons
from eating them. And then we've got a good chance of survival of the
plant, because that's what you need to do, make sure it survives to
keep it growing well. So yeah, I'm looking forward to this year.
It's going to be a good sea and down at my allotment and we're going
to get some great produce and some fantastic pictures for you. One and if
you've not checked out my Instagram recently, go and check it out. The
tulips down there look absolutely phenomenal. I cannot say how happy I am with
the outcome of all my allotment this year. It's looking absolutely stunning, the
best it's ever looked in a long time. And yes, it costs me
a lot of money for all the spring bulbs and everything like that, but
it was worth it to see what it looks like now is out of this
world. I wouldn't be able to think of anything what it had looked like
without it. It's the best display that I've ever had on my plot,
and it smells phenomenal. The smell just hits you as soon as you walk
on from the highest simps and the jewelips. It's absolutely studded. Everybody down
the oppment site have said how nice it is. So if you've not checked
out my photos, go and check them out. I'll probably be posting the
spring flowers for the next few years. But yeah, that is for sure.
I'm so impressed with it, and I'll keep sharing them pictures and sharing
them all with you. So what have we got left to do over the
next few months, Over the next few weeks, let me say what I'll
probably end up doing is I'll probably end up potting up all my plants i've
started growing. That'll be the big job of doing all that. I'll probably
be planting some more seeds. We need to go and get some more seeds
and start some off. I need to start some geraniums off. That's one
thing I do need to start off. And yeah, I think I've planted
all my vegetable seeds for the time being. I'm quite happy with harmony veg
I've got growing and got started, so we'll have to see how we get
on, and I'll be sharing everything of I've been growing. I'm obviously growing
my carrots in my polytunnel at the moment in a big tub. They're all
shooting through. They seem to be growing well. I can't complain at the
moment. It seems that we're getting a good crop from stuff. So hopefully
we do get a good crop from you'll be able to see how well they
grow when we'd pull them out. I've never had any luck with carrots whatsoever,
but fingers crossed, this is the first year that we have a good
crop of carrots. I'm keeping the watered. There's no chance of carrot fly
because they're high off the ground and the soil is perfect. They won't split
because there's no stones in x amusing compost. So hopefully we do get a
fantastic crop of carrots this year, and this will be my first year in
eighteen years of having my allotment that we will have a fantastic crop, So
keep your eyes peeled for them. And if they do grow a fantas I'll
be jumping from the ceiling and then you'll be getting a photo of them every
single day for the rest of my life as well. But yeah, I'm
happy with it all and we'll see how we get on. So yeah,
that has been today's episode, a little catch up and a little bit of
how things getting on. So make sure you tune back for tomorrow's episode where
we're going to start talking about what jobs need to be done in the allotment
and garden in April. And yeah, remember bring your notepad as well.
So until next time, remember keep smiling, keep shining, and keep gardening
with Ben. Everyone, And that wraps up another episode of Gardening with Ben.
Thank you for joining me in this journey. Remember, every seed planted
is a step towards a greener world, and every day is a chance to
grow something beautiful. Keep nurturing your gardens and your souls. Until next time,
I'm gardening with Ben, reminding you to let your garden b your sanctuary.
Happy gardening, and see you in the next episode. Remember keep smiling,
keep shining, and keep gardening with Ben.