Wednesday 26 March 2014

Let me out!!!

My goodness where has this past month gone? I think I blinked and missed it! 

I have been so busy with Wigglywoo's that I just can't seem to get nothing else done. Thankfully dad will be over next week to make a start on the garden. I haven't managed to get out there since I cleared the vegetable patch. 

The growing list for this year will be...
Potatoes not sure what variety yet
Broad bean 
Peas  
Fennel 
French dwarf beans 
Courgettes
Runner beans  

These will be in the vegetable patch and the large raised bed and I shall grow runner beans in the large tubs. Cut & come again lettuce in troughs, tomatoes in tubs and a herb garden as we do use a lot of herbs. Oh and some carrots in the greenhouse in the hope of keeping that fly at bay. 

Well that is my plans anyway but once dad gets here it could all change especially once he spies all the seed packets, we could end up with a garden full of flowers!

We went to the ideal home exhibition last Saturday, it was a bit disappointing but we made the most of it. On Sunday we went to an antiques centre at a place called Battlesbridge which was on our way home and thoroughly enjoyed browsing amongst all the trinkets, a roast dinner at the local pub and then home and that was another weekend gone. 

Plans are afoot for Mother's day, I can hear the rumblings and whispers and  a shhhhhh...... A lazy day would be just fine and dandy but don't tell them I said that. 

Wishing all mums a very happy mothering Sunday
until next time x 



Sunday 16 March 2014

Seed sorting

Well what a lovely week weather wise we have had. I haven't managed to get out into the garden unfortunately as I have been so busy with work. 

I have been rummaging in my seed box to see what I had and there was rather a lot! So I am currently trying to narrow it down to what will be manageable and I will be able to fit in. I shall list all that I am sowing once I have come to some sort of decision...

I haven't got any compost either so it will be a trip to the local garden centre tomorrow which is B&Q so I will probably come away with extras!

We have come to the end of the gardening journal quest and a big huge thanks goes to both Mum and Joanne for their tremendous support and help with joining in with the quest. Both are great bloggers of which I thoroughly enjoy reading though I don't often comment. If you click on their names above it will take you directly to their blogs so you to can go and enjoy a good read. 

Mum is doing several things at the moment including alphabet blogging, 52 projects and we also get to take a peek at her window sill once in a while! Joanne is currently Tree Following so I won't say any more you can pop over and find out for yourselves what it's all about.

Well I shall bid you a good evening and hopefully will catch up with you all before the end of another week. 
Until next time x




Monday 10 March 2014

Think I pulled more than just weeds!

What glorious weather we have been enjoying this weekend, it felt so good to feel the warmth of the sun on my face once more.

Sunday we went swimming and I done 24 lengths again, I wanted to pop out and do some gardening once we got back so didn't want to over do it. Pity I did not think the same when I was out in the garden...

I knew I would pay for the enjoyment of being in the garden weeding the vegetable patch but boy I did enjoy being out there.


Before

After
Now you can see why I ache all over not just the pain of my hip! Instead of continually crouching I was bending over so not only did my bottom get a good workout my back is creaking and groaning with every move. Stronger pain killers for tonight! 

Jay kindly went over it with the Rotavator and now I need to get me tatties chitting. I met with one of my dreaded frogs who lept up when I was removing a large weed by the fence and as usual I did my squealing scream! And I also weeded out the strawberry bed and removed all the dead leaves. It seems I done better by just leaving them as they look lovely and healthy.


To finish off I will do the last set of questions from the gardening journal quest.

46) A lot of success in the garden comes from doing the right thing at the right time, list me 5 things that I should be doing at a particular time of the year?

47) Many edible things grow wild in fields or hedgerows. Please tell me what I should look out for and how to use it...

48) It is said you don't own a wood, you just tend it for the next generation. Tell me about the trees you have grown, tended or simply been near during your gardening life...

Okay you can breath a sigh of relief as this is the final set.

46) I am a bit of a nit when it comes to doing the right things at the right time as I am always in a hurry and can't wait so I tend to do things too early and more often and not they fail so I have to do it again! So I do really need your tips and ideas for this one

47) The two things I look out for are elderberry as they make lovely cordial, jam and chutneys. I think these are late August September. The other things I like to get are sloes to make the sloe gin and I think these are October. 

48) We don't have a fruit tree in the garden but we do have a silver birch I think it is and all it does is make a blooming mess! All our neighbours have fruit trees which they all prune and tend but none ever seem to pick the fruit.

