Nearly the end of Jan yipee....................

Well today I have tidied up the garden and filled a few of my tubs with grow bag soil, I need to go and buy lots more gro bags this afternoon, who said this veg growing lark saved money, I've spent a flippin' fortune on it up to now!

I have planted some French Marigold seeds and sone Early Nantes 5 carrotts and popped them in my greenhouse. My thermometer is reading 63 in there today, mind you it is sunny even though theres a freezing cold wind with it.

Anyway January is nearly gone now so we only need February out of the way and then hopefully Spring will be here.............

I've gotta light in me greenhouse!!!!

Yeah!!!!!!.........................Paul (he who can do 'owt) has fitted me a lamp in my greenhouse run by a car battery, photos not brill, but the lights fantastic!

Here's how he did it:

The lamp in the greenhouse came from the rear load area (in the back) of a Luton van. The lamp is mounted to a metal plate which is in turn attatched to the greenhouse frame. It is fitted with a 12 volt 21 watt indicator type bulb (clear) it is then wired down to the car battery via a flick switch. It is also worth fitting a 20 amp in-line fuse to the positive feed to guard against any short circuit problems. Our picture shows the battery inside the greenhouse, this was for test purposes only, ideally the battery should be in a box outside the greenhouse with a lid to protect against rainwater because if rainwater were to get in the top of the battery it could overflow as diluted acid. The lamps themselves are availabe at camping/caravan shops or car accessory shops for less than £10.00.

It's quite bright, I love it!!!!!

Plus, if it disturbs 'er next door all the better.........

Ah a windowsill, now what can I put on it????

Lettuce and herb mix thats what.

Planted in an unheated propogater on my kitchen window sill, at least no slugs will get them there!

Started chitting my potatoes yesterday.

I have ....

Swift......1st earlies


Vivaldi ......2nd early
Foremost...2nd early
Charlotte.....2nd early
Maris Peer...2nd early
Kestral .......2nd earlies


Valor.............Maincrop
Picasso..........Maincrop
Rooster.........Maincrop

(Don't ask me where I'm going to put them all), altogether I have 140 seed potatoes to plant, and do you remember how small my garden is, just as well I'm expanding into the front garden, and I don't think even that will be enough room!

We'll just have to see won't we ??!?

They will all go in their own tubs at the same time, for me to harvest when the time is right.

The tomatoes are growing (Okay so they might only be a quarter of an inch but from little acorns and all that), it amazes me that just one seed will grow so big eventually ..........I'm forever checking the little beauties!!!!! I really need to get out more...........................

Leeks are in.................................

Just sown some Leeks called Prizetaker and some oregano and basil due to having itchy fingers.

I dont think I'll do anymore indoor planting now with being a novice, it could be very hit and miss. I have extra leek seeds anyway so I can always plant straight outside when the weathers better if these fail.

I've used B&Q Specialist compost for seeds and cuttings, I hope its good stuff!

One tomatoe seed is just trying to peep at me, its day 8 for them. Again i have extra seeds if anything should go wrong.

I'm still excited about my greenhouse and keep going in it! I've put the grow bags in situ.........just waiting for the spring now!!!!!! HURRY UP !!!!!!!!

Can you tell what it is yet?

On Saturday 29th November I planted some 'Feltham First' peas (I always giggle to myself when I type or say that )! Sad I know but hey ho.......... I was warned that it could be a bit late but I went for it anyway (well I am a woman, ask for advice but still do what I want) anyway today I noticed these little fellas peeping at me. I dont know how they'll fare with the weather to come but I'll keep the cloche on them and my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Feltham first lol !

I also planted some 'Red Cherry' tomatoes 7 days ago, nothing to report about them yet though. I'm keeping them warm and giving them filtered light as per instructions 'sow' we shall see what happens........................

I've also just told Amanda about this blog and I'm just waiting for the phone to ring, I don't know what her reaction will be, but whatever it is she's staying in and if she complains I'll post the drunk picture of her at our New Years Eve party, that'll shut her up !

The windows are in, the windows are in!

Here's Gertie my greenhouse in all her glory.

Finally, OH has put put Gerties windows in, he thought it would only take him a couple of hours WRONG it took over five ! However he did scrub them up nice and shiny before he fitted them and there were 48 of the little blighters to do. It's lovely and I'm made up with it, it was raining last night and I kept going in it .....coming out.....going in again...............look I'm wet, now I'm dry, wet, dry, wet, dry ..... ...like you do.

I hope Amanda wasn't watching me, she misses nothing that woman, nosey old trout.

It's a dogs life..............................

These are my three rescue doggies, they look like they certainly landed on their paws don't they?
They ain't going anywhere though, they're mine I tell you all mine !!!!!!!!!

Judy, Daisy and Gemma 'The girls'

These are the seeds that I plan to grow this year!

...........................Okay, okay so I've always been ambitious?

Here's the seeds that I've already bought......(potatoes are in the garage). Just don't ask how many potatoes I've bought, no please don't

Here's my greenhouse in its final place, everything is coming together now and I'm so excited. The flags have since been rearranged but you'll see that on my next picture. My husband and son have done a lot of the work for me (okay they've done ALL of the work for me!)

The glass needs cleaning and fitting back in and hopefully that will be done in later in the week, hubby says it will only take a couple of hours to do.

My broad beans and garlic......

Now I know that I have planted them too close, and that I haven't thinned them out, but I just can't seem to be able to take out a healthy plant and chuck it away! Don't ask me why, but I just feel sorry for them.

So I shall thin them now and replant them somewhere else, they may not like being moved and they may die ,but I'd rather give them a chance with nature than perish in the bin.

At least I've now learned why correct spacing in the beginning is so important. I do hope they grow nice and healthy because I really want to swap them for some of Amandas wine..................... (and she's not getting anything that I like!) garlic and broad beans are good enough for that drunkard ; )

Here's my neighbour and pal Amanda......

.......she's nothing to do with the blog really but I'm bored at the moment so I thought I'd put a piccie of us in, plus when she reads it she'll only moan at not being mentioned.

I've told her to start brewing her home-made wine so that we can do some bartering in the summer, ( I'll give her my broad beans and garlic ha ha ).

So here she is, she calls me her 'nutty neighbour' I have no idea why, she's always coming round to my parties swearing, spitting, getting drunk and staggering about the place (you know the sort) just making a nuisance of herself really, I don't ask her to come she just turns up.

We're like partners in crime when we've had a few drinkies. We always think we can sing (even though we can't), and end up singing (or is it shouting?) along to any Meatloaf song that we can find ......

Now if you decide to post anything here Amanda be polite and don't swear okay? There's a good girl : )

Time to start my broad beans..........

Back in November...... the 20th to be exact...........I was wondering if there was anything that I could start growing, so I read a few books and decided that broad beans and garlic were the way to go (I don't like either of them but someone I know must)!

Mmmm........... who's is that book (or should I say bible) there on the table I wonder??

Whooosh and as if by magic.........

........................here it is being cleaned and scrubbed by my hubby, now don't feel sorry for him in all that rain, I did keep him going with coffee and a full english brekky : )

The pictures not brilliant because I took it through the conservatory window.........Well you didn't think I'd get wet did you?

Well here's the garden last November, the sheds gone and all I am left with is the rubbish out of it!

Soon all this space will be clean and tidy ready for the greenhouse that my lovely step-dad gave me last November, a week before he died :(

Vegetable growing in my small garden

I think he's thinking 'what the flipperty flop am I going to do with this?'

Here's the greenhouse my step-dad gave me photographed at his house.............now how the heck will I move it???

Luckily OH has a cunning plan .....