Gardening in June

June is a key month! It signals the midpoint of the year, the end of spring and the beginning of summer. It is also our last chance to sow seeds of runner beans or main crop carrots and peas, it marks your first opportunity to harvest crops like new potatoes, beetroot, onion, strawberries, cherries and gooseberries. The longest day is on the 21^{st so your plants will be increasingly receives more sun light and temperatures should be steadily rising. You will need to keep tirelessly vigilant over pests to keep them down to manageable levels.}

Here are some top growing tips from Hill Side Herbs for June.
Harvest new season early potatoes, peas and broad beans, onions, beetroot, summer salads, and fruit such as strawberries, gooseberries and cherries
Sow seeds for vegetables, salads, and herbs
Plant out tender seedlings with confidence, now that danger of frost has passed
Weed ruthlessly and water regularly to give young plants their best possible chance
Net peas, cabbages and fruit bushes against hungry birds
Keep a careful watch for slugs, snails, blackfly, cabbage white caterpillars, carrot fly and other harmful insects
*Ripening strawberries can be pampered with a bed of soft straw. It will protect them from getting dirtied by rain splashing up from wet soil and may also help to deter slugs.

Here is a list of 17 vegetables, 4 salads and 3 fruits you can harvest in June:

Veg:
Potatoes
Swiss Chard/Spinach Beet
Turnips
Cauliflowers
Asparagus
Broad Beans
Garlic
Globe Artichokes
Beetroot
Onions
Spinach
Peas
Florence Fennel
Kohl Rabi
Carrots
Rhubarb
Broccoli
Salads:
Lettuces
Spring Onions
Radishes
Salad Leaves
Fruit:
Strawberries
Gooseberries
Cherries
Sowing your seeds in June reduces danger of frost and it is possible to sow your seeds outside!


Vegetable seeds to sow outside:
Beetroot
Broccoli
Carrots
Courgettes and summer Squashes
Florence Fennel
French Beans
Kale
Kohl Rabi
Marrows
Oriental Leaves
Peas
Pumpkins and winter squashes
Runner Beans
Swedes
Swiss Chard
Turnips *French beans are ready for a second sowing this month.


Salad seeds to sow outside:
Chicory
Cucumbers
Endives
Lettuces
Radishes
Salad leaves
Spring onions
Vegetables to plant out:
Aubergines
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbages
Cauliflowers
Celeriac
Chilli Peppers
Courgettes and summer Squashes
French beans
Kale
Leeks
Marrows
Pumkins
Runner Beans
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Peppers
Sweetcorn
Salads to plant out:
Celery
Chicory
Cucumbers
Endives
Tomatoes
Fruit to plant out:
Cape Gooseberry
Melons
Strawberries The battle against weeds is relentless, it is estimated that there may be as many as 100,000 weed seeds!


Weeding tips:

Hoe regularly to catch weeds while they are young
Don’t let weeds flower or they will generate a new crop of seeds
Hoe when its dry so that severed and uprooted weeds die quickly
Loosen soil thoroughly so that when you dig up roots you leave nothing behind
If the soil is damp collect up and dispose of any remains to ensure that they don’t re grow
Don’t put perennial weeds on to your compost heap
Use lightproof membrane mulches to kill established weeds
Spread surface mulches to suppress the growth of new seeds
Use chemicals systemic weed killers as a last resort

Jobs for June!

Weed
Water
Mulch
Check nets
Feed Tomatoes
Earth up potatoes
Build supports for climbing beans
Cut down broad beans and peas
Feed asparagus
Summer-Prune herbs
Pot strawberry runners
Remove raspberry suckers
Tie in blackberries and hybrid berries
Thin out apples and pears
Twice thin plumbs
Tie in and thin peaches
Summer-prune figs

We are extremely interested in seeing your gardens, vegetables plots and plants so get sending in your pictures! We would like to read some of your stories and any good ideas you have for recipies!! Send them in via our facebook page or twitter!
You will find us at:

Hillside Herbs

23 Jasmine Rd,

Kates Hill

Dudley

DY2 7NL

01384 816710/ Jenny Cadman 07702820175

Gardening in May

In May days are longer, temperatures are higher and with luck there’ll be enough warm sunshine to act as a real foretaste of summer. It’s the month to begin sewing, planting and harvesting.

Here are some top growing tips from Hill Side Herbs for May.
Harvest asparagus, baby globe artichokes and turnips, fresh "green" garlic and new season Oriental salad leaves
Sew outdoors if the weather is mild, and indoors or under cover if it’s been a late spring
Harden off seedlings and start planting them out once the soil become warm enough
Plant the last of your seed potatoes
Protect tender plants against sudden, late frosts. Keep an eye on the weather and be ready with cloches, fleece and even newspapers
Weed regularly and thoroughly, and keep young plants well watered
Net fruit brushes to protect them from birds
*Asparagus Spears are pushing up through the soil and should be ready for eating!

Here is a list of 14 vegetables and salads you can harvest in May:
Spring Cauliflowers
Lettuces
Turnips
Chop Suey greens
Oriental Leaves
Radishes
Spinach
Garlic
Swish Chard/Spinach Beet
Asparagus
Rhubarb
Spring Onions
Globe Artichokes
Spring Cabbages
Sow your seeds in May!

Sadly not all seeds are sown at the right time and often the whole lot are sewn at once! Sew a feed seeds every few weeks, this will maximise your success and spread out your harvest.


Vegetable seeds to sow outdoors undercover:
Beetroot
Corn Salad
Cucumbers
French Beans
Runner Beans
Sweetcorn *Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Brussels Sprouts, and Broccoli are probably best being sewing by the end of may if you want them ready by the end of the year! Chillies, Peppers and cucumbers are best to be grown indoors still.


