Sunshine makes everything look better....mostly.

 

Yesterday was glorious here but I was stuck inside then today I've been nursing a headache that just won't quit so I thought I would blog in an attempt to distract my brain.

 

I pop out into the garden every morning to open up grow houses, this morning was a surprising dusting of frost but the plants are coping. It's mainly perennial plugs that I'm hardening off and growing on for friends so it's even more important that they survive.

 

This massive cloche on the left was a real bargain, I got it from a garden centre last week for just £10. It is a bit of an eyesore but I reckon it'll be great for the Autumn. At the moment it is covering some early sowings of beetroot, carrot and radishes from last month and peas and broad beans we did last week. There are a few other things growing but they're purely experimental at this stage but I'll report back when there is something to report (good or bad).

 

The garden really is a mess with lots that need clearing and chucking.

The ikea bag I've been growing in has given into the elements so I'm going to transfer the soil into a new grow bag I got cheaply.

I have some onions that have rotted so they will need sorting.

 

 

 I have pots to clear and things to be chopped and composted, just a few more weeks till the council start their green collection.

There really is not a huge amount to be proud of at the moment but there is progress.

 

 

The apple tree has leaves busting out all over and the blueberries and jostaberry bushes looking full of potential.

 

 

I am hardening off these I've grown from seed.

For colour I've growing cosmos brightness and rubenza, calendula fruit twist and teasels.

They have been in here for a few days, I open is up during the day and zip up at night and so far they are coming along. I'm going to allow them about two weeks like this and then they should be okay to leave unzipped all the time and then ready for planting out.

Plus, putting them outside has alleviated some of the strain on the window ledges which are full of tomatoes and the like.

 

And this is the one tidy patch of the garden. I have to be honest, I don't find primulas the most exciting of plants but they have done me proud this spring giving a much needed splash of colour.

 

Hope it's been a good weekend.

 

x

 

Shame on me!

I have an apology to make to anyone gracious enough to listen.

Yes, I have neglected my blog. I became distracted.

Some lovely friends took me to a crochet class for my birthday at the beginning of the year and got me hooked (pun intended).

I had always wanted to learn to crochet and have had 40 years to catch up on and get out of my system.

 

The thing is, once I stopped, it was really hard to get back in the swing of things. No matter how desperately I wanted to. I do like blogging, even Dave noticed how much,  but it does actually go quite against my personality. I am  not a gregarious person, never have been and I could probably happily continue blogging without ever receiving any comment or contact, not that I don't appreciate the comments that I do get.....

Ok, I suppose it comes down  to the fact that I just love gardening and am happy to just share that with anyone who will listen.

 

Thank you if you are still listening.

 

The blogging may have ground to a halt but the gardening has continued in earnest.

I've added an new bed upcycled from the kid's beds.

 

 

I took out the lavender then lined and filled the bed.

 

 

I've since planted up thyme, rosemary, garlic and new strawberry plants and a few perennial plants. Weather permitting, it can get at least 6 hours of sunlight in a day so I'm hoping the strawberries will do well for me.

 

The house is chocker-block with young plants. Every window is full of greenery.

 

The kitchen is overrun by plants.

The future is green.

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago so I will take some this week and show you how things are going.

 

It has been wonderful these past couple of days, spending hours in the garden, enjoying the sunshine and seeing progress in so many areas.

No matter how much I scrub them, there is always some ground in dirt under my finger nails, as it should be I say with a smile on my face.

 

x

 



The pros and cons of sowing early

As I said in my last post, I've not sown this early before so I knew there was a chance that things would not go according to plan.

The fact is seeds need warmth and light to germinate, two things January is not renowned for.

The other day, after a major dumpage of snow, it just seemed bizarre to look at the seeds snug in their propagators with a backdrop of freezing temperatures and snow.

One of the disadvantages to sowing early is that sometimes the seedlings go very leggy, the poor things are straining to seek out more daylight.

So, yes some of my tomatoes have gone quite leggy. I rejected one or two that were really quite lanky but the others I have potted up, planting quite deep in the pot and earthing up around the lower parts of the seedling as tomatoes like that.

 So far they seems happy enough.

I've now potted up dianthus, various varieties of tomatoes, chives and aubergine which I'm really pleased with. So the advantage of being brave/reckless about sowing early is when plants like aubergine and peppers that need a longer growing season get a bit of a head start.

I have cayenne and jalapenos getting bigger by the day.

Each day. there is a little more light at the end of the day and that can only be a good thing for getting those seeds going.

And finally, our cat Immy is not a fan of the snow so I was able to look after the birds a bit more than usual. Some strategically placed apple attracted this gorgeous female blackcap who fed almost constantly for nearly a week.

So the snow had gone and the rain and wind are back with avengance.

Roll on Spring.

x

Seedlings.

I started my seeds off, I thought I would try using proper seed and cutting compost with a bit of vermiculite.

Progression.

 This time last year, I would have had only one bag of potting compost in the garden.

Now I understand the need for ericacious soil for my blueberries, John Innes No 3 for the new addition of raspberry canes, seed and cutting compost and a bag of soil improver to mix with that from the compost heap and lavish on the garden.

Blogs give you the ability to look back at where you were and how far you've come (hopefully).

Snow is on the cards so I shall wait a little long before I dig all the beds over.

There's alot of gardening going on inside my head.

