Friday 30 March 2012
Sowing Synodic Sweetcorn - Now Set To Snow!
Yesterday was my last day for leaf and flower - now grain is part of this sowing week, so I decided to chance my arm and sow my sweetcorn! Failing that I would have had to wait until near end April for my next opportunity. Variety is Double Standard and I have sown twenty five plants. Let's hope the weather forecast for snow is incorrect as currently these are snuggled in my unheated greenhouse.
Thursday 22 March 2012
Signs of Spring
Viburnum x bodnantense "Dawn" and Hamamelis x intermedia "Pallida". Two of nature's jewels. If you see these in a garden centre, take time to stop and drink in their scent.
Peppers Progress
Back in January I sowed seeds for both chilli peppers and also sweet peppers. They are all through and getting taller/stronger each week. This is one that a very kind lady from the grapevine gave to me. It came all the way from Germany so I'm rather intrigued as to what it will be like. All peppers are in my unheated greenhouse and have been for a while. Fingers and everything crossed please.
Leaves and Flowers in March
Today signals a New Moon which can mean only one thing...time to sow flowering and leafy veg seeds.
So what do I do? I pot on a full tray of nasturtiums and plant sweet peas in the knot garden.
There's always tomorrow!
Well a few days have passed but have finally caught up on leaf week. I have sown some quick heading and some standard calabrese today, the 26th March 2012. Nasturtiums too as I intend scattering these sacrificial babes amongst my veg plants.
The weather today was perfect for getting in my newly purchased Ashwood Nurseries hybrid hellebores, muscari and a Himalayan blue poppy. A little bit of weeding went on too, courtesy of Eloise the chook. Will need to get to the allotment tomorrow as everything is starting to spring into action. Includes the weeds!
So what do I do? I pot on a full tray of nasturtiums and plant sweet peas in the knot garden.
There's always tomorrow!
Well a few days have passed but have finally caught up on leaf week. I have sown some quick heading and some standard calabrese today, the 26th March 2012. Nasturtiums too as I intend scattering these sacrificial babes amongst my veg plants.
The weather today was perfect for getting in my newly purchased Ashwood Nurseries hybrid hellebores, muscari and a Himalayan blue poppy. A little bit of weeding went on too, courtesy of Eloise the chook. Will need to get to the allotment tomorrow as everything is starting to spring into action. Includes the weeds!
Saturday 17 March 2012
Rockdust - Myth or Mineral
As you know from my previous blog entry yesterday, I have purchased a bag of Rockdust for experimental purposes. I intend to use this on my fruit beds and on half of my onions. They will be compared against the other half at harvest time.
Having been on holidays to both Sicily and The Neopolitan Riviera, I was astounded at how lush and fertile the lower slopes of both Etna and Vesuvius were. If we follow the same principle with ground Scottish volcanic rock then maybe the Rockdust isn't such a myth after all...only time will tell.
Having been on holidays to both Sicily and The Neopolitan Riviera, I was astounded at how lush and fertile the lower slopes of both Etna and Vesuvius were. If we follow the same principle with ground Scottish volcanic rock then maybe the Rockdust isn't such a myth after all...only time will tell.
Friday 16 March 2012
Edible Garden Show @ Stoneleigh
Well it is my week of rest and maintenance, so what better way to spend it than abandoning the old garden tools on a grey day, to visit the Edible Garden Show!
As I write this we have an hour before the off, it does not open until 10am. It takes an hour to get there, so now breakfast and coffee beckon. More from me later...
OK after a slightly delayed start this morning, we arrived in time to find Victoria Roberts, the chicken vet! We wanted to hear the talk on hen keeping, husbandry and diseases. She was a lovely lady who gave us some pointers on our sickly hen.
We then moved around to look at goats, a little tiddy kid and tiddier piglets. Practically every woman walking round the pens became a broody. If only we had woods and a field that were ours...sigh!
Then we walked the large hall, number 1. It took a good 2-2.5 hours to do it justice. Various stalls with common or garden herbs and fruits. This was my only disappointment - if you're looking for a mulberry, a salmonberry or a cloudberry, forget it! Not even a Rosecurrant or Glen Coe black raspberry. If you want a rhubarb, there was a great stand by the entrance selling both good old varieties and extremely reasonable terracotta rhubarb forcers. £9.99 small. £19.99 large. That's cheap!!
Other stalls of note for me were Rockdust, Wolf Garten (all their tools were on display), specialist cheese stalls, artisan bread stall, Beekeepers Association and NSALG.
What did I buy?
No seeds! T and M were there, as were DT Brown and Kings Seeds. Never saw Suttons! So I bought very cheap 20kg bag Rockdust for a test bed at the allotment - cost £9.99 RRP £14.99. Some Slug Gone wool pellets containing NPK to deter slugs, mini bag to try - £2. A Wolf Garten Seed Sower £11. A hen keeping book £10. A pot brush £5. A flagon of Perry. Some Cornish Blue Extra Mature Cheese.
In all a very pleasant six hours were spent by me and Mr VVG. Ooh and did I say we rather fancy a Haygrove polytunnel - they are very impressive!
Go, you won't be disappointed.
