I made a decision about a month ago that from 6pm on Saturday until 8am on Monday morning I would put my phone in silent. I know this may sound rather odd to some of you, but when you’re self employed there are times when you just have to switch off and have a bit of time to yourself. No work phone calls or texts can be that important between those times. I’ve also decided to not answer any claire’s allotment messages during that time as well, they will just have to wait until Monday. I do check my phone occasionally just incase there is a phone call or message from family, but other than that it’s a phone free day. Try it, it’s very liberating.
I know this may sound odd to some of you, but Sunday is a bell ringing, gardening and family day. I’m enjoying it so far and will keep this up for as long as I feel necessary.
So first thing this morning I did my bit of bell ringing, then spent time with the family, and then the entire afternoon was supposed to be spent in the garden. However, the rain had other ideas. I’m sure like the rest of you the weather was very changeable today. One moment it was sunny and the next it poured with rain. It was a little “trying” to say the least.
When the rains came, I hurried back in the house, put more washing on, made some more ice cream, watched the very bizarre “Biggles” film with Mark and various other household chores. But when the sun came out I was back in the garden seeing what I could do.
It took a while, but I managed to plant out all my Exhibition Onions. It is a little late to start them now off from seeds, but you can buy plants from here and then continue growing on yourself.
Here’s how I planted both my Onions and Leeks out….. (this was filmed last year when the sun decided to shine all day long)…..
And finally, after lots of dodging the showers I plant out all my Leeks.
Again it’s too late to sow from seeds, but plants are available from here.
I also managed to plant out the few Spinach plants I have.
You don’t need much room to plant out spinach, you can either have a long line, or plants them in a little group. Here’s how I plant out mine.
You can still sow Spinach seeds right up until the end of May, possibly to the middle of June.
Because of the latest rain we’ve had all the recently sowed seeds are germinating really well, these are my Beetroot which are just popping through the soil.
I wanted to do loads more today, but the rain stopped that, but at least I didn’t have to water. I’ve got a full week of work again this week, so hopefully when I get home I’ll be able to pop out in the garden to get a few more bits done, even if it’s just for half an hour. Little and often is the key.
Have a wonderful week and I hope that you’re able to dodge the showers as well xxx
When I got back from work today, I sat down for half an hour and had a lovely hot cup of tea. The sun was shining outside and so before I needed to get dinner on the go I decided to pop out into my garden to get a few bits done.
My sprouting broccoli has finally finished, the last few bits have gone to seed, so it’s time to dig the plants up and make way for whatever is going in their place this year.
Every time I come home from work, I pop out into the garden to say “Hello my little babies! Have you had a good day? Would you like to come out and have a little play?” to the chickens. Yes I really do. They’re always very happy to see me. I usually put them in one of the brassica cages and they scratch around and have a dust bath, but today as I was digging up my brassica plants and weeding the area, I thought they may like to come and play with me instead.
They didn’t need asking twice, as soon as they saw the spade go in the soil they knew that some tasty worms were likely to appear, and they were right. So after I very carefully removed all the brassicas making sure the chickens didn’t loose any toes in the process, I got down on my hands and knees and using my trowel, removed any of the remaining weeds.
I love my girlies, but sometimes they really do get in the way. Which ever weed I decided I would dig up next, one of them decided they would stand right over it. Bless them.
Soon the area was clear, and because there was nothing left for them to eat they decided they would have a wander in the fruit patch instead. The fruit patch is coming along a treat, and it was rather comical to watch them work their way between the raspberries and strawberries.
Just before it was time for playtime to come to an end and they had to go back into their run, I had a quick look in the greenhouses and was thrilled to see that my beans have started to germinate. I think this year I’ll create a little archway for them to grow up, so when I walk to the end of the garden I’ll have to go under them. Hopefully it’ll work, but I need to get some more 8 foot canes first.
