The lovely people at The Shropshire Seaweed Company sent me a bottle of their 1 litre bottle of Growth Enhancer to try, to see what I thought, and give my opinion. As you know by now, I have many own opinions about many things, some which people don’t agree with, and other do. I’ve just started to use this today, and having watered much of the garden with last nights bath water (lots of goodies in that) the only thing left to water were the plants in the greenhouse. All you need of this fertiliser is 1 cap full in a watering can of cold water, give it a stir, and off you go. I’ll let you know how the plants do, but it seems that they should like it. I’ll start using it down the allotment next week, to hopefully boost them a bit. Some of the soil is a bit poor, as it’s not been dug for a couple of years. I know this sounds a bit weird, but I gave it a quick smell to see if it smelt like the sea, but to my surprise it didn’t, but instead smelt like Tia Maria! Don’t ask me why, but it also looks like Tia Maria, so please don’t get them mixed up. I like Tia Maria, but prefer Southern Comfort.
Well if that’s the case I’m not a women, as I definitely wasn’t perspiring this morning. It was another humid day, and we had NO rain last night, and NO thunder to clear the air. The grass is starting to go brown, because we’ve not had rain for quite a while. Still, I’m sure it’ll arrive and then it won’t stop. Anyway this morning was very productive, I’ve started to clear another of the old strawberry beds, so that I can fill with some dwarf french beans. The soil underneath the grass is very dry, so relatively easy to remove all the roots from the couch grass. I think I made 3 trips to our Green waste area, so that was good. I’ve finally got in my Runner Beans “Wisley Magic”. They’re just about the right size, and I planted 2 plants to each stick. I’ve tied them in with a twisty, so they don’t make out with something they’re not supposed to. More weeding was needed, and the onion bed is nearly free of weeds. Just as I got in the car there were a few spit spots of rain, but nothing to write home about, then it was home for lunch, and now to mow the grass.
Well I was working this morning doing 2 mini beasts workshops with 4 and 5 year olds. They were very sweet. I had to get up a 6am!! I’d forgotten that time actually existed. Then I left the house at 7am to tackle the M25 and M3, oh the joy!! If you know these 2 motorways you’ll understand. But I got home just before 1pm and after I’d had lunch, I finished tidying away all the plant pots I had dotted about the garden, and then potted on some Spanish Aubergines, and my Goji Berries. They’re both doing really well, but the aubergines don’t look like aubergines. Maybe it’s because they’re Spanish I don’t know. The Goji berries are slow, but then they do take time to grow. They don’t get planted outside til the following year, which is quite good, and I need to have a good clear of my fruit patch on the allotment. It’s been very muggy and sticky today, but we are expecting storms tonight. They’re going to be very hit and miss, but I hope we get at least some rain as it’ll clear the air.
Finally I think the greenhouse is ready for the summer (apart from a little tidy up of trays and pots) as I think I’ve finally got all my tomatoes in their final pots and ready to go. It’s taken a while, but the “Pineapple”, and “Brandy wine” from Chuck, the “Suncherry”, the last few “Moneymaker”and “Country Taste” are all sorted. I ran out of room in the greenhouse, so have put some in pots to keep in the garden. I also had a few Broad Beans “The Sutton” left, so I put those in pots, and will grow those in the garden, somewhere. I’m not sure where, but I’ll find a place. I also made a few little films: potting on my Cucamelons, Cucumber “Cucuino”, and my Tomato Tree. I’ve now had a well earned bath, got my nightwear on, and am about to go and pick Mark up from the airport. I hope I don’t get stopped by the police, not sure if I can explain why I’m driving in my nightwear.
I know that sometimes my veg are not the regulation shape and size, but today, honestly, I pulled up a radish that looked like a pair of bottom cheeks. Mark has the camera so I can’t add a photo of it for you to see, but it did make me chuckle. Doesn’t take much to be honest with you. After I’d recovered from giggling I put in all my Sprouting Broccoli “Red Arrow” and “Spring Sprouting Mixture”. They look very good in their new home, and I made sure I protected them from slugs/snails and the birds from above. I then had a little space left so I planted in some “Moneymaker” Tomatoes, some more Broad Beans called “The Sutton” as the first lot I put in never took, and then got my bean poles all ready, did some weeding and then came home for lunch. Phew! I’ve got bits in the greenhouse to do this afternoon, not sure how much I’ll get done, I’ll have to see.
Only I would get excited about new gardening toys. Little things get me all excited inside. Anyway this mornig I got to try out my “Double Hoe” and my “Soil Miller”, and all I can say is OMG they’re brilliant!! I’d like to apologise now for using the phrase OMG, but nothing else will suffice. The hoe made light work of the old strawberry bed, and then when I’d finished I went over it with the miller. It now looks ready to plant in, which I’ll do tomorrow. I spent 3 hours on my plot this morning, and was very hungry when I got home for lunch. Tomorrow I’ll be able to spend longer playing, so will take sandwiches with me. A variety of brassicas are in the the car, waiting to be planted out in my newly sorted bed. Tomorrow they have threatened thunder storms, but they’re few and far between. How ever much we need the rain, it’s not the place I like to be when storm clouds start to gather. Hopefully I’ll get done as much as I want to before anything happens. I don’t mind a good storm, but not when I’m exposed on the allotment (oh matron) !
Today was the last day of Gardeners’ World Live. Sean James Cameron had some complimentary tickets, and asked if I’d like a couple. Not wanting to turn down something free, I said “Yes please”, and sent my friend Sally a text asking if she was free. She was, and got very excited, so off we went on sunday morning at 9am to drive to Birmingham and spend the day plant shopping, and catching up. When I picked her up I then informed her that we could also get in the Good Food Show, and she nearly fell out the car! We arrived at the NEC just after noon, had a quick wander round, sat down for lunch, had a chat, and then got on with some serious shopping. We must have seen every stall, and we lost each other a couple of times, but were reunited soon after. It was the first time Sally had been, and she didn’t really know what to expect. I think it was better than she’d imagined it would be. Sally brought lots of plants for her garden, some cakes for her offspring, and a few other bits. I came home with 2 gorgeous roses from David Austin, which will fill the hole that my potato tree has left (it died and I don’t know why), some sausages, cheese, cakes for the family, and a fantastic new toy from Wolf Garten. Firstly a telescopic handle, which you have to buy, and then all the heads clip into it. It’s a brilliant invention, and everything has a 10 year guarantee! Then the “Multi change Double Hoe” and the “Soil Miller”. They were much cheaper at the show, and if you look on Amazon they’re cheaper than on Wolf Garten’s website. I’ll let you know how I get on with them. We left the NEC at 5.30pm and drove home, having to take a slight diversion to get some fuel (the fuel light came on when we were stuck in traffic on the M25) and finally got home just around 8.30pm. I don’t know about Sally, but I was knackered, and after I’d eaten dinner (which was lovingly prepared by my hubby) I spent the rest of the evening on the sofa, before crashing into bed just after 10pm.
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