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Season Starting 2009 (part II)
Posted: 02 Mar 2009 Posted: 01 Mar 2009 Posted: 25 Feb 2009 Posted: 20 Aug 2008 Posted: 16 Aug 2008 All Entries |
sharon mc's Blog
Season Starting 2009 (part II)
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:32 pm I forgot to say in my most recent blog entry, that I've been trying to hard to make my grotty blue plastic pond AKA my 'environmental area' :) more attractive to both us and to any potential wildlife by incorporating levels of slate, stone and fallen logs. Anyway, this is the result! [img] 
I think it's a little more attractive; well, from this view anyway! And hopefully, the logs will provide cooling shade for frogs and other creatures which, I am hoping, will help to demolish the resident slug population. I haven't seen any frog spawn anywhere yet; probably too early in the year but if necessary, I will advertise online on the local UK 'Freecycle' sites for any donations from ponds which may have enough to spare me a small amount, to try to get a colony established.[/img] This blog entry has been viewed 440 times
Season Starting: 2009
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 5:35 pm It's been a truly beautiful day here today; once the early morning mist and cloud passed over, the sun came out and it was really easy to believe that spring was on it's way although according to the Countryfile forecast, we are in for another cold snap during the next week. There are signs of life in the garden although they are currently few and far between. The boat we use as a container has got some crocus and miniature iris hawing but the mini daffs are very late in showing themselves this year. [img] 
and some of the containers have got crocus coming up in them too but it's very slow in starting the season [/img] 
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Even the twisted hazel is only showing very few catkins, not that we're ungrateful for the ones it has produced [img] 
These little signs of life inspired me to start sowing some flower seeds but I was worried that any cold snap would kill them off in the greenhouse, so I had the idea of using a 'portable greenhouse'. You know the type? A set of shelves that has a polythene zip-up cover? I brought it in and put it into the bedroom, which faces south as I thought we'd have a better chance of maintaining a more regular temperature and although I only started very few, just in case of accident, I've got: Cherry Tomatos,some Confetti Mixed Petunias,some Sweet Peas called Firecrest, which are a really vivid orange and some unusual Dianthus that I saw in a catalogue, which are black and white. In addition to those, I did some Amaranthus called Autumn Pallet, which have really feathery flowers, a bit like Pampas Grasses and finally, some Carex, with the notoriously convoluted sowing instructions that I mentioned last year. With the exception of thes, everything else has started to show, which we're absolutely thrilled about; just hope that I can maintain there health until it's planting-out time, which lets face it, is ages yet! Up in the veg plot, 'Himself' was busy establishing some crowns of Rhubarb, which his Mum was kind enough to donate to us; they're on a layered bed of chicken manure; one of the few plants that can apparently tolerate the acidity of this without months of rotting down although the stuff we used is quite old, mixed in with some of 'Marley's' offerings and then built up into a layer of earth on top. [/img] 
We really hope that these take as we both love Rhubarb and apart from that, working on the checkout in the supermarket, I've been absolutely stunned to see the prices being charged for it. Honestly, £2.20 for about four thinnish stems...truly shocking! Next to those, we added some onion sets which again, we were donated by a friend and in an effort to protect them, we placed this old bit of meshed fence over them. [img] 
We really hope this works, as last year, we lost so much stuff from a variety of predators: pigeons, crows, magpies, mice and then rabbits and slugs, it was heartbreaking as well as being costly in both terms of time, effort and of course money. Speaking of which, I decided to make a sowing of broad beans two days ago and chose two sorts: the Sutton dwarf variety and another called Exhibition Long-Pod. To give them a good start, I did them in oversized modular trays rather than straight into the ground and left them outside for their watering to drain through. I realised later that night that we'd forgotten to put them into the potting shed but as it was a mild night, I didn't worry too much about it. The next morning though, birds, or perhaps mice, had dug up every single seed, more or less...I did uncover a couple where there weren't little holes dug out and I've put the whole lot into the potting shed to see of there are many left to come through but it just went to show us early on, just what we're up against, already! Last year, the only outdoor crops we had success with were: Sweetcorn, Potatoes and Broad Beans. Successive sowings of Beetroot, Broccoli, Carrots and Peas went missing or never actually appeared and of the 30+ Runner Bean plants we put out, plus a tray of a dozen or so that I was going to pass on to a friend, all got totally nibbled away and as for the brassica seedlings; they lasted less than 24 hours in the ground! Thankfully, we have the greenhouse and as well as the tomatos and salad that we had success with in there, this year we are hoping to add Sweet Peppers to the list...really, its just a case of knowing our limitations and / or. trying to add more protective features. Maybe a Scarecrow? And the rubber snake seemed to keep the beans safe last year, so we shall have to buy a few more from the £ shop in an attempt to protect stuff. Floating C.D.'s on strings proved little defence, so it's sticking with what we think will be ok, if this season is similar to the last; the Sweetcorn were gorgeous, so we're happy to give over plenty of space to those and the same with the spuds although we want to go with a heavier-cropping variety this year. Also, we're thinking of trying carrots and beetroot in containers, which we can wrap chicken-mesh around, to give more protection to and hopefully, the same with some runner beans too. Whatever we do, we're looking forward to it as following this long winter, a productive spring and summer...maybe even without the months of endless rain that the UK has endured the last two seasons would be truly fantastic![/img] This blog entry has been viewed 329 times
Last of the 'Summer'??????????????