After another busy week of gardening for other people (which I love don’t get me wrong), and Saturday rushing around doing shopping and household chores, catching up on emails, baking, oh and so many other things. I promised myself Sunday would mostly be spent in the garden. So after the morning church service bell ringing, very soon we can get back to practice night ringing which will be sooooooooo good, and a few more household chores, I was finally outside.
The greenhouse needed watering again, the plants are growing so well in there and soon some will need planting outside. Lots of the flowers are for gardening clients of mine, so in a couple of weeks time they’ll all leave the safety of my greenhouse and go out in people’s gardens. I’ll then have room for all my melon’s, aubergines and various other plants.
In one of the small beds at the back I planted out my lettuce and then sowed a few more lettuce seeds in a row next to it.
Hopefully once the first lot of lettuce is finished then the next lot will be ready. I’ll sow another row in about 6 weeks time so we’ll have a good supply throughout the summer and into the autumn.
A little bit more weeding in the hydrangea bed and I had a few plants that I needed to go in that bed as well. Then just some general tidying up before I had to call it a day.
I didn’t get as much time in the garden as I’d hoped, by brain just found it difficult to focus. It does that sometimes, must be my age.
Another busy week next week, but hopefully I can try and sneak in a bit more, so much to do at this time of year.
Good afternoon! Well I am pleased to report that I had very mild side effects from my covid vaccination, how I managed that I don’t know, must be the red hair, we have special powers you know. Hopefully when I have my second jab in about 12 weeks time I will sail through just as easily. I was a little achy, but just from my knees down to my ankles. I felt tired, so had a little nap for 2 hours late afternoon, but nothing to stop me going through a load of emails. My head started to feel a little “upset”, but a regularly took paracetamol and ibuprofen and that seemed to make my aches go away and my head feel happy again. But the weirdest feeling I had was that my head felt like it was in a goldfish bowl, not wet and with fish swimming by all the time, but that spaced out feeling. To be honest it was really quite nice. But with that feeling I wouldn’t have wanted to drive anywhere and my brain did feel a little foggy as well.
So I spent the day, yes in my pj’s, catching up on various things on the computer and watching various things on the TV. I did watch a film, but my brain is still quite foggy and I can’t remember what I watched. What did I watch? Hang on let me go downstairs to have a look…..Knives Out, that was it.
This morning when I woke up I felt nearly normal, I haven’t felt completely normal for a very long time, so it’s the best I’ll get at the moment. My knees only started the ache again at lunchtime, so I had another couple of paracetamol and they were fine in about an hour.
I decided that I wouldn’t push myself too hard today as well, so after pottering around in the house this morning, I went out in the garden this afternoon. I didn’t do any hard digging, but I did manage to get the last of the sowing done which is very exciting.
I sowed the last of the flower seeds I have so some Honesty “Purple and White Mixed” as well as some Cleome or some people call Spider Flower. It looks and smells like Marijuana but is totally legal. I guess that’s the closest I’ll ever get to having something in my garden that is a bit suspect.
Now that it’s May I can sow my French and Runner beans. I always sow them the first week of May which gives them 3-4 weeks of growing time before they can be planted outside. I live in the South on the UK, and any tender crops can go out from the beginning of June as we won’t get any frosts after that date. If you live further North, then work back 3-4 weeks from your last frost date and sow yours then.
I find that they’re about 6-8 inches tall when they go outside, which is the perfect size and haven’t started to twist around each other by then. My greenhouses are getting very full and various plants like the lettuce and brassicas could go out in a couple of weeks time, but it’s going to be tight for space soon.