Note for Zazen - Vitax were there and there is no factory shop in Coalville - mores the pity!
As I write this we have an hour before the off, it does not open until 10am. It takes an hour to get there, so now breakfast and coffee beckon. More from me later...
OK after a slightly delayed start this morning, we arrived in time to find Victoria Roberts, the chicken vet! We wanted to hear the talk on hen keeping, husbandry and diseases. She was a lovely lady who gave us some pointers on our sickly hen.
We then moved around to look at goats, a little tiddy kid and tiddier piglets. Practically every woman walking round the pens became a broody. If only we had woods and a field that were ours...sigh!
Then we walked the large hall, number 1. It took a good 2-2.5 hours to do it justice. Various stalls with common or garden herbs and fruits. This was my only disappointment - if you're looking for a mulberry, a salmonberry or a cloudberry, forget it! Not even a Rosecurrant or Glen Coe black raspberry. If you want a rhubarb, there was a great stand by the entrance selling both good old varieties and extremely reasonable terracotta rhubarb forcers. £9.99 small. £19.99 large. That's cheap!!
Other stalls of note for me were Rockdust, Wolf Garten (all their tools were on display), specialist cheese stalls, artisan bread stall, Beekeepers Association and NSALG.
What did I buy?
No seeds! T and M were there, as were DT Brown and Kings Seeds. Never saw Suttons! So I bought very cheap 20kg bag Rockdust for a test bed at the allotment - cost £9.99 RRP £14.99. Some Slug Gone wool pellets containing NPK to deter slugs, mini bag to try - £2. A Wolf Garten Seed Sower £11. A hen keeping book £10. A pot brush £5. A flagon of Perry. Some Cornish Blue Extra Mature Cheese.
In all a very pleasant six hours were spent by me and Mr VVG. Ooh and did I say we rather fancy a Haygrove polytunnel - they are very impressive!
Go, you won't be disappointed.
Note for Zazen - Vitax were there and there is no factory shop in Coalville - mores the pity!
Saturday 10 March 2012
Roots In March
Yeay...it's time to reclaim part of my dining table. The time to plant my first early potatoes has arrived and today a row each of Lady Christl, Amorosa, Swift, Red Duke of York, Arran Pilot, Pentland Javelin, Ulster Prince, Sharpes Express, Shetland Black and Yukon Gold went into the ground. Piccolo Star has gone into a bag. These have been chitting and occupying half of my long dining table. I have six egg trays left of salad and maincrops to get in.
Today saw me plant horseradish thongs, courtesy of the GYO Guru Zazen999. Thank you and they are in!
I planted my Glaskins Perpetual and Red Canadian rhubarb crowns today, giving them a good mulch of muck in the process.
The beetroot seedlings have gone in under cover of cloche. The leek seedlings too have made it to real soil.
More tomorrow!
12th March saw me sow parsnip seeds, six varieties. Thirty station sowings in total so fingers crossed!!!
When we arrived home, after a warm day on the allotment (with picnic), I went straight to the greenhouse to sow more leeks in modules, same with more beetroot and celeriac.
A full on weekend!
Today saw me plant horseradish thongs, courtesy of the GYO Guru Zazen999. Thank you and they are in!
I planted my Glaskins Perpetual and Red Canadian rhubarb crowns today, giving them a good mulch of muck in the process.
The beetroot seedlings have gone in under cover of cloche. The leek seedlings too have made it to real soil.
More tomorrow!
12th March saw me sow parsnip seeds, six varieties. Thirty station sowings in total so fingers crossed!!!
When we arrived home, after a warm day on the allotment (with picnic), I went straight to the greenhouse to sow more leeks in modules, same with more beetroot and celeriac.
A full on weekend!
Monday 5 March 2012
Hardening Off
With the inclement weather of late and the need for space on my benches, I have been hardening off my early sown peas, broad beans, beetroot and sweet peas. The term "harden off" means to get those tender swaddled seedlings used to being thrown from cosy greenhouse (unheated) to not so cosy open air at the allotment. So for a few days I started popping them outside and over a few nights too I have had them out...which means they are ready to be planted before fruit week runs out! Tomorrow is the plan for the broad beans and peas. The beetroot will have to wait until root week, next week.
Things are on the move!
Things are on the move!
More Peas Please!
Very rarely have I sown enough peas to make for a large harvest that reaches home! My daughter, the lovely India, likes nothing more than eating her own body weight (she is tiny) in fresh off the plant peas. So this year I, in line with her request for more, have sown many varieties of HSL/Real Seeds/common or garden peas in the vain hope that some make it to the dinner plate!!
- Champion of England
- Meteor
- Douce Provence
- Jeyes
- Table Talk
- Goldensweet Mangetout
- Purple Podded
- Purple Flowered Russian
- Bijou
- Charmette
- Carouby de Mousanne
Let's see if she can outpod me this year!!!
- Champion of England
- Meteor
- Douce Provence
- Jeyes
- Table Talk
- Goldensweet Mangetout
- Purple Podded
- Purple Flowered Russian
- Bijou
- Charmette
- Carouby de Mousanne
Let's see if she can outpod me this year!!!
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