This is such a brilliant busy time of the gardeners year! Ya just can’t stop stuff growing . I love Instagram and it’s just brilliant seeing all the spring posts and photos of people all over the world with like interests, and with the different climates, they have wonderful growth!!
I have a huge amount of seeds planted and am trying for succession planting this year to lengthen my stock and supply.
Lettuce, tomatos, kale, spinach, spring onions, potatoes, beets, beans, radish, peas, asparagus and parsnip.
I am experimenting with the parsnip, I have 9 seeds in peat pots and when they surface and get strong I am going to plant them in a fish box full of stone free soil, sand and peat. The box is about 10 inches high so plenty of room for growth, they were very sweet last year, but a bit crazy with the stones. So stone free this year!!
FOOTNOTE – looking at a very interesting web site during the week, about urban farming etc! Quite interesting
Weather quite cold at the moment but I have been busting to plant some seeds. I have planted (too many) tomatos, it’s hard not to, they are so delicious., Tom Thumb trailing ( hugely successful last year) gardeners delight (not as successsful, but I am determined to succeed) these seeds are all indoors in a cool spot still!! Yesterday I put in some broad beans??!! Given to me last year by a very nice fellow gardener!! Hoping they do well – great with a rasher fried on the pan!!! Also kale and spinach!! Fantastic for smoothies, 100% better than shop bought. All this will hopefully result in lowering my carbon footprint!!
More sowing to come!!!!Kale just inTomatos- looking healthy and hardy
This weekend I decided was the moment to plant out most of what I have left in peat pots all around the house. It was the first warm weekend but was a bit windy.
So tomatoes first . I have to say over the past weeks since planting the seeds I have grown very attached to my seedlings, you might have realised that with all my pictures of them! Well I checked and watered them every day and sometimes had a good chat with them. With great care and thought I had decided where to plant them out. Most went in nice shaded long box pots and the trailing variety went into an old barbeque and hanging baskets… I lined the boxes with small stones for drainage then made a nice mix of soil, potting compost and miricle grow beads, a nice mixture for them. When I planted them in I gave them all a great watering with a cap full of liquid tomato feed per watering can. The trailing variety I planted with the same mix but no stones they came with a base. Nice baskets..€5 in heatons.
preparing basethey look so fragiletomatoes in hanging baskettiny tomatoes
I have a few more trays to plant out but I think I may put some in the green house, compare growth and harvest time !!!
Also planted out some very tiny but hardy spring onions, can’t wait to see how they grow. I feel I am running out of space to plant but enjoying it so very much. Using every little space. When planting I tried not to disturb the roots too much. But when I got up this morning and checked on them a local cat had scratched the area up and left me a little fertiliser !!! So we will see how it goes..
spring onions
Kale coming up nicely in peat pots so some of them went out directly in the pots so no disturbing there, just make sure to firm everything in well and give them all a great watering!!
kale … tiny
Everything seems so small and vulnerable, but I will be minding them all.
The spuds and radishes and lettuce are getting fine and strong though …
radishpotato
To recap, I have most seedlings either in the ground or in pots. Well fed and watered, and kept weeded. Just some more tomatoes to get stronger and some nasturtiums (so healthy but I don’t know where to put them) !! Lots of marigold seeds scattered around the vegetables. Do you know it’s a great lifestyle enjoying the garden.
Barbara's Garden Life 