Another cold day

4 degrees outside, 17 in the mini greenhouses.

Sown some more seeds with the help of the 3YO daughter. Some coriander and basil on the kitchen windowsill and some tomatoes...

The fruit canes and goosberries arrived today. Will try to plant them out this week. Seed potatoes arrived. Soon be time to get some going in pots in the mini greenhouses.

Long weekend. Good day yesterday watching Ospreys beat the Tigers - but the Tigs get through their last HC pool game and by a miracle get a home QF against Bath.

The rugby season is prolonged at least one more game.

TF

Gardening Progress

What gardening progress looks like to me at this time of year is planning the year and choosing the seeds I need - then the hassle of getting them ordered. There are plenty of online places to order from and there's always ebay.

Sorted out the potatoes - some earlies, second earlies and a couple of maincrops - will be augmented by supermarket non-certified "seed" which makes it cheaper. I plan to grow quite a few rows at the allotment but also to grow potatoes in containers this year. Have bought some polypots of different size - for spuds and some root crops as well.

Have got some fruit canes ordered - more rasps and some goosberries. Ordered some strawberry seed. I bet they test my patience. I only have four or five plants left over after the foxes dug them up and they got frosted.

Ordered some asparagus seed. I have half a dozen plants in the ground in year 3. Year 1 and year2 were so very very poor that I've decided to grow my own from complete scratch in ideal conditions.

Really looking forward to getting the tomatoes, peppers and other early transplantable veg sown soon. These first few sowings says that Spring is on the way. They will be inside or in the mini greenhouses.

Might need some more mini greenhouses.

Days are noticably getting longer. It's lighter when I drive home.

TTFN TF

New Year of Gardening

Secured the two largest mini greenhouses to the house after two storms wraught carnage.

Potted on 13 clary sage. They have well developed root systems around a large red tap root - even the tiny ones.

Decided to sow some seeds. Now have 10 x kale and 10 x winter cabbages which will be ready early. I hope they don't run to seed. Pot of chives went in. Long pot of carrots for an early spring meal of baby carrots. Will be nice.

Thinking about seed potatoes, tomatoes and what other seeds I need that I don't have in my seed box. Main planting starts Feb and goes on til September for overwintering.

Indoors have sown some coriander and basil.

Don't plan to do a lot so when I do I'll record it here and report on the rest.

TTFN

April

sice the last post I've had flu. Flu is not a man cold where you snuffle for a day or two. Flu is where you lie in bed for two weeks thinking you're going to die.

Went off on hols late March and had to go home early. Not good.

So I'm hoping for a bit of time back for leave.

Anyway, made my first google photo album and shared them. Chose a new camera with bluefish.

Still have a hacking cough. Not good.

TTFN,
TF

Time for a blog

Nothing to say really.

Going to pick up some seats for our ageing Peugeot 806 in Southampton tomorrow. Blue Fish and me off for a jolly. Popping into a nice place on the way back.

Getting lighter in the evenings. That's good.

Hols soon. That's good.

Everyone's healthy - apart from the MM, she's snuffly. That's good.

Work's hard - that's good.

Golf again soon. That's good.

Lot's of things to fix on the house... aaaahhh. back to normal.

TF

Too busy

Wow. It's been a while.

I just feel the need to post.

Did the holiday in North Wales. Fantastic. Great walking, time with family, weather.

If this is global warming in April, in Wales; bring it on.

The weather this time last year was cold. There was snow on the mountains.

This year it was warm and sunny. T-shirt and shorts weather although the sea was only 10 degrees C.

Allotment: Have bought and planted spuds and some fruit canes. Stuff to do still.

Greenhouse this weekend. Dismantle one that somebody I know is getting rid of and put it up at home.

Rugby this weekend is Tigers v LLanelli in the HC semi final. It's at the Walkers stadium and we don't seem to do very well there. Better luck this time I guess.

Enough

Rotavator Tastic

Allotment: It was great. Out all day on the allotment today with a mate helping rotavate. Rotavating is hard work. Churning through previously-dug ground is OK but rough ground is a beast. You have to hold the rotavator back to allow the blades to turn through the soil. With hard ground it's tricky getting the blades through the top surface.

I had previously sprayed the weeds with glysophate - twice in fact. And although the brambles had survived, the nettles and docks were not at all well. I decided to go for it and churn the lot up hoping I wasn't going to multiply the number of perennial weed roots in the soil.

The problem with a spot of ground infested with perennial weeds is that when you spray them, others lie in the shade of the nettles which form a thick canopy. when they die the others come out to play. Then, there are live roots in the soil. If you chop them up, many will come back as plants in their own right. You just multiplied your stock. Good for veg or fruit, not so clever for weeds.

Anyway, it's done.

The golf happened a day late, but it happened - yesterday.

9-holes with an 18 handicap means basically you get allowed an extra 9 shots in 9 holes. We actually snook an extra 3 holes in the dim April evening. Anyway, I should have scored 24 Stableford points in 12 holes using my handicap. But I only scored 16 and that means I played like I have a handicap of more like 28. Golf is confusing and its also hard.

It was not a bad round. I hit a lot of greens in regulation (par-2) and just about all of them net of the handicap in regulation (par -1) which means that my chipping and putting was pants. Half your shots are putts and I don't really practice that enough. I must try harder at that area of the game.

Maybe I need my second lesson?