Tuesday 24 March 2009

Phew what a busy couple of weeks!

It's all been go go go! I've lots of stuff popping up all over the greenhouse.
So far,
43 leeks
3 cauliflowers - Sno Ball (just a tester)
30 beetroot (pronto)
3 pepper plants
1 bucket of 'normal' carrots .. Early Nantes 5 and a bucket of the round ones.. Paris Market, I shall continue sowing more every couple of weeks.
Some Tumbling Toms and Dwarf French Beans for hanging baskets, I already have some strawberries in a hanging basket.

I also have cucumber, spring onions. radish, lettuce, herbs, big tomatoes for the greenhouse (can't remember their name) and I've just planted some Kelvedon Wonder peas in a 40 litre tub.............again a trial and error thing. Oh and I've just ordered some Snow pea 'Carouby de Maussane'!

I want to try lots of things for my first year and then just grow what thrives next year.

My flower plants are French Marigolds, nasturtiums and three pots of Sweet peas.

So far I am really pleased with how everything is growing, I realise that the nice weather has helped but I'm still going to take a bit of credit for it :)

Pictures to follow, I have a new phone and I'm buggered if I can get them on the computer!

Monday 9 March 2009

Springs nearly here!!!!!!

It's just around the corner and I'm full of mixed feelings, excitement of course but I'm also nervous about the whole thing, what if Spring and Summer come and I'm faffing around not sure what to do and then ending up doing nothing!


This last couple of weeks I've been planting Leek seed (in toilet roll tubes) because they need a long route growth, some Beetroot (Pronto) seeds, these are small beetroot that can be picked early, and some Cauliflower (Snowball) again this can be picked whilst still small. I'll only be growing abou 12 of the beetroot and cauliflower as an experiment because of course space is limited.


I have all my tubs in the garden now, I've managed to get 10 builders tubs in bought from B & Q, 18 black buckets that were only £1.00 each from Asda a few weeks ago. I have 5 growbags that are on a large wooden box that's about 3 foot tall so I shall use those for lettuce, radish herbs etc. plus they will be out of the reach of slugs. I shall sow every 2 weeks so that I don't end up with a glut of stuff ready for picking at the same time.

The buckets I shall use for sowing carrots and spring onions in, again sowing every couple of weeks. I have some strawberry plants in one of my hanging baskets and shall try tumbling tomatoes and dwarf french beans in the other two.


The builders buckets shall home climbing french beans and I'm not sure what else yet.


In the greenhouse I shall have tomato, pepper and cucumber plants.


My sweet peas are already about 6 inch tall and my marigolds and nasturtium are growing nicely. I shall plant the latter two near to my vegetables because apparently they are a good distraction for nasty insects.


The frog kidnapping plan seems to have hit a slight hicup, Amandas frogs seem to have forgot what they should be up to! She told me last night on the phone that she knows the frogs are in the pond because she hears them jumping in it as she staggers past on an evening with her empty bottle of wine in hand (I've seen her - honest).


I shouldn't call her too much because the other Sunday she bought me a pressy to help me with my gardening quest, she mustn't have had her glasses on though because on one of the items it says 'To someone special', she's up to something you know, I just have to find out what !

Here's my pressies a teeny trowel and baby watering can aw how cute. Thanks face-ache! : )