1
00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,960
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Gardening with Ben. You'll go to

2
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,439
a podcast for all things green and growing. I'm Ben,

3
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,400
your allotment guide and here to help you cultivate your

4
00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,079
garden and your passion for plants. Whether you're a seasoned

5
00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,600
gardener or just starting out, this podcast is for you.

6
00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,800
Each episode will dig into tips of tricks and techniques

7
00:00:24,839 --> 00:00:29,199
to make your garden and allotment thrive from planting, sewing,

8
00:00:29,359 --> 00:00:32,520
and growing. We will share all the tips and add advice.

9
00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,880
We will also have regular episodes talking about what we

10
00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:40,039
have been up to on the Allotment. So sit back,

11
00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:46,759
grab a brew and enjoy today's episode. Hey everyone, and

12
00:00:46,799 --> 00:00:51,960
welcome back to Gardening with Ben. Always certainly being quiet

13
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,759
with these podcasts, haven't we? I do apologize, but we're

14
00:00:54,799 --> 00:00:57,520
all over the place at the moment with Christmas and

15
00:00:57,799 --> 00:01:00,880
New Year. But they are keeping going and keeping flowing,

16
00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:02,920
and yeah, I'm not going to take a big break

17
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,879
again like I did last time. But yeah, hopefully they'll

18
00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,439
keep on coming for you to listen to. So what

19
00:01:09,719 --> 00:01:12,760
have we been up to? Well, we've had Christmas and

20
00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,239
yeah it was a nice Christmas. We had Christmas dinner

21
00:01:17,239 --> 00:01:19,799
with my parents and then I just relaxed at home

22
00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:22,400
and watched a bit of Gavin and Stacey like everybody

23
00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,079
else did. It's the first time I've ever watched it.

24
00:01:25,799 --> 00:01:28,560
Don't tell anyone, but it's the first time I've watched it.

25
00:01:28,879 --> 00:01:30,959
And yeah, I thought i'd best watch it for all

26
00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:34,439
the hype now that it's finishing, and I actually enjoyed it,

27
00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:36,359
so I may go back and actually watch the full

28
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,840
lot of them. But yeah, what have we been doing

29
00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,439
on our allotment? Well, you know that I've been getting

30
00:01:43,439 --> 00:01:47,640
all my new potting bench ready. It's all been painted.

31
00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,719
Some of it's come off because it's been dripped off

32
00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,000
from the rain from the ceiling, but some of it's

33
00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,239
come off, but we'll give it a liquor paint once

34
00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,640
the weather's decent and dries out and hopefully get it

35
00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:06,400
fully painted properly. So yeah, what We've got all that done.

36
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,199
And I've finished it all off literally today. Obviously, like

37
00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:12,159
I said, I've still got some painting after on it,

38
00:02:12,199 --> 00:02:14,800
but I've finished off the look of it. And I'm

39
00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:16,919
not going to share a photo of it with you

40
00:02:17,599 --> 00:02:21,719
until New Year's Eve, so make sure you stay tuned

41
00:02:21,879 --> 00:02:24,919
to my socials on New Year's Eve for what it

42
00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:29,120
looks like. And wow, it looks professional and I have

43
00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,120
put a lot of effort into it and I've really

44
00:02:32,199 --> 00:02:34,479
spruced it up and made it look good and proper

45
00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,159
ready for my filming on my videos for the New Year.

46
00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,759
And I'm desperate to share a photo of it. I've

47
00:02:40,759 --> 00:02:43,400
got a photo of it on my phone. I think

48
00:02:43,439 --> 00:02:45,759
you do I share it? Do I share it? But no,

49
00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:47,800
I'm going to be good. I'm going to save it

50
00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,120
to New Year's Eve and it will be part of

51
00:02:50,199 --> 00:02:53,159
my round up video of the year. So make sure

52
00:02:53,159 --> 00:02:55,199
you stay tuned for my round up video. It'll be

53
00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,439
on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, It'll be everywhere. But yeah,

54
00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:01,280
make sure you stay tuned for that and you can

55
00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,759
let me know what you think of it and if

56
00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,360
I've done a good job or not. So we've been

57
00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,360
busy doing that. We've finished all that off and we

58
00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,960
have also started tidying all my shd up ready for springtime,

59
00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:19,039
as that is a big job. As I, like I

60
00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,759
always say, I'm a messy gardener. I'm not tidy at all.

