Pixies with Pinking Shears

Beans in waiting

Last week I was bemoaning the fact that we had had so little rain. Thankfully we have had a decent amount since I wrote that and the allotment is now much easier to dig. Unfortunately it has turned colder again so planting out is slowed down  creating a backlog in the greenhouse. With the long winter and cold spring everything has become bunched up and I am trying to do things which should have been done at least a month ago as well as all the things that are scheduled for May.

 

Cardboard mulched with upturned weeds

Free Squashes

 I went down the to the allotment during the week and finished my cardboard mulching leaving a narrow strip for the bean arch. Now that the beans are all growing well I shall find time to get the arch constructed and in position then I can plant the beans out. I have got so many seedlings growing that I have taken up some space in another greenhouse (they stand side by side in the back garden). There are beans galore, butternut squash onions and leeks all waiting to go down the allotment. I have finally managed to get the maincrop potatoes in although they haven't sprouted very well. I hope that in the ground they will come to life and get growing. I was very disappointed to see that where I had weeded around the asparagus and herbs then planted a load of marigold seeds weeds have come back again. There is lesser bindweed which has the trick of snapping off its roots when you try to pull it out and every bit of root left in the soil will sprout. The same goes for a thistle which is also growing there (I am not very good at identifying the many different types of thistle). The asparagus which was about an inch tall when I put protection round it rapidly grew to over a foot tall! I hadn't planned on harvesting it this year as this is only its second year on the allotment and it should be left for two years before harvesting to build up strength. I shall look forward to eating some next year.

Scary Broad Beans (www.trekbbs.com)

I planted out some extra beans which were in the greenhouse. There were some French beans I acquired from the Master gardener weekend. I also have some Klingon broad beans which I was given by a master gardener – well they are a variety called Martok and all fans of Star Trek Deep Space Nine will remember General Martok – I expect they will all be ridged in true Klingon style!  The other broad beans have been attacked – possibly by pixies with pinking shears judging buy the neat work round the edges of many of the leaves. I suspect that something more mundane is guilty although I am not sure what. On the photos there seem to be a lot of black aphids and a slug but this looks more like caterpillar damage. Further investigation is needed.

Pixies with Pinking Shears

Up in the greenhouse I have been busy potting on seedlings of Scabious, Amaranthus and Canterbury Bells. Soon I hope they will be big enough to put out into the garden. The Moneymaker seedlings are in bigger pots. I really need to get the Gardeners Delight into big pots but the pots I use are currently inhabited by Blackcurrant cuttings waiting to be planted out on the allotment. As soon as there is room I need to sow seeds of biennials to plant out next year. 

Finally.......Having spent the winter trying to protect my Camellia I have been rewarded with the first show flowers for a couple of years at least.

Camellia of the Wilow Weep

So much to do – so little time …. I'd better stop typing and get on with something!!

Weeding and Thinking

Stop the Pigeon!

I'm quite excited by this weekend's weather forecast – they actually have rain over Norfolk!! I will believe it when I see it. The poor old allotment is parched, I haven't put any more new things in down there because they probably wouldn't survive and the ground is dry and quite hard to dig. I went down the other day, when once again rain was forecast, and uncovered the broad beans and bottle grown peas. They now have tents of chicken mesh over them, along with many other beds down there.

 

Cardboard mulch

In the end it barely rained at all. I have continued putting down cardboard and covering with uprooted weeds, in the hope that the dry weather will kill them off. I have plenty of cardboard in the shed, enough to finish off the bottom end and in doing so I will just have enough room to put up the rose arches to make a climbing bean tunnel. Despite all this dry weather the weeds are growing very happily so I cleared the herb/asparagus bed of weeds then scattered some Calendula seeds and covered the emerging asparagus shoots so nobody else could feast on them. I may cut a few shoots if they are big enough but really I should wait until next year.

Useful friend

Up in the greenhouse there is good news from the parsnip seeds – a lot of them have started sprouting so I have been popping them into compost. Yes I know it is very late but at least they are growing. Trouble is I have now run out of suitable compost so the rest will have to wait for a couple more days. I planted tomato seeds earlier in the year, the Moneymakers have grown but Alicante did nothing so I have put in some more Alicante but as insurance I've bought some plants from a local garden centre. I bought two Gardeners Delight and two Tumblers. Strangely the African Marigolds also failed to germinate too, so they have been resown. Lots of beans have been planted in the greenhouse; Cobra (climbing French) and sweet peas together; Borlotti beans which I found in the shed on the allotment; Runner beans have replaced the hopeless soya beans and Flagolets are all in separate cells (saves them fighting!). Many other things (flowers and veg) are sprouting so I will be very busy planting out soon.

Ribes Odoratum

Around the garden at home I have been weeding and seeding. I wasn't unable to get the alpines this year so I have scattered various seeds in the sink and covered it to keep them warm and stop the cats using it as a litter tray. In the coalshed bed I have again tried to grow Canary Creeper (it says simple to grow on the packet) last year they sprouted then died. I have also added some Asters because they wont mind the mix of sunshine and shade which they will get there. The three little pink Fuchsias have survived the winter and are showing signs of life. I have repotted the Rosemary which I brought back from the allotment and put into a shallow pot on a pedestal by the back door. It will now stay in a large deep pot near the decking. I have surrounded it with Coriander and Sorrel. In a very similar pot I have put some spare Sweet Peas and Nasturtium seeds. The pots by the back door now have thyme and chives in them. I may add something else which can tolerate such vigorous neighbours. In the 'awkward bed' by the back door I have planted the Clematis which was in the sink, much too hot for it there, hopefully it will grow up through the huge Escallonia Macrantha along with the Honeysuckle I put in last year. Underneath here I have planted out the Cyclamen which were in bowls of compost all winter. I am glad to say that my Yellow Flowering Currant Ribes Odoratum is in flower – just one cluster, can't go overdoing it! I bought it as a twig and now it is growing into a good healthy bush.

In need of restoration

bubble wrap heaven

We have got very strong winds again and I once again I am worried about the greenhouse. It is very old, my mum gave it to me a few years ago and it was about twenty then. Currently all the good sheets are used at the top and the damaged ones at the bottom. This allows me to recycle large sheets of tinted twin wall polycarbonate at the bottom, either wedged or tied in place. Although the aluminium frame is fairly good the plastic sheets which fit into it have become very brittle and many of them are damaged. The original sheets are 1mm thick and I have found it very hard to find this thickness so it would mean getting thicker glazing and carefully opening the channels to accommodate it. To replace the damaged ones would cost in excess of £100 hence the large amounts of 'Gaffer' tape and bubble wrap currently in use! To replace all 40 panels would cost the same as a new greenhouse. I think a plan B is needed!

We've had some rain!!!