French Beans and Leeks ..... in !

 Mostly lots of lightening flashes last night and not a lot of rain ...the greenhouse water butt is still only a third full . More rain is forecast for tomorrow though and I thought I,d better get on and plant out those French Beans and Leeks .
 So I got up at 6am and was out into the veg garden at 6.30 am..The lightening had stopped ,but it was still raining . I put on my cagoule and got thoroughly soaked as the rain ran down off my cagoule into my wellies . I got the French beans in . Cobra , Blue Lake and a purple podded variety . I hope it isn't going to be too windy tomorrow, they seem so delicate compared to the Runner Beans on the other frame .
Then we went shopping , then we had lunch . Then I got back out there and planted the baby leeks .

 Yes , very happy to have found my Leek Planting tool . I get all the holes made first .

 Birdie , my little friend sat watching and hopping down occasionally to grab a worm or  grub . She must about 10 years old or so ..she does love a grape ..and if I dont give her one , she will quite happily fly into my kitchen and help herself if the door is open .
 A few weeks  ago we noticed she was limping very badly as if in pain and her feathers around her beak had gone .....we were very worried about her .

  I took this picture just about an hour ago and I think she is looking much better than she did . I think her feathers are slowly beginning to grow back and she is no longer limping .

 I put a tiny amount of  fresh compost into the bottom of the holes to give them a good start . You are not supposed to back fill, so that the leek shaft can expand easily .
 The Leek babies  had a good soak before being dropped into each hole . I had put a pinch of seed compost into the bottom and the coming rain will water them in and settle the roots . The earth will gradually wash down in the rain .
 ...... or at least that is what is supposed to happen ....

 I just hope the rain is not going to be too torrential  and they get buried or washed away !
I got a good tip on Allotments4all ..(actually Dicky and Heather have a brilliant blog..check them out at http://dickysfarm.blogspot.co.uk/ ) that is to rig up some  micro mesh or builders mesh netting as a windbreak ,while the beans get settled in .
Well I couldn't find any so I,ve rigged up empty compost bags between the chicken wire and some old grids held in place by the wheelbarrow and the cane with the bottle on top  to hold it all up .

  I just checked out the met office weather forecast....Dry with clear spells tonight ( the beans wont like that ! )
Further thundery downpours arriving tomorrow.
Sunday will see a fine start with sunny spells......

 However ...torrential  , thundery showers will arrive from the South with the risk of
hail and some localised flooding  !  :(  Which means I fixed up all that windbreak on the wrong side !

 I turned the other wheelbarrow on its side on the South side (storm coming in side) .
 The dog needs her walkies now .....may be I'll have another look and see what I can do later on ....   sigh .....

Red Kites arrived - Mullion !

 I started seeing two Red Kites yesterday flying around here ...my end of Mullion .
Every time I go outside I,m seeing them now and I,ve kept my camera close to me  .
I was just closing up the greenhouse when this one flew over head .

                         Thrilled ! Keep an eye out for them if  you are in Mullion .

Another Epiphyllum flower !

        This morning I opened the greenhouse door to be greeted by yet another beautiful Epie bloom .

             I think this one is Epiphyllum crenatum or it could be Epiphyllum crenatum var chichicastenago...this one came from a cutting from my mother's one , which in turn came from my Grandmother . I always wonder where on earth my Grandmother got it from..no garden centres back in her time .

                                         So this is a very special one for me .

  There was a slight fragrance ..but I think this was still coming from yesterday's Epiphyllum oxypetalum blooms.
   Maybe when I go up to close the windows I'll have another check on the perfume..but I am thinking that this one has no fragrance .

Look at the size of it in my hands ! When the Epies have finished flowering , I will be having a ruthless Epie tidy up and re-label everything ....there should be lots of cuttings..if anyone wants one . They are very easy to root . They are best in a  greenhouse really , on the shady side . I fix up windbreak mesh for shade . They like to climb and scrabble about ..maybe too untidily for you ..but I adore them !

Oh ! What a Beautiful Morning !

 Oh ! What a beautiful morning ! ....this was about 6.30 am ..it is going to be fiercely hot today ...and I know you love it , but it just doesn't suit me when its this hot !

Anyway ....
I couldn't wait to go up to the greenhouse again this morning and get the windows open .

           As I opened the greenhouse door , a lemony fragrance is filling the warm air .

 
Both of the flowers have fully bloomed, I,m wondering if I might be able to pollinate these ? My Lab-lab beans are looking good ,I,ve not grown these before, this is a beautiful climbing bean thing with purple flowers and purple pods .

I haven't planted out my French Beans yet , the extremes of temperature between day and night would finish them off ....the ground is now too dry and hard .
  I,m waiting till maybe this weekend , when we have rain forecast .

           Gete -Okosomin update  ---- it's doing very well ...in it's next size up pot .

 It even has two tiny flower buds forming . I,m wondering if I might pollinate these flowers while the plant is still in the solar shed . I have to keep the seeds pure and not cross with any other Squash . To that end I,m not growing any other Squashes or Pumpkins this year ( actually I have grown some but I,m giving them to my daughter Babybear who lives miles away over in Helston and who has already  prepared her little Veg -Garden with compost and bamboo canes at the ready ! ).
Anyway ..... I,m hoping to share these seeds to seriously interested veg gardeners eventually .

