Garden Updates
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Garden Diary 2020
To make it easier I’ve moved my garden diary to this page.
19/04/20Planted potatoes in South facing bed where last lot were and have not come up. Also in tuff tub and a pot on East facing wall.
25/04/20Planted sweet peas in shadyEast bed, in North facing pot, in South facing gate post and east facing pots. Cauliflower seedlings have germinated. Pea seedlings have germinated in South facing bed.
26/04/20 Planted Bell peppers and chilli peppers indoors on South facing windowsill. Transplanted Pointed pepper seedlings on South facing windowsill. Planted forget me not seeds, East facing shallow frame. Seedlings appearing in wildflower garden.
06/05/20Topped up potatoes.
09/05/20 Planted salsify in pot to right of raised bed for roots, in raised bed runner beans, then salsify for flowers, then beetroot, pot to left, brocoli, carrots in pot near other South facing raised bed.
10/05/20 Topped up potatoes.
28/05/20 Planted spinach, chili, lemon basil, basil and chive seedlings in West window.
08/06/20 Planted some runner beans and oregano seeds in the West facing window.
11/06/20 The peas and potatoes in the south facing bed have flowered, the ones on the East facing wall have not. Beetroot starting to show. Carrots starting to show.
12/06/20
Today, my garden update includes some items from my friends allotment. Jen from Jen’s allotment adventures. I’ll put a link here has bought me some of her harvest.
We have some garlic, some broad beans and a squash that she’s brought me to plant. She also brought me some lettuce seedlings, which I have separated.
I separated some into clumps and planted them together in a large pot. And I separated some of the others into singular plants, which I’ve planted together in a smaller pot, and we’ll see how they get along.
I’ve been around the garden, the potatoes in the south facing bed are flowering, the peas that I’ve planted behind them aren’t getting much light. So, next time I’ll plant them together but I’ll plant them alongside one another, rather than with the peas behind the potatoes, my carrots appear to have been a bit battered by the winds the last couple of days but I’ve left those alone. I still have a singular beetroot growing, and I have potatoes where I don’t remember planting any potatoes. So that’s interesting. I also have a nasturtium growing in my lilies. So, those are also edible. So I look forward to that. Thanks nature.
13/06/20. Planted more peas in South facing bed and butternut squash in East facing bed. Fed my honeysuckle as its looking a little ill but has flowered.
14/06/20 Planted some seeds.
Some of our flowers.
Garden Updates
Some garden images by way of an update. Next week I’ll start posting images and updates for the vegetables.
Re-engage
I started my blog, back in 2013. And then I thought the world was heading towards a bit of a disaster. I’ve always thought that society was a bit skewed, that maybe I didn’t fit into it the way I was expected to. But when you get involved with society on any level, you get sucked in somewhat. Even if you’re not the type of person who wants the bigger house, the faster car, the designer clothes etc etc. It’s easy to end up wanting it, because everybody else has it. And that’s the kind of attitude that gets fostered. Now, if that’s the kind of thing that makes you happy. That’s fine. I’m not judging you. It’s your life. But for me, Things have never really been what makes me happy. But things are what I filled my life with, because, well, that’s what everybody does.
Anyway, I started this blog because I started to realise the true impact of my own existence. And I wanted to lessen it, I didn’t want the chemicals that were in all of my products, I didn’t want to be making somebody else suffer so that I can have that cheap item or whatever. And I started to change how I live my life. Since then, a lot of things happened and as usual, It’s been a roller coaster. I’ve had some ups and I’ve had an awful lot of downs. But one thing has never changed. And that is that I still want to lead a more understanding existence. I want to be more at one with nature, I don’t want to work against it. I want to make my impact less. I just believe that it’s the right thing to do. It’s really as simple as that. And every step I take is a step away from what I consider the rat race. You know, the job, the house the car the money the buying, the holidays, the stuff, the stuff, the stuff it’s always the stuff. But not for me. Not now, because at the end of my days, those things won’t mean anything, they’ll either bring a joy or hindrance to the people that I leave behind. And, you know, the things that really stand out when I think about when I see them at the end of their lives, is that it’s never more stuff that they want. It’s more time. And we just can’t get any more of that.
So, I want to spend my time doing things that make me happy without hurting anybody else. So this is where I am now in 2020. When the world still seems like it’s heading for disaster. And I’m still trying to live that life, and I’m still believing the same things. But now, I guess. Things have adapted somewhat.
My husband and I, we have our own home now. We did buy eventually because we weren’t able to stay where we were. And what we wanted then was some sort of security. and the intention always was to sell the house eventually and buy a piece of land and go and do what we keep saying we want to do, that’s still the plan. Only now we want to do it in another country because we have definitely fallen out of love with the UK as a whole.
It has it’s faults right now for sure.
So, yeah.
