Good times ahead, Bits and Bobs.

[Motherwoman]

For the first year ever I have parsnips, funny shaped ones but still parsnips! Usually don't get past the germination stage, they come up and then disappear.

More power to your elbow Pa Snip! Keep on trucking!

[Geoff]

I decided all this faffing about with tissues and airing cupboards was because they need it warmer than usually reckoned. Warmed the ground with a cloche for two (sunny) weeks, lined drills with potting compost and watered, left for another couple of days, station sowed the seeds, laid slug pellets and put the cloche back on. Came up like weeds in just over 2 weeks - sowed April 15th, plenty showing by this weekend when I watered them and renewed the pellets.

That's what I posted in a similar discussion on 5th May 2009. Slug pellets are important, like Carrots you can think they are not germinating when in fact they are disappearing almost straight away. The F1 varieties are well worth the extra.
I just deeply dig with a fork, this year they are to follow last year's Onions (don't add compost for those) so two years since compost added for Potatoes. I don't give much fertiliser, some FBB and Superphosphate. Still digging them, my worst problem is Vine Weevils.

[Motherwoman]

The fact that they survived past germination point may have something to do then with the fact that my neighbour plot has been kept pristine instead of overgrown and he's killed off the marauding slugs!

My soil is very stony, just below an old chalk pit so full of flints, I'll have to live with that!

[Pawty]

The last two!

[Pa Snip]

Pawty

they look as if the top surface soil has been very wet during growth and they have not had to put any effort into putting strong main root deep to get water.

How often do you normally water your parsnips

[Pawty]

Ok, here it is..... Work in progress.

[Pa Snip]

Nice to see a picture of the task in hand, thanks for making the effort to post it. Hope to see more

[Pa Snip]

Looking out from where I am sitting it looks a really nice bright day out there.

Then comes the moment of truth

I step out the door and the wind is so bitter it is even cutting through my normally warm moleskin trousers.

And he garden has gone from soaking wet to rock hard.


No wonder those goldies are feeding up so much


Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[retropants]

sorry I'm a bit late to this one......great news Pa Snip, so happy to hear you will be bothering us for the foreseeable.

[robo]

Well we have finally finished the pollytunnel, 5 days of hard work ,knee deep in sticky mud for most of the time,ten years ago it would have been up and finished in 2 days but arthritis and a dicky swinging brick takes its toll, this time next week ill be in warmer climates

[oldherbaceous]

Well done for sticking at the task Robo.....bet you are looking forward to getting away and you certainly deserve it.

[Geoff]

Finally got some digging done the last few days. Turned over the Potato bed and added 12 barrow loads of compost. Still remarkably lumpy for my relatively light soil, though as luck would have it in a wet Winter the Potatoes are in my heaviest bed this year. Beautiful days after overnight frost, best solar generation today since October 8th.

Also cleaned the propagator with Algon ready to switch it on in a day or two, or should I?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... reenhouses

Good job he doesn't write for KG any longer, would give the advertising manager a fit!

Also mixed the compost and filled all the pots, modules and rootrainers I am planning to sow in the next two weeks and dosed them with anti-damping off fungicide. They are in the greenhouse without the heating switched on but it got to 24°C today so should air them nicely.

[alan refail]

Just think, it's over five years since he got us embroiled in the "great peat debate"!

[PLUMPUDDING]

I used to have an electric heater set at just above freezing to keep a sectioned off part of the greenhouse frost free. I also kept the pond pump running to stop the pond freezing completely when we had lots of fish. Last year I decided to see whether my more tender plants in the greenhouse would survive without the heater on, and as there are only two fish, I turned the pump off too. Everything survived and my electricity bill was a quarter of what I usually pay in winter. Think how many new plants you could buy with what you save on electricity if you do lose some tender plants.

I'm still going to use the heated propagator to start things off. I'm afraid I can't get fanatical about anything. I just do my bit for nature and the planet in lots of small ways and do what works best for me too.

[oldherbaceous]

I see Wyevale are advertising their own, new multi purpose compost....anyone seen it, or tried it yet?