A Confused Grannies Patch

It,s Brass Monkey Weather

2008-11-04T21:36:00.003Z

The clocks have gone back a hour and we have had a few really hard frosts. the marigolds went from this

to this overnight

I hadn,t got around to insulating the greenhouse and it needed doing fast as I like to overwinter the pelargonium (zonal Geranium)and had just bought eight more at the B+Q sale for 50p each! couldn,t face doing the full job so put some shelving in there and made a bubble wrap "tent" around it

every evening I close it up with a curtain,pegging it together with clothspegs! so far it has stopped it going below freezing.I,m hoping it will save on energy bills

I have managed to get the overwintering onions in,last years were a disaster as most of them were ate by creatures unknown,this year I have covered them with very fine net. I,m hoping they will be safe and warm in there

this is the only harvest this week although the sprouts are coming on

Managed to get a pic of this frog just before the temperatures fell I do hope he is all right

we did see 2 hedgehogsone very small the other wet night I fear for them. also we have seen a very healthy fox around our housing estate. I put out uneaten cat food and leftover scraps so think perhaps he might be calling in my front garden on his travels

Hell Hath No Fury

2008-10-13T21:05:00.004+01:00

Like a Allotmenteer scorned!!! Someone with a plot near mine has been told to vacate
and they were not happy! Here is a very trashed plot.Pity they didn,t spend as much energy before lol

The french beans were still trying to produce but the stiff wind tried harder. this is what I found

the lidl blackberry/raspberries are still going great guns! I intend getting more blackberries,digging out some weaker ones in the raspberry bed and replacing them with these when they die back

I think I have found a place for the overwintering onions unfortunately it,s just been dug over and is very clumpy so these will have to wait a little bit longer

The spring cabbage is still in the greenhouse and will have to "harden off" before starting off 09,s cabbage patch. they will go where the french beans have been

Here is the latest harvest

And this is how the front garden is looking. I,m happy that one michaelmas daisy survived

my tree is begining to change to it,s autumn colours I think it,s called a Stags Horn Sumach mmmm have to check up on that

Oh Dear ,We are Back to Bare Earth Pics

2008-09-30T21:16:00.003+01:00

Yes the big Autumn dig is underway!There is a reason why I take pics of bare earth apart from feeling pleased with myself!it is a before the weather breaks the lumpy clay soil up. I hope we will have a few frosts this year, not that I like cold weather but it does kill some pests (slugs please) and well, it seems so normal unlike the last 2 winters

Think the leeks have had it this year, my fault for not keeping them covered in fleece

The runner beans have run out (ooo that was bad sorry)but the climbing french beans are still going strong,funny it,s usually the other way round

Here is yesterdays harvest. it was quite fine then but today the wind and rain is back again1 I,m afraid it is goodbye summer

Don,t Know What To Think Of Sarpo Potatoes

2008-09-24T22:08:00.003+01:00

Well despite all the wet they are all dug up,maybe a bit later then they should have been! the Sarpo Mira died back earlier then Sarpo Axona perhaps this was caused by all the slug damage and perhaps it was this caused some to be rotten. I shall know whether it was blight or not if the good stored potatoes also go rotten
Sarpo Axona were slightly smaller. they stayed green and had much less slug damage with only one or two mushy ones again I will keep watch on the stored tubers
I would grow both again but dig them out earlier,if it does turn out that they suffered blight I would spray them as well as I think this is the only way to grow maincrop potatoes on our site which suffers blight even on good years
these are a few of the affected potatoes,not a pretty sight

It has not,for me been a good year for carrots as the first row sown got nibbled!! I think also that I planted them in the wrong place. I thought next year I would dig some bags of compost in the clay soil to lighten it up a bit. These are very small but the best I will be getting this year

Still picking raspberries, runner and french beans.not quite so many but plenty for a meal

Have done two winter hanging baskets for outside the back door.I grew some pansies from seed but they are still a bit small I bought the cyclamen at Chedder car boot last week

Ruby Wedding (40 Years) 21st September

2008-09-23T16:17:00.003+01:00

This has nothing to do with my garden apart from the fact we are sat in it lol
but it is a once in a lifetime thing so here is OH and me with our cake

