MudPud Garden
Or Weed Merrily perhaps....
The Cast.
Fran Age 5
Moo Age 4
Scruff Age 1
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Monday, March 31, 2003
I should never talk about getting to know neighbours - we got served notice on our rented house today :( I knew cleaning the bathroom would be bad luck...
So i have all these pots and in either 6 or 10 weeks i may not have a home... so if all else fails i will rent an allotment for them to live on i think. Its a bummer.
Still - the mint sprouted...# posted by merry @ Monday, March 31, 2003
Sunday, March 30, 2003
Over the last three days the herbs have all sprouted except for the mint, which is apparently quite hard to germinate anyway - we shall see. The dill in particular is really going for it. The squashes and tomatoes are getting huge and i need to find out if i can harden them off in the mini green house. Two doors down the people garden and have several green houses - i may go for a bit of advice on a get to know the neighbours routine!
I'm so encouraged by the Squashes i have bought courgette seeds too and we have another set of herbs to plant as well (thank you kirsty!) I have also been and bought18 (count 'em!) pots to put the best potatoes in - i hope to get the girls doing those this week and then with luck we will have time for a later cropper selection too. That would make the pots pay their way (2 for £2.50!)
Outside things are really springing into life - a good half of the 60 onions have put up leaves, the garlics are all sprouting and so are the shallots and the peas are really starting. I'll have to get canes this week as i know they grow really fast ones they start.
Not sure whats going on with the lettuce, carrot and spring onions though - or the leeks - they have been 3 weeks now and barely a shoot showing.
Still - its going pretty well really. Need to get a new rosette for my watering can... i'm still using a jam jar sized kiddy one so as not to squash the seedlings!# posted by merry @ Sunday, March 30, 2003
Thursday, March 27, 2003
Oh honestly... i seriously need to pull myself together over this gardening business. i am turning into someone who digs things up to see if they have sprouted yet!
However, that aside, things really are gonig well. The Squashes are now about 4" high, and have outgrown their propagator (bless) - I';m debating whether they would be okay gradually hardening off in the mini greenhouse as i need their spot for more herbs. The tomatoes are all getting their second set of leaves, proper tomato leaf shaped ones and smell lovely. We also have a variety of garlics, shallots, onions and sugar snaps poking up outside. The broccoli and radishes look very healthy and there is a hint of movement in the leek tray too!!!! i think i also saw something making an appearance in the 4vegger box, so i probably ought to plant up the next one.
The big excitement though is that the thyme has sprouted... does that mean that the clock is now ticking??? Boom boom... (God, i really do sound like my mum these days! ;~)) Little wee tiny seedlings after only 4 days - fab! With a bit of luck we can also plant out the potatoes at the weekend, godmother guests permitting....(all three are descending!)
So all in all we feel very green fingered right now... it'll soon be "thyme" for more photos.....
(Off to drink vodka..)# posted by merry @ Thursday, March 27, 2003
Sunday, March 23, 2003
Another good day with a bit of pootling - we've all been out in the garden a fair bit - along with coming inside to watch the incredibly depressing news.
I'm pretty sure its the broccoli that has sprouted and so no sign of the leeks as yet - also in our "4veggers" we have signs of "i think" radishes but nothing else yet - i think i will wait till about wednesday before i plant up the next box full. I'm not sure about the spring onions i bought, i may go back for some more like we had last year... whatever they were! Anyway... one of our squashes died at the hands of an over zealous 5 year old today - but we did find our 21st tomato!
We also planted the herbs, dill, oregano, lemon basil, thyme, coriander and mint and they are now in propagators in Puds bedroom.# posted by merry @ Sunday, March 23, 2003
Saturday, March 22, 2003
So - todays post is really just to stick a few pictures up - probably ones of more interest to me and the girls than they ever will be to anyone else though! We didn't do a great deal today although we did replant the garlic (ahem!) but i haven't got great hopes for it really. We also moved some of the onions out of pots and into another one of our super stonking recycled storage boxs....
Pud with the recycled boxes.
Hopefully keeping these up on the raised mystery thingy on the patio will keep the slugs off them. I don't recall any of the things that got dumped there last summer getting munched.
Potatoes are looking good and have lovely eyes on them now. Next weekend i plan to buy 20 pots from Co-op and plant them into them. I was hoping to find Horseradish to companion plant with them but so far i haven't be able to lay my hands on any.
Potatoes with "eyes" after 13 days in the porch. Another week should do it.
That really leaves the Squashes and Tomatoes - i think every seed has sprouted 15 squashes and 20 tomatoes - pretty fantastic really. They love the shelf in Puds room and she loves watching them. I think they actually grew about 1/2 inch today! I hope to get the herbs planted and up there with them tomorrow.
The Squashes after 11 days
Tomatoes after 11 days.
The lavender is still looking a trifle dodgy even after some TLC....# posted by merry @ Saturday, March 22, 2003
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Ah... just a late update on today.... as the seedlings were sprouting with such gusto in Puds bedroom, i showed her how if we turned the tray around they would gradually straighten up and turn back towards the window again - it had worked by late afternoon and she was absolutely awe-struck... "But how??? Do they have brains????"
Also - a quick check in the mini greenhouse spied a selection of small shoots in erm... either the broccoli or leek tray, we forgot to label them - tiny pairs of round leaves. Anyway... its a good start! And i found another beaten up storage box so i may actually dig up some potted onions nad plant them in that so we have a few more pots at our disposal. Onions will look funny in pots... Tomorrow, i'll do photos....# posted by merry @ Thursday, March 20, 2003
Well - not really had to do much ourselves for a few days - we have just enjoyed watching the garden sprout - the indoor bits at least! The tomato seedlings have sprouted at great speed and we have 15 1 inch high ones in 3 days - the squashes appeared on the same day and we now have 10 of those, all around 1 1/2 inches high. Downstairs the potatoes are producing eyes practically as we look - i am hoping to plant them out inside 10 days.
