Monday 7 March 2011

Signs Of Life

At last, my peppers have started germinating. I don't have much patience when waiting for seeds to pop their heads above the compost, these have taken just short of two weeks to show any sign of life. I've now turned off the bottom heat to avoid the seedlings growing leggy, and I'll pot them on when they've put on some growth.

We finally saw some sunshine on Sunday so hubby was straight down to the allotment to put a bit of time in doing some digging. It won't be long now until the clocks go forward and the days are longer. I've always enjoyed spending time at the allotment on an evening, it always seems so peaceful at that time of day.

Just a reminder that Gardener's World is back on our screens on Friday with Monty Don coming back as the main presenter. The programme will come from Monty's own garden in Herefordshire. I'm looking forward to it.

18 comments:

  1. Gardening is so much more pleasant when the sun shines! We had a really classic Spring day today: a light frost first thing, followed by bright sunshine and blue sky, but with a chilly wind. Those Peppers of yours certainly need to remain inside for some while to come! My windowsills are groaning with the weight of seed-trays now...

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  2. Must admit to being not too keen on Monty maybe he'll be better from his own garden - we'll see! Pity that they decided not to keep the clocks forward so we could have lighter nights in winter too!

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  3. Seeds appearing, doing some digging, GW back on Friday...happier times for all gardeners I reckon! Flighty xx

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  4. Thanks for the heads up on Gardeners World, will be taking them. I'm looking forward to longer evenings as well to enjoy the outdoors.

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  5. Glad to see that your peppers have decided to show themselves Jo. Looking forward to return of GW ~ would have liked to have seen the lead role being given to Carol but then you can't have everything :)

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  6. Great news that your pepper seeds have germinated. Looking forward to seeing Monty Don again this week, I'm really pleased he is coming back to our screens. Even hubby will watch it now! Amanda x

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  7. It's lovely when seeds you'd given up on suddenly rear their heads. The same happened to a few Chilli seeds I'd relegated to the floor of the greenhouse last year, ended up getting a half decent crop from them despite them being late starters :)

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  8. It's good to see your chillis up! We've had a few warm days but had to get de-icer to the windscreens this morning...brr!

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  9. I checked my seeds today but no signs of life as yet...I'm not worried though as it has only been about a week..fingers crossed!!

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  10. Glad your pepper seeds are up! Mine arent cos I havent got em in yet!
    Sunny today and no frost this morning so am going to get on with it now - am too much of a fair weather gardener I'm afraid - prefer to sew rather than sow on cold wet days!
    My daughters hollyhock seeds are up so shes pleased - they took weeks to germinate as she sowed them too early really but i didnt want to dampen her eagerness.
    thanks for the tip off for friday - I'm a Titchmarsh fan myself, but Im sure monty will be great.

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  11. I do love it when the seedlings start popping up. Congrats on the peppers - mine are up too, as are the chillies, but I am hoping more toms come up, sods law is in play and the ones I care most about (Gold Nugget) are being the most recalcitrant.

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  12. You can tell that spring's here when you can't see the windowsills, Mark. We're back to rain and high winds today.

    I'm not keen on what I've seen of Monty in the past either, Sue. I'm reserving judgement though until I see what this series of Gardener's World brings.

    Definitely happier times for gardeners, Flighty. Another month and we'll all be in the thick of it.

    There seems to be so much extra time to do things when the clocks go forward, Kelli, even if it's just an evening stroll, it's not quite the same in the dark.

    I really enjoyed Carol's Cottage Garden series, Anna. She showed what a good presenter she is in that. It does seem like they've taken a step backwards in giving the main presenting roll back to Monty.

    I too am looking forward to the return of Gardener's World, Amanda. I'm hoping that as the programme is coming from Monty's own garden, he will click better with me as I haven't been over keen on him in the past.

    It shows that seeds just want to grow, Paul. For all we molly coddle them, it sometimes isn't in their best interest.

    Rain and wind here today, Mo. We've got a real mixed bag of weather at the moment.

    I'm always checking on my seeds looking for signs of life, Tanya. I expect them up in days but in reality it more likely to be a week or two.

    Glad your daughter's hollyhock seeds are up, Gill. There's nothing more likely to put them off gardening than failures. Hope you've managed to do some sowing rather than sewing today, though there's still plenty of time for that yet. It's funny how we all have our favourite presenter of Gardener's World, or favourite gardener who we would like to present it.

    Hope the Gold Nuggets germinate for you soon, Janet. I haven't got any tomato seeds in yet, I'll give it a couple more weeks before I start on them yet.

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  13. I'd forgotten about the clocks changing until you mentioned it!
    On Friday at GW time we'll be somewhere in the Highlands, probably driving through snow on our way north. I will look forward to catching up on iplayer. Monty is my favourite GW presenter - I had stopped watching the other line-up. And I think I may be the only person in the UK who doesn't like Carol Klein...

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  14. I know a few people who don't like Carol, Linda. She get's on my kid's nerves as she seems to mention grit in every sentence. It seems that quite a lot of people stopped watching Gardener's World after Monty left so I hope this encourages them back. Hope you enjoy your trip in the Highlands.

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  15. Hi Jo!
    Thanks for leaving a comment - yes it is exciting not knowing what we're going to see in the garden!
    You've heard it too about oak leaves not rotting down - I wonder whether any of your commenters might have any advice?
    I'll leave this comment here in hopes as first hand experience is always useful!!
    Gill x

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  16. I had heard somewhere that oak leaves take longer to rot down to leaf mould than other leaves, Gill, but I've checked the Gardener's World website which says that they're one of the quickest to rot down. I've left you a link on your blog, I hope it helps.

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  17. Whoops left my comment on the wrong post!
    Thanks so much for checking it out and for the link - (I hadnt got round to researching it as these things often take forever!) and thats the opposite of what I'd heard!
    That is good news!!Will have a bit more heart raking up the rest now!!
    Thanks!!
    Gill x

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  18. You're welcome, Gill. I found your last comment. You'll be so pleased you raked them all up when you have all that leaf mould to use, wonderful stuff.

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