In the Greenhouse

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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