Gardening

Feb is the only time of the year the garden looks shit. Barely an inch of it admirable
But also a time of hard work preparing for Spring. The snow drops are out, the daffs showing thier tips, some warmer days...and around we go again

 

Our garden always looks the same in February because it’s buried under 2-3 feet of snow!

Mrs. Hook uses grow lights to get seeds starting in March, but rarely plants them out before mid-May. She is very jealous of your longer growing season!

 

Mowed the lawn for first time this year. It must be summer.

 

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

 

Poets corner…like that though. I saw the birds scouting nest sites in the milder weather this week. A large red kite release happened nearby a decade ago and last year a pair raised one young in sight of our small meadow. Yesterday they were back looking around. They are a huge bird on the wing and quite unafraid of us in the garden.

 

My term at the allotment has come to an end , I'm giving up the plot due to theft of equipment and produce, Not impressed.

 

Into heatwave season, where everything stops growing and wilts. However, we still have spring and autumn where climatic excesses don't often happen (or is that 'yet?')

Really sorry about that, Al. You put a lot into that, both physical and aspirational. I s'pose sentry boxes, mined areas, barbed wire and camera surveillance are out of the question?

 

we don't do gardening at all but we love the ever increasing swathe of snow drops that appear in our very scruffy front garden

20230214_154508 by uh_simon, on Flickr

 

I just hoovered out the bottom of the pond and, to my horror, I found an enormous mound of this stuff which looks like a triffid



What is it? Will it take over? Is there a control or do I really have to keep hoiking it out?

Remember, I do NOT want a wildlife pond (been there, done that.) I want a modernist minimalist feature with lilies and reflections.

 

I'll be on 'ripping the contents of the greenhouse out & cleaning it' this weekend

I've got a large hand sprayer bottle for the Jeyes fluid and will have the pressure washer & snowfoam at the ready too; find this works really well when cleaning the glass, inside & out!

All I'm growing in there this year is peppers, toms & cucumbers; going to buy some very large pots and double-up in them (keeps feeding/watering much easier)

We've got a load of spare union flags from the landscaping we had done a year or so back; so going to level off the shingle in the greenhouse and lay them down for the pots to be on; easier to manage the slug invasion then!

Haven't decided what I'm planting outside this year yet; but know I'll have a few variations of spuds in large pots/old bins; parsnips/swede/turnips and beetroot in the ground again. Might try leeks again, the last few years haven't been great unfortunately

 

First run of tomatoes are slowly emerging, cleaned out the greenhouse at christmas. I should really have a thermostat with these cold nights.

Even the PSB is dismally slow.

Still waiting for a few seeds.

 

Six tip trips done.
Going to try a rescue job on shed (locked padlock hacksawed off at the clasp and replaced) roof with ply and pond liner or felt.
Attempting to force rhubarb.
Dug a bed and covered!
Daffs growing in the old compost heap.

 

Funny that; I've got a few different veg growing in the compost heap we have in the woods It didn't do very well in the garden at all, but it's loving it in the woods haha... There's Russian Kale, a few heaps of spuds and some golden beetroot...! I'm leaving them as they are and will see how they get on

 

I'm preparing to empty our Dalek compost bins to see what we get out of them after about a year. One is general garden waste, the other is almost entirely leaves, in the hope of getting a good yield of leaf mould. Although the garden is generally a bit bleak, it's good to have crocuses in bloom and the first shoots of herbaceous peonies emerge. Beside our garage I've planted various hellobore, which have clumped up well and are currently at their flowering peak - we've had wild honey bees, and tree and buff-tailed bumblebee queens visit them in the last week or so. As the flowers tend to droop, hellebore are a bit shy of being photographed, but here are a few of them - mostly oriental hybrids;







The Daphne and Edgeworthia are also just beginning to flower, with this Daphne Mezereum being the most advanced at the moment;


Most of the tree peonies have now come into leaf, and have developed buds that will hopefully be flowering in a couple of months or so;


Apart from that, I've pruned back the roses and begun to divide some of the perennials, so that they retain their vigour this summer.

 

Done with eldest yesterday and today. We now have a Morris Minor shed with a Rolls Royce roof. I'm shagged.

 

Greenhouse gutted & washed/sanitised yesterday, inside... Will do the outside sometime in the near future; when it's not so cold!

Took stock of what's left in the ground and pulled around 30 parsnips to give to family & neighbours Still have at least 40 in the ground haha

Need to order seeds this week and some cheap 90l bins for spud growing

 

Is that a fast grower, then? (never heard of that one).

From the Spirit of Ecstasy to the spirit of exhaustion then.

I've been on horse manure trips recently; haven't done this for many years as we've had our own chicken manure and compost previously. 3 car loads has covered both greenhouses in about 3 to 4 " of manure; well wetted and shall dig in beginning of April. Still need at least 1 more load (7+ bags @50p), but only a fairly easy 8 mile return or so. Greenhouse soil does get a bit anaemic after a few years ! There are 3 manure venues within a mile of each other; two do stable manure (with straw and a bit older) and one does fresh, straight from a field. I rather favour the former, as straw helps soil structure.

Am late this year, as had my trestle table up and propagation under way last year at this time. Awful weather prevents any garden/g'house clearing/cleaning. Just bought 2 kg Lady Krystal first earlies and currently chitting; had them before but can't remember the outcome, though so much depends upon site and weather anyway; manure should help.

 

Yup:

https://www.rocketgardens.co.uk/product/veg-plants/spring-veg-plants/red-russian-kale/

It's good stuff; just didn't grow very well a year or so back but we had a cold spell a few weeks into planting and it dumbed down a lot of the leafy greens I'd sown etc

I've ordered some more; going to grow it in large tubs so I can keep it in the greenhouse early doors etc

 

Took a rake to the grass in both gardens and both and I are all the better for it.

 

New roof and second coat; need to remove long clout nails and add more short felt pins to underside but will wait until my finger has stopped throbbing.
https://ibb.co/Gvvp2vq