I sowed various beans and planted 2 or 3 French bean seeds per square pot and just 2 Runner bean seeds per pot. Don’t plant them together, I did mine in diagonal corners. When you come to plant them out, don’t separate then, they’re quite happy to grow together. Here are the ones I’ve done:
French Beans – Two Dwarf varieties “Mascotte” and “Safari (Kenyan Bean)”. The dwarf varieties don’t need a structure to climb they are self supporting. If you’re short on space then these are perfect, they can also be grown in containers as well. And then a climbing variety “Blue Lake”. These will need a structure to climb up so in a few weeks time I’ll decide where they’re going and make a wigwam. You must make sure that the structure is very stable as the beans will get very heavy and if you suddenly get strong winds then they will blow over. It’s happened to me before.
Runner Beans – Again you can get some dwarf varieties of these as well. The variety I have, I’ve had for a few years so don’t know if they still do it. I think it was an experimental seed as it’s just called “TZ1111”. I also have 2 climbing varieties, the first call “Guinness Record” which I grew last year and they produce very long pods, the other “Scarlet Emperor”, from what I remember are very prolific. Again I sowed these 2 seeds per pot.
Here’s a little video I made last year to help you on your way.
I think I’m done for the day, time to stop and sit down with a cup of tea and watch some telly before I have to start dinner. Feeling a little tired again, but not enough to have a nap. If you’re yet to have your vaccinations just be prepared to take a couple of days off. Don’t fight through it like I always used to do when I was ill, it’ll last longer and it’ll be worse. I know it’s easy for me to say, but British people have always had the view that we must drug ourselves up and carry on whatever. It just doesn’t work. Listen to your body and do what it says. If Covid has taught us anything it’s if you don’t feel well, be it a cold, the flu or anything else then take some medication, snuggle up under a blanket, watch your favourite films or binge watch something on Netflix. Hopefully someone will be able to bring you food and drinks and do all the house chores. You’ll recover faster, and then you can get back to work sooner.
Take care everyone, Summer is on its way and freedom is within our grasp. We can see friends and family very soon, I’ve not seem my sister or parents since February last year! But soon we will be able to get together and hug.
Until then be safe, be kind and carry on gardening!
It’s not usual that you can plan ahead for when you’re going to have to spend a day in bed, because you never know when you’re going to be ill. But later this evening I am having my first Covid jab and knowing how it wiped out my husband for an entire day was starting to worry me a little.
At this time of year there is a lot to do in the garden and greenhouses, and knowing that I most probably wouldn’t be able to go out and play was making me slightly anxious.
I know the jab is essential and I wasn’t not going to have it, but I needed to get everything prepared just incase.
So before I went to go and ring some bells for someone’s wedding, I thoroughly watered everything in the greenhouses. I have got some seeds just starting to germinate, and they need all my attention at the moment. The larger plants would be ok if they get a little dry, but the baby seedlings would shrivel up and die. I also gave any seedlings that I’d sown directly in the soil a good water as well. We have been promised rain several times, but so far nothing has come (I don’t think 6 drops counts). Apparently we are due some on Monday evening, but it’s likely to fizzle out before it gets to us. I hope I’m proven wrong.
The chickens came out to play in their brassica cage for a while and had a lovely dust bath together, flicking soil all over the place. They are very happy little girlies, although BB gets a bit sad when Victoria sleeps in her favourite spot. Bless her.
See you after the jab and I’ll let you know how it goes…….
Ok, so my jab went well, I went straight in and didn’t have to queue at all. In fact no one else was in there, apart from the medical people. The lady giving me my jab was very lovely asking how I was feeling and did I have any concerns. She told me to take 2 paracetamol as soon as I got home and then more if I needed it, with Ibuprofen, making sure I obeyed the doses on the packets.
I had to make sure I drank loads (non alcoholic of course) although I was allowed a beer with dinner, and to completely rest tomorrow and until I feel better.
The injection itself just felt like someone pushing a finger on my arm, and my arm felt heavy, but I walked out and to the car and went home.
As soon as I got home I put my pjs on and they won’t come off again until at least Monday morning.
See you on the other side, and I’m hoping that any side effects won’t be too bad. I think it’s the banger of a head ache that some people have had that is bothering me the most.
