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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
...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 424 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 439 times
...temporary setbacks to spring?...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:10 am We are not having very nice weather here at the moment; the gale-force winds have switched to the north and increased in strength, which has made going outside quite unpleasantly cold. Before the weather turned more wintry, I'd been spending time in the veg plots. Previously, I'd covered them with black tarpaulin to get some heat into the soil, having got all the weeds out first, so I uncovered 2 of these again and spent a couple of hours raking any stones out and breaking the soil down ready for sowing and planting. I've designated which will house peas and beans (broad, runner and french)but remain undecided about where the other stuff will go. In the potting shed, the Sweet Peas that I sowed in autumn look fit to burst out of their pots but they can't go out until any frosts have definitely passed; the long-range forecast was predicting a sharp temperture dip in April, so I'm cautiously holding back with outdoor sowing and planting. After two weeks, the melon seeds that I'd sown into pots were not appearing, so I moved them from my desk into the kitchen and overnight, 2 of them came through; brilliant! The seeded bush tomatos were getting crowded in their pot, so I potted them on into individual ones and they are all coming on well. The MoneyMaker cordons, which I began in individual pots are all thriving and putting out sets of leaves and I gave them all a drink yesterday. Likewise with the runner and broad beans in their pots. I put all the 'black' plants (lilies, iris and a 'painted fern')into the ground when the weather was milder and watching the fern develop is really fascinating; it has thrown out little tendrils, which look really delicate. I'm trying to guard it from slugs. The white foxgloves which I grew from seed last year have really put on a growing spurt, with the recent rain and very warm sunshine, when we've had it and it looks like 4 Hollyhocks have lasted the course. I've no idea what colours these will be; they were from a free-seed offer in my magazine Amateur Gardener. I think a single delphinium might have survived, too. I started another crop of the pastel Sweet Peas off in the potting shed a week or so ago and they are just beginning to break through the cover of soil and, major excitement, I took delivery of two other varieties: Cream Southborne and Firecrest; I'm hoping I can produce a red and cream background against the fence at the back of the flower beds. The Twisted Hazel tree is starting to bud properly and its catckins have mainly fallen away now; the 2 dwarf apple trees that are in the veg plot are budding up, too, signs that spring really is trying to emerge! It was lovely working outside here on Wednesday; light winds and the sun was really quite hot for the time of year although at the beginning of last April at Easter, we had tempertures of 70+ which provided a brief blaze of spring before descending into British summertime with 3 months of near-constant rain. Hopefully this year, once this weather-cycle breaks, a more predictable pattern will emerge, allowing gardeners everywhere to get out and grow things! Here's Hoping! This blog entry has been viewed 380 times
. . . onwards into spring . . .
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:53 pm The 'black' plants that I ordered have arrived, so I'm full of ideas about where they will be placed in the 2 flower beds. I have to say tho, that they don't look much like in their catalogue picture! 
The plant people do warn not to be alarmed by the dormant state! The two baby ferns are in their pots in this bed, which is where all the new plants will probably end up going. 
The twisted Hazel is producing all it's catkins now, so spring must be 'officially' here! Only indirectly related to gardening; these Maran pullets are now 16wks old. 'Himself' brought them home as 4wk old's, which was a bit of a challenge cos winter's not a good time for raising chicks, really. They've thrived tho and now, they have to be moved from their little run into the hen-house-on-wheels with the other birds. There might be some disruption whilst they all establish a new pecking order but hopefully it'll pass quite quickly and they can all go out onto the field and range together. 
This blog entry has been viewed 487 times
. . . spring into the digital age . . .
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:48 pm Yesterday was the first time I'd ever got to use a digi camera and I was really thrilled to bits at the picture quality. It also amazed me how quickly scenes can be transferred onto the screen; great for keeping track of what's happening in the garden. The boat is looking good with its minature daffs and the Sweet Williams that I raised from seed last year seem really established. I've no idea what colours they will be but I'm looking forward to finding out. 
The poor Cordyline is looking a bit wind-burned in this pic, despite its being tied for protection, so I'm hoping that it will recover once its unfurled when the threat of frosts has passed. 
This is my secret den; the little potting shed that Himself built last year. Even if plants go elsewhere, into the garden or the greenhouse, they all start in here! 
Here come some visitors . . . when they're free-ranging, the birds get everywhere! 
Well, as a first-time experiment, I was really pleased with the pics and it's great sharing them with other gardeners here on G.S. Thanks! Last edited: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:48 pm This blog entry has been viewed 527 times
. . . My Pond Effort & Hens . . .
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:00 am This is a picture of my pond, which I sank a few weeks ago. 
