Just a quickie

Popped down to the plot after work this evening - after some advice I recieved on The Grapevine I decided to bit the bullet and get the broad beans in the ground and see what happens.

Planted both sets of broad beans side by side in rows of three by three. Placed the old mini greenhouse tops over them and them simply draped some old netting over the top of the lot to keep the birds off.

Fingers crossed they make it.



Had a quick look at the pond too, and the water hasn't dropped - which I guess is a good sign.

Make hay while the sun shines

OK, now I’m hacked off – I just spent the last 20 minutes typing out todays blog entry and a little slip of the keyboard and it’s all gone. I’m now using Word, and I’ll copy the text into blogger, at least Word has an “undo” function!

I set off for the plot at 10 am this morning with the intention of planting out my peas (Stephens – Heritage), broad beans (both Aquadulce and Martock – Heritage) and my raspberries (yet to be discovered). I returned home at 6pm having planted my peas.



Needless to say that’s not all I did! I’m not that rubbish! However, during the eight hours I was down the plot I left the peas in the sun whilst tackling some of the other jobs (which I’ll cover later), and the result is they look a bit sorry for themselves. I placed them in bottle cloches to give them a bit of protection, not only form the birds, but also the low night time temperatures we’re forecast for the next few days. Speaking of forecasts, it seems that we’ll be having a few days of grey skies, which should also help perk my peas up a bit! I’m a bit worried about them truth be told, with them being Heritage varieties I only received 5 seeds – luckily all of them germinated, let’s hope they last.

The broad beans seem to have suffered the same fate as me – sunburned. I was wearing my hat, and factor 25, but it seems to have not been enough. Maybe I should have also tried factor 25 on the beans.




As I was getting myself ready this morning – ferrying backward and forward to the car laden with trays, tools and sustenance, I noticed a couple of paving slabs that we had left over when we had the patio redone a couple of years ago. I kept them thinking I’d do something with them eventually – well, here’s what I did, albeit two years later.



All I need now is a welcome mat and a doorbell and I’m set!

One thing I noticed today was that the apple tree is looking a bit better after I gave it a haircut toward the end of last year. A couple of weeks ago I was wondering if I’d done the right thing or not as it seemed that nothing was happening – no buds, no new growth. Well, as you can see, things look a bit different now. I’m hoping that blossom means fruit?




Lat year, LadyWayne and I visited the Eden Project, and whilst there I picked up a couple of meadow flower seed packs, and it was one of those spur of the moment things – I didn’t really know what I was going to do with them to be perfectly honest. In my quest for home grown I have neglected to grow anything floral. So a while back I created a little flower bed at the front of the plot with the specific purpose of having flowers, just to brighten the place up a bit. I raked it over this morning and planted the seeds which include poppies. I laid some of the apple tree cuttings over the bed and draped some chicken wire over the top in the hope that it discourages the birds from nicking them all!



I had a couple of minutes spare so decided to make a pond. I walked round to the neighbouring aquatic superstore – Chiltern Aquatics, and asked the dude behind the counter if they sold off cuts of pond liner. He said they did, and sold me a 18x20ft piece of butyl liner for £20 which seemed reasonable to me. Back to the plot I trotted, with my new pond liner under my arm and about an hour (and a trip to the local garden centre to buy sand and a couple of pond plants) later I give you – Pond, Wayne’s Pond.




I used some of the old tiles that Dad gave me last year to neaten things up a bit, and placed a few in the pond so that there is a place for anything in the pond to get out – frogs being the obvious choice, children the lesser.

Now, I’m sitting here, my hands hurt, my back aches, I’ve got a sun burned neck, hands and forehead despite my best efforts, my feet are sore and I keep getting cramp in the backs of my thighs. This allotmenteering is good for you they say!

Oh, one last thing before I forget - which I'm prone to do as LadyWayne will vouch, I had some old bits of bamboo can lying about, so I chopped them up, bundled them together and hung them from one of the fence posts as a little home for some aphid eating ladybirds or lacewings.



I’m having a day off tomorrow.

Ready, steady........

The weather's a funny old thing isn't it? The British are famous for talking about it, but then, when we have so much of it, it's gardly surprising is it.

So, here's me talking about it like everyone else, and the reason I am is that all week I'd been watching the weather reports in the hope that they'd change their minds along the way, and forecast us a lovely weekend.

Well, they didn't, but we had a good one anyway!