Plans being laid.........

......and seeds are just germinating all over the place.

I had thought it would take longer, I thought that maybe there wasn't enough daylight or warmth.

Not for the first time, I was wrong.

So far breaking ground are sungold, tigerella  and alicante toms, coriander, fenugreek and some dianthus edwardiana. No action from the chillies, pepper or aubergine yet but that is to be expected.

It's almost overwhelming but I have plans for all of these, I hope that they can be nurtured and will be sell able at an Easter fair. So I foresee months of juggling space and I have a feeling the kitchen and all the window ledges will be full.

Such fun!

x

Sometimes life isn't straight forward.

Firstly, Happy New Year!

Had life not got in the way, I would have not neglected my blog so terribly. To cut a long story short, Chris broke his arm just before Christmas and then just after Christmas needed an op and wires fitted. Life is just starting to return to some semblance of normality and normal sleep patterns are returning.

I haven't even had the chance or the inclination to check in on  fellow bloggers so I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.

I have been so looking forward to sowing my first seeds, I may have jumped the gun a few weeks but I started sowing seeds from the 1st of January.

It felt so good to be doing stuff.

I've always been nervous about when to start sowing, last year was my earliest start (the middle of February) but I've decided to give it a go especially with the chillies and tomatoes. I've also sown some peppers, aubergine and herbs including fenugreek.

These are all sitting in propagators sitting in Leah's bedroom window to get the most light.

I had a good sort through of my seeds and completely redid my "filing" system using bigger envelopes and with more details written on them so I can keep track of when to sow and the expiry date of the seeds. Also learnt a valuable lesson about which end of the seed packet to tear open!

May we all have a productive and fertile growing season with the right amount of rain and sunshine.

x

Just getting on with it!

It's been a while. I know. I'm sorry.

It's that time of year, not a lot happening in the garden and not alot to blog about.

To be honest, stuff needed to happen in the garden but I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm necessary to do what needed doing.

Yesterday was a lovely day, the kind of day that would be criminal to spend inside.

 So, we came home from church, I changed into my gardening trousers, left instructions with Dave to prep the chicken and spuds for roast dinner for later and rolled my sleeves up ready to get dirty.

This bed needed lots of attention. One of the Romanescu broccoli and the curly kale had really taken a beating from the white fly. I seem to have managed to get rid of the white fly after several doses of soapy water spray, one broccoli looks tatty but I've cut it back a little and will just see if it improves and the kale mostly just looked really ropey and diseased, so three plants got pulled. This was a bit of instinctive gardening on my part, sometimes you just have to do what your gut tells you.

This was the aftermath.

The purple sprouting broccoli at the back are coming on and the cavolo nero are maturing.

Growing broad beans is bit of a journey into the unknown for me.

Will they last the winter? Have I given them enough support? Will the kids eat them? (I know I will, so not a major concern)

Buoyed by the success of the plants in the grow house, I sowed some more. I started some off a few weeks ago in peat pots and now seemed a good time to plant them out under bottle cloches.

These plants are edged by green manure. Broad beans take approximately 5 months to crop so hopefully I'll get some broad beans before I need to dig over the bed ready for Summer planting.

I also sowed some beans in the Ikea bag where I had grown carrots, this I've covered  but it doesn't get much sun  in this part of the garden at this time of the year so this will be a case of wait and see.

Doesn't everything look so much better with the sun shining on it?

The herbs and the other plants are happily protected and coming along. We've only had one frost, last week so they haven't really been tested.

Most days, I try and open up the grow houses, even a little just to let the air circulate a bit.

On days like yesterday, it's a case of flinging open the doors. It is surprising how warm these grow houses can get in full sun.

By the time I had got most of the necessary jobs done, the garden was in full shade, about 3.30. Time to wash up, check up on dinner and take the kids for a short walk to the park.

Such a beautiful day and  much needed to lift the spirit and motivate the body.

A few more like this would be lovely, thank you very much.

x

The temperature has certainly dropped over the past few days. No frost here as yet so there is that to be thankful for. And there is more positive  goings on in the garden.

The scourge of white fly seems to be coming under control. I've given it a couple of sprays with the solution of  washing up liquid and I can see the difference. Whereas before, just one touch would disturb a whole host of white fly and sending them crazy. They had spread to the cavolo nero as well. Now there are hardly any, and the kale may possibly be saved. Will do another treatment or two and keep an eye.

After what is probably just a few weeks, the onions are producing green shoots. Having not grown onions before, I'm hoping things are all as they should be. The netting and shelf from the grow house seemed to have worked in keeping the squirrels at bay.



I've also planted up more garlic and another 2 elephant garlic cloves.

I do go on about my grow houses, I have a couple now and they are useful for gardening on a small scale but I had caught sight of a small lean to wooden greenhouse which seemed like a good price

http://www.greenfingers.com/superstore/product.asp?dept_id=200672&pf_id=OS0002D

I've bought a few things from them now and have been pleased with the quality.

It took me just under an hour to put together even with very basic instructions. I think one of the selling points of this is that, unlike the pvc grow houses, this is flush on the ground and so the snails can't get in.

I've grown on some plug plants perennials for some friends and I'm hanging onto them until the spring and there's still room for some of my cuttings.

And I look forward to filling it with a new seasons seeds come the Spring.

This is the hope that gets us through the coming months.

x