Moving Marigolds and Weed Excavations

Despite the weather forecast was a nice day to go down the plot. Took some pics to start with. The runner beans coming along well and the spinach and lettuce have really recovered since the rabbit proof fencing went up!



First job of the day was to weed around the spinach and beetroot. Then I decided to excavate my carrots before they went the way of my parsnips and got throttled by weeds. Took a long time of careful plucking to clear the patch but they look satisfyingly good now (see below).


Next major operation was to continue clearing weeds in order to extend my broccoli bird net. Separated out the rogue marigolds from the weeds and moved them into a spot by the fennel. They look stunning at the moment! I finally cleared enough space to move the posts and re-tie the netting.


Henry came down at lunchtime and dug out another patch of weeds and couch grass to plant out his courgettes. Then he went for a BBQ with Steph and I shot off for a party in Guildford.

Night of the May Bugs

Every year there are a few major ascension dates in the garden calendar. The first of these took place last night with the May Bugs. These beetle or cockroach like insects with Norman Lamont eyebrow style feelers spend most of the year underground as grubs. I often find them while I'm digging. Then for one night of the year they all crawl out to buzz around, frantically bumping into things and mating. Our house has been under assault. Every time you open a window or turn on a light they buzz in like fat carapaced daddy long legs (You can see one on my sleeve - he got stuck behind my hi-fi). They can be quite intimidating...


Yesterday I dug over the new patch in my back garden, which has been moved to where we had a giant overgrown conifer down. (You can see the old patch in the background - the yellow flowers are a sprout gone to seed). It meant digging and tugging out old roots whilst dripping with sweat and covered in dust. Then this morning I bought some landscape fabric and planted the strawberries out into slits and also in a pot.



On the allotment I built a frame for my mange tout peas, and a makeshift wire cover for my broccoli which both seem to have been pecked at by hungry birds. After some heavy weeding I also planted out the first of the wilted toms.

Birthday and new camera

My birthday today. Rosie's given me her brother's old SLR camera so should have th odd decent picture up on here now. Lovely sunny day. Purple sprouting broccoli is almost ready in my garden patch and the first leeks have started coming up....



Went for a pub lunch and walk in Shere with some funky flowerpots and quaint gardens.

Tomatoes doing good - at last!

Well at last my tomatoes have come good! (at leat those that survived) I've had sweet juicy cherry Gardeners Delight in my lunch box every day this week, with these Harbringers (above) ripenening up quickly too. I think it's all the dry weather doing them good. I've had to do a lot of watering lately though, seems very dry for September after such a wet July.

We've also been eating loads of runner beans lately too. Definately the biggest success so far, theres some to pick almost every day!


The bad news is that I'm fearing the worst for my Broccoli, which have been completely descimated by baby slugs. The Sprouts are hanging on in. Time will tell.

Toady and some greens

On slug patrol last night I found this toad on the lawn by the large conifer. He didn't seem to be in much of a hurry to eat the slugs on the veg patch though. I found a frog siting in my lettuces one night last week as well!


I thought that some of my Little Gem lettuce might be ready by now but have decided it needs another few weeks. Following some instructions in my book, I loosley tied up the leaves with gardening string. Should keep them out of easy reach for the slugs.


I also planted two of the Purple Sprouting Broccoli seedlings out on the patch. I'm hoping that 4 will make it, although not many survived the whitefly, slugs by the backdoor and my over/under watering, so there's only 6 left now! The area I'm putting them in is already a bit crowded with stray lettuce thinnings, rocket and a renegade tomato plant from the compost. Will see how they cope.

Finally, I keep forgetting to mention, but a few weeks ago Mum got some Rhubarb off one of her friends at work who I gave some tomatoes to. Despite being stuck in a bucket for three days and looking pretty wilted at first, it has now made a full recovery and is looking healthy.

Ravishing radishes

I got up on saturday morning to find my radishes bigger than ever, and some of them even ripe for pulling (the size of a 10p piece). My first produce! Eight weeks after I sowed their seeds. Six gorgeous little red globes. I've manged to grow the easiest vegetable that apparently even a small child can handle, despite their suffering at the mouths of the slugs. I'm dead chuffed. (Cue raddish montage \/)

Mum and Merlin were also present for the occasion...

The first set of Tomatoes have survived the transplanting and are doing well. This was taken on Saturday, but it seems like they're already twice the size!

After sampling my produce I took some down to Rosie's, and we enjoyed them with salad and beer after a walk through some bright yellow Rapeseed fields. I can't believe how dry the ground is still. In the field below it had deep cracks running all over like a desert. We watched Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth in the evening, and it's hammered home even harder to me how we all need to take action on climate change as soon as possible. It's possibly the biggest challenge facing the human race in our entire history (linked in with resource management and over population). To oversome it is going to involve an altogether different way of thinking and acting together.

After getting back from another hot (felt like July), lazy day at Rosie's, I watered my plants and made my slug beer traps. I also planted some Mange Tout, more Little Gem and some parnsips where there should be some but aren't - although the horse may already have bolted for those. I prepared a seed tray of Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Calabrese too. Mmmm....

The plan for next week is to get my first Tomatoes outside in a makeshift mini greenhouse Rosie's parents gave me for my birthday.