Really, I should have dug the hole a bit deeper when I sank the thing but it's too late now; I'm not taking it out again! It's early days though and I'm hoping that wildlife like frogs and toads will find their way to it throughout spring and summer. This is a picture of the hen-run, taken from the other side of the field here. 
I am very fond of the hens here, this black one here is a leghorn; we have 6 black ones and 3 white and they lay the most gorgeous white eggs; quite big. 
This next picture shows some of the other hens grazing 
The final picture is of some Maran chicks. This picture was taken several weeks ago and the Marans are now officially called 'pullets' because they've reached sixteen weeks old. This means they will be going to live in the bigger hen-house with the other birds, hopefully not too many feathers will fly whilst they are establishing the new pecking-order. 
Last edited: Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:21 am This blog entry has been viewed 605 times
. . . anticipation . . .
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:12 pm 
In the fortnight since my last blog entry, the weather has stayed dry and there has been some excellent weather, which has made working outside really pleasurable. The land is slowly waking after the winter and is poised to spill over into spring and the air has been alive with anticipation and birdsong. 
The prolonged dry spell meant that I could finish digging all the horse-manure into the three veg beds and I've since covered two of these with black tarpaulin. This should hopefully keep unwanted weeds away and should also help the soil to warm up underneath. 
In the greenhouse, I've dug the beds over and forked some blood, fish and bone into the soil in readiness for the first crops to go in. I've currently got tomato plants and lettuce seed started in the potting shed and there's been a really good rate of germination. The poor greenhouse looks really bleak at the moment but it'll soon fill up, especially now that we're into March and the onset of spring. 
This blog entry has been viewed 847 times
. . . Spring Fever . . .
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:53 pm We are having the most fantastic weather here at the moment; the rain and winds having disappeared to be replaced by still, frosty mornings and clear blue skies with sunshine. The daytime temperatures remained in double figures for much of the week and it was officially recorded as being "The warmest February since records began". The phrase " Most ----- (fill in the blank) . . . since records began" is a phrase that I anticipate hearing quite a lot throughout this year, being applied to different aspects of the weather here in the UK, as it was during 2007. Today however, the wind has moved round to a more northerly direction and it's too cold even to open the windows here and air the place out, which is how a February should be, I think. The sunshine has brought the spring bulbs out into flower and they all seem to have come through ok; there are miniature Daffodils and Iris and now the Crocus are starting to materialise, too. In the boat, this is combined with Primula and some Heather, which is still in flower. The Iris remind me of orchids a bit because the flowers are so delicately patterned and a lot of the 'Daffs are coming up multiple-bloomed, which is an unexpected bonus. I'm very pleased with them and am starting to appreciate the benefit of a planned-planting structure, which I will endeavour to continue throughout the growing year. With this in mind, I ordered some plants from a catalogue because I want some permanent features here in the garden, so on their way are [img] 
...and... [/img] 
...and... [img] 
...and, finally... [/img] ...which I think is the most specatacular of these plants. Last year I grew some 'black' poppies that I really liked and if I can find the seed I collected, I'll add some of those, too. There are already white Foxgloves ('Alba') established in that bed and I've also got some white Peacock Orchids to go in somewhere, so I think that a black, or dark burgudy-purple and white colour contrast should look effective. The pot of bush tomato seeds has sprung so they're out of the propogator and on a warm shelf indoors, along with one that has sprouted from the individual pot-sowings. In the veg plot, the drier weather has meant a return to double-digging horse manure into the beds: three are done now; that's more or less it. I also had a chance to start constructing the raised bed; at least, I've put two planks at right-angles and spread raw chicken manure over the area of grass and weeds. I'm hoping that the manure will be acidic enough to clear the ground so that I can hook out the weeds without too much digging and then there's a huge heap of topsoil that needs raking and spreading about, to fill the bed with, ready for planting up; that is the plan. If the manure succesfully removes the weeds, I am going to start using it on my 'horticultural Nemesis', this: [/img] 
...which is Bracken. It is endemic in the British countryside and what it thrives on best is slopes because treatments like spraying it are impossible on unaccessible land. The UK Environmental Agency recommends crushing new growth of this plant for three years minimum, to prevent it's getting more established, which seems more like a form of maintainance than control.This is the second season of trying to prevent the spread of Bracken on the field here because it's such an invasive plant. It smothers all other types of plant that might fall into its path and it totally colonises its surroundings. It is also carcinegenic and harbours tics. So far, my personal campaign against it has developed from flattening it with the back of a spade (it just unfurled and continued to grow)to hoeing out the new shoots as soon as they appear.If I can use chicken manure spread directly onto this plant to kill it, I am onto a winner, I think; of course, it could go against me, with Bracken being one of those plants that thrives in such acidic conditions but as an experiment it's certainly worth trying. Finally in the gardening week here, I harvested some of the autumn-sown swedes. I was going to thin them out - very belatedly - by transplanting them but whilst doing this, I realised that after seven months in the soil, they'd probably be mature and certainly the colouring suggested this. Also, they had begun to lift themselves out of the soil, which should have been a give-away but I've never grown them before. They are tiny specimens, probably from being to tightly sown and not having room to grow but apart from size they look fine. I estimate that six or seven will be needed for a decent portion for two. The next stage in the gardening here will be sowing more seeds and potting on the new tomato plants, whilst in this Blog, I should heve 'spring photo's' to add to the words, next time. Also, the ordered plants might have arrived. Brilliant. [img] 
