Gomphocarpus. A lesson to me to read the kids seeds choices rather than just being happy that they are happy and wanting to sow things 
A slender, deciduous shrub, often treated as an annual. Quick and easy to grow, it produces stems of flowers that transform into translucent balloons - great fun for kids. Height 4 feet’
Hmm. I guess that will need a pot, or 10 pots as it happens. thank goodness only 1/3 germinated!
had hoped to do a bit more in the garden before we go away for the BH weekend - making the most of it thanks wills and kate. Argh for frantic weeks really - where we get the blog name from.
Germination
still waiting for the butternut squash, caulis germinated tho and the chickpea plantlets are really pretty. [must take a pic]. when we return think i will resow butternut squash if not come up.
potting up
having not got the desperate artichokes into a place in the veg bed, i potted them up.
I also potted up DD2’s fur balls - must look and see what they actually are as to what to do with them when they are a bit bigger. Also took pity on DH’s datura and echinacea and potted them all up. disturbed a nest of teeny tiny spiders, so now am suffering from overimagination and feeling them crawl everywhere.
I potted on DD2’s gourds - only 2 out of 4 germinated 
and the courgettes, parador and parthenon [all germinated] and the pumpkin. Also potted on the watermelon - all 6 germinated!!
To Do
1. find home for artichokes
2. plant up DH bed
3. pot on all tomatoes and the melons.
[think the big list before not achievable!! so putting the 3 most urgent on my to do only]
The weather is changing though. the wind is blowing more, and although not rained, the forecast is for cooler. As long as no frosts [perlease!] an just milder [fingers crossed tho for gentle rain]
Potting on
The remaining mangetout have been planted up into a bucket for the patio pots. Still currently living in the greenhouse though. Greenhouse looking much emptier though
Germinating
All the chickpeas and all the brassicas bar the white cauli, and all the cucurbits bar the butternut squash.
Planting out
this is the scary bit really. due to the weather [gorgeous] and early sowing [taking advantage of the children’s interest] we have ended up with things that just have to go out, potentially too soon if the weather turns too dramatically. Just keeping fingers crossed really.
DD1’s bed is all planted up. She has made a cane wigwam and the sweet peas are out, and then done her initial in zinnias to one side of it, surrounded by autumn aster, and a fish the other side in night scented stock, with brompton stock around. All her own plan, with scant reference to heights, flower colour, season etc etc. Fingers very very crossed!
Potatoes are a go! The are all in. The kids have some earlies in sacks, and the rest are in the main veg bed. DH has decided to do a bit of an experiment. Half are going to be earthed up, and the others are thickly covered with straw. Let the science begin
Maintenance
The girls and I made some cane toppers out of fimo [bakeable modelling clay] Perhaps they will work! perhaps they are as perilous as the canes
To do:
1. globe artichoke - find a home!
2. DH beds to fill - quite urgent - salads currently
3. empty all weedy pots around patio and pop in spare flowers etc
4. buy climbers and plant infront of kitchen, and populate herb pots there
5. pot up tomatoes to final pots
6. sort out the beanfence.
7. make nettle infusion
Our garden has a fair crop of weeds. Too many to name without deep blushing. The brambles, well at least they give us blackberries, and cutting them back hard does slow their takeover. The chick weed is all over the veg patch, but dug in and then covered over i try to think of it as a green manure, the stickyweed i am allergic to. Not dreadfully, but brings my arms up. Then there are the nettles. We have children, and visiting children, and unlike other weeds, nettles are seriously non child friendly. Being organic, we can’t just blast them away and due to the previous run down nature of the garden. trying to limit them to the shady composting end of veg patch, but they are everywhere, and any scrap of root regrows . hmm. but they do have some benefits. Nettles are very good for wildlife , you can drink it, and you can make nettle tea for the garden from it [instructions copied and pasted below].
1. Cut the nettles at about half their height. Remember, wear gloves!
2. Mix the cuttings with water in a large container such as a large plastic garbage can. You’ll need a lid, because nettle tea smells absolutely disgusting. Use a non-chlorinated source of water, such as water from a rainbarrel or cistern, as chlorine inhibits the fermentation of the tea. Mix 1 gallon of water with every pound of fresh or 2 ounces of dried nettles. Cover with the lid!
3. Allow the brew to ferment from one to three weeks. The length of time necessary will depend on ambient temperature. Obviously, the hotter it is, the quicker the process. (However, place your barrel in the shade during summer to prevent the mixture from overheating and killing the necessary fermenting bacteria.) The tea is ready when fermentation has ceased. Test for this by stirring. Avert your nose to avoid the fumes, then sneak a peak. No more bubbles? It’s ready to use.
4. Strain the tea as soon as fermentation has stopped. Store the infusion in clean plastic or glass containers in a cool spot.
5. Remember, unless you want the herbicide effect, dilute the tea before using. For soil applications, dilute to a 10% solution (1 cup of original infusion to 10 cups of water) or 5% for foliar feeding.
and not a cloud in the sky. what a scorcher!! We were out celebrating st georges day, but watered everything well before we went out, and when we came back.
The other courgettes are parador [i have checked!] and the climbing french blauhilde and all the watermelons germinated, and the brocolli. other than that, just hot hot hot!