If you can’t read the writing on my card I had the AZ.
Thank you everyone for all your kind words regarding my latest migraine, I found out many new things, one being that bananas can bring on attacks. I love bananas, they’re my favourite all year round fruit. I’ve decided to stop eating them for a month to see what happens, and if I don’t get a migraine at all in that time then I’ll have to find another favourite fruit that isn’t too expensive.
I was out in the garden again today as I still had more seeds to sow. Let’s begin at the beginning and try to get to the end.
Flowers were first- some annual Poppies “Lady Bird” which are just so beautiful and delicate. You can save the seeds and then sow some more the following year. Or you can just let them self seed and see what they do. I think the seed heads of poppies do look beautiful. Then onto some Delphiniums “Belladonna Mixed”. These are beautiful and are perennials so will come back year after year. They give height to your garden and the most amazing colours. The bees love the flowers as well. And then finally a “Perennial Flower Mix”. There are all sorts in here from Foxgloves, Geums, Aquilegias and loads more. If you want to create a cottage garden feel then these are perfect.
This video I made last year and covers so many of the seeds I sowed today, so take a look…
Then a little bit of Chicory “Rossa di Trevisco”. I grew some last year and it was very tasty. Great sauteed with cabbage and onions.
The next lot of seeds were sown straight into the soil. A few more Radish “Largo de Mallorca”, these ones are from Spain. The closest I can find in the uk are “Long Scarlett”. Whatever variety of radish you have, they all need to sown in the same way.
Then a few lines of Carrots “Purple Sun” and “Rainbow”, but again all Carrots seeds need to be sown in the same way.
Lottie and Dottie have already sown theirs and are getting very excited. If you need any help their books will be perfect for you. Click HERE to find their books on Etsy.
Beetroot also need to be sown directly in the ground. This year I’m growing “Chioggia” which I just love. Don’t worry if some of the seeds are close together they won’t mind at all.
And finally the last lot of seeds I sowed were Sweetcorn “Lark”. You can either sow your seeds directly out into the soil, but the local wildlife may find them before they get chance to germinate. Personally I sow them in little square pots.
I sowed 2 seeds per pot, you can either sow them North/South, or West/East, or as I have done diagonally. Sweetcorn needs to grow in a block and not a straight line so make sure you do your sums first. I’ve got 15 pots, so I’ll block mine 3 by 5. If you get 2 plants per pot, don’t bother separating them, they’ll grow quite happily together.
I know some people soak their seeds for 24 hours before sowing them, but I never have, and even when I worked in a garden nursery we never did. But if it’s something you like to do then by all means stick with what works best for you.
Don’t forget I have a Claire’s Allotment Essentials Volume 1 book, click HERE for more details. You’ll find all the information you need to help you on your growing journey.
My brain decided to be very, very angry on Friday. So angry in fact that I had to go and see a doctor and get some very strong tablets. But even those didn’t make it go. I’m sure like many of you who suffer from migraines you’ll understand what I felt like. Not wanting to go into too much detail, this one was particularly bad and I kept having to chat with the loo. This one even stopped me going to work, so I had to email the client I was supposed to be going to that day, they were very understanding. I tend to get them regularly if I’m unlucky 3-4 times a month, but if I’m lucky just twice a month. I put it down to that time in a woman’s life, but I started to get them just before I turned 40, and now 7 years on they’ve still not improved. They usually last an entire day, but sometimes they last a couple of days as this one seems to be, but they have lasted 4 days before and that gets really tedious.
Before any of you tell me things I shouldn’t eat or drink, I don’t have the following because if I do within 10 minutes my head gets very cross with me: No chocolate in any way shape or form. No caffeine so no tea or coffee, I have fruit teas not green tea as that has caffeine in it, I’ll have a decaf coffee very occasionally. No red wine. I do eat some cheese, but not every day, and then it’s not much. I can’t have too much processed sugar either, so a cake or a piece of flapjack once or twice a week. I’m not sure what else I can do. After the last few days I’ve even considered cannabis tea. I may have some tonight before bed and see how it goes. With that and our new Emma mattress I’ll be floating on cloud nine. I always have a good 8-9 hours of sleep each night, so it’s not lack of sleep….oh if I don’t get enough sleep that sets one off as well.
