Pesky Molluscs

I've been out to the greenhouse this morning to find that seedlings have been munched away. These are, or should I say were, a couple of Salad Bowl lettuces. One looks to have a tiny bit of damage, whereas the other has been totally decimated. There's even the tell tale slime trail on the top of the compost that shows me the culprit is slugs. This isn't the only damage, the slugs have had a right old meal. All my brassicas which were doing so well have just about vanished, only stalks left where yesterday were healthy leaves. I shall have to start again.

Some of the squash which I sowed a couple of weeks ago have now germinated. These have been kept indoors on a windowsill, but I'm also pleased to see that the courgettes which I sowed four weeks ago have also germinated. I've kept these in the greenhouse, and although they've taken longer to do their thing, they should make strong, healthy plants.

The weekend has started off nice and bright, though it's a little breezy. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get to the allotment due to other commitments, but I'm hoping the weather holds out this coming week as there's lots of things just waiting to be planted out. I also need to get my parsnips sown otherwise I'm going to miss the boat, and that really won't do, parsnips are mine and my daughter's favourite.

Some Things Are Doing Well

Even though many things have been held back in the garden this year due to the cold spell we've experienced, it's not all doom and gloom. These are the potatoes which I'm growing in containers. As you can see, the foliage has reached well above the top of the container and looks nice and healthy. These are Arran Pilot, a variety I grew last year which did very well for me, but I've also got a few Nicola. I'm hoping that things are growing just as well below the soil, and that I get a decent haul.

Last weekend, I sowed my sweetcorn and squash. These are quite tender so I've kept them indoors on a windowsill rather than outside in the cold greenhouse. I'm pleased to say that most of the sweetcorn has now germinated, though I'm still waiting for any sign of the squash. It's early days yet. The sweetcorn I've gone for this year is Sweet Bounty, this is one I haven't tried before. The squash I'm growing are Sunburst, Uchiki Kuri and Blue Kuri.

It's bright and sunny today, and much warmer than it has been just lately. Ideal gardening weather, though we won't get much done as we're in the middle of decorating at the moment. It's typical that the weekend we decide to give the hall, stairs and landing a make over, the weather decides to play ball.

Inspired

There's been many posts about herbs on blogs just lately which have inspired me to give them a go myself. I don't really use herbs very much in cooking so I don't have that many in the garden, though many of them attract bees and butterflies and other beneficial insects as well as having attractive flowers and foliage, so they're useful in more ways than one. I visited my local nursery at the weekend who had quite a good range and I came away with Flat Leaf Parsley, Compact Marjoram, Spearmint, Painted Sage and Archers Gold Thyme. I forgot all about the rosemary in the garden which I wanted to replace as it's gone rather woody, but I can pick that up on my next visit. Perhaps now I'm growing them, it will also encourage me to use them more when I cook.

The tomato seedlings which I moved in to the house from the greenhouse have really picked up and seem to be growing well now, in fact, they're ready for potting on, a job I'll get round to this week. The back up seeds I sowed last week are also starting to germinate, so I'll probably end up with more plants than I need. There's always someone willing to take them off my hands though.

I popped down to the allotment at the weekend, not to do any work as it was like a bog down there with all the rain we've had, but I wanted to check on the onions, shallots and broad beans which I had planted out. I was relieved to see that they were all doing well, and had grown too since I left them there. All this rain is good for something then.

Starting Over

I think I've made a big mistake with my tomatoes this year. I started them off inside the plastic greenhouse which was placed inside the normal greenhouse for a little extra protection. They were taking ages to germinate so I brought them in to the house on a sunny windowsill and in no time at all, they were popping their heads up through the soil. I decided that I would move them back outside as plants grown indoors tend to grow leggy and rather weak. Last year, my method worked great, the plants grew really strong. Things haven't worked out the same this year, I assume it's because we're having much cooler weather than we did last year. I've lost a few seedlings to damping off, some are very tatty whilst others just aren't growing. I've decided to cut my losses and start again. I'll still keep the originals going and just hope that they recover, but I've now got a back up, and these are being started off indoors on the windowsill where they'll remain until the weather improves. I've learn my lesson, sometimes seedlings do need a little extra care than I sometimes give them.