61
00:03:22,039 --> 00:03:26,479
There's rubbish all over place, plant pots everywhere, nothing's tidied up,

62
00:03:26,479 --> 00:03:29,560
nothing's sorted. Non a plant pots are sorted. They're all

63
00:03:29,599 --> 00:03:34,360
dirty and got seed trays everywhere full of compost. Yes,

64
00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,400
I create more mess than I need to. Really, if

65
00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:38,919
I did it as I went along, I want to

66
00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,360
have to do this every single year. But yeah, we've

67
00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,199
been busy tidying up today. We've also put up some

68
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,560
extra shelves as well in my shed so that I

69
00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,439
can't try and tidy things up a bit better. So

70
00:03:50,599 --> 00:03:53,919
hopefully things will be a bit more organized next year.

71
00:03:54,199 --> 00:03:56,800
I'll be saying all this again next year, midtiding my

72
00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:58,719
shd up, so make sure you stay tuned for the

73
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,319
episode this time next year. But yeah, we'll be doing

74
00:04:02,479 --> 00:04:06,439
lots more tidying up ready next year. But we've been

75
00:04:06,439 --> 00:04:09,159
doing that. We've repaired a panel on my front of

76
00:04:09,199 --> 00:04:12,319
my shed because i've blown off. They're blowing off like

77
00:04:12,439 --> 00:04:16,399
nobody's business. I'm going to have to literally probably rebuild

78
00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:19,480
my shed at some point because the plastics just coming

79
00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,680
off now is disintegrating. It's been up about ten years now,

80
00:04:23,079 --> 00:04:25,560
so it's had its time, so that's why it's all

81
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,040
starting to come off. But yeah, we need some new

82
00:04:28,079 --> 00:04:30,800
pieces of plastic on the front of the shed next

83
00:04:31,399 --> 00:04:34,639
so if anybody's got a load of perspects, let me know.

84
00:04:36,199 --> 00:04:39,439
If you want to send me some perspects for Christmas,

85
00:04:39,639 --> 00:04:42,000
I will gladly have it. But yeah, we've got a

86
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,079
big job ahead of us getting that sorted. We're keeping

87
00:04:45,079 --> 00:04:47,920
an eye out on like Facebook, Marketplace and stuff because

88
00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,000
people do have it on there for sales. So hopefully

89
00:04:51,319 --> 00:04:54,240
we can get it all sorted and ready far the

90
00:04:54,319 --> 00:04:59,959
new year. So hopefully it will look a lot better

91
00:05:00,079 --> 00:05:04,480
to come this time next year. Hopefully we'll start each year,

92
00:05:04,519 --> 00:05:06,920
I do a bit more investment on my shed and

93
00:05:06,959 --> 00:05:10,160
on my allotment, so I don't mind spending a bit

94
00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,800
of money on it here and there everywhere. So yeah,

95
00:05:14,079 --> 00:05:18,120
I'm hoping I'm gonna actually look for my onion seeds

96
00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:22,319
today and my pepper seeds and my aubergine seeds and

97
00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:28,160
look into starting sorry my seeds this week. As if

98
00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:33,439
you wanting to grow prize winner onions, massive ones, they

99
00:05:33,519 --> 00:05:35,959
usually say to start them on Boxing Day. That's a

100
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,800
gardener's tail that a lot of people start them on

101
00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,160
Boxing day if you want huge onions. And this is

102
00:05:42,199 --> 00:05:45,639
growing from seed, not from set, So if you're wanting

103
00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,800
big onions, start them off now, start them off. Obviously,

104
00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,720
I need somewhere warm for them to germinate, and once

105
00:05:52,759 --> 00:05:56,040
we've got germinated, then they can start growing, and then

106
00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:01,519
separate them out into individual seed trays seed cells and

107
00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:03,720
keep them growing a bit more and then plant them

108
00:06:03,759 --> 00:06:09,160
outside come end of March April time, and obviously keep

109
00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:14,360
feeding them and keep enriching the soil and making sure

110
00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:19,160
that you can get them to a decent size. So

111
00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:20,920
that is what I'm going to try and do this year.

