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| The Old Roof |
Last time I wrote I was
hoping to get the greenhouse refurbished. Well I'm glad to say that
the roof has been done! Not a full make over yet but we ran out of
time, roofing bolts and sheeting. The roof was the most important
part because the old sheets are getting quite brittle and one or two
broke when it snowed. At least I will not have snow inside the
greenhouse this year! With the roof done we put the remaining bits of
sheeting inside the greenhouse to provide extra insulation. Where
there were any gaps I put bubble wrap up again. I know it sounds a
bit Heath Robinson but when I went in there yesterday it was quite
warm so It will do for now. It was a hasty job to put everything back
inside before
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| New Solid Roof |
darkness fell so I did all the plants then the pots etc
had to wait until the next day. Having put in all the overwintering
plants I have discovered a problem – not enough room for planting
seeds!! This is a real nuisance to say the least. The problem is
caused by the mini greenhouse not being sturdy enough for the winter
so I can't use it as I'd intended. I'll have to do some serious
sorting out and shifting around to make enough room to do the seeds
for next year. What is taking up all the room? Why do they all need
to go inside? I hear you ask (imagining voices again!).
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| Standing Room Only |
I have a lot
of plants in pots which would freeze solid if we have another really
cold winter so they need protecting. Back in February I mentioned
that there is nothing but open seas between the North Norfolk Coast
and the North Pole so when the North wind blows we really feel the
cold. Well it isn't much better if you head east. We are on almost
the same latitude as Berlin and Minsk with only the low lands of
Holland to protect us from those biting easterlies! Brrrrrrrrrr!
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| It's Not Rubbish!! |
When I was emptying the
greenhouse I found sacks full of pots and trays for seed planting.
The pots are fine as they stack together quite happily and don't take
up too much room. The same goes for traditional seed trays. Then
there are the cells – they are very useful but an absolute
nightmare because there are so many different shapes and sizes! I
have got cells in sixes, nines, twelves but each is different in size
and shape – small square sixes – big rectangular sixes. Hardly
any of them will stack together so they are a an unruly bunch to
store. I make my own cells by using toilet roll tubes and stand them
in seed trays which is great for bigger seeds but rather overkill for
smaller ones so I resort to reusing the plastic cells for them.
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| The Cells |
Lastly there are the polystyrene ones – totally unstackable!! I
think it's time to cut down on the variety!! Is it really necessary
to have so many different sizes, shapes and numbers of cells? Surely
more uniformity would be better for commercial growers and gardeners?
Oh what was that? – We're not meant to store and reuse them? They
are meant to be thrown away?! But we are gardeners – past masters
at recycling – it is in our blood. Well if we are not meant to
reuse them why not make them Biodegradable instead! (I need to go and
calm down now)
I have brought in the
seed box and sorted it out and found that many packs are out of date
but still half full. So now I have a quandary – do I buy in new
ones or give these a try? Well if I can make enough room I'll give
them a try a bit earlier than usual so I can see what is still viable
seed. It has occurred to me that my idea of growing different and
interesting foods has rather fallen by the way. I have a few
different varieties of the same old thing. Thinking about what I
really like to eat made me explore some different sites on the
internet and I have decided to revolutionise what I grow with a bit
of help from James Wong. On his website
http://www.jameswong.co.uk/#/homegrown-revolution/4572077593
I have found some really different thing to grow such as Cucamelons,
Goji Berries, Callaloo, Quinoa, Chick Peas, Tomatillos and Electric
Daisies. Many of them are available from Suttons Seeds (look for
James Wong Homegrown Revolution) and for the rest his website has
links to suppliers. Some of these need a really sunny site so I may
keep some at home and put them on the edge of the deck instead of
tubs of annuals. Added to the James Wong selection I shall be trying
out climbing Borlotti Beans because the climbing French beans and
dwarf Borlotti did badly, Dutch Brown Beans and Red Kidney Beans. For
the less unusual vegetables I shall try heritage varieties such as
Laxton Fillabucket Peas, Spanish Black (purple) carrots, Norfolk
Giant Carrots and Lemon Cucumbers. I'm going to ditch the traditional
tomatoes in favour of unusual varieties such as Green Zebra, Yellow
Pear, Orange Russian and White Beauty – these come in a variety
pack for £5.95 from
http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d48.html.
A bit pricey but so much more exciting than the usual suspects.
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| Lady Boothby |
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| Not quite standard |
Finally I've included a
couple more pics of lovely fuchsias still flowering in the garden
just to brighten up the day.
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| Late Lobelia |
