seeds seeds seeds seeds seeds

OH is a demon cultivator it seems. I haven't blogged on her seed planting exploits before, but every time I text or come home she seems to have compost on the table and pots in her hand. If shes not sewing new stuff she;s pricking out or transplanting. Glad someone knows what they're doing :)

Tomatoes, runners, broad beans, rocket, spring onions, rosemary parsley, sweet peas, lots of other flowers,leeks, chives, spinach and I'm sure I've missed some out too. Trays all over the windowledgs and in the polythene greenhouse thingy outside.

Australian asparagus still in it's tray, but it will need to go out soon I'm sure - the shoots are getting taller and taller.

Note to self - get a composter made..

Shedding Tears (3)

4 more bags of sand mixed and tipped. Yesterdays dry mix has started to go off, but is still a bit crumbly, so I can break this up with the rake, at least enough so there should be some adhesion between the two layers. Make sure that this time there's plenty of dry mix, and here we go again.

Why is it that one slab can go in almost perfectly first time, but the next slab takes twenty minutes, breaks your nails, crushes your fingers and you still end up unhappy with how it lays ?

Never mind, by 20:00 darkness is looming but the slabs are in ! Ramped up some drymix around the sides for water falloff - not sure if this is what you do but it's what I did anyway.

Car all packed up 15 minutes later and even though its dark, a good days work and just 10 minutes from beer.

ps - Rhubarb went in a few days ago, just can't remember when

Shedding Tears (2)

8 bags of sand and some cement later I've filled in my rectangle with dry mix @ 8:1 (or so).
- "What are you planting there ?" from Paul @ next plot.
Not quite enough dry mix, but I'm sure it will be ok. Two hours later and a few slabs down and 'levelled' - OH kindly advised that it wasn't straight. Minor grumbles later (it is hard work!) and I guess I have to agree with her, so up come half the slabs, only breaking one or two. Tomorrow will need to get some more materials and have another go.

OH has now manged to get rows 2 and 3 of the spuds in, and the first apple tree. Now we're in a groove !

Allot 2 - Loads more Taters

3 more rows - done and dusted. Would like to do more but time time time ! If we have any surplus seedlings we will plant here I think. Came away with a jar of gramoxone and some well intentioned advice to 'don't let the kids play with that ......... !''.
footnote - in the future I ordered an 8L Sprayer from eBay for a price that was less than a watering can from high street shops - will report on how that performs.

Shedding Tears (1)

Bit the bullet and started on the shed base. Never having laid one before some internet research showed just how easy it was. Half a dozen peggings out later, we had finally decided exactly where the shed was to be located, and 5 minutes with a spirit level showed just how slopey the ground was ! An hour or so with the spade to dig in the top end, then (stupid decision) a good soaking so that I could stamp the ground compact where I'd dug. Forgetting just how much wet mud can stick to trainers ! But - there's a brown patch amongst the green that shows progress.

Gluttons for punishment - Allot 2

Somehow we've agreed to do some work on partners dads plot. It's 15 miles away, but joy of joys the soil is in little grains like it shows in gardenning manuals ! So after the obligatory cups of tea, over the wall and out with the machinery. This time a 'proper rotovator' , and the Mantis again. Two rows of taters in and more to come

First plantings

Borrowed a Mantis Tiller, and finished off the first bed. Couch grass all over half of the bed, but the field side half miraculously free of the stuff. The ground is so dry and compacted that digging, even with mechanical assistance, is Hard Work. Got the first row of spuds in and watered, no idea what type though we were just trying to get things finished. Now that we have something planted, attention needs to move to the shed.

A whole lot of slabs

Collected the freecycle 18" square slabs. Not too bad these, can pick up two at a time. Just managed to get all 30 into the car without overloading it, so just one trip - things aren't so free if you use 2 gallons of diesel to collect ! Dropped off at lottie, and then back to get the eBay slabs. Hmm. These are the proper 24" square concrete jobbies and weigh a ton ! Ten of twenty loaded up and delivered - the rest will just have to wait. Aching limbs

Lazy days

Guilt setting in. Lovely couple of days in Edinburgh - managed to walk the Castle and Royal Mile on crutches without too much payback, then back home on Sunday, before Monday morning dash to Hampshire on a course for four days. Would really rather be digging and turning and tilling and raking.

Slabs (some paid for some freecycle), and bricks (paid for) should be here at the weekend, so it will be time to regroup and see what I've got. The oak will come here when I have time. Sacrilege really, for ease of access the builders chainsawed a perfect pitch oak building framework into "manageable chunks". At least I benefit - otherwise someone somewhere would be having a beautiful oak framed barn erected !

By the way, the Australian asparagus (see earlier posts) is doing fab and will shortly have to go into the garden proper.

Fingers crossed too for the automatic spade - awaiting ebay countdown !

Slab day Saturday

Brought some slabs on eBay in preparation for the shed base. The next day I found some on freecycle, what irony