Is This What They Call A Indian Summer

2008-09-16T15:06:00.003+01:00

It hasn,t rained here for 4 days!!!Think Scotland might be getting it at the moment.
It is so good to have a bit of sunshine! Last week I thought the climbing French beans had finished,the canes are leaning and they the leaves are turning brown

But today there are a fresh crop and plenty of small ones coming on

have been picking ½ punnet of autumn raspberries every visit but didn,t expect them on some blackberry plants bought from Lidl back in the spring! boxes are are long gone too late to complain :o) they are lovely raspberries though

Have planted my chewed up winter brassicas out, they look so pathetic I am ashamed of thembut the middles seem to be OK and they have 2 chances.Must remember to net them at home next year! some people just need to learn the hard way :o)

The marigolds are still looking good. they should last until the first frost

and beleive it or not this is the compost bin on the ½ plot!! guess what I,v been chucking on there :o)

My front garden looks a bit dull this time of year.the Michaelmas Daisies have not come up this year :o( am looking around for something that gives a bit of Autumn colour. managed to catch these sparrows haveing a drink at the pond

Where is All of This Rain Coming From?

2008-09-06T20:50:00.003+01:00

It,s wet,very very wet and thank heaven I,v got the greenhouse1 It is quite a good feeling working in the dry when the rain is swilling down, of course you have to go out in it to fill the watering can up from the ful to the brim butt. thats a funny feeling having to water in the pouring rain. Did I mention that it,s raining?
Anyway today I tidied the greenhouse some of the tomatoe plants which I cut back have recovered thanks to opening the door a lot more,some of them had just rotted with the high humidity

Because there are soo many slugs around lettuce planted on the allotment get eaten so I have grown lettuce in hanging baskets and different salad leaves in pots.

I am picking these now the following ones are growing fast

these are the growing salads in pots

And some just coming up. they will be ready in a few weeks

I have also been potting on the spring greens I,m afraid they got a bit straggly so I planted them deep 2/3 to a pot I will keep the strongest one

The winter cabbage is still waiting for a place they have been "got at" by Cabbage White caterpillars which I try to keep taking off. they should be alright as the centre is still there

Managed to get up to the lotty the other day and picked plenty of beans and raspberries. these are my sunflowers trying to find some sun lol

Nice Of You To Drop By

2008-08-20T21:27:00.004+01:00

Looking around my allotment I notices quite a few volunteers (no don,t mean spuds)some are things I have planted in the past others have just dropped in

A pansy growing amongst the runner beans

Lemon balm, makes lovely tea,think I will replant this in a pot as it spreads

Bronze Fennel again by the beans, will replant this when it dies back
Camomile I planted this 5 years ago,lots of uses including a relaxing tea

This Bee is a welcome guest! no shortage of them on the marigolds

These Sparrows are in my front garden. this is taken through my home window
These Sarpo Potatoes are still green and healthy although Blight has killed potatoes all around them. have dug some up,they are tasty and a good size only thing is slugs are getting at them as it is sooo wet! will try to dig them up when (if) we get a few days of dry weather

This weeks harvest

Here are the Salad Leaves I sowed weeks ago. think I might start some more!!

Time to look to the future! These are the winter cabbage just waiting for room
Leaminton Cauli,Avron Cauli,January King,Savoy Emerald and Torvoy

Spring Greens and winter onions just sprouting.Sushyu and Sonic onions.Brassicas are Winter Green,April,Early Queen and Flower of Spring,doesnt seem like 5 mins ago I was eating this years!

I,m Still Alive (and so is most of my allotment)

2008-08-12T15:17:00.002+01:00

Here we are mid August and it,s quite chilly and very wet! the greenhouse is full of ripening tomatoes but the leaves look very sorry for themeselves :o( I think it,s because it is so damp, i am cutting down a lot of the plant and allowing lower shoots to grow

the beans have decided to live and we had our first meal off of them at the begining of august,they are very late but I am hoping that they will carry on till october if the frost stays away here are the runner beans at last

And the french climbing beans a mixture of Blue Lake and cobra

The pond has a lot of Duckweed on it this year and I am having to net out a lot of dead slugs! don,t mind slugs getting suicidal but not in the middle of my pond!!!

