All my babies are growing

Well I planted some sweetpeas only a few days ago and already 13 out of the 15 are 2 inches tall!

12 out of 15 of my marigolds are up and running.

All of the 11 tomatoes that I potted in their first pots have survived.

I have just planted 4 pepper seeds 'Sweet California Wonder', I'm hoping for 3 of them to grow and I shall be growing those on in growbags in the greenhouse when the weathers warmer.

Nothing else to report really, except that I'm getting really nervous now at the prospect of Spring arriving. I worry that the Spring and Summer will come and go and I've forgot to do everything and in the end I've done sod all !

I'm going to grow some 'pretty' veggies in the front garden too, it's West facing so I'm hoping they will get enough sunlight in there. I might grow my peas and beans in it along with some others that don't nesscessarily look like 'free food' to all that passes. I'll take some piccies of the front garden soon, and then I can hopefully look back and see an improvement (hopefully).

I've told Amanda to get her home brew wine started, ready for some serious bartering in the summer, her wines lovely, I've tasted it, well she said it was her home brew, but come to think of it I do take quite a few boxes of 'posh wine' deliveries in for her.........Mmmm maybe she's pulling a fast 'un and she doesn't brew any herself. Watch this space.............

Re-potted my tommys

They are still quite small but I had originally planted the seed a bit too close together so I wanted to give them their own space.

Again a bit of trial and error, but I did talk to them whilst I did the 'operation'. Any hoots I hope they all survive I am going to grow some in the greenhouse and some against the south facing garage wall (bit of insurance there in case we get a cool summer this year).

The tomatoes are called 'Red Cherry. I am also going to grow some in hanging baskets too, I think they are call 'Tumbling Tom' tomatoes. I've also heard that there's a variety of veg you can grow in hanging baskets, I'm going to give other things a go, it seems a good idea with me having limited growing space on the floor!

Oh, I nearly forgot I planted some sweet peas too for a bit of colour and nice smell in the garden plus I want to attract some insects............. : )

The kidnapping scene...................

I hope to entice .........okay nick some frogs out of Amandas pond next door and 'put them up' in my garden. Now I'm not doing anything illegal or taking them too far from their natural habitat because Amandas pond is only over the fence. She and Geoff (her ever suffering other half) get loads every Spring.

She said I can have some so I'm making a froggy house (a terracotta pot turned on its side and part buried in the ground) and I'm making a teeny pond for it too out of a terracotta saucer with a stone in the middle and water of course. It will in return hopefully eat all of the slugs that I'm plagued with in the summer time.

 I must admit it's a beautiful pond in the summer plenty of delicate flowers around it and it attracts some wonderful wildlife, it took someone real clever and with a sense of style about them to design and create it ......................well done Geoff!!!!!!

Touchwood I've not seen Ratty Rat for a few weeks.

About six weeks ago now I had a visitor in the garden a sly, creepy, smelly HUGE RAT!

No, no you're just making your own jokes up now, it wasn't our Amanda this time, it definately was a 'four' legged rat and anyway the rat had less whiskers.

It peeped in my garden so I let the dogs out and it ran off. Up to now it's stayed away, I've moved the bird table because I think that's what was attracting him, and I am now throwing the bird food on the garage instead for them. (I've no idea why my typing's gone itallic, and as I don't know how to change it I'll have to leave it).

I actually phoned Amanda to look at him through her conservatory window, I thought that seeing her might frighten him away but she wasn't in so I had a word with Bob about it, he's one of my other neighbours (he's a nice one though) and he told me that one sure way of getting rid of a rat was to fire a gun 1 inch away from it's ear,

'Oh will that get rid of it?' I said,

'sure will' he said, ' it'll blow it's bloody brains out!'

Hubby's fitting me some shelves now in the greenhouse....

Here's the shelves, it only took him an hour to knock them up!

It's still freezing here, but I'm hoping it means that we may be in for a good summer.

I have planted some Swift potatoes yesterday in two buckets inside my greenhouse three in one and two in the other, I don't know how they'll fare and it's a bit hit and miss, but nothing ventured nothing gained and all that. I've also planted a Rhubarb crown and some early carrots in buckets too so we'll see how they go on.

My conservatory and front room are getting a bit full of seeds growing now, tomatoes, leeks, cut and grow salad and some herbs, so I'm hoping when Paul gets my shelves up in the greenhouse I can move them in there soon. Mum's giving me my step-dads parafin heater this week so that will be a big help with warming the greenhouse up.