So with Friday best forgotten I was hoping that when I woke on Saturday morning my head would be back to normal, well it wasn’t quite. But in the morning and the first part of the afternoon it was much better, so after lunch I went out into the garden to sow some of my April seeds.
Right are you ready? There’s quite a few to get through. Off we go….
Let’s start with various salad leaves first. I sowed a few of each, but in a months time I’ll sow some more and keep sowing monthly until about September. that way I’ll have a good supply throughout the summer. These are best kept in the shade and moist because if it gets too hot then they’ll just bolt and go to seed. These are what I sowed, Lambs Lettuce, Purslane, Rocket, Tatsoi.
All these can be sown in exactly the same way and as they can be used in salads I sow them as I would any salad leaves.
Again I sow all these herbs in exactly the same way, and to be honest most herbs will be sown the same way.
And finally in the little seed trays Cauliflower “Romanesco“, I love these they are so beautiful and tasty.
These are sown in the same was as all the other brassicas, so cabbages, sprouts and so on…
The next lot of seeds I sowed in individual square pots, when you see what they are it’ll make sense as the seeds are much larger, and that way I won’t have to transplant them, just plant them outside in June.
Firstly the cucurbits. I sowed 2 seeds per pot, at diagonal corners. I place the seeds on the top of the compost first and then then push them down about an inch, that way if you get distracted by something at least you know which ones you’ve done.
This is what I’m growing this year, Gourds “Ornamental Mixed”, Courgette “Sunstripe” and Courgette “Green Bush” and finally some long outdoor Cucumbers, in Spain (which is where my packet comes from) they’re called “Alficoz”, but their other name seems to be Armenian Cucumbers.
All cucurbits need to be sown in exactly the same way so this is how I sow mine.
And then finally today I sowed my Okra seeds. Now Okra is very fussy, and doesn’t like to be moved so I sowed 4 seeds per pot.
The germination rate is also quite hit and miss maybe it’s the seeds being old, but even when I first got them they were quite poor. At least with sowing 4 seeds per pot I’ll hopefully get at least one plant per pot. If more come up, I won’t separate them them.
So that was it for Saturday, my brain started to hurt again so I needed to take another one of my special pills. Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow morning it will have completely gone and I can enjoy at least one day of the weekend.
Lottie and Dottie have been very busy in their garden sowing their Carrots, Sunflowers and Pumpkins. If you’d like to join them, why not visit them on Etsy and ask them to send you some books. Click HERE to take you straight to their page.
Lottie and Dottie have been very clever and set up their own Etsy page. They had to ask for a little bit of help with all the technical stuff from a lovely young lady called Emski. She was very patient and kind as she knew all about that sort of stuff.
Emski’s boyfriend KaiPie took the most amazing photographs which Lottie and Dottie were over the moon with.
If you would like to order any Lottie and Dottie books they will be so excited to send them to you.
You can have either just the books…
Or you can have your books signed with a special message…
Or you can even have you books signed with some seeds to start you off on your growing journey…
They are perfect for little ones from ages 3 to 7 years older either as a birthday gift or just because they’re special.
Why not click HERE and take a look and decide what is right for you.
They will be packed with care by Lottie and Dottie and delivered to your door.
With lockdown slowly easing there is a sense of hope in the air. The vaccination program is going really well in the UK and everyone over 50 has been offered their first jab. We’re all under 50 in our household, so our time hasn’t come quite yet, but hopefully will soon.