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:41 am It seems fair to say that our summer here is over before it's even began, weather-wise. Abnormally high rainfall and on the dry days, overcast and leaden skies. There have also been 'unsesonally high winds' which all together, has left the garden looking pretty bedraggled. There are some late flowerings but even these plants aren't having an easy time of it. 
I've had mixed success with the 'black' plants. The Painted Fern comes and goes (currently 'gone') but the rhizomes should still be intact so hopefully next year, it'll come back stronger. This dahlia is one of a pair but it's definitely had the better of the blooms; I realise now I should've restricted the flower-buds but Hey! it's all a learning curve! 
But what is this...my beautiful 'black' cactus dahlia? No... 
Interlopers! Now, I'll be the first to admit that it is a lovely fiery red colour but - and I hate myself for my overblown tenacity at times - it's Not What I Ordered, Or Wanted! The upshot was, the bulb company have refunded me for that part of the order although I had originally requested replacements, if possible. So, I really can't fault them for that...Thank You J. Parker Ltd. One new plant that has given me a lot of pleasure is this Golden Rod. 
It was a clump that I was given and has proved really nostalgic as it was in our family garden when I was a child. It's my Mum and Nan whom I have to thank for my gardening interest, too, so that's a nice connection. I wasn't planning to buy in any bedding plants this year but I when I found these Surfinia and garanium plants being sold at literally pennies, I had to give them a home. They looked very rain-battered at the store but they've really picked up with a bit of TLC. 
I love the versatility of containers as you can just pop them anywhere to brighten up a space. My overwhelmingly favourite plant this year has been my Amaranthus 'Ribbons and Bows'. I first saw these spectacular plants at my friend Sylvie's 
and loved them. That's Sylvie with one of the three Arab horses she has bred; two are in their late twenties , which is a pretty phenomenal age for that breed. Anyway, a few months after I'd admired Sylvie's Aramanthus plants, my gardening magazine gave away a packet of seed of the same type and I gave them a go. 
The crimson red ones are my absolute favourites 
but it's the lime green ones that have done better. 
I have to admit, that those pics were taken a few days 'pre-Rupert' and he's since been out and about in the garden. He is notoriously difficult to capture on the move, photo-wise. 
Well, as I say, Amaranthus before...and Amaranthus after! 
But what little puppy could ignore those lovely fronds overhanging his head on the path? Not Rupert, certainly and I don't blame him. I was more concerned about accidental poisoning, as I noticed some chewed-up 'Gladi leaves at the same time but he doesn't seem to have come to any harm. 