Loads of baby frogs around,have to watch where you walk. I am glad to say our new next door neighbours like frogs

the courgette and squash are doing well,afraid some marrows have had to go to compostas they get ginourmouse very quickly here are the squashes

Last but not least some resent harvests

Where is this Year Going?

2008-07-02T14:56:00.003+01:00

It is now July and we are half way through the year (or should I say have the 2nd half to look forward to). we have dug a few potatoes up,not a huge quantity per plant but they tasted yummy!the beans continue to look a bit pathetic,we keep having really high winds which blow them off the canes cannot help thinking that if they were not so puny they would cling on,the nieghbouring plot has very strong ones and his thick stemmed and dark green whilst mine are light. any way I have tried to erect a windbreak to protect my poor little runts

We have also caged this years brassicas againt the local bird population,the PSB and sprouts have discovered a will to live and seem strong enough to see off the slugs

here is todays harvest

In The Greenhouse
Have been trying to increase the tomatoes by supporting them right up to the roof axis and the same with the cucumber,hopfully it will increase air cerculation as well

Have sowed a selection of cut and come again salad leaves in pots most have germinated

No sign of the Plumeria yet :o( I have put them on a sunny window sill indoors and talk to them daily,perhaps thats why!!!

In the Greenhouse

2008-06-22T17:38:00.003+01:00

I have been sent some Plumeria seeds from a friend in Australia (thanks Georgie)I shall report how I get on here. this is how they look now

This is how I hope they will look one day

and another

and this one

Ihave also discovered a taste for Basil Tea it is supposed to help stop bloating
(I have lost nearly 3st in weight so a swollen tum actually shows :0)
I sent for a offer of different varieties and they are coming up yum yum

and so are the winter cabbage,shall pot these on till the ground is cleared of spring cabbage.I know I work my patch hard but I try to replace goodness that I take out

If You Don,t Succeed, Try Again

2008-06-22T16:55:00.004+01:00

And thats what I did! I,v resown the carrots and covered with fleece and they have come up better than before

I,v had to mix Cobra french beans in with the Blue lake, they seem to be looking strong and healthy. Hoping they will stand up to the slimy enemy better :0)

The runner beans Mergoles, were mostly just battered and looked very poorlyand I will have to rethink about growing them on at home next year even though I had hardend them off well.I have resown some and think they will make it even though they are behind others on the site

The sweetcorn has benefited from being covered with a large piece of white netting thats been hanging about for years they are interplanted with turtle bean,

Here is one of the two butternut squashes,there were three but one got slugged
I,v no idea if this is right as I have never grown them before

Am still planting winter brassicas in the space vacated by spring greens,the summer cabbage is coming on fine

and more with peas and lettuce,radish and spring onions

The 1st potatoes are almost ready for digging,there was a blight scare so I sprayed with bordeaux. the maincrop should be OK as they are Sarpo ones (fingers crossed)

the parsnips continue to do well,that is one crop I will grow on at home again

and finally todays harvest

I,m Feeding The Local Wildlife

2008-06-11T20:31:00.003+01:00

And no,not by choice! On my last post Iwas complaining about the weeds growing inbetween the carrots only to find the other day AL weeds and NO carrots just little stalks,have cleared the strip and resown and covered it up think rabbits might be guilty. next to my newly transplanted french beans well they were french beans

slugs?birds? then the sweetcorn. birds here I think! covered them as well

think they took a battering from high winds as well
So what about the lovely healthy runner beans, not quite so damaged but not looking good

the PSB and russian kale is also being slugged so I keep replacing from spares at home. also have resown french beans and runners THIS IS WAR and I aint beaten yet
On a lighter note still harvesting spring greens and the lettuce is plentiful

And this is one of my favourites,it,s an annual called Cerinthe

We are having a dry spell at the moment but rain is expected over the next few days
everything is belting up,I am sure things will get better by the next time I post

