End of April 2007

I was well chuffed today when i checked my tatties, some where through the ground and showing life. The soil still looks dry but when i dig down there is moisture further down, it has been showery this week so that's helped a bit too and the seeds are romping away now. My carrots and beetroot have now germinated too BUT what made my day was settling down to weed the asparagus bed and noticing that there are yet more spears showing through, green and purple. They look a bit thin but then i expect that this is because it's their first season. Hopefully as time goes on they will become thicker and more of them.

As you can see from the picture the Berry bushes are in full leaf, i've underplanted these with Lavender Hidcote, to make a fragrant addition to the beds. Did you know that Lavender softens the tartness of acidic fruits? Even just a few drops of cooking essence added to a saucepan of stewed fruit can make a big difference to the taste.

I lifted some strawberry plants today to reduce the size of the strawberry bed and started adding the grass mulch to the remaining strawbs. I dug over the area and took all the runners out that were there and was pleased to see that all the manure and compost had done the soil structure some good. By reducing the size of the strawberry bed it allows me an extra bed so i can do a four bed rotation, much better. Whilst clearing the bed i noticed that the strawberries are already putting out flowers and one or two were in flower. This is a whole month earlier than last year.

In this newly cleared space, I'm going to plant corn, beans and squashes, commonly known as three sisters. In a three sisters planting, the three partners benefit one another. Corn provides support for beans. Beans, like other legumes, have bacteria living on their roots that help them to absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form that plants can use. Corn requires a lot of nitrogen to grow. The large, prickly squash leaves hide the soil, preventing weed growth. The three sisters also complement each other nutritionally. Corn supplies carbohydrates and a variety of important amino acids. Beans have protein, including two essential amino acids that corn lacks. Squash contributes vitamin A. Squash seeds also contain quality fats that corn and beans lack. Anyway this is my first attempt at Three Sisters so i'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Besides clearing away strawberries, i've also sown more seeds. Swedes and turnip. The turnip is a bit early usually being sown in May but everything seems to be a month ahead so i thought i'd give it a try. If it works i'll be harvesting early, if not, i'll be sowing more seeds. My soil is excellent for turnip, like other Brassicas, turnip grows best in a moderately deep loam, fertile and slightly acid soil. Turnip does not do well in soils that are of high clay texture, wet or poorly drained. For good root growth turnip needs a loose, well aerated soil, for this reason i tend to sow my seed on the top of a drill (similar to when tatties are earthed up) as this is the only way i've been successful in growing turnip and swede.

In readiness for the rest of the brassicas i've raked level the bed and cleared any weeds that were there. I plant my brassicas in the bed that onions were in the year before. The reason for this is that i've found they like the soil being that much firmer. I just dig a hole and drop my brassicas in and then firm around them.

Remember the Impatien seedlings i pricked out into trays, just look at them now. Almost ready for putting into small pots. They have fair picked up speed in the last week or two. Even as seedlings they are easy to look after, just plenty of light and make sure the compost is moist.

These will look nice in tubs come the summer and remember to jam them in. If you want your impatiens to grow taller, space them quite close together, about six inches apart, but if you want them to spread out more, plant them at least eight inches to one foot apart. Also they are one of the few plants that will do well in shade and flower their socks off. In actual fact too much sun stunts their growth with smaller leaves and not many flowers.


In the ornamental garden the Chives are already putting out flowers and are a particular favourite of mine. I will split the plant up later in the year and spread around the garden as the clump is getting quite a size. It would make nice edging in the veggie garden and give me some herbs to harvest.

The garden is really gathering pace and the growth spurt is on. Some of the earlier stuff is in flower and it's a real time of change, with the best still to come, i for one can hardly wait.

Happy Gardening!

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!