Woke up on Saturday morning, looked out the window and the sun was shining brightly. Watched the early morning forecast and it foretold of another washout day, so I stayed in bed a little longer. The next forecast had changed more favourably, so I jumped out of bed, loaded the car up and headed down to the plot.

Several weeks of neglect (result of the apalling weather recently) are not dificult to spot. The plot is looking a little barren.

The garlic is coming on nicely, a few of the onions are showing through finally and I have a couple of rhubarbs poking through - two out of five ain't bad surely?

I'd brought a tray of garlic that had been growing in tubs with me, not sure if they'll split as they've not been exposed to frost as yet, but we'll see. I planted them in one of the new raised beds, along with the remaining onions (about 30 in total, equal amounts of red, white and standard).

The brussels sprouts have just about done their stuff so I pulled them up - not without a fight! Stripped the remaining foliage from them and cast them aside to rot of their own accord.

I then set about preparing one of the beds to take my first early potatoes - Arran Pilots. I planted a row of them, about 10-12 as I remember, gave the rest to my neighbours as they looked after me last year.

Obviously with a day of good weather I wasn't alone on the plot, and I was speaking to one of the neighbours immediately next to me Lawrence, and he said that I had a weasel on my plot! Apparently there had been a few of them (plot holders, not weasels) watching this little thing poke it's head up from behind a stack of roof tiles I've had sitting whilst I figure out what to do with them. The weasel apparently didn't seem overly bothered with his audience. One of the other plot holders (John) further up the allotment appeared a little while later and told me I had a stoat on my plot! John's the kind of guy that will have gone away and looked it up, so I'm inclined to believe I have a stoat.

Anyway, do you think I saw him yesterday? Not a chance! I'll keep my eye out though.

I pottered about for about 3 hours in all, ended up with a sunburnt neck (which the wife chastised me for upon returning home), aching limbs, sore hands (one of which I managed to cut on something whilst weeding between the onions). Whoever said this wasn't fun? I'd either become acustomed to the aches and pains last year, or just got used to them, I haven't decided yet.

Back home things are a little less strenuous. I've planted numerous seeds and things in my new greenhouse. So far we have:

Beetroot - boltardy. These are all about an inch high now.
Pea - Stephens. Growing nicely, transferred into small pots now as they'd outgrown their modules.
Broad beans - Martock and Aquadulce. Both growing well in their trays, probably about 2 inches high.
Parsnips - can't remember which types but I've listed them previously. They all doing pretty well having been started off in loo rolls in the heated propagator.
Celeriac - plenty of little seedlings showing their faces now, will take some thinning out I think!
Asparagus peas - these have yet to show their true leaves yet, but seem to be doing ok.
I planted some Tiger Tom tomatoes and they're yet to appear, but I'm sure they will. Also planted some of what I thought were called "Pomodoro" - only to look them up and find out Pomodoro is actually Italian for Tomato! Should do well when we go to Tuscany later in the year then!
There are a few Melon seedlings growing too, cauliflower and brussel sprouts, and asparagus seedlings (which look a bit feeble if I'm honest).

Someone of the Grapevine had an idea to grow sunflowers from the birdseed that we buy and have a kind of mini "competition" so I sowed a few and they're coming on nicely - show winners? We'll see.

I also bought some raspberry canes from ebay recently, some Autumn Bliss and some other earlier fruiting ones. Three of each and I've simply pot them in pots for the time being until I plant them properly on the plot - I think I know where they'll go.

Whilst out and about today we popped into Dobbies Garden World near Bletchley and I picked up some flower bulbs for the border that I have promised to create for ages - but again, because of the weather haven't. Can't remember what they are at the moment, but no doubt over the coming months I'll introduce them to you. I also have some Aquelegia seeds in a tray in the propagator, which I'm hoping to use in the border.

Ooh, just remembered, some of the above mentioned bulbs are Gladiola - Ice Cream.

I'm sure there's more, but I have the memory of a goldfish, so I'll quit whilst I'm ahead.

One more thing - I chuffin hate mice!

It would appear that I have a resident mouse/mices on my shed who has an appetite for summer flowering bulbs! I'd left a load of some bulbs I received free with an online order for plants in pots on the shelves, then went in the shed one evening last week and noticed a load of holes in the compost where the bulbs should have been. The cats round here - of which there are plenty, are clearly rubbish hunters.

Until next time...