Everything is Shooting Up, Including The Weeds

2008-05-19T21:25:00.004+01:00

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

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

The front garden has changed again with alium and granniebonnets adding colour

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

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

What a Difference a Month Makes

2008-05-10T21:27:00.004+01:00

It has been over a month since I last posted here and what a busy month it has been!
the garden is green and the pond is heaving with tadpoles

We have also been taking down the old shed in the back garden(no sheds allowed at lotty)and putting up a brand new one

the PSB and leaminton cauli have just finished and I am now harvesting spring greens
this is the last cauli

and spring greens

nearly all the summer cabbages are in and PSB,sprouts and kale are in pots waiting for a place to go. the parsnips grown in root-trainers are in and doing and carrots,beetroot and swede sown directly in the ground are coming up as are the potatoes, Ian earthed them up today as although it is very hot at the moment we could have a may frost

the greenhouse is jampacked with tomatoes,cucumbers,butternut squash,runner and french beans and seeds being started in modules to give them a good start before they go into open ground

here are 2 little friends that were won on E-bay and have settled in the garden

charming aren,t they?

First Snow Of The Winter Here

2008-04-06T19:28:00.004+01:00

This morning we woke up tp a white world,it was such a lovely warm day yesterday I didn,t beleive it would happen but here it is,not much but definitely snow

Yesterday we put the 1st early potatoes in (Accent)had a bit of a "discussion"mmm being polite here,about the depth they should go in at ,think somebody thought he was digging a trench for drains!
All the stuff in the greenhouse seemed to have survived the cold snape so far, I have electric heater in there but leave it on frostguard, as a precaution against frost and slugs I put a plastic lid on vulnerable seedlings

It,s British Summer Time ( Thats Official)

2008-03-31T21:29:00.004+01:00

And the sun has been shining! I remembered to put the clocks forward 1 hour went to bed early sunday night and forgot to set the alarm and woke up exactly !hour later then I should have, cuz my body clock remained unchanged!!!
Have been to plot 2 days running the Kelsae and Lydl onions that were planted last week,look good. have put in Red Fuego cabbage,Cauli Nessie and Savoy King with All Year Round Lettuce in between as a catch crop

Also put a row of Mangetout Pea Oregon SugarPod and covered them with chicken wire.not sure about putting them straight in the ground as there are mice around, time will tell
I have noticed the amount of worms in the soil all down to it being well manured this year I think! it feels good that things are begining to happen and I cannot help thinking back to last year when my ankle was in plaster all through a very hot April and every thing had to be put on hold. Makes being able to dig and plant feel very good

Tidy up To Find Things?

2008-03-22T19:33:00.003Z

But not if you tidy up Photobucket!! It seemed a good idea to tidy up my pics,putting them in separate albums, then HORROR all pics in this blog vanished!!!
2 hours later I have replaced them with a bit of guesswork lol another lesson learned
Today is easter saturday, it is far too cold to plant anything because it is too early We continue to dig the to be potatoe patch hoping it will put off the small slugs that seem to eat every crop of potatoes in our heavy clay soil.
meanwhile the greenhouse is getting fuller then ever. Here are the Parsnips that were chitted a few weeks ago

My front garden taken through the window

And how this young greyhound cabbage makes sure it,s roots are watered

It,s Raining Again

2008-03-15T15:49:00.009Z

I suppose that it is the rain that makes our land so green and that we should feel lucky that every thing isn,t covered in snow but I want to PLANT THINGSI went to the allotment this morning hoping to get Kelsea onions injust got in the gate and down it came. We did manage to get some more manure from the stables yesterdayand spread it on the potatoe patch I picked some PSB while I was there and dug up the last of the leeks. these are the onions they will need to go in soon

The catnip which I grew in a old bucket last year is coming back up Bob my fat moggy
found it!! he has been a bit spaced out recently, now I know why. It has to be covered with a old hanging basket or bob will roll in it and love it to death

he definitely looks like he is on something, doesn,t he?

