Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Sowing

Had a free hour today, so took the opportunity to empty out and tidy my little greenhouses - and "re-home" the snails I found in there. I can never bring myself to destroy them, but throwing them in the border makes me feel as if I'm giving them a fair chance at least. So, once I'd sorted the contents (somewhat muddled after a couple of falls during the Winter storms) I set about sowing some seeds - Dwarf French beans. I'd intended to plant sweetcorn as well, but it turns out I'd run out of seeds. Now there's an excuse for a trip to the nursery if ever I there was one!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Getting the year started

So, finally the weather has improved and I can get out in the garden again. A combination of almost continuous rain and work has prevented me getting on with things this year. However, a few weeks ago we attacked the very overgrown holly bush and ramblings rose that was attempting to overtake the path. Having cleared the space, I added compost and dug over the beds ready for potatoes and other root veg. It was noticeable that all the Winter rain had compacted the soil.

The potatoes (first early - Maris Bard) went in a couple of weekends ago and are just beginning to show their shoots. Today, I have planted short rows of carrots (Purple Haze F1, Paris Market 5 Atlas and Early Nantes), parsnips (Lisbonnais on a tape) and beetroot (Boltardy). I didn't have much success with carrots last year, and didn't plant any parsnips or beetroot, so fingers crossed these will germinate.

The other job I did today was add compost and dig over the square bed. I've covered this in fleece for the time being, partly to warm up the soil, but mostly to deter the local cat population.