Full blown Spring Bits and Bobs. - 2017

[Pa Snip]

Similar time at which I posted yesterday morning.

Went up the plot about 10am (ish) yesterday. Work on removing a grass path.
Found it a struggle to get fork into ground so got rotavator out and used it to skim surface. Picked up and removed the grasss and roots.
Then dug deeper to extending planting area.

Mrs S joined me at lunchtime. Sandwich, cup of tea and she then sowed more carrots, no sign of the St Valery I sowed a few weeks back and not many of the two varieties she previously sowed.

Last week I ridged up the Jazzy first early potatoes that were just peeking through the surface. Looks like the growth spurt they had must have exposed the tips again as It looks like some extreme tips have been frosted during the one night we had a light frost this week.
Ridged them up again yesterday.

On December 26th last, I sowed into individual modules 120 x D T Brown onion seeds called 'Exhibition'
Yesterday I transplanted the 40 that actually came up.
Once planted out I put a top dressing of Bone Meal around them and also around the flowering strawberry plants.

Mrs S sowed a packet of DT Brown 'Javelin' parsnip seed under cold frames

I was last on site at 17:30, when I left for home and dinner which included fresh picked Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Asparagus.

[Ricard with an H]

Thank you for the amazing photo Pawty. Good camera, technique, lighting and patience. Or was it luck ?

[Pa Snip]

I can't get my Crimson Crush to germinate and the Tumbling Toms aren't great either Pa.

My personal fear is that thanks to the germination fails it is now getting a bit late to sow toms, although they would no doubt catch up eventually.

Unless we have some germination success soon I think we might end up purchasing plants. SACRILEGE !!!!

I may sow more today

[Pawty]

Thank you Richard. Photography is Mr Pawty's hobby. He's a big Olympus fan (we have an agreement that he doesn't comment on my seed buying, I don't comment on the camera equipment) - he comes down the lotty with me, helps for half an hour then takes pictures. It's just such a great place to photograph with nature sharing space with us, especially at this time of year). This rather large blackbird along with a robin were taking worms and grubs from the soil as I was turning it over. I rather like the company!

Just did my morning check of the windowsills - germination started - cucumbers, courgette, marigolds and the experiment before sowing direct - dried chickpeas from Waitrose. Slightly worried that no sign of the celery - two varieties. I can't remember if these were slow starters.

Pawty

[Primrose]

Lovely photo of the blackbird Pawty. I've yet to see any fledglings round here.
A rather chilly wind today. I put a tray of leek seedlings out earlier this morning to harden off but think I'll tuck them away before they catch pneumonia ! I work on the basis that if I feel cold out there, they probably do too !

[Geoff]

I don't believe in heaven but.......
Lovely trip today to the plant sale at Harlow Carr, they didn't seem to have had as much frost as us, and a nice drive back through the limestone part of the Dales to avoid the cyclists on the Tour de Yorkshire round Skipton. Then local lamb, fresh mint sauce, purple sprouting broccoli and these......

IMG_3860_R.jpg (1.44 MiB) Viewed 4369 times

Rocket planted in polytunnel on 5th February, £1.50 for 10, didn't quite make the kilo 942g (2lbs 1½ozs).
Some of my last year's Damsons for pud.
And a big bonfire, who could ask for more?

[Monika]

We stayed at home today, Geoff, trapped by the road closures around us for the Tour de Yorkshire, but we heard the accompanying helicopter swarm around 2pm!
Quite a few vegetable and flower seedlings, including celeriac, leeks, second lot of broad beans, are now outside under fleece prior to imminent planting out. Brassicas will be planted out on Wednesday, hopefully after some rain tomorrow. Watering the plants in is ok, but nothing beats a good spell of soft rain!

[robo]

I just fed the chickens today then returned home very windy and overcast not a nice day

[Primrose]

Referring to Pa,s germination failure with tomato seeds, I've had almost total failure with Gardeners Delight this year. Not sure where I got the packet from. Wonder if it was a freebie packet with the magazine?. My Ferline, Moneymaker and Ildi as well as Tumbling Tom Red and Yellow have had virtually 100% germination.

Pa,
if you fear you're too late for sowing of tomatoes, try a few tumblers. They flower and yield fruit more quickly than the cordon varieties and of course are less effort because they don!t have to be sideshooted or staked so can just be left to their own devices. The first flowers are just starting to form on mine .

[Westi]

Managed to get down lottie as it didn't start to rain until this afternoon. Between the frosted tips on somethings & the dehydrated sad other things begging for a drink, I was pretty deflated. I watered first thing, regardless of the rain coming, but I think the others down there thought I was mad with no idea of the weather forecast! Then I took advantage of another strawy delivery of stable bedding & mulched the now well watered dehydrated babies & added protection to some of the frosted ones to keep them snug to grow through the damage.

The weirdest thing was my cauliflowers got hit by frost. They are currently adorned in half green & half white outer leaves, quite pretty actually but so wrong. No other brassica was affected & they are all planted together. If I get down tomorrow I will take a pic.

[Primrose]

Westi I,ve been watering my veg seedlings virtually every other day, being careful to just direct the water onto the rows where they've been sown. However the whole surface of soil is so dry that I think the effect of capillary action means the water just gets dissipated to surrounding soil areas very quickly and sops it up like a sponge. I keep looking at the sky and wondering when the rain is coming. It was forecast for 6 pm here but no sign of it. And it's ALWAYS supposed to rain on bank holiday weekends!

[Monika]

I was interested to read that the failed seeds may have come from freebies off the magazine, Primrose. We get a number of gardening magazines, both weekly and monthly, which carry free seeds and I have a shrewd suspicion that these are last year's leftover seeds.
Because I know exactly which vegetable varieties I want to grow, I usually only use the free flower seeds and quite a few of those have been 'duds' in the past.

[Westi]

Evening Monika,

All the seeds I have had from KG or other mags have all been well in their sell by dates. I would suspect it would be more something to do with the compost or general weather conditions, or maybe the water even maybe?

[tigerburnie]

I've been train spotting, our only scheduled steam train for the year.
Tay bridge steam by R MAURINS, on Flickr

When I got back I found my first crop in the new greenhouse is ready..........................Radish, well it's a start.

[Geoff]

Daft isn't it - always looks silly when the smoke goes the wrong way.
This year I am using Clover Professional Seed and Modular compost for all my seeds, usually just as the contact layer near the top of the container. My germination rates have been excellent for vegetables and flowers from all sorts of suppliers including freebies. It is a 100% peat based compost.