The Greenhouse is Filling Up

2008-03-03T12:49:00.004Z

Have been busy since my last post,we fetched a dozon bags of manure from some stables
and spread over the soon to be potatoe patch. I have dug up the last of the sprouts and kale, just the PSB there now. potatoes are chitting well but think I will wait a couple more weeks or so Good Friday is the traditional time but it is really early this year. The frogs have been busy,took this from the window

they are quiet now but the pond is full of spawn!!!Have tried prechitting parsnips this year and putting them into root-trainers. these are just about to be put into R/T with small tweezers

Sowing at the moment Leek prizetaker and mussleburgh. Tomatoe beefsteak and golden sunrise, Tigerella came up well and have been thinned. Only Cepa onions took from thelast sowing of onions, all were old seed so not surprised. the poppies, V bonariensis,petunia,wild flowers and godetia are all doing well so I am fast running out of space in my 8'by6' greenhouse

Frosty Nights But Sunny Days

2008-02-10T15:49:00.001Z

It,s hard to remember it is only feburary,we have much needed sunshine! at last the lane to the allotment is passable. I went there yesterdayand pruned the autumn raspberries, abit of guesswork was needed as they are mixed with summer ones which don,t have to be cut right down. I have dug over the potatoe patch again,it has rained such a lot this winter it is quite compacted,I hope to discourage the small slugs which like potatoes. another bare earth pic(nothing so satisfying as dug earth)

also been busy in the G/H greyhound cabbage are doing well but earliest of all seemed to have blanked(old seed?)sowed onion ailsa craig,cepa and golden bear also 5 pots of red poppy and 3 of wild flowers.these are to grow on to put in the garden just before they flower( they don,t stand a chance otherwise) have put a lot of old flower seeds into modules to see if they come up it reduces my stash, I cannot bear to throw them without giving them a chance.also verbena B and eryngium (sea holly)
these were cheap seed so might not happen (fingers crossed)still eating sprouts,parsnips,last of the kale. just starting purple sprouting broccoli (PSB)

Yesterday Was The First Day Of Spring

2008-02-03T15:19:00.001Z

All I can say is Brrrrrr!! we had a scattering of snow yesterday, the road up to the allotment is still under water,but yesterday was Imbolc a celtic festival of life stirring again after winter, and it is!!

and hellibore

the cauli and red cabbages are sprouting and I have sown greyhound and earliest of all cabbage for the summer. the onion seedling are doing OK not 100 germination but enough

First Sowing of 2008

2008-01-25T15:09:00.001Z

Took a deep breath ,wrapped up warm and spent a hour in the greenhouse!
I hade sown some kelsae onion seeds on January 1st in root-trainers which I put in a electric propagator so I was pleased to see the little green hooks appearing

my potatoes arrived from thompson and morgan last week so I set the accent (1sts) to chit. I am keeping them in a cool spare bedroom

also sowed Red FuegoF1 cabbage and Cauliflower F1 Nessie in moduls. have decided to sow seeds in small batches instead of en-block,so if one lot goes wrong another might succeed

It,s Wet, Very, Very Wet

2007-12-08T20:37:00.001Z

Finally made it to my patch or should I say patches as I have one and a half plots
a short walk apart.I have been concerned about the winter brassicas which I had mulched with "soil improver" from a local composting site,I worried that they didn,t look as happy as before, so I bought a kit in case I had put a lot of acid soil on them, it didn,t show the actual PH but showed up dark green not orange which put my mind to rest. however I vowed to test first before I put unknown stuff on them
well they didn,t look too bad today the kale was sending out new leaves and sprouts and PSB werelooking OK. The nets had stood up to the storms but everywhere was slushy with standing water.I dug up parsnip and carrots,picked kale and some sprouts
then noticed the sky was darkening again, the few hours of sunshine between storms was over, took this pic as I left

Trust Nature To Lift Depression

2007-12-03T14:49:00.000Z

Yes there I was feeling headachy and flat as I looked out of my front window at the sparrows and starlings eating sunflower oil and bread, what a pity I don,t see greenfinches any more I thought, mourning their absence seemed to suit my mood, then a flash of red caught my eye, I raced up stairs for the binoculars ( which I had only found the day before)and saw to my delight a pair of goldfinches feasting on
the teazles. I managed to get some pics through the (not very clean)window

