January 2007

Happy New Year!



Now the main event has passed i always look forward to starting the growing season all over again. My copy of the T&M catalogue arrived just before Hogmanay complete with DVD and this inspired me and i was raring to go. Well, that was until i realised that my ambitions were going to cost me a small ransom should i buy all my plants from T&M....much cheaper to raise the majority from seed.

Some may recall i received two of the Hall's cold frames for my birthday in November so in my quest for a bright, blooming and productive garden i'm busy getting these sorted and put together. I'm not sure how much they will hold in seed trays but the box says i have 12sq ft of growing space for each frame....what's that in proper money then?

I'm planning on starting quite a few plants off from seed and for the first time ever going to try growing on a few plug plants (just as insurance)....always been difficult for me in the past as i didn't have a greenhouse or cold frame and i found that trying to get these going indoors (usually in the dining room) is less than ideal due to modern heating and difficulties with watering. Much easier to throw water around without the soft furnishings!

I feel the cold frames are a good start to moving to the greenhouse and look forward to seeing what can be achieved, afterall a cold frame is just a mini-greenhouse and ideal for the cultivation of small plants.

Once I get everything under way and fingers crossed the weather will be kind to me i'll be getting the greenhouse base in. Decided that the best way to do this is to lay slabs rather than a concrete raft. The reason's for this are around flexibility; should the need arise to move or dispense with the greenhouse in the future then it can revert to another patio area, also slabs laid on sand would be easier to be removed if required, at least without the need for a pneumatic drill.

I find that April and May are my busiest months in the garden getting all the tatties in and vegetables underway, also fighting weeds is the biggest job for a couple of months...any slacking at this time of the year and they get the upper hand, turning into an even bigger job trying to get on top again...much easier to get the hoe going early and sever the little darlings when they are wee.

I don't know about anyone else but there's still certain areas of my garden that are in bloom and shouldn't be! I've still got Geraniums flowering in tubs from the summer bedding, a penstemon, pansies and more geraniums in the beds flowering too. Okay they're not at their summer best but if it keeps up like this then they will hopefully make a full recovery for next summer!

Had a quick peek out today to see if the bulbs are poking through the ground and they don't appear to be....but then again we haven't had the usual cold snap they like so if they do show through will they flower i wonder? I read that bulbs need 10 weeks of cold before they will flower.

Interestingly if the warmer temperatures are set to continue with global warming we may have to resort to growing bulbs by chilling in the refrigerator before we plant them in order to get them to flower. Thankfully daffodils don't require such a long chilling as tulips. If bulbs do not have the correct chilling time some will not grow and others will produce stunted stalks. I noted last year we had a relatively warm winter, and some of my less exposed daffies were stunted, this may perhaps explain the reason why. Ach well we'll see what happens this spring when they venture forth.