The garden is coming out of winter's grip. There is a fresh green of the leaf break on the Raspberry canes and the Blackcurrant bushes. The Apples and Pears are a bit slower. The willow screening is flushing despite my savaging during the winter. The tree we took out has opened a lot of light into the garden and with it has come the birds. The open space has encouraged the usual candidates, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Pigeon, Wren and Robin but we are also seeing Thrush, Blackbird, Starlings, Gold Finch, Bullfinch and very concessionally Long Tailed Tits. A fairly regular sight is the Sparrow Hawk flashing across the hedges. The pigeon is the usual menu item - plump and slow.
I am back in the pond quandary. It needs cleaning and maintenance but all kinds of miniature wild life over winter in the pond, then the Frogs, Toads and Newt get busy in the spring, then the Iris flowers. When do I get savage back the Iris without damaging everything else? It is a puzzle. No such dilemma with the Ivy. It going rampant again so time for Man versus Ivy. It will be back in flower for the bees in the late autumn.
Jobs to do .... sow some flower seeds in the greenhouse. But first shift all the beekeeping equipment out of the way.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Sunday, February 02, 2014
Light work in the garden.
The rain has stopped and the sun is out. Time for a few jobs round the garden. I sawed up the remaining branches from the trees we felled a few weeks ago. I just have to make a tidy log house into which to put them in the hope they will dry out.
I took my life in my hands and ventured into the greenhouse. It all a bit neglected in there. I took the mouldy onions off the shelves and dispatched them to the compost bin. I had H pick up some Garlic bulbs recently. I broke them up and planted the cloves in the bins I usually grow tomatoes. The bins are still in place from last year. I planted the cloves, threw some compost over them and gave them a watering. I guess I just step back and wait for them to grow. I will probably plant them out in late spring or early summer. The greenhouse in going to need a comprehensive clean and sort out quite soon.
The Rhubarb I took from the lottie has started to sprout even though it just in a bucket. I must get it planted in the soil but I have to get a load of manure to give a good start. I have taken a leaf for a friend composting regime. He puts a compost bin by the beds he works. His idea is that the bins will encourage worms, OK so far, and that in making the compost the nutrients will will fall through the compost bin and into the soil thereby feeding whatever is nearby. I wanted the compost bin in the garden but since it is a small garden the positioning of it was going to need careful consideration. I decided that the bin should go by the greenhouse, next to the path and in the odd shape bed that is going to house the Rhubarb. If my buddies idea works the Rhubarb should benefit from the compost bins drainage. I have been feed the compost bin and it is getting going. There is some warmth in the bin but the key indicator is that the level of the compost is getting lower despite the waste that is going into it....so that is all good!
I had a look at the jungle the is up against garden fence again. It needs a serious pruning but I am a bit worried there might be Hedgehogs over wintering under it. The weather is warming up a little and the days are starting the get a bit longer. If it does not rain too much during February I shall make a start at the beginning of March. The Hedgehogs should up and about by then.
I took my life in my hands and ventured into the greenhouse. It all a bit neglected in there. I took the mouldy onions off the shelves and dispatched them to the compost bin. I had H pick up some Garlic bulbs recently. I broke them up and planted the cloves in the bins I usually grow tomatoes. The bins are still in place from last year. I planted the cloves, threw some compost over them and gave them a watering. I guess I just step back and wait for them to grow. I will probably plant them out in late spring or early summer. The greenhouse in going to need a comprehensive clean and sort out quite soon.
The Rhubarb I took from the lottie has started to sprout even though it just in a bucket. I must get it planted in the soil but I have to get a load of manure to give a good start. I have taken a leaf for a friend composting regime. He puts a compost bin by the beds he works. His idea is that the bins will encourage worms, OK so far, and that in making the compost the nutrients will will fall through the compost bin and into the soil thereby feeding whatever is nearby. I wanted the compost bin in the garden but since it is a small garden the positioning of it was going to need careful consideration. I decided that the bin should go by the greenhouse, next to the path and in the odd shape bed that is going to house the Rhubarb. If my buddies idea works the Rhubarb should benefit from the compost bins drainage. I have been feed the compost bin and it is getting going. There is some warmth in the bin but the key indicator is that the level of the compost is getting lower despite the waste that is going into it....so that is all good!
I had a look at the jungle the is up against garden fence again. It needs a serious pruning but I am a bit worried there might be Hedgehogs over wintering under it. The weather is warming up a little and the days are starting the get a bit longer. If it does not rain too much during February I shall make a start at the beginning of March. The Hedgehogs should up and about by then.
Friday, January 03, 2014
Allotment Society blog on the New allotments
Here is a link to a blog I wrote about the building of the new area of the allotment society. We doubled the size of the allotments. We got a lottery funding and called in a lot of favors to creat the new plots. Have read about our trials and tribulations.
Click HERE for Ashby Would Allotment Society Lottery Plots Blog
Click HERE for Ashby Would Allotment Society Lottery Plots Blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)