Happiness is ....... 🌱🌱🌱💚

Hooray ! 🌱🌱🌱🌱

          Just two days later !  We shall have Courgettes !  I'm so happy !  😍 

                                            🌿🕊️🌿

Seeds Glorious Seeds !

 Yesterday I planted out some of my kale seedlings ( others to grow on in the shed for sweet baby leaves to add to salads ) Sown a line of Parsnips , carrots and swede seeds .

All sounds so easy doesn't it ? 

Removing all the old fenceposts , bricks , rusty tent peg/pins and big rocks .

Removing the green netting .

Then....

This was a seriously down on muddy knees kind of a job with a session of weeding before hand .

The Robin followed my every move for grubs and tiny worms .

Then to get the chicken pellets down .

Then to cover it all over again  ....and to have to remove it again to chase out my Robin friend . 

I was glad of the rain that came in as I finished, to water everything in .

This morning sown Sweetcorn "Swift" , climbing beans "Blue Lake" , dwarf beans "Slenderette" , climbing bean "Supermarconi". Not grown Supermarconi before , I believe it is more like a runnerbean , stringless to be picked at the four or five inch stage for tender green pods or pick when larger for the beans . Anyone grown this one before ? What did you think of it ?

Sown way more than I need of Courgettes "Defender"F1,Butternuts "Waltham "and "Hunter" ,Pumpkin "Dills Atlantic Giant " for the children to carve for Hallowe'en .

Beetroot "Detroit Dark Red" and another sowing of Parris Island Romaine Lettuce to keep them coming . 

I haven't been feeling very well for the past couple of days , but really wanted to get these seeds sown . I really pushed myself to get it done .

The Courgette, Butternuts and Pumpkin seeds are on the heated propagator , it's a very , very low temperature , just until they germinate , then I prick them out immediately at the two leaf stage 🌱and give them each their own pot .

 I bring them on for bit then take them up to the shed . They will have a second re-pot before I plant them out mid-May or thereabouts .

                               🌱    Seeds glorious seeds !  🌱

Note to self - find some paperclips to seal the used seeds packets up with !

                              🌿🌱🤍🕊️🌱🌿

                              🐝     love Debbie 💐

     

Update 

I found the paper clips but then decided that little inch cuts of sellotape  would work better on my foil and plastic seed packets to keep them secure .  

Also nice and easy to open and re-use .     

                         

                 All neat and tidy again . 

                                        🌿 ☀️🌿

                                   

Coriander 🌿

 

Meanwhile in the shed . I am growing lots of leafy things for salads .

Everything is doing really well . The idea is that snails can't get at them .

Although one or two sometimes find their way in !  Excuse me ...you can't take a nap there !   

Generally speaking , I rarely find any snails or slugs when growing my salad leaves in the shed .

There was a wasp in the shed this morning , and it was very difficult to chase him out !                                               

Time to prick out and pot on my Coriander seedlings .

    Yes I collect stones with holes in them , don't you  ?   ....fossils , heart stones , funny face stones ......  😃

The Coriander took a very long time to germinate and the roots were very tangled .

That is why I generally prick seedlings out at the cotyledon stage 🌱

Anyway ....

 I managed to gently prize apart the delicate roots and repot them with about two or three in each pot .

              Delicious mixed in with salad leaves ..... mmmmm  🌿🌿🌿

                I think the sun is trying to come out today ☀️

I can't believe we are half way through April already !!

 Next I have to make a start sowing sweetcorn , beans and squash .

I just need to clear the decks a little bit in the shed and get the seed pans , pots , propagators( not heated ones ) and compost ready .

I must also remember to sow another lot of lettuce seeds to keep them coming .

I'd also like to make some time to put my feet up and do my embroidery . 

 I hope that the weather is improving wherever you are and you are able to grow a few nice things too .

                     Thinking of you  

                                        Debbie  x

                                             🤍💐🕊️

Cucumbers 🌿🥒🥒🌿

 Transplanted and moved the Cucumbers into the greenhouse . Cucumbers don't like being transplanted . I hope they'll be o.k. 

Cucumber Merlin - 5-6" and Cucumber Carmen - 16" [ Not sure if I believe that ! ] 

                                                  🌿🤍🌿 

  

Dash to check on the Tomato plants ! 🌿🌦️❄️🌿

 

Beautiful sunrise this morning after a very cold night . Heavy rain with hail through the small hours .

I dashed up to the greenhouse to check my newly transplanted tomato plants were o.k. 

            All is well ! 

   

                       Jess's Giant Echium is getting taller everyday ! 

                                        🌿🌦️🌈❄️🌿

Update  -

Spent most of the day making space in the greenhouse for my Sweet Peppers and Cucumbers .

I had to move out everything ,mostly cacti, that were underneath this bench and relocate them to the other end .

Then put down these trays . The Cucumbers are going under the bench and will grow up and scrabble about amongst the Epiphyllums . Last year they were up the other end and no matter how I tried to get them to grow around the strings , they just wanted to grow along and be in with all the Epies ! 

Tomorrow is Cucumber day !

Today I just wanted to transplant my Sweet Peppers into larger pots and clear a space for them here beside Lord Buddha . 

