Easter 2007

This weekend is the the Easter holiday weekend, yippeee. Good Friday is traditionally the day for planting your tatties and I'm no exception.

I'm planting Lady Christyl, my favourites and have proved to be a good cropper in the past and taste just like a new tattie should. I'm also for the first time planting Swift and a row of Vanessa so not sure how they will turn out. So this morning after dropping my cat off at the vet for a check up i was down at the beach collecting kelp. Plan is to pop in the bottom of the trenches and throw a bit of soil over the top and plant the tatties in this. The ground has previously been manured so this should set them off to a good start.

I'm now finding that i'm being forced out of my home by the numerous seedlings that i've got growing in all the bathrooms. Most folk are reputed to keep coal in their baths but i keep plants and seedlings! Even the dining room isn't sacrosanct. I really need to get my greenhouse up this year!

The runner beans are really romping along and i need to slow these down a bit, so i'm going to transfer to the cold frame. It's still too early to plant them outside as we've had a lot of mornings with frosts. What a difference a week makes.

The courgettes are also starting to produce their second leaves but seem ok at the mo. The Impatiens are growing away quite nicely and are looking sturdy plants already. Will need to start potting them on in another couple of weeks.

In the garden the Asparagus continues to put up spears, Purple Pacific only so far though. My garlic is going great guns now although the shallots are a bit slower. No sign yet of the beetroot or carrots that i had sown two weeks ago, but it may be the temperatures aren't quite right yet....also it's been a very dry April so far, the ground could do with a bit of rain.

I'm popping to the garden centre over the weekend too as i'm going to try and pick up some lavender for the veggie garden. Thought i would edge the currant beds with it. This would make a nice decorative edge and also attract insects and bees. Lavender also repels aphids. I thought i would also see if i could get some more Box (Buxus Sempervirens) as i could edge the beds with it where i've got the kerbstones. The plan is (through time) to train the box so that it obscures this and again provides a decorative edge to the beds. Having got the fruit and veg garden whipped into shape (just about) i'm now looking at aesthetics. I want it to be pretty as well as functional. I've always wanted a knot garden and was looking at the utility garden to see if this was possible....i haven't drawn it out to scale but there may be room for a more simple design.

The grass has grown this week again and needs cutting again but this is useful as i've acquired some paper shreddings from partner's mum and useful to mix with grass clipping to compost. I'm really into recycling now....it becomes addictive.

Happy Easter everyone!

April 2007

Another weekend and been a busy bee again..weather came up trumps with two lovely warm spring days and no wind. Things are getting busy again in the garden and i always find that April and May extremely so trying to keep on top of things.

Cut the grass which was needing to be done and finished off weeding the flower beds in the Ornamental garden so feel like i'm on top of that part of the garden. That should leave me in a good position for the long weekend next week to get things really moving in the veggie garden.

This weekend in the veggie garden i've continued with my sowing and started also sowing Nasturtiums as companion plants.

The Impatiens planted on in trays last week are doing really well and steadily growing so lots for pots for the summer. Impatiens look really stunning if three or four are planted in a container. They fill out and flower their socks off all summer long with very little attention. I tend to dead head them once a week, make sure they are well watered and they reward you with a fantastic display.

The courgettes and runner beans sown last week are through. So another wee while and these will need potting on....once they get started they romp away.

Managed to weed the currant beds and top dressed with compost. That should keep them happy for the summer. I also need to keep a sharp eye out for the gooseberry sawfly as last year they attacked one of my currant bushes and stripped most of the leaves over a couple of days...i managed to pull the caterpillers off and spray with salt water....hopefully they haven't managed to get to the soil to pupate. I did loosen the soil in that area and leave for the birds to forage for any grubs that may be present. Nonetheless i need to keep a close eye open to catch them quickly.

Whilst weeding the asparagus bed which had been planted up last autumn, i noticed that some of the purple asparagus was already poking through. No signs of the green ones as yet. Although will not be harvesting this year to give the plant a chance to build strong and healthy crowns. Will need to add some more compost to the top of the bed to ensure that they keep moist over the summer.

Kiwi Jenny was previously planted in the garden has also sprung into life and picking up speed. I'll need to get the wire on the fence next weekend so that it's got something to grab hold of. The leaves are looking promising and look very attractive. I'm really interested to see how this plant fares. I've planted where it gets sun for most of the day. So far it's survived the mild winter outside.

The apple trees have also burst bud and now growing, some quicker than others but i'm sure by the end of April they will be covered in flowers....lots of lovely apples for the summer. I also noticed that some of the geraniums had survived the winter in pots so need to get these repotted and trimmed a bit. I'm going to take cuttings too to increase the number of plants i have. Unfortunately i lost a fair few geraniums that i potted on as the cat knocked them off the window cill and i managed to chill a few too. Two lesson's learnt for next year.

Happy gardening everyone!