I,ve got the paddling pool out , to catch the precious rain and give water for the thirsty wildlife to come and drink .

 I,m off to the Parc Eglos School children's boat launch thing !
    I,m looking forward to watching my grandson and all his class mates launch boats that they have each made on the Coronation Park boating lake ..Grandma and Grandpa have been invited ..it sounds like its going to be so much fun and I,m so happy for them that they are going to have a lovely day for it .
                                      Hope the weather is nice for you too !

Nearly midnight , up in the greenhouse .....yawn ....

 O.k so I promised an update ...so come on ... its 23.20 pm ...lets go have a peek up in the greenhouse . Torch with fading battery strapped round my forehead ....moon rising over the meadow . Tired ..very tired ...

Yes ! The bud at the back is nearly fully open and the other one is well on the way !

                                              No words.. they are just so lovely .

                    I'll be up here again first thing tomorrow morning ....yawn.....

                                             Goodnight all and sweet dreams   ........

Epiphyllums about to flower !

Oh ! My Goodness ! These buds are getting bigger and bigger !  Although very warm indeed in my greenhouse  (I had to open the top window ) ,  it was a bit foggy this morning and I think it has held them back a bit .
 The sun has come out this afternoon and it is looking as if these buds might open any time very soon .

I cant get in under the bench where the pot is to read the label , but I think it might be Epiphyllum oxypetalum ..... I hope its not going to make me wait until midnight ..I cant remember...I think it might well do . Oh well , I will give you updates !  :)

Germinating Sweetcorn

 I had failed  twice this year with sowing sweetcorn in pots . No idea why..They are usually so easy !
   So yesterday , I decided to try one more time , but using the plastic bag method .
 Basically you put a layer of tissue into a dish/saucer, cover with another layer of tissue make really damp with some water  ,slip into a plastic bag an leave on the windowsill for up to a couple of weeks .

                                     Mine only took a few days to germinate .

                    I decided to pluck a few of these out and pot them up into 3"pots .

         Here's one I have plucked forth to show the white root and little green shoot .
            I made a shallow hole with my finger and carefully lowered the root down into the seed compost with some added perlite ...gently covered over leaving only the green shoot  showing above . Gave them a little watering . Just enough to settle them in .

I potted up 12 and these are in the " Solar shed " (husband's shed :) but I am beginning to take it over ! ), which has a very large sloping window , is warm , but doesn't get as hot as my greenhouse . I,ve put the rest of the seeds back into the plastic ziplock bag..hopefully I'll get a few more to germinate .

 So then after all that strenuous veg gardening , we took the dog for a walk  along the cliffs of Mullion .

It was such a lovely day yesterday , sunshine and just a gentle breeze . Blue sea and blue sky . The kestrel was patrolling back and forth overhead .

 The Bluebells and violets are fading and all the early summer wild flowers are taking over .

 The beautiful wild Gladiolus byzantinus  grows here along the cliffs ,it's one of my favourites .

                                    It is the prettiest time of the year for sure !

 
                 This is another of my favourites  the Spring Squill or Scilla verna .

                                  We were delighted to see this Slow-worm !

                                         We gently put him into the long grass .

 We watched the waves down below for a while , cares and worries blowing away in the breeze .

  This morning we are hearing of more sorrow on the news . My thoughts and prayers are today for all those who are suffering because of it .
                    My God !    Surely don't we all just want to live in peace ?

                                               Blessed are the peacemakers .

Cactus Flowers !

 When I step into my cactus greenhouse and see Cactus flowers , my heart leaps for joy !

                  Although most of these cactus flowers only last a day , it is worth the wait  .

 The top one is an Echinopsis  something or other and the lower one is an Optuntia  something or other , the labels were lost long ago  ..if anyone knows please do let me know so I can give them new labels .

                            This is one of the more gentle spineless Optuntias .

                     I can only detect the slightest hint of fresh lemony fragrance .

 " The blob " --update ..... so I,m trying to get this thing to put out its lovely vine . I bought it at the Penzance Cactus and Succulents show maybe about 6 years ago ...or more . It has a vine with the prettiest leaves I ever did see . I just had to buy it ! It had no label the gentleman told me what it was at the time ,but by the time I got home I,d forgotten .
 Once again , if anyone has any idea what this might be I,d be ever so grateful .
Anyway the vine died back over winter, it became dormant ....and then never woke up .
 I,ve tried everything, only watering it a very little , putting it in to more sunny place , putting it into a more shady place .....so having not watered it at all over this winter I am now trying giving it lots of water . The water from my water but is actually quite warm from the morning sun , there actually isn't much water left in there we have had such a long drought now . So I have completely immersed it to really saturate the dry compost .

                                         I only dunked it for a very short time .

                            I left it to drain before taking it back into the greenhouse .
                                               Look at the picture  below .

 You can see that it is still green and has little pimples where I suppose the vine shoots come out from .  Oh well , I put it back into the greenhouse amongst all its friends .

                                    The water butt is now empty again .
 Those are my leeks waiting to be planted out .Someone has stolen my Victorian Leek planting tool !

                  Oh dear !  Note to myself - Don't forget to water the hanging baskets !

                                                            Daisy Debs x