Last edited: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:43 am This blog entry has been viewed 689 times
...summer is delayed...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:23 am The weather here is really similar to last summer: unusually high rainfall levels and unseasonally grey days. There has been some activity since my last Blog update though and I've taken some pics that reflect this. [img] 
The flower bed is looking a bit bedraggled generally but there are a couple of plants that shine through, like these lime green Nicotiana plants. Unlike their more colourful relations, they don't have a scent but they are still a nice addition. [/img] 
The lilies have come into their own now and they provide an exotic feel amidst the gloomy weather... [img] 
The 'black' poppies are another small success and I'm hoping that they will self-seed next year. These ones were lucky to have come to fruition; earlier ones had their petals all blown off before they had time to open fully... [/img] 
These french beans have had less of an assault from birds or bugs than they were getting before and hopefully they will go on to produce some beans for us [img] 
The rose was here when I moved in but it was looking poorly, so I repotted it and gave it some TLC and it's come back looking lovely. No idea what type it is. [/img] 
And finally, the spring-sown sweet peas have caught up with the over-wintered autumn ones [img]  [/img]
So, a bit of a slow summer, weather and flower-wise but still some nice plants to take our minds off it! Last edited: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:26 am This blog entry has been viewed 519 times
...summertime...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:57 pm The weather in this part of the UK has recently dealt us lots of rain and "unseasonally strong winds" with warnings of possible trees falling. The trees here have remained intact but my Alba foxgloves have been hit really hard by it. [img] 
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Well, they were lovely whilst they lasted but I'll be cutting them back soon, as I don't want them self-seeding too much due to lack of space. The Sweet Williams however, have lasted really well and I was really pleased to see these white ones amongst all that pink...too much pink! [img] 
So far this year, I've resisted the urge to buy-in bedding plants and I haven't really bothered with containers because I've been aiming for low-maintainance. I have got a couple though, with annuals I've grown from seed. [/img] 
I really like the little markings on these petunias; I've only ever seen single colour blooms before. Not sure what the daisy-types are though; it was free seed from a gardening magazine and I was expecting the big Michaelmas daisies for ages... [img] 
The containers look a bit lost against the water feature here but next year, I've going to try to make it much more of a flowery feature; all home-grown, too. [/img] 
Not much has been going on in the veg plot since the rabbit invasion. I discovered they hadn't dug in after all; they didn't have to, they just strolled through the gap under the fence Id created during winter when Id dug a drainage trench to try and divert the surface water. The broad bean bed had got really overgrown with weeds so I got out and spent some time with my trowel uprooting the unwanted invaders. Now that's done, I can re-seed for a continuous crop. I've been using the dwarf Sutton variety and they've done really well in standing up to the recent winds. [img] 
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Here are some of the cropped results... [img] 
The potatoes are coming along ok; they'll be due for a second earthing-up quite soon. [/img] 
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As the potatoes seem to be doing ok, I'm going to sow a 'second maincrop' variety, Maris Peer, in late summer / autumn. Another plant which seems to be doing ok too, is sweetcorn. I started 9 plants off from seed and put them out and they're fine. I've tried starting some more off in pots since but none have germinated; reminder to self...start off again... [/img] 
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The greenhouse has been a total pleasure. This being its first year, lessons are going to be learned over time but as a first attempt, absolutely brilliant! [/img] 
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The soil is quite heavy and clay-based here and it dries really solid. It probably needs nutriments too, so I'm saving the contents of the kitchen compost bin specifically to put in the beds in here in autumn / winter. [/img] 
These bush tomatos are from seeds I had remaining from last year; they seem to be doing ok but the surrounding earth is pretty bleak-looking! The cordon tomatoes seem to like the surroundings though; these are all from seed, too. [img] 
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The plants went in early and they've flowered and started to fruit quite early, too. [/img] 
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The salad stuff has gone quite well; I tried 3 different sorts of radish and they've all gone well...too well; no one could eat that much raddish! [/img] 
Wot a whopper! [img] 
The 'red' lettuces have started to be ready for picking lately and they are very tasty. [/img] 
These Granada ones still have a bit of growing to do... [img] 
So, not too bad a start in the greenhouse but lots of ideas for next season already...sweet peppers, for one thing. They're nice and they're currently costing loads in the shops... [/img] This blog entry has been viewed 482 times
...comings and goings in nature...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:13 am During the last few days, there has been quite a lot of animal coming-and-going activity here at home and it's 'been emotional'. Flapsy's 63 days gestation was to be up last Sunday but in the event, she went into labour on the friday night and after several hours of 1st stage puffing and panting, she began to birth at 6.45 a.m. on the satarday. I'd sat with her from the start until 6a.m. when I had to get some rest and it was at 6.45a.m. that Himself looked in on her and found her with a puppy, which wasn't breathing. Flaps had cleaned the puppy really well but despite our additional efforts, we weren't able to revive the puppy further and it died. Over the next few hours, four more puppies came: three chocolate and another black: the chocolates all male and the black female, mirroring the colours of the parents and I'm pleased to say that the little family appears to be doing well. This picture shows them today (day 4). [img] 
