It must be spring
Apr. 13th, 2009 01:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaceyIn the greenhouse porch: The first early potatoes are growing beautifully in their bags (39p Asda bags as opposed to £6 garden centre 'potato' bags) and I'm earthing-up almost daily as they shoot skywards. I've transplanted the first lot of tomatoes (Shirley) grown from seed into large pots and the biggest of them is about nine inches tall already. The little hanging basket toms (100s and 1000s) are much slower, but though still only a couple of inches tall, they look healthy. I've got lettuces (Little Gem) in pots almost big enough to eat already and more in seed trays.
On the windowsill: More seeds in trays, including broccoli, cabbage, more tomatoes (Marmade) and more lettuce plus in seed pots broad beans and runer beans. I've got four fantastically healthy looking strawberry plants in pots - bought as tiny plug plants in late February and, so far, transplanted to larger pots on the windowsill. They are now ready for potting on or planting in baskets, I guess. I've also got sixteen fuchsia cuttings in various states of advancement - at least half of whiuch are established enough to call 'plants' by now.
In the garden: We've already had the first rhubarb crop. Gotta love that stuff. Rhubarb and custard and date an rhubarb pie. Yum. And today for the first time I've put stuff in the new raised beds. That's the onion seeds (Ailsa Craig) in one and the broccoli seedlings and some brussels sprout seedlings (given to me by a neighbour) into the other. The broccoli (Summer Purple Sprouting) didn't do too well in the seed pots once they'd been pricked out. Not sure why. Maybe the wrong ph balance in the potting compost. I'm hoping they'll fare better in the garden. I'm going to plant some direct from seed as well to see if that does better or worse. I've also transplanted half a dozen well grown lettuces to the outside bed to see how they do.
It's a bit early yet but I'm wondering if my big hanging fuchsia (actually a triple - three different plants in one big pot) can go outside yet. I'd hate to lose it to a late frost after nursing it through the winter. I brought it in and overwintered it in the porch. Then in January/February when we had enough sharp frosts to make the porch a bit too dangerous for it, I brought it into the living room. It immediately responded with a huge crop of beautiful flowers, but my living room is a bit dark and so when it started to straggle I shoved it back in the porch and that knocked it back a bit - though it's full of buds again now. I'm feeding it on Baby Bio and it seems to like that. It's the parent of all my cuttings.
Bear in mind we're in Yorkshire and almost 1000 feet above sea level, with a very short growing season, so anything that gets planted out early does so with crossed fingers.
Off to B & Q in an hour to get some bits for the hosepipe (roses for easier watering etc.) and some more big pots and some more potting compost and/or growbags.
On the windowsill: More seeds in trays, including broccoli, cabbage, more tomatoes (Marmade) and more lettuce plus in seed pots broad beans and runer beans. I've got four fantastically healthy looking strawberry plants in pots - bought as tiny plug plants in late February and, so far, transplanted to larger pots on the windowsill. They are now ready for potting on or planting in baskets, I guess. I've also got sixteen fuchsia cuttings in various states of advancement - at least half of whiuch are established enough to call 'plants' by now.
In the garden: We've already had the first rhubarb crop. Gotta love that stuff. Rhubarb and custard and date an rhubarb pie. Yum. And today for the first time I've put stuff in the new raised beds. That's the onion seeds (Ailsa Craig) in one and the broccoli seedlings and some brussels sprout seedlings (given to me by a neighbour) into the other. The broccoli (Summer Purple Sprouting) didn't do too well in the seed pots once they'd been pricked out. Not sure why. Maybe the wrong ph balance in the potting compost. I'm hoping they'll fare better in the garden. I'm going to plant some direct from seed as well to see if that does better or worse. I've also transplanted half a dozen well grown lettuces to the outside bed to see how they do.
It's a bit early yet but I'm wondering if my big hanging fuchsia (actually a triple - three different plants in one big pot) can go outside yet. I'd hate to lose it to a late frost after nursing it through the winter. I brought it in and overwintered it in the porch. Then in January/February when we had enough sharp frosts to make the porch a bit too dangerous for it, I brought it into the living room. It immediately responded with a huge crop of beautiful flowers, but my living room is a bit dark and so when it started to straggle I shoved it back in the porch and that knocked it back a bit - though it's full of buds again now. I'm feeding it on Baby Bio and it seems to like that. It's the parent of all my cuttings.
Bear in mind we're in Yorkshire and almost 1000 feet above sea level, with a very short growing season, so anything that gets planted out early does so with crossed fingers.
Off to B & Q in an hour to get some bits for the hosepipe (roses for easier watering etc.) and some more big pots and some more potting compost and/or growbags.
