Look who's waking up ! :)
Tuesday 28 April 2020
A Stroll around the veg garden and greenhouse - end of April
We,ve had some rain over night , for which I am very grateful , but we could still really do with some more .
Especially in my vegetable garden . No sign of any pea shoots coming up yet .
However , I am very surprised and happy to see potatoes my coming up !
Hooray ! I was so worried because I thought I had planted them too deeply .
No sign of the ones in potato bed number two , but I planted those about a week or two later , so now I,m not so worried !
I re-potted my Blueberry plant and it is already flowering . I can see the beginnings of a good Blueberry harvest to come . I couldn't get any Ericaceous compost , so I have used just the earth that is in our garden . We have rhododendrons and Azaleas in the garden , so I hope it should be o.k .
I need to sort out a cage or netting of some sort to keep the birds from taking my Blueberries .
We are preparing a new Fruit Bush zone up in the Veg - garden . We have been working very hard clearing and burning that area of brambles . It is involving a lot more work than we expected . So my fruit bushes will have to remain in their tubs for a bit longer . May be we'll get this done next Autumn . Autumn is a better time for planting shrubs and fruit bushes .
We cut another bundle of Hazel poles for my daughter , who is starting her first Vegetable garden this year .
I think that due to the ongoing Corona Virus Pandemic , a lot of people are having a go at growing their own vegetables this year for the first time .
If you have a garden , it really does make sense to grow your own lovely fresh vegetables . There are plenty of books and videos and things to read online about growing your own veggies .
I have grown a few extra this year for my daughter and neighbours , but not as much as I would have liked to because I just cant get hold of compost . I need every last little bit of the compost that I have for my Tomatoes . I only managed to have two bags delivered .
So we dropped them off , keeping a very safe distance and only the second time we,ve been out since February and we drove straight home again . This felt very creepy indeed . She had some shopping to give us too , as we couldn't get a delivery slot with any of the supermarkets .
Anyway , she wasn't sure how to put it all together , and ordinarily I would have gone in and helped her in her vegetable garden , but we cant right now , because of having to stay a safe distance .
Such worrying and difficult times . So that's why I have I put on these extra pictures , showing how we have done ours .
Soon we will all have fresh vegetables !
I am using these bamboo canes , probably for the last time as these are now so old and very brittle . Beans will climb up trimmed Hazel branches for poles so much better than Bamboo , they can get a much better grip . I might push in some twiggy pea sticks to help mine off to a good start .
I put cardboard down along the middle to keep the weeds down and help the earth stay good and moist .
The ghostly shrouds are the last two remaining Purple Sprouting Broccoli plants which need protection from Pigeons . Pigeons love PSB !
In this bed are onions , carrots , turnips , lavender and thyme . The wigwam is ready for French Beans that I am growing in the potting shed and also in the greenhouse .
In this bed I am growing Garlic and it looks quite good this year . I,ve never really been all that successful at growing Garlic , so I,m feeling quite pleased with these . After these are harvested , I will plant out all my brassicas , which are waiting in the wings .
The celery has been fantastic ! It has continued growing over the Winter and I just keep pulling leaves from it to use in the kitchen as and when I please .
Not a good picture , but under this fleece are Spinach, Beetroot and Spring Onions.
To the side of them are Autumn planted Onions , which are just starting to grow away nicely now , especially after this little bit of rain .
I left two or three Leeks to flower , for the bees and also so that I can save the seeds for next year .
The Rhubarb has begun to flower , due to the unexpected hot weather we have been having over the last week or so . I will cut these flowers off . I want more leaves for crumbles ! :)
This is the African Keyhole bed , presently nothing much in there . Just a couple of clumps of Egyptian Onions .
Ah ! The Butternut Squashes are all germinating up in the potting shed !
They do very well here in the deep compost that I have built up in here .
I will fix up some pig-wire supports for the Squash to scrabble over .
Egyptian Walking Onions .
