The Frantic Gardeners’ Blog

just being a bit more frantic than normal I have fitted in work, playing and doing stuff [lots] with kids, some sowing and potting on, but no time or energy left for blogging!! [or tweeting which I was going to try and do well this year! maybe slow and steady ] so what have we been doing?

Sowing

Garlic has gone straight out into the veg bed, way too late really but will keep hopeful Various salad potatoes and earlies have been chitting, and now we need to plant them out - maybe this weekend.

today i have sown marigold, dwarf french bean, mangetout oregon sugar pod,  pak choi [purple] and DD2 has sown her gourds.

previously [march 13 ] i have sown some jaguar peas into half gutters to see how that works and also some cauli purple queen, romanescu brocolli and normal white cauli. DD1 sowed all her flowers - mostly stocks but some zinnia, stocks, sweet peas and rudbeckia too. all now germinated .

germinating

we are doing well with germinating so far this year. just waiting for the eryngiums still, but everything else done rather well. was v relieved that the peppers made it

Potting on

i have potted on DD2s sunflowers today, and they automatically look happier. I also potted on the tomatoes gardeners delight - probably a bit to soon as their roots not huge, but because i had 2 per module.

the nights are still pretty chilly here [into the minus anyway] and some of the days pretty hot, so there is lots of running and opening up greenhouse and then running and closing [just remembered the tops, so better go back out!] and have taken lots of things out of the propagator today that are teeny tiny, as they only get to stay in if not germinated or particularly tender.

I really must get the blog picking up my flickr pics. just need a widget i guess also wanting a widget to autonotify twitter - hoping my sysadmin can sort that out too. [please ]

Sowing

So, we have sown today [frantically admidst all sorts of other jobs ] globe artichoke, tomato sungold and gardeners delight, and golden sunrise[ sungold is orange - confusing or what!] . Was v disappointed in the sungold, as there were only 6 seeds in the packet, and it says average of 10. i think 6 is too far away, so emailing their customer care, and hope to have a replacement pack. will see how that goes! I also sowed my DH choice of seeds for pots and his vegbed: datura for the pots, echinacaea and eryngium for the bed. I think I need to remind everyone about THE VEG!! I am v happy for some flowers to attract in beneficials, and also for general wildlife and looks, but i do prefer to mostly have VEG. I also sowed lot of nasturtiums, which admittedly he bought, but i am very fond of . With 6 seed trays in the propogator, there is only room for pots now, so no more sowing until things move out. For me, i sowed canteloupe melon mmm mmm

Germination

Mistakenly, thinking the propogator in greenhouse not quite so warm as when in conservatory, i put the peppers and aubergines in a mini electric one in conservatory, and it doesn’t seem to have worked, and none germinated. Peppers are awkwrd things tho, so will keep my fingers crossed for another week. If they haven’t grown then i will by a few more packets to resow.

the broad beans tho are having erupted looking earth in some of the modules, which suggests they are about to appear and the sunflowers have all germinated for DD2.

Maintenance

It has been far too rainy recently to want to dig over and further organise veg patch, but this is getting higher up urgency list

i am very happy, near 100% germination of all sweetcorn - goody! the climbing bean blauhilde also started to germinate. have watered the weekend plantlings outside - all happy in their safety zone, those pesky cabbage whites shouldn’t find a way in! DH has done a bit more weeding of the fruit bed. realised i didn’t take any photos of apple blossom - wah! lots of strawberry blossom though.

awaiting purchase of compost to pot on the remainder of toms and the squashes. not quite brave enough to plant them out yet! [and also would have to weed another area!] maybe i should plant out some and see??

its still under black membrane wraps, but the peas [celebration not hopeless endeavour] neeeeed to go out, as do the caulis and brocolli [so that i can then do a second sowing! I desperately need some more cardboard boxes, and some timeto do a spot of weeding! it is MUCH easier to do sowing and potting on with children than sorting and weeding. even if the sowing is ‘unusual’ and somethings don’t recover from the potting on!