Most of the seedlings started off in the greenhouse are taking a long time to germinate at the moment. The radish I sowed a week last Sunday have germinated and are growing well, it shouldn't be too long before they're ready to harvest, they grow really quickly. The brassicas are enjoying this cooler weather though, they don't do very well if they're given warmth so the temperatures at the moment are suiting them and they're growing well. I just need to keep the slugs off the seedlings now, I think it was last year that a slug devoured the lot and I had to start again.

I don't think there'll be any allotment gardening happening this weekend. We've had so much rain just recently that I can imagine it being a quagmire down there, even hubby and son's cricket match which they were supposed to be playing in tomorrow has already been cancelled. Instead, I shall satisfy my desire to be doing something constructive for the garden by sowing some more seeds, I think it's the turn of the sweetcorn and squash.

Thank You, Tanya

I was thrilled to bits a few weeks ago when I found out that I was one of the top commenters on Tanya's Lovely Greens blog. It was a year since Tanya had started her blog, so she decided to count up the comments each person had left over the year and send a thank you gift to the people who had left the most. The gift was a jar of Tanya's Manx Beeswax Lip Balm. Tanya makes this product herself using local Manx beeswax. I've been using it a few weeks now and can say that it's lovely stuff, it's doing it's job of keeping my lips silky smooth.

Tanya has just set up her own hive of bees, so she's hoping to be able to harvest her own beeswax which she will use in her lip balm. If you haven't yet visited Lovely Greens blog, I would urge you to do so. Tanya's posts are on a variety of subjects from her allotment to the new hive she's just set up. She's also just about to start keeping chickens so I'm looking forward to reading all about them.

If you're interested in the lip balm yourself, Tanya sells this in her Etsy shop, along with various scented soaps which she also makes herself. You can also find further information about the product there.

Thank you very much, Tanya, I'm really enjoying using the lip balm.

Filling Up Nicely

Not only did I spend time at the allotment on Sunday, but I also did a bit of gardening at home too and got some more seeds sown. As you can see, the mini plastic greenhouse which is inside the proper greenhouse to give everything a little extra protection is starting to fill up. I decided that I would sow my French beans. I know that the weather isn't all that warm at the moment but I'm hoping to have some ready to go out at the earliest opportunity so that I can get an early harvest. I'll sow more at a later date, as I did last year, to extend the cropping period. The varieties I'm growing this year are Blue Lake which is a climber, and Safari and Purple Teepee which are both dwarf varieties. I also planted some courgettes, Soleil which is yellow, and Mikinos which is green. I may be a little early with these too, but I can bring them on in the greenhouse before planting them out.

I don't tend to grow salad crops at the allotment. I find they keep much cleaner and pest free if grown in containers in the garden. I sowed my spring onions in to a planter. This year I'm growing red spring onions - Furio, as well as White Lisbon which I usually grow. I also made my first sowing of radish. Again, I've chosen a different variety to that which I'm used to - Rainbow Mixed, so they should be nice and colourful. They're a round variety and I find that they grow perfectly well in a seed tray, no point wasting lots of compost if there's no need. I don't think the longer varieties such as French Breakfast would do so well without a bit of extra depth though.

I also started off some basil, a must if you're growing tomatoes. The seed tray has been placed on my son's windowsill, the sunniest in the house, though there hasn't been much sun about this week, and they've germinated already. Fingers crossed that everything else isn't far behind.