Flapsy's confinement however, has been an object of interest for another, other than us... To explain... Flapsy never barks a greeting, she never makes a sound unless she sees, smells or senses, a 'foreign' visitor to the premises. On many nights when we've taken both her and Bricky out for last walks, she tears over to a particular corner in the field, or runs along the trees and hedgerows which form a border between us and the field next door...this is a constant and we thought maybe it signified foxes passing by in the night. On satarday, with Flapsy busy and ourselves working mainly outside, we came inside for a hot drink and a sandwich and I thought I heard a commotion with a hen. I queried it with Himself but it had stopped. We were indoors no longer than 20 minutes and when we went out, the first thing we saw was feathers spread all over the middle of the field...my little Cocker-boy's feathers: one of my 2 Orpington cockeral brothers. Here they are together, pictured in happier times... [/img] 
We didn't know how many hens might be missing too, so we herded those we could, back inside to their enclosed run. Generally, they free-range on the field. We've all been very lucky to not have had a fox calling in prior to now - 9 months of hen free-ranging - but it may have been this which limited the numbers of hens taken because when they're on the field, they go into separate little groups of cockeral and hens and thus are not a single target, as they are when enclosed. It seemed that apart from Cocker, we'd lost a white leghorn, a Welsummer hybrid and a little brown Warren hen, which was always to be seen out and about with Cocker-boy. We followed the feathers up to where the fox had come through and it's a well-used situation. I took this picture ages ago, standing with my back to more-or-less the point of entry although of course I didn't know this, then. Talk about a fox's eye view; right down into the hen-run! [img] 
It seems a very great coincidence that up until now and Flapsy's confinement, there has been no apparent fox-activity here; certainly the rabbits haven't been staying away in fear, as evidenced by my veg plot carnage. We noticed on sunday however, that the field, which is generally over-run, was near-empty of 'buns. Last evening, I was up watering the greenhouse when Himself came rushing to say that one of the missing hens, the hybrid Welsummer, had returned from across the field. We were really happy for her and assumed she must have just scattered when foxy struck. We didnt realise just how lucky she really had been up until later that night however, when Himself was walking Flapsy on a lead and saw, just from the corner of his eye, a fox slinking through the hedgerow...a couple of metres from the enclosed hen-run. He let Flapsy go and she tore across to the gap in the hedgerow which the fox had disappeared into but it had gone. I can't wait to have Flapsy up and running again, keeping a guard on the land and the poultry from this and any other predator. I don't know what action we will try to take to deal with this one; it is, after all, normal comings-and-goings in nature...but that don't bring Cocker-boy back, or 'his' girls...[/img] This blog entry has been viewed 415 times
...life abounds all around...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:23 pm These 2 are such good pals! 
Flapsy the black Labrador will wait for as long as necessary... 
to have full share of Bricky's spoils. 
Currently, she is unable to move as fast as she'd like 
...on account of her belly being stuffed full with little puppers! 
...roll on Sunday, eh Flaps...9 weeks be up then! Meanwhile, in the 'brooding coop' 
...of the 6 eggs that Mimsi was sitting on, 4 hatched but one chick died after being jettisoned from the nest and the final two eggs weren't fertile, so... 
...altogether, say "aaaahhhh"!! "An unkempt corner" but nonetheless beautiful, I think 
Last edited: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:30 pm This blog entry has been viewed 475 times
...survivors...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:17 pm After the recent spate of destruction in the veg plot and, more latterly, in one of the flower beds, due to my oversight of leaving the gate ajar and letting in hens, it's nice to have a couple of pictures worth adding to this blog, even if, in this first picture, there are visible gaps where some black Poppy seedlings and the Painted Fern have been nibbled... 
I'm counting my blessings though: the fowl didn't have a chance to start on the Dahlias or Lilies, the Fern should grow back and the Poppies, truth to tell, did need some thinning out...so..."Thank You" hens! Mostly, I was glad that the current queen of my border survived intact and I feel very privileged to introduce 'Alba'... 
From a distance and in this picture, I'd be the first to admit, she doesn't look very spectacular. The closer however, that you get... 
...the more spectacular, I think... 
...she looks. She's an unusual variety of Foxglove, not just because she's white in colour but because she doesn't bear the 'pawprints' that give Foxgloves their name. Unique! The other border / bed has fared slightly better in the destruction stakes. 
There are a lot of young plants coming on but of those that have already started coming into flower, these autumn-sown Sweet Peas were the first. 
I never really considered myself a fan of pastel colours, especially pink but as they and also this Aquilegia have come through, I'm staring to consider myself a bit of a convert! 
Nothing much else of interest occurring here in this bed yet but as I say, there are other plants coming through, so hopefully some of them will be salvagable enough to include as the season unfolds further... Meanwhile, in the boat, I haven't done anything much this year although to be fair, I haven't had to. These Sweet Williams have been in place since June last year and this is their first year of flowering. 
I didn't recall what colour flowers the seed would be producing, so I was looking forward to seeing them come out but I really didn't expect this show and best of all, now that they're established, they should keep coming for a few years yet; so, Thank You plants! 
