Since our council stopped taking food waste to the anaerobic digester (it all has to go in the black bin which goes to the incinerator instead), we had a few small recycling bins sitting around doing nothing. Over the last few years I've become last enamoured about growing in containers, particularly plants which have high watering requirements, as they dry out too easily. So I was looking at designs for self-watering containers to see if I could make some easily, then came across this chap's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qIlyMco40k . 

In that video he makes a wicking container with a big tub and plastic bottles. You basically create a reservoir of water at the bottom of the container, making sure to arrange the height of the holes so that there is always about 1 inch of air between the top of the water and the potting mix to avoid anaerobic conditions. All I did was drill a small overflow hole in the side of a recycling bin, poked some holes in the top and bottom of 330ml drinks cans, put them upside down at the bottom of the bin, cut a diagonal at one end of a bit of PVC pipe and stuck that cut end in to the bottom of the bin, then filled with potting mix. If that's confusing, I've added a drawing as an attachment. 

I've never grown such healthy tomatoes in containers before and don't think I'll grow them in normal pots again. All I do is top the reservoir up with water once a day until water runs out of the overflow hole. My neighbour has two more spare recycling bins which I hope to pinch. Next year I'm also going to convert the bigger, rectangular bottle recycling bins which we grow cucumbers, celery and tomatoes in by lining them with plastic sheeting to create a 6 inch holeless sump.

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Share your best ever harvest. 

This is one of the best bunches of carrots I’ve ever harvested. Best bit is this is just this morning’s thinning out! 
I can’t wait to see the size of the grown ups when I harvest them     . I’m guessing they’re not called giant red for nothing…….. apart from their not red   .

   

I usually grow about 8 or 9 gherkin plants and that gives us enough for a year's supply of cornichons plus a few jars to give away/inflict on the innocent. This year I have 10 plants (over two sowings), but the first three are really productive and have already produced a year's supply of pickles.

It seems wrong to compost the rest of the plants before they've even produced a gherkin, but I don't want to spend any more money on vinegar for pickling, either. 

Should I keep on pickling and reckon to not grow any next year (and possibly the year after!) or just be hard-hearted, compost the lot and use the space for something else?!

In the words of Henry Kelly. Please can someone identify this flower. It has appeared in one of my beds and I don't recognise it. The leaf in focus just under the flower is the leaf associated with the flower.


   

Bought a packet of Johnson’s “Jolly Jester” tagetes - I just love those tall stripy things. 
Anyway, I sowed them, pricked them out,  planted them and looked after them. They’ve just started to flower and they are little dwarf “Naughty Marietta”. 
Bugger - I only grow tall things for cutting! 
To give them their due, Johnson’s have said that they’ll replace them - BUT I’ve not got any lovely stripy jolly jesters this year - and who
knows if the replacement pack will be Jolly Jesters. 
So annoying.
We really are at the mercy of the seed companies - and thankfully, most of the time they get it right. 
Apologies for weird font changes. Dunno what’s going on!

Hi
I’ve just spotted an amazing number of bumble bees (like at least fifty!) buzzing around a small hole in the garden near the sweet peas. All fighting and scrambling to get into the small hole which is the size of a broom handle.
These are really large bumble bees and as soon as I get near the sweet peas they buzz furiously around my head trying to scare me off - they are blooming well succeeding!
Obviously I am thrilled to have these beautiful creatures in the garden, but I am worried about getting stung -plus how am I going to pick the sweet peas?.
I’ve put a wire cage around them to keep Fitzroy (the puss away from them).
The photo doesn’t come near to showing the number of airborne ones. No exaggeration when I say at least fifty!

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This Snail begonia is one of the most amazing plants I've ever seen..................and its mine.
It was a freebie on the local site.
Hoping to split it into several plants, propagate it by leaf cuttings and generally, turn one plant into many. If I succeed I'll give them to Lily's Lettuce to sell for charity. I'm sure she'll be able to sell them.

Do you pinch out/prune yours?

My cucs tend to have their own way in the gh, thereby I end up with a miniature Amazon jungle.  I dont prune avidly. Some say to nip out growing shoots when they hit the roof, some to nip out at 7 leaves (although to be fair I think that's for outside ones).  My usual varieties of Beth Alpha and Konsa  aren't too badly behaved but the Chinese Slangen I've grown this year seems a bit enthusiastic.  Do I tip it, will it then throw out even more side shoots?  What does the forum think?

Just found this this evening, anyone else think it's anything other than the work of a leaf cutter bee? 
Pretty cool if it is, never seen evidence of one before.

   

That caught your eye, didn't it.
I've been wondering whether its more productive to grow fruit and veg in a small space that can be cared for/protected easily  or in a larger space that cannot be.
For example, is it better to grow one small cherry tree that can be netted against birds or several larger ones that can't.
Or a couple of brassicas that you can watch over and net or rows of them that may be predated by birds. 
Would you prefer two decent cabbages or 20 holey ones ? 
A currant bush that is netted from birds or 6 bushes that aren't?

I think you can see where I'm going with this. Is small beautiful?