That’s me.
This transcript was generated by https://otter.ai
Another Year another….pandemic?
Hi All, it’s been a long time. I lost my Mum in 2018 and in 2019 needed spinal surgery so things have been quiet and chaotic at the same time. All raring to go this year and…covid19. What can I say? It’s given me time to be in the garden.
I have decided to start my blog again. Not so much as something to do but to log what i am doing and how it goes. For the first time ever I’m keeping a garden diary. I am really hoping for an actual harvest of more than 3 peas this year. We are vegan now so vegetables are consumed in high quantities and to grow our own is what we are all about.
We decided to give up our car in January and try to lead a more carbon neutral life. This has meant that we shop with a bike and a trailer right now. I was going with a friend but this isn’t possible anymore with the virus. It has forced us to be more active and to think about what we purchase. Mostly vegetables but you know, they can be quite heavy so we’ve been doing a lot more batch cooking and freezing so that we can get a monthly delivery and cook up a storm.
This isn’t the best blog post I’ve written. I’ve had such a rollercoaster of a time and I’ve been working hard on my mental health and overcoming that rollercoaster. I don’t have the energy to pretty up my words or go into the depths of it all. Here’s my garden diary though. The East facing wall I mention gets South Westerly sun. It’s really for me to know where I’ve put things as I haven’t labelled anything LOL. I might not be laughing later in the year….
19/04/20
Planted potatoes in South facing bed where last lot were and have not come up. Also in tuff tub and a pot on East facing wall.
25/04/20
Planted sweet peas in shady
East bed, in North facing pot, in South facing gate post and east facing pots. Cauliflower seedlings have germinated. Pea seedlings have germinated in South facing bed.
26/04/20
Planted Bell peppers and chilli peppers indoors on South facing windowsill. Transplanted Pointed pepper seedlings on South facing windowsill. Planted forget me not seeds, East facing shallow frame. Seedlings appearing in wildflower garden.
06/05/20
Topped up potatoes.
09/05/20
Planted salsify in pot to right of raised bed for roots, in raised bed runner beans, then salsify for flowers, then beetroot, pot to left, brocoli, carrots in pot near other South facing raised bed.
10/05/20
Topped up potatoes.
Long time no write.
I would berate myself for my lack of blogging but I have achieved quite a few things this year. I’ll start by telling you about the garden.
My husband built raised beds which I planted…and then left to grow wild and free, it wasn’t intentional but you see I also left a job I didn’t like and used the money to open my own business with someone else from the same organisation. I now own and run a small takeaway selling simple but wholesome foods with plenty of vegan options.
The front garden was sectioned, planted…and then left to grow wild and free.
So, vegetable wise, I didn’t plant so I didn’t get. Garden wise, it was beautiful, still is in lots of ways. It was a joy to see and the wildlife loved it and for the most part I was working too bloody hard to be in it so had it to themselves.
I promise next year I will find the time to be more attentive to the garden, to growing my own veggies and my blog 🙂
Slacking
Well people, I have to say in a lot of ways this year I failed. In some I succeeded, one thing is for sure I have neglected this blog.
Garden wise I did do a lot of planting, then all my veg died because I neglected them. Yes I said it, I must take that responsibility for killing all my lovely plants by spending more time away than I did here. So I succeeded in having an excellent social life with family and friends and going to festivals and generally being a bad gardener.
However, I made that concrete garden green and wild. I look out now and it’s still bursting with reds and the distant memory of blooms. I left it to it’s own devices and everything outside the poly tunnel thrived. It became a haven for wildlife and in that I succeeded.
So, what’s left for the year? Well slacking isn’t an option. The garden needs to be ready for spring. This time I will track with pictures, if not only to record the transformation.
The first thing to do is to take up the grass in the front garden and plant bulbs….lots of bulbs, in a way that they will flower at different times and wildflowers I had from Kew Gardens that are local variations. Then the back needs to be tidied and my husband is going to build raised beds out of decking boards and most things in pots are going there. The polytunnel needs to come down and the plants that need cutting back need to be done.
The plants that are there are beautiful so no complaints there but 4 sugar snap peas isn’t really a harvest! LOL Oh and 4 apples, 9 tomatoes and some strawberries. Next year…
The Last Week in March
So, last week was productive, my sister in law got married, our dilapidated wall was finished, I potted out some of my seedlings and we revamped a light fitting.
Day 10
Some of the results of the planting I did 10 days ago. Represented in a little more of an arty way instead of being purely as photographic log.