I love the starlings and sparrows we mostly get in the garden joined by bluetits and more recently a robin but I have only saw a goldfinch once before in my life so my special visitor made a dark dreary day a bit brighter

It.s Winter I,m hibernating

2007-12-01T15:26:00.000Z

Havn,t done much at the allotment just popping up for parsnip, swede, carrots and kale which seems to be going over a bit sprouts and PSB are almost ready. here is my favourite e-mail funny
GONNA BE A BEAR
In this life I,m a woman. in the next life I would like to come back as a bear
When your a bear , you get to hibernate,you do nothing but sleep for six months
I could deal with that!
Before you hibernate, your supposed to eat yourself stupid.
I could deal with that too!
When your a girl bear, you birth your children( who are the size of walnuts)while you are sleeping and wake to partially grown ,cute ,cuddly cubs.
I could definitely deal with that
IF you are a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business
You swot anyone who bothers your cubs and if your cubs get out of line you swot them too
I could deal with that!
If your a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling.
He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat
YEP,GOING TO BE A BEAR

Champion Muck Spreader

2007-10-29T14:21:00.001Z

Well didn,t need a champian to spread that! It only streched over the bare bits of the full plot but anyway its done.was asked will I dig it in? it seems the modern way is to let the worms take it down, time will tell

Nothing much has been happening. Harvesting carrots,swede,parsnips,sprouts,red cabbage,kale still eating beetroot,onion,potatoes from store also eating sweet pepper and lettuce from greenhouse which I have cleaned but not got around to insulating yet.

Talking Dirty (and smelly)

2007-10-23T20:46:00.001+01:00

Well it arrived!! a big pile of cow poo! truck driver didn,t want to reverse down grass path and when he did, wouldn,t go off it to dump on adrians plot so the lot went on the grass path, we did put some plastic down which helped but it took Ian and I app 1 hour to move about 4ton of manure here is my share

I went back up in the afternoon to begin spreading it. just enough for the full plot could have used the lot. know better next time if I am barmey enough for there to be a next time
also have ordered next years potatoes. wow I am thinking ahead. thought I would go for some really good ones this time so I ordered from Thompson and Morgan if these don,t do well nothing will. I am trying blight resistant main crop here is my list
Accent 1st for new potatoes these usually crop before blight appears £3.69 for 20
Romano 2nds B+ slug resistant these are red skinned £3.69 for 20
Sarpo Axona late maincrop B is around bad when these are ready £4.49 for 20
Sarpo Mira late maincrop again these are B busters £4.49 for 20

It Does Not Feel Like October

2007-10-21T18:06:00.001+01:00

Just digging the rest of the plot to be ready for the manure which should be delivered on Tuesday and I get the feeling the season is all mixed up as the sun is shining the sky is blue and feels warmer then it was in July! the Buzzards are calling above I managed to get a picy of one

not very good but it showsthe mood of the day!!
strawbs are still trying to fruit even tho we are getting quite hard frosts some nights

and the jerusalem artichokes are determined they are going to be the tallest thing around

Wisley

2007-10-19T21:14:00.001+01:00

This year our allotment trip was at Wisley.It was a lovely day her are some pictures

Another Boring Bare Earth Picture

2007-10-14T21:19:00.002+01:00

But bare earth is beautiful this time of year, it means things have been harvested and the hard but very satisfying digging has been done before the rain makes the clay soil into a clinging paste or the frost makes it too hard to dig!! The bean trench has been dug ,filled with the bits we couldn,t eat, spring greens are all tucked up for the winter perhaps time to rest and reflect.......except for a small matter of app 5 tons of manure ordered for week after next and to be shared by ,I am glad to say my lotty neighbour adrian. plans are to dump it at the bottom of his plot and spread it over the empty areas of my 1.5 plots and let the worms work on it over winter!! saw 3 tons delivered to another plot today and it,s a LOT
heres the before the cow poo picture

and heres a less boring prettier picture from the halfplot

Is this what you call forked?