Vegetable seeds to sow outdoors:
Beetroot
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbages
Calabrese
Carrots
Cauliflowers
Chicory
Florence Fennel
French Beans
Kale
Kohl Rabi
Land Cress
Lettuces
Oriental Leaves
Peas
Radishes
Rocket
Runner Beans
Salad Leaves
Spinach
Spring Onions
Broccoli
Summer Purslane
Swedes
Swish Chard/Spinach Beet
Turnips
Vegetables to sow indoors:
Cabbages
Cauliflowers
Chicory
Chillies and Peppers
Courgettes and summer Squashes
Endive
French Beans
Gherkins
Kale
Marrows
Pumpkin and winter Squashes
Runner Beans
Sprouting Broccoli You can plant all of these outdoors.


Fruit to plant outdoors:
Cape Gooseberries
Cranberries
Strawberries

JOBS FOR MAY:
Harden off and plant out seedlings, Water seeds and seedlings, Weed regularly, Protect plants against frost…

1 Move seedlings grown under cover from outdoors in the day time

2 Water seedlings regularly, early mornings and evenings are the best times

3 Weed as often as you can

4 Thin out seedlings ruthlessly

5 Protect marrow plants over night

6 Support broad beans with strong twine between canes

7 Earth up rows of potato plants

8 Cover strawberry plants with cloches overnight for an early crop, remove them during the day

9 Reduce the number of raspberry canes on your rows, prune out less vigorous shoots to allow in light and air

*Watch out for flea beetle, slugs, snails and pigeons. Net your strawberry plants to keeps birds and slugs away. Lay straw around the base to deter slugs.

We are extremely interested in seeing your gardens, vegetables plots and plants so get sending in your pictures! We would like to read some of your stories and any good ideas you have for recipies!! Send them in via our facebook page or twitter!
You will find us at:

Hillside Herbs

23 Jasmine Rd,

Kates Hill

Dudley

DY2 7NL

01384 816710/ Jenny Cadman 07702820175

New Grow Food 4 Life Courses at Hillside Herbs

At Hillside herbs, we often run a few courses each month, these courses are usually open to all of the family, we teach you how to get the best out of your home grown Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs. We will show you how to cook it and give new idea's on what can be done with what you have been growing, Recently we made Parsnip cake which was very nice and we think that Parsnips work well in a cake as they are already sweet! The Parsnips give the cake a gooey caramel texture as well, which is YUM!

When you  come along to one or many of our courses, you will get chance to try new foods which we always have to offer on course, you can even take some home with you.

If you don't have your own allotment, you can still growfood4life, all you need is space like a Patio a Window Sill or a grow bag.

'Learn to grow your own' courses will include lots of practical work, All Seeds and equipment are provided!

Our up and coming courses are as follows:

Growing Course

Starts Saturday 26th April 2014

10AM - 11.30AM every Saturday

This course lasts for 5 weeks

Family Gardening Group

Starts Saturday 26th April 2014

12NOON - 1.30PM

Open to Adults and Children

This course lasts for 5 weeks

Garden Crafts

Starts Monday 14th - 17th April 2014

1PM - 3PM

Open to Adults and Children

All of these courses will be run by Jenny Cadman at Hillside herbs.


You will find us at:

Hillside Herbs

23 Jasmine Rd,
Kates Hill

Dudley

DY2 7NL

Don’t hesitate to call us on:

01384 816710

Hillside Herbs First blog post!

Hello and thank you for reading Hillside Herbs First blog post, we will be posting weekly updates about the project and will keep you up to date with what we have been up to, any events and what we have for sale!

This March at Hillside Herbs, we had a two week visit from a team of Princes Trust team building course goers, this group was the 234th. Our first Princes Trust team we ever had was the 25th. Thanks to the Princes Trust's help we are still going now ten years later! We embrace all volunteers and all the help is greatly appreciated. If you enjoy gardening then we would love to see you down on site helping us out! The Princes Trust group did so much and really co-operated with us and we can't thank them enough for all of their enthusiasm.

They came to us to do their community project for their course on our site, behind a council house in Jasmine Road. They helped us out with weeding out un-used large vegetable beds so we can now get growing more veg, they re-planted flowers and strawberries, weeded out the front garden and helped us save our woodchip which we keep on the car park. They raised money by gathering old clothes to sell, they did a sponsored walk to Birmingham from Tipton which took them four hours, they took part in two Iceland Bag packs and raised around £300 to put towards our project, with that money they built us a nice bench to put by our pond which we take great care of and now we can sit and enjoy the wildlife that lives in it. We love the wildlife in the pond as they keep down garden pests.
Hillside herbs is a great place for anyone who is unemployed and looking for some work to pass the days by, it's great for keeping fit and it's free and much better than paying for a gym membership. There is always something to keep you busy and a great place to make new friends. It can help you on your way back into work; it lifts your mood and keeps you feeling motivated! It's a great place to learn lots of gardening tips and tricks as Gaynor Langford is amazing with her gardening knowledge and she is really dedicated and enthusiastic about it. You can learn a lot from her. The staff are very impressive.

At Hillside herbs on the 22nd of March 2014, we are holding an event called 'The Big Dig' it starts at 12noon and finished around 4pm. We will be holding many activities such as pond dipping, fairy craft, face painting, food demonstrations, making bird and bat boxes and we will also be making a woodland area and we will be holding a plant sale. It’s a great family event and we look forward to seeing everyone there!

You will find us at:

Hillside Herbs

23 Jasmine Rd,

Kates Hill

Dudley

DY2 7NL

Don’t hesitate to call us on:

01384 816710