I am feeling very excited to be getting the vaccine soon, not only for myself, but knowing that it’ll be keeping other safe as well. There is also another side of me that is feeling rather apprehensive about getting the vaccination. Many people have told me that they had no reaction to it at all, some said they felt a little feverish for a few hours, but then you’ve heard of others feeling really ill for about a week. It seems to me that the younger you are, the more of a reaction you seem to get. This is worrying me a little as I know I may have to have some time off work to recover. Usually I’m the sort of person who takes painkillers and carries on, but I may have to bite the bullet and spend a few days in bed (hopefully with Mark).
I’ve been thinking ahead about having enough food in the house so the kids can cook and look after everything while I can’t. Am I over thinking this? Maybe. But being a mum and the provider of food it’s always something that I have to think about. I think I’ll just have to wait and see. I like my life to be organised and plan everything so I know what each day brings, but this is something I can’t plan ahead and I feel a little stressed out about it. As Lance Corporal Jones says in Dad’s Army, “Don’t panic!!” I’ll try Jonesy.
Now onto the gardening over the Easter weekend.
It’s been a very busy weekend in the garden and at home. Because there was a Bank holiday either side of the weekend, it meant that I ended up having a four day weekend. Not wanting the rest over those four days, well it’s just not like me. I decided to make myself a list of things I wanted to do, which took up the entire side of an A4 piece of paper. Clearly I had a lot to get through, both inside the house and outside in the garden. Would I get all those things done, well that was anyones guess?
I won’t bore you with all the house chores, I don’t think you really want to hear about that, so let’s get straight onto the garden stuff.
The sun was shining so Emily, Kai and I went out in the garden to take some photos of my Lottie and Dottie books in various ways. I’m setting up an Etsy account to sell them. Click HERE to go straight there, and will add various other bits as and when I do them.
Most of the seeds and seedlings in the greenhouses are doing really well. There are some very old seeds that I sowed that haven’t germinated yet, so I think the time has come for me to throw them away. They did very well, but like everything their time has come and they’re no longer going to grow.
The brassicas have been growing really well and are now large enough to be pricked out and go in individual pots. They’re about an inch and a half tall and some are just about getting their first set of true leaves. It didn’t take too long as I made sure that I only sowed a few of each this year. It’s very easy to sow too many. You really have to restrain yourself when sowing seeds.
The Globe Artichokes are also popping along very well, so they are now in their own individual pots and will hopefully grow very well. When they are large enough I can then plant them out around the garden and let the bees enjoy the flowers.
The melons took a while to germinate, but the little blast of warmth we had last week helped them on their way and they soon popped their heads through the compost. Bless them.
Then I moved onto some flower seeds. Now unlike everything I’ve pricked out so far, where it was one seedling per pot, if I did the same with the flowers I would still be pricking them out now. When you see flowers growing in a flower bed or wild out in a field, or along a verge by the road, you’ll notice they grow in clumps. So with this in mind when I prick out flower seedlings, I tend to do them in groups of a few seedlings. These ones I did in groups of 3, but if you have a load of poppies then groups of 10 seedlings would do fine. You don’t have to count them exactly, just a rough guess.
Because the weather was beautifully warm and sunny and as I was out in the garden the chickens felt that they should be as well. If I let them wander round the garden (which due to bird flu you have to keep them in an area that is netted on the top as well as the side) they would get into all sorts of mischief. Fortunately I have two rather large brassica cages that I’m not using at the moment, due to the fact the brassicas are still in the greenhouses. So these are perfect for impromptu runs for the chickens to play in. So in they went to have some fun and play in the soil without me having to keep a watchful eye on them all the time. After a good scratch about it was time for them to have a dust bath. They were very happy lazing around in the sun stretching their legs and wings out and enjoying life.