   I took all the Pelargoniums out from here and down to the shed and gave them all some more water .They will be for hanging baskets and window boxes .

 Took some time out to have a walk over at Kynance and really enjoyed my pasty for lunch !

  The weather has been beautiful again today after that cold rainy night .

                  Sweet Red Peppers 

Now in their bigger pots and final position in the greenhouse .

Tomorrow I will also check how the ferns are under the bench at the back . 

There are buds coming on several of the Epiphyllums . One of which I have never seen bloom before !  Quite a rare one !

 There is a chair in there but I have had no time to sit down !

My arms are aching and I am so tired , but pleased with what I've achieved today .

 Yep , tomorrow I'll move in the Cucumbers , which means I can start thinking about sowing my Sweetcorn , Beans and Squash .

                                    🌿☀️🌤️⛅🌿

       

 

Bananas and Tomatoes

 

            Musa ensete maurelii  - not looking too bad . They have been under cover , but today I decided to drag them both out to catch some rain  of a passing shower .

...and of course , since I dragged them both out , It hasn't rained !

I will drag them both back uncover tonight . It is still too cold for them to be outside over night .

I plant them out in May depending on the weather .

          As promised , here's Musa basjoo ....the more hardy one . 

There are actually two in there . They are only babies , so I am pleased that they seem to have made it through the stormy winter months .

Today I transplanted my tomato plants into their pot/bags in the greenhouse .

I will top up the bags with fresh compost as they grow . 

At the moment I am starting some Cosmos on the bench above , but I will clear all of them out soon . The tomato plants have plenty of light through the glass around the bottom and sides . 

  I am growing Tomato Scatolone 2 a tall growing one with plum shaped fruits, which are said to have an incredible intense flavour  and Tomato Divinity f1 a semi determinate large cherry type - smaller growing and more bushy . 

    Both of these varieties are new to me .

  I have no luck at all growing tomatoes outside . I always grow mine in the greenhouse .

Eventually they grow up through the bench and the paracord rigging is all still set up from last year for the plants to wind around for support .

                                               🌿🌿🌿

That's the shed opposite the greenhouse , where I am growing leafy things for salads .

My grand daughter helped me to gather lettuce and baby kale leaves for salad with pizza today .

I'm looking forward to picking spring onions , celery and coriander - only just germinating .🌱🌱🌱

It's so important to teach the children how to grow vegetables and to have fun with it too !

       We had a bit of fun with my water pistols too . Yep ..got a bit soaked ! 🤣

         

         ...and checked to see how the potatoes are doing .

 Then went to the park , for more fun on the zip-wire !

Tomorrow I 'll move the Sweet Peppers and Cucumbers into the greenhouse .

   Then there will be space on the bench in the shed to start off the next wave of seeds . 

           Need to pace myself with all this !  

                            Weather - sunshine and showers ☀️🌦️🌈

                                             hugs Debbie x

Potatoes in Tubs - update 🌿

 Always a joy to see a squirrel here . We so rarely see them . She is enjoying some peanuts .We can see teats on her tummy and she is a little plump . I think she may be expecting or maybe even have a litter of kittens somewhere close by . 🤍

It is so cold today. The sun is shining but the wind is bitterly cold .  I did get a load of washing dry on the line though , which makes me very happy .

Potatoes in Tubs - update  🌿

For quite a while , I thought that nothing was coming up ; but wow look at them today !

     Time to earth them up !         I'm not completely covering them .

  This will do for now.

      I will probably give them another layer or two before harvesting them .

The children will be doing this and learning about where their food comes from .

Robin keeping me company in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture !  ☺️

Other news - It's just been full on , with bringing on the tomatoes , sweet peppers and cucumbers , picking the lettuce and baby kale leaves for salads .

Potting up some lovely new Hostas and getting things ready to move the tomato plants and maybe the Sweet Peppers into the greenhouse  .

 I need to make room to start sowing sweetcorn , courgettes , butternuts and beans in the shed . It is all go now !

 No time for embroidery .....note to self  " make time for me ...yes ME tomorrow .

                            Epimedium x perralchicum

The pretty Epimediums are flowering and I am splitting a few up . I want more !

  

 Pretty red heart shaped leaves  , spread by underground rhizomes  .The dainty flowers last such a long time . 

  

 First buds of the year appearing on the Epiphyllum ! And a Monstera delicosa that I rescued from someone giving free stuff away on their drive ! Goodness me that pot was so heavy and the plant about six feet long . I had a job getting it all into the car .

 It is now in the greenhouse on the side where all my shade loving , rain forest Epies , ferns and jungly plants are . 

              🌿🌿☀️ Very happy plant and very happy me ! ☺️🌿🌿🌿

Musa ensete maurelii are still undercover , I have started to give them a little rain water . I will drag these out and plant them up next month , depending on the weather . 

 Musa basjoo is the more hardy one , planted outside . Mine is only a baby but seems to have come through the winter . No pic...I'll show you tomorrow !

I shall leave you with a photograph of some of my lovely Cowslips  .

 

           Weather -  ☀️ It's been sunny , blustery and blinking cold ! ❄️

            

                                          love Debbie x

                  

                                       🌱🌿🕊️🌿🌱