I took advantage of the Easter bank holiday to plant my four varieties of well-chitted potatoes in the ground. Strangely it was this exact date that I planted them last year! I’ve learnt from last years experience that I don’t need to grow quite as many, so this time I’m using only half the amount which means I have much more space for other crops.
Continue reading “The spuds are in!”
Tag: Allotment
It isn’t frogspawn!
What I thought was frogspawn in my pond turns out to be newt spawn! It was only when I played back my video and zoomed in, that I realised the tadpoles had tiny gills on the top of their heads and some had developed their front legs. This, in my opinion, is even more exciting than having frogspawn! They will be most welcome to stay on my plot and gobble up all the slugs and snails.
It makes sense when I think about it. Last year around June, I managed to capture footage of a newt’s mating ritual (see below, sorry for the shaky camera!). It’s something I learnt about in one of David Attenborough’s awesome documentaries. Check out how the male newt wiggles its tail at 0.17. So I knew that I had sexually productive newts in my area, but didn’t think they would be back to mate again and lay eggs in my pond! I think they are smooths newts, but I can’t be sure. What do you think?
Hello April!
April is here and with it comes one of the busiest months for seeds and franticly preparing the ground for crops and flowers! I have quite a few seedlings on the go already, but there are still plenty more to sow and an ever growing list of jobs to complete.
Allotment jobs for the week
- Tidy the flower bed
- Sow peas in guttering
- Clear weeds and prepare the beds
- Lay down woodchip on the new fruitbed footpath
- Take down last year’s pea canes
Allotment jobs for April
- Sow pumpkins and squashes undercover
- Sow flowers
- Plant gladioli bulbs
- Divide and move snowdrops
- Plant the seed potatoes
- Sow peas successionally
- Directly sow salad crops
- Pot-up seedlings
- Clear out the shed (!)
- Watch out for baby frogs
Coming next
Flower update! 🌼 🌷
Vermiculite Experiment
I hastily planted some courgette seeds a couple of weeks ago, not realised just how early it was and forgetting how rapidly they grow. In just a few days they germinated and shot up as very tall and leggy seedlings.
There was a long and interesting discussion on my Instagram post on what to do with my leggy seedlings and also I’m the benefits of using vermiculite. I realised that like tomatoes, courgettes actually produce roots from the main stem. This means my seedlings (if I plant them deep enough) could put out enough re-growth to create a strong and healthy plants.
I had a few options on what I could do next. Either continue to grow them regardless of their weak appearance, sow some more a few weeks later, or use the opportunity to experiment.
I picked up Aldi’s vermiculite (10lr for £3.49) and potted up two seedlings in a compost and vermiculite mix and the other two just compost. I predict that the two with vermiculite will retain more water and hopefully produce a stronger root system! I’ve never used vermiculite before, so this will be a useful experiment to see how the seedlings will benefit.
Spring Equinox Suprise
It seems quite appropriate that on the first day of Spring I was rewarded with frogspawn in my Belfast sink pond for the first time ever! 🐸😁🎉
My up-cycled pond has a lot of visitors year roud but I’ve never had frogspawn, so this was a pretty special find! Plus, frogs are known to return to their place of birth to lay their own eggs which means I should have baby frogs each year, eek!
Hello Spring – I’m Back!
Spring is back and so am I! This year will be better and more organised than ever, as I’ve already made great progress in the last few weeks with the help of my friend, Dawson.
Continue reading “Hello Spring – I’m Back!”
Finders Keepers
I have the cutest new stool for my polytunnel and best of all it was free!
On my drive home a few nights ago I was going through the busy part of Hyson Green when I spotted a cute red stool by the road, next to some wheelie bins. You often see household objects on the pavement along that street so it was clear it wanted a new home. It’s the perfect height for potting on my tomatoes which will keep my busy over the next week or so. The question is, do I keep it red or paint it a different colour?! Eek. Time will tell. Oh I do love a good freebie!
Pond Area Re-Design ~ Garden Therapy
Well it’s been a pretty depressing week of constant rain and news of the E.U referendum result. Without getting into the politics, on Friday 24th June I left work feeling angry, worried and emotionally charged, thinking of all the implications that the ‘leave’ result would mean. I had to do something about my mood, so I went to my quiet place to escape from it all and set upon tidying & re-designing the pond area that was engulfed by weeds up to 5ft high. Seriously, you try and find the pond in my ‘before’ photo – and that was taken before the evil hemlock shot up!
Continue reading “Pond Area Re-Design ~ Garden Therapy”
I cheated and I’m not even guilty
The potatoes aren’t meant to be ready for another 2 weeks but I just couldn’t resist. I took a potion home, rubbed off their muddy, soft skins and gently steamed them until soft. After gentle slice to cut them open I stirred through a dash of butter and sprinkled with fresh mint. I didn’t sit down, leave the kitchen or even transfer them from the pan to eat them. Nothing beats the fresh taste of your own grown potatoes. They didn’t even touch the sides.
Foxgloves
Homegrown Garden 