I also had some mixed hardy geraniums to prick out, and because these grow rather large and are different varieties they needed to be pricked out individually and put in small pots. Watch when you get geraniums as many are not hardy and will die over the winter unless you keep them in terracotta pots and put them in a greenhouse over the winter. I have some that I have to move in when it gets cold, but as long as you do that they’ll be fine. The hardy ones can stay out all year, so just make sure you get the right ones.
All the seedlings whether they’re flowers or veggies will be fine to plant out about mid to end of May time. But they’ve still got lots of growing to do before then.
The last lot of planting I did was my potatoes. I know lots of people swear that potatoes must go in on Good Friday. Why this is I don’t know. I’m sure one of you will tell me. But as long as you get your potatoes in by they middle of May at the very latest they’ll be fine. I usually plant mine in the first half of April as I find the weather is a little warmer and the soil is easier to dig. But this year I’m trying something new. I’m planting all my potatoes in large buckets. I have two different varieties this year, Sarpo Mira and King Edward. I’ve sown two seed potatoes per bucket.
If growing in buckets, place about 6 inches of multipurpose compost in the bottom of the bucket. Sprinkle in some potato fertiliser. Place the seed potatoes on the soil and then fill up the remainder of the bucket with more compost. Firm the compost down and then water. They should only need watering once or maybe twice a week to start with, unless it’s very dry. The more they grow the more they’ll need watering. Hopefully by the time the leaves poke above the soil then all worry of frost will be gone.
If you’re growing them in the ground this is how I do mine.
So Friday, Saturday and Sunday were beautifully warm and sunny…..but what about Monday I hear you ask…..Well it snowed!!
Not much and it didn’t settle, but it snowed nonetheless. And the wind was bitterly cold, so I spent Bank Holiday Monday doing lots of chores in the house. Can’t have my wobbly bits getting cold now can I?
Hope you all had a lovely Easter and didn’t eat too much chocolate. I can’t eat chocolate, it makes my head very angry, so I have Easter beer instead which makes my head all happy a fluffy.
I didn’t quite get everything done on my massive list, but I’ll just have to sort those things out next weekend.
Today was a day off! I know it sounds odd, but I tend to have the third Monday of the week off at the moment (I’m sure that’ll change soon), so as the weather was fabulous again I went back out into the garden to finish off those things I couldn’t get done yesterday.
Sutton Seeds very kindly sent me some free onion sets, because they used one of my videos in their onion blog. There were two different varieties “Red Ray” and “Hysky”. Neither variety have I grown before. I’m growing my own onions from seed this year, so it’ll be interesting to see which ones do better. My onions that I sowed from seed are still in the greenhouse in their individual pots and won’t be planted outside until about May time, but the onion sets I got from Suttons I have 6 or 7 rows planted next to my garlic that I planted late last year and is growing well.
And a couple of rows of mixed Carrots. The packet says “Paris Market Atlas”, but I know I mixed various other varieties in there as well, so it’ll be interesting when I come to harvest them, and hopefully pull up lots of different colours, shapes and sizes. But harvesting is a long time away, hopefully July time for the first one.
Once everything was in the ground I gave everything a good water. The soil is damp, but quite dry on the top, we’ve actually not had rain for about a week and the sun is now starting to get very hot so I’d better start watering.
I checked the seedlings in the greenhouses and the brassicas have started to appear, but they’re still far too small to prick out, that will have to wait until next weekend. By that time they’ll be a good size and have some excellent roots on them. I expect they’ll be loads to pricking out to do next weekend anyway, but then the clocks do change and we’ll be in British Summer Time!! Yay!! Longer evenings, oh and the heating will be able to go off soon, that’ll save on oil.
Just to update you with the garden waste saga, I sent the council a message on Facebook saying that I hope that I wouldn’t have to message them every two weeks, and actually received a reply. He was going to “look into it for me” (whatever that means), and that “there was clearly something very wrong happening here.” I’ve got work today so will know if it’s been emptied when I get home because my wheelie bin is neatly positioned by the hedge and they’ll never put it back in exactly the same place.