On The Plot

At long last, I managed to get to the allotment on Sunday. I started the shallots and red onions off in pots in the greenhouse many weeks ago and they should really have been planted out before now. As you can see, they'd put on plenty of top growth and as I removed them from their pots, I could see that they'd put out plenty of roots too. I'm hoping that this has given them a good start. The Bedfordshire Champion onions which I started from seed are still only like blades of grass. It's the first time I've tried growing from seed and I don't think I'm going to be very successful, surely they should have grown more than this by now. I've no idea when I should plant them out, but I don't think they'd stand much of a chance at this point. Perhaps I'll buy a few sets and get them out as soon as possible then I won't be left without.

I also planted out the broad beans. They'd also been languishing in the greenhouse waiting for their turn to be turfed out. I've only got a dozen plants, I'm not sure what sort of yield each plant will give, but as I'm not sure whether I like broad beans or not, I thought a dozen was enough to try. They've grown in to sturdy little plants so I hope the cooler weather we're having at the moment isn't going to do any damage to them.

The first direct sowing of the year has taken place, half a row of beetroot, Boltardy. I'd only ever eaten pickled beetroot from a jar before I grew my own, now I love it roasted, though none of the family are particularly keen. Hubby also sowed some carrots. You may remember that we experimented last year by growing carrots in an old bath which had been left on the allotment when we took it over. The carrots grew really well, and weren't troubled by carrot fly even though they didn't have any protection, so we're growing them the same way this year. We're trying a new variety, Sweet Candle. There's one thing about the wet weather we're having at the moment, I'm not having to go down to the allotment to water anything.

Another Winner

As you know, Anna's name was drawn out of the hat as the winner of my third anniversary giveaway, however, she let me know that she already has a paper potter and asked me to allocate this to someone else. I've done another draw and this time, the name out of the hat is Wellywoman.

I'm sure Wellywoman will be able to make use of the paper potter, after all, she sows so many seeds at this time of year, not only veggies but lots of flowers too for her cutting patch.

If you haven't yet visited Wellywoman, you can find her blog at Wellywoman - A Life in Wellies. Her posts are about all manner of gardening topics and very interesting.

Wellywoman, can you please let me have your address and I'll get the paper potter sent out to you.

There's no gardening happening here today, it's already been raining and is forecast more rain on and off all day. In fact, the forecast doesn't look to change all week. Fingers crossed for the weekend then.

Giveaway Winner

I hope everyone's thoroughly enjoyed the Easter break, I know I have. The schools are back tomorrow, so we're a hive of activity in our house getting bags packed and uniforms at the ready.

I was hoping to get lots of things done at the allotment and in the garden over Easter, but as there was lots of DIY activity indoors, this didn't really happen. I've managed to catch up with a few things today, but I'll tell you about those later.

My giveaway for the third anniversary of my blog has come to an end today, so a winner's name has been drawn at random. I'm very happy to say that the first name out of the hat is Anna. Congratulations, Anna. Please let me have the address to send your prize to and I'll get it out as soon as possible. If you haven't yet visited Anna's blog, you'll find it at Green Tapestry. Anna has an allotment as well as growing a wide variety of plants in her garden and photographing visiting birds. Do pay her a visit, you won't be disappointed.

I'd like to thank everyone who took part in my giveaway, and also for all the wonderful (and very flattering) comments you left on my last post. I know that my blog would not be what it's become today without all the comments you leave and support you give so thank you all very much.

I'll be back with an update soon.

Third Blog Anniversary Giveaway

It doesn't seem three years since I started this blog, it just goes to show how quickly time slips by.

As is now usual on my blog anniversaries, I am running a giveaway to thank all my readers, new and old, for their visits to my blog, and for the many wonderful comments you all continue to leave. I really do appreciate the time you take to read my ramblings and for all the support you continue to give by way of commenting. It doesn't matter how many years I blog for, I don't think the thrill of having another comment left for me will ever fade.

The prize I am offering is a Paper Potter, ideal for this time of year when seeds are being sown. It's really handy to be able to make pots from old newspapers, cost effective, and good for the environment too. I am also offering a Collins Nature Guide Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe book. This is ideal to take along on walks as any flowers you come across can be easily identified.