112
00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,839
I'm going to start off my onions hopefully this week,

113
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,199
and get them started and get them growing. And the

114
00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,480
same goes for peppers and aubergines. Peppers will need about

115
00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:37,480
twenty three twenty four degrees warmth to germinate, so you're

116
00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:39,120
going to have to start them off in the house

117
00:06:39,319 --> 00:06:43,000
or heated greenhouse what is really really well heated and insulcted.

118
00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,839
But obviously if you're growing them in the house, you

119
00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,279
need to make sure that they're getting enough light and

120
00:06:50,319 --> 00:06:54,680
they don't stretch out and go legga as they say.

121
00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,800
As obviously, growing them indoors can get seed leg a,

122
00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,959
so make sure you turning them around, keep them in

123
00:07:02,079 --> 00:07:05,839
plenty of light, and hopefully get them started then and

124
00:07:05,879 --> 00:07:09,279
again obviously when it's a bit warmer, like in March April,

125
00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,000
then you can move them into a non heated greenhouse

126
00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,560
and hopefully get them carry on growing. And the reason

127
00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,240
why you start them around now is because they take

128
00:07:19,279 --> 00:07:22,240
a long time to get growing and get fruiting. As

129
00:07:22,279 --> 00:07:26,319
I started some offering March time last year, March April time,

130
00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:31,839
and they were only just fruiting September time, so they

131
00:07:31,839 --> 00:07:33,439
were a bit behind. So that's the reason why I

132
00:07:33,439 --> 00:07:35,759
want to get them started pretty early and get them

133
00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,439
growing on a window sill in my flat and hopefully

134
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:45,279
get some peppers next year, because peppers are expensive. I've

135
00:07:45,319 --> 00:07:49,279
also been looking into getting a soup maker, as obviously

136
00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,040
I do live on my own and I like to

137
00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,040
have handy things to be able to cook with. I've

138
00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,959
obviously got my air fire, and obviously if i can

139
00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,120
a soup maker, it will be ideal for when I'm

140
00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,319
growing my corget so growing my onions or my potatoes,

141
00:08:07,399 --> 00:08:10,519
or my leaks or my tomatoes, because I can make

142
00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,480
soup from them all. And there's some decent soup makers online.

143
00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,040
So if anybody's got a soup maker, let me know

144
00:08:18,079 --> 00:08:20,319
if they're worth it or not, because I would like

145
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,279
to know, because obviously you can take quite a lot

146
00:08:23,279 --> 00:08:26,480
of bit of money from and they will make them.

147
00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:31,000
I don't like chunky soup. I'd like smooth soup, and

148
00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,600
it splends it as well for here as well, so

149
00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:37,159
I'm looking forward to trying that, because soup's getting expensive

150
00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,080
as well. When you win to the supermarket now it's

151
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,320
not the cheapest. And obviously if you're making your own soup,

152
00:08:42,399 --> 00:08:45,600
you know it's organic, you know it's fresh, and you

153
00:08:45,799 --> 00:08:51,120
have perfected it yourself and it's lovely soup. You can't

154
00:08:51,159 --> 00:08:53,919
beat it, can you. And we've got a Morrison's near

155
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,879
us as well, so having fresh bread as well from

156
00:08:57,879 --> 00:09:00,720
the bakery would go absolutely fantastic stick with the soup.

157
00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,080
So I'm looking to investing in soup maker next year.