the greenhouse also needs a bit of a sorting out, as i have potted on some of the toms again, and the yard long beans need to think about climbing up some permanent sticks! only 4 peppers, ah well.

oh, and the propagatory totally backed up! the artichokes have been potted on, as have some of the sunflowers.

for germination - we have had 100% of all the squash family [including the butternut squash from supermarket!] and the runners and celebration [but a solitary endeavour - will try sowing direct]. runners will soon need to go out [protected] and the squashes potted up.

for sowing, today i sowed the first lot of climbing bean blauhilde and cobra in roottrainers, the runner bean sunsomethingorother - to look up! I also sowed the sweetcorn - butterscotch and a supersweet.

beautifully chitted!! we have planted charlotte and pink fir apple. we don’t need to do much in the potato line, as a farm on the edge of the village sells so many diff varieties. infact, we have that many farm shops that we are spoilt for local grown organic [though not yet able to be labelled as such] produce.

We have planted through cardboard again, as that seems to be reasonably successful, and we are hopeless at weeding!

I am looking at the caulis and brocolli and peas and thinking they are also ready to go out. hmm, they’ll have to wait a bit!

toms have been happy with the repotting, and getting a move on. the yard long beans at least haven’t sulked too much!

the first of the squashes are already germinating - butternut from the supermarket. the girls always like to sow some saved seeds.

sown at the same time, sharing the same propagator. pretty much all things equal, but all the celebration peas have germinated, grown well and are hardening off to go out. about 1/10 of the endeavour have germinated, and of those, some are just showing tips only. my current recommnedation is celebration!

all the tomatoes have germinated, though the peppers lagging behind! the yard long beans also all germinated. the peas and sweetpeas, broccoli and cauliflowers also started to peek through. as soon as enough of the peas and brassicas have germinated, they will be out of the propagator to make room for some of the companion flowers to be started off.

But not been entirely idle on the gardening front!

Seeds - the artichoke, sunflowers, indoor broad beans [now being experimented upon!] have all germinated , also the yellow tomatoes ilidi. i have sown peas endeavour and celebration today, some sweet peas and yard long beans.

outside - the fruit bed is all nicely weeded, the minarette trees trained, fed and pruned. [as an aside, i am never getting minarettes again, it is a big fib that they don’t need pruning and training! should have just got a cordon and been done with it!, at least they were part of an offer, though as 4 out of 10 died, still not entirely impressed] . the beginings of the industrial raspberry support has been done. this was less than planned, as i was also goldilocks to the children’s improvised 3 bears story, plated hide and seek, chased all spiders out of their den…

outside - the veg bed is all safely under that permeable plastic mulch awaiting using time. All the winds blew it around, so now it is truly fixed down. the broad beans and carrots not germinated yet.

wildlife - the birds def liking the new birdfeeders! have seen goldfinches for the first time - yippee.

well, harvesting loads of strawberries, mangetout and broad beans - goody! peas get eaten by my 2 little birds!!

lovely bushy potato plants, but as late in, haven’t looked for a crop yet. The toms are happy in their final pots and being tied in as they grow. the odd flower. peppers and aubergines all looking healthy. I think I’ll pot the aubergines into a bigger pot.

Sweetcorn went out too late, and don’t seem to be taking off. the weather has been unsettled, so I won’t loose hope. the popcorn ones have germinated, and although late I’ll give thema try!

finally got all the squashes in. both daughters helped - surprised by the prickliness of the plants. fingers crossed for a good crop, even though late.

but… we did harvest the first peas today, strawberries are getting temptingly red [and are covered up!] there are pods on the broad beans too.

harvested a few more asparagus spears. potatoes are very leafy. cucrbits going out tomorrow.

propagator can be dismantled, as 100% melon germination, growing on a bit before going out. Also have the spare beans for the canes, and further spares can be sisters for sweetcorn and cucurbits

lovely sunny weather isn’t it.