2007-10-12T15:23:00.001+01:00

I dug up the first parsnip today and got a bit of a shock!! Is it a alien or perhaps the ground was a bit too rich

Also identified the grubs that I found when planting spring greens they were cabbage root fly and the grubs were eating the roots!! it seems that is why you have to put a "collar" around the base of brassicas the fly lays eggs around the plant which then go underground and start munching the roots.Dug two ailing plants up and found a couple on one of them, I then soaked the whole lot with derris. had a good look at the spares back home and they seem to be clean so hopefully I have caught it in time
Back home in the greenhouse the peppers are looking brilliant, don,t know why I grew them the mild ones are OK but I can,t stand the hot ones. I think I just like the look of them well I did say I was a confused grannie didn,t I?

Thats the planting done for this year

2007-10-07T18:54:00.001+01:00

Yes the spring greens are all in.They were started in pots in the greenhouse and then hardened off in the garden Ifigure they are big enough to look after thenselves now tho I am concerned about some small grubs found in the roots of some time will tell.They are Early Queen,Flower of Spring and Spring Hero I planted them deep and firm watered well then covered with net. robin watched and sang to me

and the bee,s still buzzed on the borage

Looking forward to spring

2007-10-04T21:06:00.001+01:00

You have to look well ahead in this game!! the F1 sonic onions just planted will be harvested in june and the leaminton cauli should be ready in march, all being well of course. if we didn,t live in hope seeds would never get sown.These overwinter cauli grow very tall so are planted right up to the 1st leaves,it will help them stand firm I have also packed the earth down very hard around the roots and covered with a net as skyrats love them. While I was working I was watched by a Robin hoping to grab a tasty worm

We,v eaten the green cabbage.....

2007-10-02T21:35:00.001+01:00

Now theres two rows of red to get through and then the kale and sprouts will be ready
all in the half plot where the potatoes will go next year. In the garden are Leaminton cauli and three sorts of spring greens bursting out of their pots to get in the bit by the strawbs( now reduced to four rows) which is where next years cabbage patch will be -----------------------------

out with the old ,in with the new

2007-10-02T21:03:00.001+01:00

After clearing the ground of summer stuff I,v started putting in winter onions. with all the rain we are having the dug ground is breaking down nicely. would like to start a trench for next years beans but the lettuce has at decided to go on and on .......................................................

I,v dug up a family of mice

2007-09-30T22:27:00.001+01:00

Yes today I,v continued with digging the ex-sweetcorn and bean patch when around six mice darted out from under my spade and into the discarded foilage. when I continued digging Ifound I had killed one with the spade ! neighbours (ones with nibbled corn) thought I should have finished the lot off ! by mistake is one thing, on purpose is quite another.

It worked I,m well away now

2007-09-28T15:54:00.001+01:00

This week I have been sorting out the strawbs. I have been really brutal ripping out plants that were still fruiting ,in september!! I was delighted to see a lizard scuttling away 1st I,v ever seen in the wild. Today Ian went up with me and we dug up the sweetcorn patch, I,v had loads off them this year thanks to plastic bottles. here is a pic of them protecting the cobbs

and here is the difference between the covered and the uncovered

cabbage patch on half plot

2007-09-28T15:48:00.001+01:00

another attempt at posting a picture from photo bucket. it works every where else. I really am a confused grannie

It,s been quite a good year

2007-09-21T14:22:00.000+01:00

07 has had it,s ups and downs, breaking an ankle mid march was def a down! the rainfall we had
saved a lot of watering which seems to be good for a lot of things including my still weak ankle but it did bring potatoe blight on very early . I only grow 1st and 2nds because blight gets bad on our site and this usually misses it but as they went in late and blight was early some of mine got caught. should have enough to last a few months but will have to watch them
Putting a plastic bottle on the swollen cobbs of corn was a success and I have enjoyed eating unprenibbled corn this year unlike the last two
blue moon french beans have been very poor but the runners after a terrible start of the saved seed rotting and having to get new, produced bag after bag until they gave up at the begining of september. I think perhaps the delayed start of the other root crops was a good thing as they missed aprils heat and grew well right from the start. most brassicas did well exepting caulis and broccoli nasturtions def helped lure the cabbage whites from them. onons did well ex spring ones and leeks funny aint it different needs i suppose