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this blog post and I will pick a winner at random on the 15th April 2012.

The schools have now broken up for Easter, and although the weather was forecast to break this weekend, we've still had some sunny days though noticably cooler. I'm hoping to get lots more jobs done in the garden and at the allotment so I'm hoping that the weather doesn't change too much over the next fortnight.

It just remains for me to wish you all a very happy Easter.

Spring In To Action

Now that spring is officially here, I felt I was getting a bit left behind with everything I had to do. Fortunately, we had some glorious weather at the weekend which enabled me to get some jobs done. We spent part of Saturday at the allotment, sorting out the compost bins, planting up the new strawberry bed with the Sonata strawberries I bought at the back end of last year, and making a start on digging and preparing the beds. As you can see, some things are now waiting to go out. The red onions and shallots have put on plenty of growth in the greenhouse, and the broad beans don't want to be hanging around much longer either.

On Sunday, I decided it was time to get some sowing done. First off, I got the tomatoes planted. I mentioned the varieties in my last post, but didn't bother with the Harbinger and Red Cherry. I'm hoping to grow a couple of plants of each of the other nine varieties. I made my first sowing of peas - Hurst Green Shaft and mangetout - Reuzensuiker, and I will sow these again in a month or so to stagger the harvest. The brassicas also got sown, cabbage - Advantage, Swiss chard - Bright Lights, kale - Cavolo de Nero, kale - Dwarf Green Curled, broccoli - Autumn Spear, broccoli - (Sprouting) Summer Purple and kohl rabi - Purple Delicacy. I also sowed some lettuce - Salad Bowl. I think I'm just about caught up now with the sowing, though I still need to sow the radishes and spring onions.

The first potatoes which were planted in containers are now showing some leaf above the compost. I'm staggering the planting so that they're not all ready to harvest together, two or three weeks between each batch should just about do nicely and then I'll be kept in potatoes well in to autumn and perhaps in to winter. It's all in the planning.

Let's Talk About Tomatoes

If I could only grow one thing, it would have to be tomatoes. Not only do home grown tomatoes taste so much better than those bought from the supermarket, but I enjoy the process of growing them too.

I usually squeeze six plants in to my small 6X4 greenhouse, but this year I'm branching out, trying some different varieties to those I've grown previously, as well as some favourites, and I'm going to grow some outdoors in the garden as well as in the greenhouse. I'm hoping for a much bigger harvest than usual so that I can make some sauces.

The old favourites I'm going to grow are Tangella, I grew these from my own saved seed last year and I'm doing the same again this year, Tigerella, Ferline and Gardener's Delight. I picked up some new to me varieties in the Wyevale 50p sale last year. Wyevale has now changed it's name to The Garden Centre Group, and their sale can really save you a lot of money, one of the packets should have been £4.99 and it only contains six seeds. I wouldn't have bought them at that price, but I don't mind for 50p. I was looking for ones which do well outdoors. The ones I came up with are Pannovy, Gold Nugget, Black Cherry, Harbinger and Incas. I've also got Red Cherry which were a freebie and Eleanor which was sent to me by Kath from Veg Heaven. Kath has bred this variety herself and I'm eager to try it as my daughter's name is Eleanor. Thank you Kath.

It's now just a matter of getting the seed sown, which I'm hoping to do this week. I've usually started the seeds off on a windowsill in a heated propagator, but last year I sowed them inside the mini plastic greenhouse which is inside the normal greenhouse to give them a little extra protection. They grew much stronger so I'm going to do that again this year. I can't wait to pick the first sun warmed tomato from a plant and pop it straight in my mouth.