Garden Ledger 2016
I have started a ledger I am going to share with you. Every seed, plant, plug and bulb will be listed here with as much information I find useful. I use general purpose compost and home compost where I can. I don’t use drainage for seedlings and use smashed crockery or large stones in larger pots. using pots often needs more nutrients so keep an eye on any container plants. I have to go out and analyse a few because I have forgotten what they are but here is my starter for 10.
| Seeds | |||||
| Name | Sow Date | Sow Area | Sprout Date | Plant out Date | Production Date |
| Alium | 18/03/16 | Outside, West Wall facing east, south facing sun. | |||
| Carnations Violet | 19/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| Cirsium | 18/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Cornflower | 18/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Cornflower | 20/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Cosmos | 18/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Cucumber | 20/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Dutch Iris | 20/03/16 | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | |||
| Dwarf French Bean | 19/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Edible Pansies | 18/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| First Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| First Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Freesia | 20/03/16 | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | |||
| Gazalia | 18/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Golden Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| Golden Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Harlequin | 18/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Lemongrass | 18/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| Little Gem Lettuce | 18/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Livingstone Daisy | 18/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Nasturtiums | 18/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Nasturtiums | 18/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Peas | 19/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| Pink Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| Pink Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Red Poppy | 18/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south facing sun. | |||
| Red Poppy | 18/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Runner Beans | 20/03/16 | Outside Propagator, West Wall facing east, south sun. | |||
| Star Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| Star Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| True Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, South Facing | |||
| True Romance Lily | 19/03/16 | Inside, West Facing | |||
| Existing Plants | |||||
| Name | Approx. age | Location | Fruit/Flower? | Health | Next steps |
| Aguilegra | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | No | Appears Dead | Inspect root system |
| Blueberry | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | No | Dormant | Repot |
| Cherry Tree | 3yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | No | Dormant | Prune |
| Crocus | Unknown | Outside, South Facing, ground. | Flower | Good | Move after flowering. |
| Dianthus | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | Foliage | Good | Monitor |
| Gooseberry Bush | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | No | Dormant | Repot |
| Jasmine | <1yr | Outside, West Wall facing east, south facing sun. Potted. | Foliage | Good | Monitor |
| Magnolia | <1yr | Outside, West Wall facing east, south facing sun. Potted. | No | Unknown | Monitor and Prune. |
| Plum Tree | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | No | Dormant | Prune |
| Raspberry bush | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | No | Dormant | Prune |
| Rhubarb | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | Fruit | Good | Repot |
| Rose | <1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | Foliage | Good | Monitor |
| Rose | <1yr | Outside, West wall, East Facing, patio, container. | Foliage | Good | Monitor |
| Rose | <1yr | Outside, North Facing, patio, container. | Foliage | Good | Monitor |
| Rosemary | 1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | Herb | Good | Prune |
| Sage | 1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | Herb | Moderate | Monitor |
| Tea Rose | <1yr | Outside, West wall, East Facing, patio, container. | Foliage | Questionable, pruned a little | Monitor |
| Thyme | 1yr | Outside, South Facing, patio, container. | Some Herb | Moderate | Monitor |
| New Plants | |||||
| Name | Date Planted | Location | Current Status | Next Step | Harvest/Flower Date |
| Daffodils | 30/10/15 | Outside, West wall, East Facing, Sun South , patio, container. | Sprouting | Monitor | |
| Pansies | 18/03/16 | Outside, West wall, East Facing, Sun South , patio, container. | Flower | Dead head | Multiple |
| Tulips | 30/10/15 | Outside, West wall, East Facing, Sun South , patio, container. | Sprouting | Monitor | |
Front Garden
Well, it’s 2016 and I have neglected my blog. We moved house but the great news is our new home is our own home which means free reign in the garden! I will post before and after images but we have a small raised grass bed about 3m x 3m. The back is…concrete! Every gardeners nightmare but I aim to make it productive and beautiful thus proving that beautiful gardens can exist in unlikely spaces but onto the front garden.
Once our front garden wall is restored the grass will be going. It will replaced by a cut flower and edible plant garden. I love flowers in the home and our street doesn’t have many flowers for bees and butterflies. Cutting flowers encourages further growth. Not all the flowers will be for cutting but many of my favorites will feature.
This is a North facing garden that will get sun early in the morning as the sun rises, nothing in the afternoon and mostly full sunshine (there is an area with partial shade) for the late afternoon and evening. I will be trying to encourage a neutral soil. I plan to use some hugelkultur fundamentals.
So to start with the grass will be dug up and turned over, with a layer of gravel beneath it and soil on top. I will then use a layer of cardboard to act as a weed membrane and also will mulch down eventually. I will cut holes into this for the flowers to be planted, all this will be topped with soil and bark chippings.
To give some perspective, to the right of the image as you are looking at it (along the right hand side of 2 and 4) is a path, wall and steps. Along the bottom of 3 and 4 is a path and our house. Along the left of 1 and 3 is a wall, our neighbour has a large shrub which will mean square 1 is in partial shade.
This is just a start and I am sure I will add to it.
Pro-Actively Green 