158
00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:06,759
So let me know, get in touch if you've got

159
00:09:06,799 --> 00:09:09,759
a soup maker, and if you make some soup recipes,

160
00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,679
feel free to let me know the recipes because obviously

161
00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,559
I'll be wanting them. But yeah, obviously where I can

162
00:09:16,639 --> 00:09:19,320
save money as much as possible, that is the plan

163
00:09:19,519 --> 00:09:23,279
for next year, and obviously eating health out, which is

164
00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:26,320
another New Year's resolution I need to shift a bit

165
00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,399
of timber for next year, so we need to do

166
00:09:28,519 --> 00:09:34,279
lots more digging. But yeah, I'm planning on getting all

167
00:09:34,279 --> 00:09:37,320
that done for next year. So hopefully we will be

168
00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,840
back in tomorrow for another episode. We'll be talking about

169
00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,000
everything that we've got up to down at the allotment

170
00:09:44,039 --> 00:09:47,320
today as we're back down there today and hopefully get

171
00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,440
on a lot more work done. Hopefully we'll get the

172
00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,679
shed completely tidy and finished off ready for the springtime,

173
00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:55,960
and then I can start looking at possibly doing some

174
00:09:56,039 --> 00:09:59,039
work in the polytunnel and getting that prepared because I

175
00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,399
didn't really grow much in it last year. I grew

176
00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:05,080
some cucumbers in it, and obviously I grew over the

177
00:10:05,159 --> 00:10:08,679
cucumbers outside. The cucumbers I grew outside did better than

178
00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:10,919
the ones in the polytunnel, so I'm going to grow

179
00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,480
cucumbers outside again. I think next year we may possibly

180
00:10:14,519 --> 00:10:17,480
do a few indoors, but I'm attempt to grow the

181
00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,559
majority of them outside like I do with my tomatoes.

182
00:10:20,879 --> 00:10:23,240
So we might look at using our polytannel for growing

183
00:10:23,279 --> 00:10:27,039
some peppers and some melons and some chilis in next year,

184
00:10:27,399 --> 00:10:31,120
because obviously melons needed warmth, a lot of sunshine and warmth,

185
00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,720
so we might look at getting our polytunnel back in

186
00:10:33,879 --> 00:10:37,200
use again next year and hopefully get some stuff growing,

187
00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,879
So make sure you stay tuned for all that Again.

188
00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,519
Like I said, we'll be back tomorrow with tomorrow's episode.

189
00:10:43,759 --> 00:10:46,919
Then on the thirty first, we'll be doing the yearly roundup,

190
00:10:47,279 --> 00:10:50,720
talking about all our successes, all our failures. Then on

191
00:10:50,759 --> 00:10:53,759
the first of January will be the new year and

192
00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,480
we'll be talking about all our plans for the year ahead.

193
00:10:56,919 --> 00:10:59,759
And then come the second, we'll be talking about all

194
00:10:59,799 --> 00:11:02,440
the things that you can start to sew in January,

195
00:11:03,039 --> 00:11:05,759
and on the third we will be talking all about

196
00:11:05,799 --> 00:11:09,399
the jobs to do in your garden. So make sure

197
00:11:09,399 --> 00:11:11,879
you stay tuned and follow those episodes coming up. If

198
00:11:11,919 --> 00:11:14,480
you're not following us, do give us a follower and

199
00:11:14,639 --> 00:11:17,039
feel free to share this podcast out. The more people

200
00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,960
that listen, the better. So until next time, everyone, remember,

201
00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:25,360
keep smiling, keep shining, and keep gardening with Ben. Everyone.

202
00:11:27,639 --> 00:11:31,279
Hello and welcome to Gardening with Ben. You go to

203
00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,799
a podcast for all things green and growing. I'm Ben,

204
00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,759
your allotment guide and here to help you cultivate your

205
00:11:38,799 --> 00:11:42,440
garden and your passion for plants. Whether you're a seasoned

206
00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,919
gardener or just starting out, This podcast is for you.

207
00:11:46,639 --> 00:11:50,159
Each episode will dig into tips and tricks and techniques

208
00:11:50,159 --> 00:11:54,519
to make your garden and allotment thrive from planting, sewing,

209
00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:57,879
and growing. We will share all the tips and i'd advice.

210
00:11:58,879 --> 00:12:02,200
We will also have regular episodes talking about what we

211
00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,360
have been up to on the a lot, So sit back,

212
00:12:05,879 --> 00:12:08,840
grab a brew and enjoy today's episode.