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Home gardening March 31st

31/3/2014

Our new Colourful Orchid

I had a day in the garden at home sorting out the Geranium cuttings and potting up my new seedlings.
I have already started to harden off some of the stronger seedlings ready to plant outside.
Now we gardeners keep our fingers crossed and our hands together, praying that a sudden late frost will not descend on us and wipe out all our good work.

Geranium cuttings

Tomatoes and Geranium cuttings

Our Easter Cactus

Tiny seedlings sprouting

I am very pleased with the germination of my seeds so far~Above I have Gardeners Delight tomatoes with my Geranium cuttings and a photograph of our Easter Cactus that has sprung into bloom.

More baby tomato seedlings in production~~

Our Camellia shrub has some beautiful flowers open and masses of buds all over, ready to burst into a sea of pink. It has been a marvellous year for daffodils, and we have a number spread out in the garden with more flowers arriving every year.
I treated our lawn with a feed and moss killer, the results are amazing, I now have masses of dead moss to rake up and dispose of.

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WEDNESDAY 26TH MARCH 2014~ Camellias and Cabbages~

27/3/2014

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The first Camellias of this year open up~~

  I  have decided to take a chance and plant my second early potatoes a lot earlier than I usually do, I think the earlier I plant them the longer the growing season. I should reap some benefits from this decision.
  My Runner Bean bed has been prepared and I have dug in a liberal amount of horse manure to give the growing plants plenty of nourishment when I sow the seeds next month.
The tomato plants are showing well at home and I have some very vigorous sweet pea plants that I grew from seeds that I managed to save from last year.
  The brassica seeds I set last week in my oversized tub are showing through nicely, they grew well in this tub last year before I transplanted them to their final growing positions.
I couldn't resist including a photo of our 10 year old Camellia shrub that has just burst into bloom again~ HAPPY GARDENING

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Thursday 13th March~Spuds and Rhubarb

15/3/2014

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The day started with a sea mist and a light frost, the sun was obscured by cloud. It was very surreal to see the suns rays struggling to shine behind the mist.
I managed to get a lot of work done today. First I prepared a bed with some of the manure that has been stacked up in my compost bin all winter. I spread this over the freshly dug soil then I prepared trenches for my First Early Potatoes.
I have planted, Pentland Javelin variety again, as I had very good success with these last year.
A very good friend Roy, another early allotmenteer, stopped by and asked if I had any room for a Rhubarb plant as he has a surplus. I took advantage of this kind offer and he came over with a massive plant on a huge root. (See the photograph above). I was able to chop this, quite cleanly, into four pieces with my sharp spade and I finished up with four Rhubarb plants. (See photograph below).
I thanked Roy very much for his kindness and he agreed it was fair payment for the forgotten Raspberry canes I had given him last year, I was then obliged to visit and see how well they were doing.
Such is the Allotment barter system in action and a good example of how some of my working time is spent, not so idly chatting.

A mass of beautiful Daffodils in full bloom on a verge in Sheringham town centre~Inspiring Spring blooms

A very brief glorious display~Then Summer arrives~~

A yellow focal point in front of the railway carriages and the houses beyond the trees~Short term beauty

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A Frosty start to a Wednesday~12th March 2014

13/3/2014

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The day started frosty and felt very cold, until the sun came up and quickly burned the early frost away. The famous Norfolk winds were conspicuous by their absence, thankfully. Fortunately I have no tender seedlings yet and the frost probably did more good than harm to my hardy plants. When the sun burned off the frost I was left with a useful film of water soaking the new leaves growing on my Strawberry plants and Gooseberry bushes.

Broad Beans and early Peas

I am very pleased with the growth of my over-winter Broad Beans~I have sown some Pea seeds in between the plants, I am hoping they will entwine themselves around the beans and I will get the two crops together. I think it will work, if not I will come to the rescue with some support for the pea plants. See the healthy looking babies below~ :)

We are enjoying a prolific crop of White Sprouting Broccoli, they have really come into their own this year. I usually grow the purple sprouting variety, last year I picked up a packet of seeds containing the white variety to try, and they are doing very well.

I have now sown some early Cabbage seeds and I have started a seed bed with Radishes, Beetroot, Spring onions and Coriander~

WATCH THIS SPACE~

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Better weather conditions~6th March 2014

6/3/2014

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This glorious sunrise started the day today. One or two short sharp showers were quickly over and done with and I managed to get a lot of work done.
I finished weeding my Asparagus and Rhubarb beds, it is surprising how quickly the weeds return given the smallest window of opportunity. This wet weather combined with some intermittent sunshine is certainly very good growing weather, the weeds thrive and need to be fiercely controlled. I also spread some horse manure that has been piled up on the plot all winter, to give both the Asparagus and the Rhubarb plants a good feed. I have sowed Coriander seed and a row of radishes to commence the season of cultivated edible growth.
I am still busy cropping my fresh White Sprouting Broccoli and Kale and I dug up about half a dozen Kohl Rabi roots that have been in the ground all winter. Margaret is going to roast some of them and use the remainder in soup. I carried home the remains of last years excellent potato crop, except for some very tiny specimens that I might plant again to see if I get another crop.

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Showery, March winds ~Good growing weather~

2/3/2014

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I Managed to get down to giving my allotment shed a nice new coat of weather-proofing paint. I had to pull my climbing Loganberry runners forward and get behind them. I am very impressed with the lovely green shoots that are bursting out all over the runners. We should have another good heavy crop again this year. Margaret is very versatile in her ideas for fruit, she makes jam, cakes and we enjoy our fruit salad for breakfast most days of the week.
I am very pleased to have an excellent crop of white Sprouting Broccoli and the Kale I planted in the summer last year has had a spurt of growth. We enjoyed a nice meal of these tasty fresh vegetables last night. I will be sowing some more of these seeds for next years food supply.
I visited Roy's of Wroxham, Norfolk, reputed to be the largest village store in the UK, on Friday, on our way home from Norwich. I was able to buy FOUR! 70 litre bags of their very good quality seed and potting compost for £10. A bargain, I spread the news to my neighbour Tony, who will spread the word to all and sundry and that store will do very well if they stick to that price.

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John~~Battling with the elements, pests and diseases in my struggle to keep the garden growing. A constant daily struggle that will be recorded here.

Gardening is such a delightful pastime. I spend time on my allotment almost every day of my life, and the sensation of pure satisfaction never ceases to amaze me. I get so much out of this pleasure, I think the benefits are so huge that the government should legislate and make it more available to everyone. I will list just some of the obvious reasons here. ~~
1) Fresh fruit and vegetables and other produce.
2) Fresh air and an intense feeling of getting close to Nature.
3) Healthy exercise without the necessity of machines that are found inside a gym.
4) The satisfaction obtained by growing plants and watching and caring for them through to maturity.
5) A regular occupation that you can make into a routine, somewhere to go to at a certain time every day.
6) The companionship of like-minded people, with whom you can get ideas and swap tips on your mutual interests.

There is peace of mind in a garden

Home gardening March 31st

WEDNESDAY 26TH MARCH 2014~ Camellias and Cabbages~

Thursday 13th March~Spuds and Rhubarb

A Frosty start to a Wednesday~12th March 2014

Better weather conditions~6th March 2014

Showery, March winds ~Good growing weather~

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