Impulse Buy

I think all gardeners are guilty of impulse buys. Even when the flower beds are well stocked, there's always something which catches the eye on a trip to a garden centre or nursery. We visited our local nursery to buy the apple tree which I blogged about in my last post, but I had to pass the perennials in order to pay for the tree. This gorgeous Hellebore Niger called out to me as I passed, and with a price tag of just £2.99 it was a certainty that it was coming home with us. I've seen much smaller specimens at double the price, so I was happy with this. The flower border in my back garden needs a total overhaul this year, many plants have grown too big for their boots, so they'll have to be moved in to the patch we've got at the front of the house, and new smaller plants will be purchased to replace them. I'm going to follow Geoff Hamilton's advice and buy something new every month so that I can be assured of some colour in the border all the year round.

Today is Mother's Day in the UK, so Happy Mother's Day to all you mums reading my blog. I've been thoroughly spoilt, and one of my presents is a blackcurrant bush. I'm trying to get a bit more fruit on the allotment so this is a wonderful present. I don't have anywhere prepared to plant it yet, so it's now biding it's time in a container until I can prepare a patch especially for it.

I haven't managed to get to the allotment this weekend, but hubby has dug over a bit more ground, as well as filling the old bath there with some fresh compost in order to grow carrots again this year. The carrots which were sown in the bath last year were great so I'm hoping we have the same success again this year.

Decision Made

I've been contemplating getting a small apple tree for sometime now. I don't have room to plant a tree in the ground, but after seeing how well my cherry tree has done in a half barrel container, I decided that I'd give an apple tree in a container a go too. I didn't want to get more than one apple tree so I had to look for a self-fertile variety, and luckily, my local nursery had quite a few different ones in stock, many of them suitable to be grown in a container. We decided on Gloster in the end, a lovely red skinned variety with crisp flesh. My parents had given us some money for our twentieth wedding anniversary in 2010, and we've been waiting to find the perfect present to spend it on and this is it.

It's been a lovely weekend weather wise, so I set to getting my leek and sweet pea seeds sown. I'm growing Musselburgh leeks. I've sown them earlier than I usually do, so I hope they do better for me this year. I've never done very well with leeks before, they always seem to grow very spindly. The sweet peas I've sown are from a collection by Suttons. There are five different varieties in the pack, which I bought for 50p in the Wyevale sale. This was marked down from £4.75 so I got a bargain there. The varieties are White Ensign, Noel Sutton, Air Warden, Mrs R.Bolton and Beaujolais. I'm hoping to have some in the garden as well as at the allotment.

Hubby was busy in the garden yesterday. He emptied the compost bin which was full of lovely compost. It will now be spread on the beds at the allotment. He'd been digging over some beds on Saturday, and the new strawberry bed is just about finished so I'll be able to get the plants set out soon. He also washed down the greenhouse for me and put the mini plastic greenhouse inside so that it gives any seedlings a little extra protection. It means I can start seed sowing in earnest now.

I Couldn't Resist

I know I said that I was only going to grow one variety of potato this year, but when I saw packets of seed potatoes in a shop window display at only £1.00 per packet I couldn't resist. So, as well as the Arran Pilot potatoes which I've already got chitting, I now have some Nicola. There were six tubers in the pack, which is ideal if you want to give a variety a try without having it as your main crop. Nicola is a salad variety so should be good for boiling. They'll get planted up in to containers just like the Arran Pilot.

Hubby dug up all the remaining parsnips and leeks from the allotment at the weekend, par boiled them and they're all now in the freezer waiting to be used up. I was very surprised at the amount of parsnips we had left in the ground, it's quite hard to judge just how many are there after the leaves have died down over winter. This year is the best we've ever done with parsnips, they were sown direct last year and I think this has made all the difference, we'll be sowing direct again this year but the soil needs to warm up a little first. The leeks never really put on much growth, but they're still tasty, and those now in the freezer will cook well in casseroles.

The next seed I sow will be leeks. I've never really had a good crop of leeks and I think one of the reasons is because I plant them out too late. This year I'm hoping to get them in the ground a little earlier so I can see if this makes any difference. It can't hurt.