Buccaboo the scarecrow ! He is not quite finished yet , but gives me a fright every-time I walk up to the greenhouse !
My other daughter who loves herbs, wanted to see how my Lemon Balm is doing . It returns and does very well every year . Such a cheerful plant !
All is well in the potting shed .
All is well in the veg trug . ( Salad leaves and Spring Onions )
So let's take take a look in the greenhouse , through the window I can see RED !
Look at all the Epiphyllum buds !
This is the first Epie bloom of the year !
Dioscorea elephantipes is dormant .
Cactus Guardian :)
No beans coming up yet .
These are French Climbing Beans , St Anthony , Coco Sophie and The Nun's Belly Button .
I,ve been so busy sowing vegetable seeds and preparing the vegetable garden that I haven't had time to look at the cacti . For some of them it is time to begin a gentle watering .
My happy , peaceful place , in my greenhouse .
Haworthia limifolia
Euphorbia stellata
With a nice Ammonite fossil that I found on Charmouth Beach .
Lithops and the leaf cuttings from an Adromischus rupicola ( I think :) )
Pleased to see the Yucca elephantipes cutting ,that I took last Autumn , seems to be doing really well .
The Cactus that we bought from Groves Nursery in Bridport , my husband named it " Billy No Mates " on account of it not having a plant label .
The hedgerow is full of Wild Garlic and Red Campion Silene and Bluebells .
I hope you are all well , staying safe and keeping cheerful during these difficult days .
THANKYOU to all our doctors and nurses on the front line , you are all in my prayers along with all those you are caring for right now .
......and all keyworkers ....from my heart , thankyou .
Wednesday 22 April 2020
Sunday 19 April 2020
The Cuckoo has arrived ! Mullion Cornwall 19th April 2020
The dawn chorus was loud this morning as I opened my bedroom window at 6am . What a joyful sound !
I pulled on my boots and went for a walk up into the vegetable garden ... and there from somewhere across the misty meadow , I could hear the distinctive sound of the Cuckoo .
I have only managed to take one photo of a Cuckoo and I,m afraid it really wasn't very good .
So I have pulled down from my bookshelf a couple of my favourite old books dated 1896 .
Allen's Naturalist's Library
A Hand-Book to the Birds of Great Britain by R.Bowdler Sharpe,LLD.,
Zoological Department , British Museum vol.1 and vol.11 .
I love the illustrations , of which it says " plates which have been coloured from specimens in the British Museum and several pictures by Mr Keulemans have been added to illustrate certain representative species of British Birds" .
Each coloured plate has a sheet of tissue to protect it .
This coloured plate has fallen out . A cuckoo's egg is included in this picture .
The author goes into great detail about the Cuckoo , but for me these two snippets are all I need .
He actually says that , " a whole volume could be written on the life history of this curious and interesting bird ! "
One plate has fallen out and one of the covers is a little torn on the spine, but apart from that, the books are in quite good condition . No , they are not for sale , these two books are keepers for sure !
They have been well loved and I am not afraid to turn the pages and enjoy the contents .
Have you heard the Cuckoo yet ?
" a curious and interesting bird "
Saturday 18 April 2020
Putting up the Runner-bean Frame
I was hoping that after the rain , the earth would be nice and soft to push in the Hazel poles for our Runner-bean frame , but in the end it didn't rain all that much . So I had no choice but to dig the holes in which to put up the six main poles .
It was quite hard work and now I have a headache .
I temporarily tied the poles together with some tarred string . I need to find the wire that I re-use every year .....it's somewhere in the shed .
Shed needs re-organising . Headache . Elbow hurts . Had enough for today .
So there we are , not quite finished , but the worst of it done .
I,ve sown a first wave of Runner-bean seeds up in the potting shed and a few of them are beginning to break the surface in their pots .
It is still too early to sow or plant them outside just yet .
It always makes me happy to see the Runner-bean frame put up !
Time to go put my feet up and have a nice cup of tea !
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