This blog entry has been viewed 471 times
...no pics, 'cos no plants...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:07 pm After a bit of a shaky start in the veg plot, with the birds snaffling my pea plants and a couple of broad bean ones, too, I thought I'd 'fight back' and constructed various defences in order to do so(see Blog entry "...fighting back in the veg plot..."). Comparative peace was on the horizon and to celebrate, I bought a dozen summer butterhead cabbages and a dozen kale plants and was lucky to be given an additional 25 runner bean plants too, which put my own 'Red Rum' variety to shame. All of these were put in and I hung silver foil from 'washing lines' above the beds to protect any further damage from the birds, adding to the already substantial defence lines. And all to no avail. The brassicas lasted less than 4 days. At first the tips were nibbled and then whole plants annihilated; these were very young plants, so I could understand the attraction to birds, so I thought. A couple of days later, I disturbed a young...like really tiny rabbit in the plot. Like they come singly, huh? It scarpered so fast as I opened the gate that it didn't even stall at the corrugated zinc fence that surrounds the plot. I mean...straight underneath and NO hesitation. When I got nearer, I considered it lucky to have escaped...every single runner bean plant was either gone or lay dead, leaves shredded, on the earth's surface. And these were quite big plants when I put them in. Not tender young nibbly's like the diminished cabbage and kale but hardy-looking plants! Even my unassuming Red Rums had been grazed...I mean, TOTAL DEVESTATION and if I can't even cultivate a runner; well, what hope have I got against nature? At the time of writing, there are 9 sweetcorn plants remaining and the autumn-sown onions seem relatively intact. The broad beans have flowered although it's still early days...anything might happen between now and harvest-time. The bed of second-early potatoes appears unscatehed ON THE SURFACE but of course, I may yet find they've been snaffled subterranaeously by other critters...I await with anticipation and suspended horror... And to top this off, I inadvertently left the gate open to the tiny flower-bed here by the static and arrived home to find 10 hens in situ and that my painted fern, my black poppies and other assorted seedlings that I had been painstakingly cultivating were...well, vanished pretty much. There are some survivors and I will photo and put them into my next Blog entry when I can re-fire my enthusiaam but until then, as I say...no plants, so no pics just now... Last edited: Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:08 pm This blog entry has been viewed 423 times
...fighting back in the veg plot!...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 10:10 pm The long-range forecasters were proved right; April was unusually cold, unusually wet and unusually windy, all of which got our first season in our newly-established veg plot off to a slow start. Outdoor crops which were sown: carrots, broccoli and beetroot just didn't appear and the potatoes (second earlies) which went in refused to appear, too. I was blaming the birds; thinking maybe they'd snaffled the newly emerged seedlings? I still don't know if that was the case, it may have been rabbits or a simple failure of the seed to germinate in the unseasonally cold snap but I do know that one of these first two caused carnage with my little pea plants, before starting to have a go at the broad beans, too. There were no peas left to photograph but this was what the beans looked like...it was a bit of a knockback, really... 
For a week or so, the assorted Magpies, Pigeons, Crows and Rabbits had won. We had thought that trying to start growing veg in a plot from scratch would be by trial and error and the fact that our corner of reclaimed field is sited right next to a woods seemed to have made our hopes foolish. But then, we decided to FIGHT BACK!! Or, at least, try. The first thing we thought of was fencing what was left of the broad beans; we weren't altogether sure that rabbits were'nt to blame for the damage; there are lots of them about and to stop the birds too, we threw netting over the whole lot... 
Next we thought of using cd's suspended above other crops we were hoping to grow, like these tiny sweetcorn plants...farmers and gardeners have used 'scare' tactics for years! 
...and although they're obscured here a bit, cd's over the runner beans, too... 
And finally, after hearing - God knows where - how they could be used to protect lawns from predators, I had one final trick up my sleeve... [img] 
And I'm delighted to be able to say that with this combined defensive strategy, we have at this time of writing, succeeded in slowing down the onslaught although there are still many slugs to contend with. It has however, restored our hopes that we can last out this season and plan better for next year and most recently, the potatoes have come through; brilliant! 
Compared to the outdoor veg, the greenhouse crops have done quite well although everything was quite slow in establishing itself... 
Basically, we've got raddishes (red and white) bush tomato plants and cordon toms too and also, 2 types of lettuce... 
It's still very early days but so far, it's not going too bad and best of all, we haven't yet given up! Last edited: Fri May 16, 2008 10:16 pm This blog entry has been viewed 438 times
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