Once again that is it from me for today. I hope you have enjoyed my quest and a big huge thank you to both Mum and Joanne for their help. Until next time x


Saturday 8 March 2014

All bumps and bruises

As usual it has been another busy week in our household, Jay hurt his foot whilst training and in the early hours of Thursday morning was up A&E, parents evening and yesterday twin2lew burnt his hand and now has a lovely blister.

I still have 2 more lots of questions for the gardening journal and then I can transfer all the answers from the lovely Mum and Joanne into the journal. 

I have now gotten Dad on board to help me with the garden. We have had a brief chat and we decided to keep things simple. So it will be potatoes, dwarf green beans, runner beans, peas and courgettes and some tomatoes too and cut and come again salad leaves in tubs.

The Weather has been dry the past week so hopefully I will persuade someone to get the Rotavator out and get the ground all ready for planting the early potatoes. The raised bed also needs a severe weeding as it is full of stinging nettles which I shall use to make some nettle tea so it's not all bad.

Lets get on to the next lots of questions

41) Organic Gardening is becoming more prevalent...what views and advice would you give me?

42) Gardening can be expensive, so what money saving tips would you give me?

43) How do you manage a compost heap? what do you put in it and what do you keep out?

44) Companion planting is where some plants benefit from growing near each other...what have you observed?

45) How should I organise my plants and time in the greenhouse?

My response...

41) We are all more concerned about what goes into growing and producing our food hence why many of us now grow our own. I try to avoid any use of chemicals and use natural remedies for pest control, such as steeped rhubarb leaves to control numerous bugs, sunken beer cups to catch the snails as well as broken egg shells and also human hair around the base of your plants as another great deterrent to slugs and snails. 

42) Save all your food packaging containers as these are great for growing seedlings. Have a compost heap, use loo roll inners to sow peas & beans in. Make your own feeds and pest control. Buy good quality tools from boot sales, as the old ones are often the best, seed swaps.

43) I have 2 compost bins, I tend to put most food scraps in but avoid putting in onions & potatoes. 

44) This is not something I have really tried I did however plants marigolds all around my brassiccas to work as a barrier against slugs and snails but the blighter's still got to munch on my cabbages!

45) Again I have not had that much use out of my greenhouse so I can't really answer but I am looking forward to playing around in it this year.

So that is it from me for today, thank you all for joining me and I shall be back on Monday evening with the last of the journal quest. Until next time x







Sunday 2 March 2014

Hello March!

Another weekend has passed by in a flash along with the month of February. It does not seem possible that we are now in to our third month of the year already!

We went for our weekend swim and I done 24 lengths today and we trawled round B&Q and Homebase as we are redecorating the kitchen and wanted to get some colour charts. We came away with a selection of tester paints which I shall dabble with tomorrow. 

We are still plodding along with the Digging up memories gardening journal mum from Mumssimplylivingblog and Joanne from awholeplotoflove have been joining in with answering the questions for which I am truly grateful for.

If you are just joining us please read previous blog posts which will soon get you up to speed and you can join in to if you so wish.

36) What top tips would you give me for having a water feature in the garden?

37) What success have you had with indoor plants?

38) Not everyone has a large garden so what tips would you give for growing vegetables and flowers in containers or baskets?

39) Plants that heal...which plants do you think have healing properties?

40) How have you dealt with weeds? which have you removed and which have you encouraged?

my replies...

36) Years ago we had a pond as soon as we had the children we filled in the pond as did my dad and I haven't had a water feature since. I must admit I do love seeing and hearing the sound of a water feature it is quite relaxing. 

37) I am hopeless with indoor plants so I have dried flowers and also fresh flowers in the house instead. 

38) Grow potatoes in a grow bag and Strawberries in a hanging basket and cut and come again salad leaves in a window box. One planter with 4 Runner bean plants will give you lots of beans and you can also do the same with peas. Just make sure they are watered regularly as they are unable to draw moisture from the ground like plants that are directly grown in the ground and also a liquid feed is essential to give good growth and crop.

39) I have never looked into growing plants for their healing properties, I grow plants to eat or because they look and smell nice.

40) Weeds are every gardener's thorn in the side, we have this horrid weed that I can't recall the name of at this minute (might be because of the Mojito's I have consumed earlier) But is clings to everything and nothing kills it. I do grow some nettles in a pot and make nettle tea to feed my plants.

We have 2 more days left of the digging for memories gardening journal and by that time I will hopefully have some gardening to discuss with you. Has anyone got any flowers springing up yet? 

Until next time x


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