31st March 2007

Absolutely banging head this afternoon. Really torn between going for a kip (to shift the headache) or spending a bit of time outside in the sunshine as it is such a lovely afternoon.

The garden won.

Had a look at my raised bed and noticed that a couple of the onions I planted a couple of weeks ago are appearing...just a few millimetres of leaves but am pleased.

Also noticed that some bloody cat had left a giant poo in a corner of the raised bed! Definitely cat and not fox....they leave theirs near the Eglu's....must put a new battery in the Foxwatch! There were a lot of scratchy marks too so I suppose the cat thought it was a giant litter tray.

The Hens were originally on the lawn and have destroyed the grass completely so I dug over one of the areas to start the preparation for re-seeding. To much like hard work and have to treat my back with respect so I did just the one. Will tackle the other next week if I've time.

Very cleverly rigged up an anti cat, rodent and bird device to prevent them interfering with the raised beds. Just chicken wire and ingenuity. I hope it will work.

Had a look at my perpetual spinach and it is germinating at last. I'm sure I planted it a month ago.

I had a look at the strawberries I put in my little greenhouse thingy last week. Nothing doing but I was really surprised at how much warmer the air was inside than out. I really felt a difference when I opened it.

Also shoved a few more onions and some garlic into the raised bed.

Still have a bit of a headache, but got some fresh air and a bit of moderate exercise so feel better.

Pics above are attempting to show L. Perpetual Spinach. R. Onion emerging in raised bed, with a hint of the anti pest device made of chicken wire. Lower L. Dug over patch where Eglu used to be.

27th March

Neglected blog and garden as I am in a frenzy of clearing out our bedroom (in preparation for decorating) and taking stuff for recycling/tipping. Managed to get Him Indoors to part with a couple of suits!

Absolutely beautiful day today after a chilly and misty start. Mist is always a good sign first thing.

Had a rush of blood to my head and planted the following seeds:
Strawberry
Cherry Tomato
Marigold ( am going to try a bit of this companion planting.....to put with carrots and onions to deter their pests)
Cut and come again lettuce.

Also...I repotted planted my Dwarf French Beans . They are doomed I fear as apparently I planted them a month too early in a fit of beginners enthusiasm , and they have been too warm and have had inadequate light according to a reply I received on the GYO forum. They are now in what we laughingly call the "sun porch". Will do my best to keep them going , but will also plant more a bit later.

Also repotted my Sweet Peppers. I think I was over eager with these too. We'll wait and see what happens.

Also busied myself putting together my plastic greenhouse thingy. It went together very easily. I'll have to figure out a way of making sure it doesn't blow over, as it is very light.

Notice the pristine white wall that it is up against. This was last years project which took months and cost thousands...the entire side of the house had to be re pebbledashed...an enormous job. I'm hoping the reflected glare off the whitewash will be of benefit to my plants!

I went to Aldi (by accident...it is not one of my usual haunts...just found myself outside one when I went to Sharpes to look at furniture). I bought 3 packets of seeds for 45p...15p each!!)....Parsley, Spring Onion and Nasturtium (for "sacrificial planting"... apparently slugs love it so hopefully they will amuse themselves with this and leave my vegetables alone!).

If the weather is decent tomorrow will sow more seeds and put together my plastic cold frame thingy. I've yet to fathom out how a cold frame differs from a greenhouse....apart from the obvious difference in size.....might post a question on the GYO forum....they seem a friendly lot!

19th March 2007

Garden under an inch of snow after the surprise blizzards ( which we were told about 5 days ago) this weekend.

I had planted onions and rhubarb crowns. I hope they don't mind a cold snap!

Why is my perpetual spinach not germinating? I planted it a fortnight ago in a pot. It is at the front of the house which is south facing and gets the full benefits of the sun from daybreak till about 4pm.

I also planted some mushroom spores a fortnight ago, and despite having followed the instructions to the letter, nowt's happened. Will leave it a bit longer and see what happens. If nothing...will start again.

10th March 2007

Planted 3 rhubarb crowns today. The hens loved the worms which I chucked into their enclosure. Did I mention that I have got 8 hens, 4 in 2 Green Eglus.

Also planted 16 onion sets in the raised bed, just to see what happens.

We have a family of about 6 collared doves which spend their mornings foraging in my garden, I dare say they'll eat anything tender, so must fathom out how to keep them off the raised bed. Will rig something up with chicken wire.

9th March 2007

Bought 2 polytunnels on Ebay today. £7 and a bit inc p&p.

I expect it will be a week or so before they arrive.

March 8th 2007

Decided a few weeks ago to have a go at growing some veg.

Very heavy clay soil, and have failed miserably in the past.

Inspired by Carol Klein and the chap with the appalling combover, Mel Bartholomew, the square foot gardening chap, I thought I'd have a go at growing a few veg in some raised beds.

Bought some Linkabord kits to make the raised beds and have put one together today.

Dead easy, but it holds a heck of a lot of compost. So far for a raised bed 1 metre square, it has taken 150L compost, 20L topsoil, 10L vermiculite, and it is only 2/3 full. Will add some more compost.

Have got all sorts of seeds growing, and my potatoes are chitting so am off to a reasonable start.