Of which this is easily the most dramatic, I think.[/img] Last edited: Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:11 pm This blog entry has been viewed 407 times
...On a Roll...No Stopping Now...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:25 am Feeling flushed with success at managing (eventually) to post a blog WITH PICS; unthinkable before finding this site, I'm encouraged to continue. I forsee late nights and droopy eyelids, unless the rain keeps up and prevents too much outdoor activity. One thing, having read and seen what other folk are posting along with some really striking photos, I've promised myself a digi camera. I've almost finished the film in my camera and I'll put the pics in soon but I know they'll take a week to develop wheras digi = instantaneous, more or less. The rain stopped overnight and today we had beautiful weather; sunshine, blue skies and the winds had dropped too. I got up extra-early (for me) to take full advantage and after feeding the hens and chicks got cracking outside. I went and had an exploratory dig at the autumn-sown swedes. They are coming, slowly; formed but very small. I've no idea when they'll come to fruition as I've never done them before but so far, so good. I plan to start some more off come March as it's one of my favourite veg. The autumn-sown onions seem to be doing ok but I've got concerns because of the incessant drenching they've been getting from the rain.I really hope they don't go the same way as the autumn spuds and subcomb to blight or some other type of wet-induced rot. I put some of the stones that I'd brought up from the quarry round the pond-area, to help contain the soil that I need to build it up to a level. Really, the pond could have done with being about 6'' deeper but I'm not about to dig it out and start again. I also transplanted a couple of the white (Alba) foxgloves that were still in the seed tray, looking very bedraggled. The ones in the flower beds seem to be thriving but there's a marked differnce between the size of the plants in the bed that I double-dug manure into and the other, which I didn't. As to be expected I s'pose. Have to see if these take; I'll start some more off in March anyway. The bulbs are continuing to bud in the boat; I'm saving my last couple of frames of film to take some pictures of it in 'Spring-Pending' mode.I'll have to sort through the flower seeds I've got to see what won't grow too high. The Sapiglosis looks likely. I had a look in the cold frame but the soil's still damp from watering the first carrot seeds in; hopefully they'll have got a bit of a boost from the sunshine today. I've also got to think about where the potatoes are going to go; I'm loathe to put them direct into the ground after the other ones got blighted. I think that a raised bed is going to be prefarable, which would help reduce the pile of topsoil in the veg plot. Failing that, I don't know...containers, maybe? In the potting shed, the autumn-sown Sweet Peas are going mad and I'm glad that I potted them on when I did. I need to look at the other colours that are available so that they can get a good start too. A packet of beetroot seeds materialised whilst I was in there, unopened, so I thought that I could put some in one of the beds under the cold frame later on. It's all weeded and ready to go and topped up with fresh topsoil, so... There's no sign of the Broad Beans in their pots yet but I gave them a water anyway, for encouragement. I also started some cordon Toms off (Moneymaker). I've sown them individually into yoghurt pots to save pricking them out later; great idea IF IT WORKS. Twenty-four might seem excessive, especially started so early on but the packet says from Jan-April under heat, so I've put them into propogators and put them on my desk in here. I'm still harbouring ideas about trying to sell some plants at a car-boot and was considering possible candidates. The white foxgloves might be an option for that, as will runner bean plants be. I still can't locate the flipping climbing french bean seeds; they have to be around somewhere! Would people buy broad bean plants? I dunno. Anyway, loads to be thinking about... ...Like the length of time that Sprouting Broccoli takes to produce; I'm a bit confused by the instructions on the packet, to be honest. It seems to say to sow in April for harvesting next year, which conflicts with what it says in the seed catalogue, so that needs checking out again. The last thing I did was to have a tidy up in the greenhouse. I was sizing up the space with the melon plants in mind; I have to do a bit more reading up about them; another job for a rainy day. The list for veg this season is: Potato, Beans (Broad, Runner and Climbing French) Peas Sprouting Broccoli Sweet Corn Carrot Beetroot Salad: Lettuce x 2 types Toms; bush and cordon Raddish (NEED SEED!) Spring Onion '' '' Fruit: Raspberry Melon Flowers...haven't decided yet but cannot wait. The Dahlias that never went in last year can this spring and I've got the Gladioli and othr summer bulbs in the potting shed ready, too...onwards and upwards!!! This blog entry has been viewed 552 times
...Testing, Testing... Introduction... Take...Three...
