Monday 19 May 2008

Everything is Shooting Up, Including The Weeds

Things are certainly in a growing mood but although the sun is shining there is a north easterly wind cooling things down and it still possible to get a frost so trying to hold back on the more tender things
I sowed carrots this year by broadcasting them over a foot wide area they are coming up with most just getting the real leaves but they are hard to see as the weeds are doing well there too and I am afraid of disturbing the carrot roots while removing the weeds
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The parsnips that were chitted on a paper towel and and then grown on in root-trainers are looking good, worth all the fiddling around I think
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The front garden has changed again with alium and granniebonnets adding colour
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It is living up to being called a wildlife garden!we watched the sparrows teach their chicks how to feed off greenfly on the R.rugosa but only managed to snap mum
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Also watched a frog over several hours just sitting on a stone managed to get this pic before he jumped in among the many tadpoles
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4 comments:

lilymarlene said...

I think I might try your idea for chitting parsnips next year. I find the germination is so iffy that this must be the way to go.

Miranda Bell said...

Hiya - I know the feeling regards the weeds - this weather is perfect for them and you never seem to be able to keep up - I end up getting through one area to move onto the next - meanwhile they continue elsewhere!!

Parsnips aren't that easy to germinate - infact I failed miserably last year - so this year I sprinkled seed down and then lightly covered it with some potting compost - seemed to do the trick plus it wasn't too wet and cold at the time... my Mum brought some she'd grown in root trainers and they are doing equally well!

A tip which I tried last year was when growing strawberries for the first time. I got a pile of our own good compost and spread it over an area about 2m x 1m and covered it over with the weedblock fabric and secured the sides into the soil with a spade. Planted the strawberry plants straight into the compost through the fabric... what a crop and no weeds!

Sorry for the long message - hope all continues going well - Miranda

theothermarg said...

miranda bell
thankyou for your comments. my strawbs are terrible this year! I thinned them out too much and they didn,t recover. another lesson learned:o)

Kevin Stelfox said...

I love parsnips and especially home grown ones.

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