Category: Gardening 2008 | Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:51 am I moved here to West Wales in 1997. It is a very rural area, as can be seen in this here picture...if I can make this flipping work...third time lucky! 
In the foreground is Pencarreg Lake, which lies in the Teifi Valley. The lake is home for a lot of wildlife and it is currently being visited by migrating geese. It's brilliant watching them fly in as a group to land on the water. The downside is that they can make a lot of noise at night, which gets our two dogs barking... This next picture should show the home which I share with my partner ('Himself' as I shall be calling him). 
It was taken when we last had snow here in January 2007. Since then, the weather has been abnormally mild and apart from some sudden frosts at the beginning of December it's been almost tropical. Wales, like most of the UK, has had unusually high rainfall and this has hindered efforts in the garden because the ground had been too wet to dig. 
This picture shows I hope my desk where I do my writing and online activity; I'm there now except that it's night and dark outside, so I can't see the view. This next picture was taken at the end of last summer and it shows my little garden. 
I grew mainly flowers in this bit although I did have some Broad Beans too. They started off great but after the constant rain that we had from June to September, they got blighted. This year there I'm just planting flowers here; I had a lot of luck raising plants from seed last spring and I'm hoping that I can repeat that again. This here boat 
and 
has been tidied up a lot since I took these pics. There weren't many plants in it, except for perennial weeds and the topsoil was pretty poor. Last season, I wanted to inject a bit of colour and some scent, which I did. 
The problem was that my planting wasn't very planned. That was OK in the short term but I hadn't allowed for the strong winds that we frequently get here because we're quite high up on the side of the valley. Subsequently, the flowers that I grew: Poppies, Cornflowers and Nicotiana were a bit too tall for that position and they suffered. 
So, as you can...hopefully...see, although it was colourful, it was all a bit chaotic. The two dogs are part of the household: Flapsy (background) is a black Labrador and Brick(y) is a Border Collie X. Brick(y) likes to help out in the garden by digging and guarding imaginary rat-holes. Last year Himself and I rescued an old greenhouse that was going to be demolished and brought it up here, to a corner in the field. As it's out of the way, we have to cross a ditch which collects all the run-off water from Pencarreg Mountain, so Himself built this little bridge, to make life easier. 
He is a carpenter-builder and is happy to help out my gardening efforts by building raised beds and doing fencing, bless. I'm very lucky. The walk up to the greenhouse, being a bit out of the way, always makes me think I'm entering a secret garden. 
At the top of this path, we've cut the meadow grass back a bit but apart from that, nothing much has been done...yet. It's an ongoing project and this is only the first full season for this part of the place. 
Not a tremendous photo but I should have some better ones later on to add to this blog as the season progresses. Once the greenhouse was up, we began to spend more time in this part. It was too late in the season to do very much but we did buy some Cordon tomato plants; they were OK but they suffered a bit fom us not knowing how to take care of them properly. I also grew some Bush tomatoes and they did really well. Encouraged by that, I've just started some of both types from seed and will see how they go. This last picture... 
ought to show a side-view of the 'veg plot'. In actality, this is a corner of the field by the greenhouse that Himself kindly fenced for me with zinc sheeting. This is to provide plants with shelter from the prevailing winds and to hopefully give some protection from the rabbit population. Last year, there were lots of them; this year we'll have to see as they have been getting hunted by men who come up with their dogs and chase them into nets. As well as our two dogs, we have 24 hens and two cockerals. The birds were bought as pullets and are just coming into lay, which is great; the eggs are really golden from the hens free-ranging on grass. We also have eight maran chicks which are now eleven weeks old and they will be joining the others in a new hen-house which himself has just built. As I said before, he's an excellent carpenter. I've just sunk a small pre-fab pond in the veg plot. I'm not going to be putting fish into it, just aquatic plants and then we'll see what turns up; I've seen frogs and toads on the field and as they gravitate towards water, I'm hoping for a bit of pond-colonisation to help keep down the slug and ohter pest population. Finally, we've put up five nesting boxes amongst the trees here in the hope that some birds might use it to accommodate their pending familes in; time will tell and hopefully, this is the first of many future seasons. Well, that's the introduction over. I'm hoping to continue this blog as an online record of this gardening season and I will add photos as I go. Now to see if this has worked... This blog entry has been viewed 663 times
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