So far there is no sign from the broccoli, leeks or the box of lettuce, radish, carrot and spring onion - these are outside in the mini green house - i may bring them in fro a few days as we have had heavy frosts for two nights running - that might get the garlic gonig - although i have to dig that up and replant it as the packet had the wrong instructions on it. I now have the help of a "1001 tips for the garden book" which is fab bedtime reading! lol!# posted by merry @ Thursday, March 20, 2003
Sunday, March 16, 2003
A REALLY good day today (following a bracing first thing cinema trip to get us in the mood!)
So - we came home and co-erced daddy into moving the large bags of compost into postion and then he drilled drainage holes into the bottom of our new and our old pots. Last year we got waterlogged potatoes cos i didn't noticce the largest pots had no holes and we lost lots of them after a huge downpour that co-incided with a young baby! it shouldn't be a problem this year.. in fact, i am not convinced any water will stay in at all! Then with the "help" of my two young assistants, we filled all of them (15 so far) and watered them. The onions are planted mostly in two old storage boxes that had seen better days with holes in the bottom and sat in tesco delivery crates so we can move them if we have to. Recycling eh!
So - we have sugar snap peas in three large containers, mange tout in one, garlic (last years so not sure it will grow) shallots in three, onions in another 5 as well and... erm... i think that might be it. Some of last years containers were still full and had had standing water in them and rotten grass, so i shoved that in the bottoms of the pots.. well its SORT of compost! :~/
Gonna need more pots for the broccoli, leeks, squashes and potatoes... we have 5 more for the weekly veg yet.
This week the aim is to start off the herbs in the propagators...
Children got very mucky.. bubba has never had so many baths... does eat dirt a lot thoguh....# posted by merry @ Sunday, March 16, 2003
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Well... didn't really do anything productive today cos the girls were just busy charging around in the sun... so i went in for some research instead and found out what herbs and vegetables to plant together to keep the bugs away.... i *think* i have it sussed... I've put the link on MuddlePuddle anyway... i shall have to work out how to put it here! lol!
Me and Pud went to Homebase and bought two 150L bags of compost (£6.99 each), a couple of value propagators (£2.49 each!) and our herb seeds.
We bought...
Oregano
Dill
Coriander
Mint
Thyme
Lemon Basil
and we are doing a seed swap with Kirsty to get...
Chives
Chervil
Thai Basil
Basil
Parsley
Sage.
(K - if you want any of ours... holla!)
Oh we also have some nasturtiums to attract the bugs away from the veg! All the above have been picked as easy to grow or specifically useful with something else we are going to grow. And i love having herbs... i need to give my two pots of lavender some TLC though... shall do that tomorrow :~( Bad Mrs Muddlepuddle....
I shoud also add up the cost of the seeds we have bought.. i'm not going to count the pots cos we will use those again next year - and most are from last year anyway.
The Rainbow cheap pots are going to be a perfect size for potatoes - i am planning on having 20 pots down a long sunny side of the garden. Hopefully we will get a good crop! I'm still trying to work out if there will be time to do a late crop set in the same pots... will have to play that by ear depending on if we moce i think.
Actually todays funny moment came from the big girls sitting in one pot, with another on top of them and pretending to be a "talking pot sandwich" to the bubba... very very funny indeed!
Tomorrow Daddy is charged with drilling drainage holes in some beaten up old storage crates for the onions and we can get going proper!# posted by merry @ Saturday, March 15, 2003
Friday, March 14, 2003
Its been a gorgeous day here - the girls were out in t-shirts and shorts for most of the day. A real favourite right now is washing the Little Tikes cars in soapy water - so thats what they did - strangely using pampas grass stalks to wield the cloths! Bubba had her first play in the garden as well and got filthy in muddy water and compost... ho hum!!!!
On the gardening front we got ready some more pots becasue we want to plant sugar snap peas and shallots tomorrow - we are recycling whats left of last years earth - a bit in each new pot and mixing it with new potting compost as well. I have an organic seaweed feed to feed it all with - i know bought compost is very unpc but right now we don't have an alternative - its not our garden and there is no point starting a compost heap really.
Moo had fun mixing the earth - very her thing and she coped surprisingly well with getting wet and muddy too. Daddy has spotted tubs at Rainbow Co-op - large and 3 for £5 - so tomorrow we will buy a load to do the large stuff in.# posted by merry @ Friday, March 14, 2003
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Well... today was a big planting day. We were going to do a plan first but we just "needed" to grub in mud today so we did. Pud trowelled compost (of the bought variety!) into tubs and watered them and we decided what to plant where. *Note* Need to teach child about having pot near bag of soil rather than carrying a loaded trowel across the courtyard! What a mess!
So.. the plan is that in 4 rectangle boxes we are going to plant a few each of carrots, radishes, lettuces and spring onions each week... then we ought to get a regular crop going through the summer... we did all these last year so i will wait to see them get going before we do the next lot... i think i can just about recall what they looked like! We also planted some broccoli and some leeks in "nursery trays" and put them, with the other 4, into our mini greenhouse. We finished off with the tomato seeds and the squash seeds that are now living in Puds bedroom in propagators.
So... so far we have
Chelsea Mini F1Tomatos
Bunching (Ishikura) Spring Onions
Little Gem Lettuce
James Scarlet Intermediate Carrots
Sunburst F1 Squashs
Sparkler 3 Radishes (round this year i hope!)
Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Musselburgh Leeks
I've got to list these here cos i know i will lose the packets!
Being a novice i have randomly picked these off a shelf in Homebase - so gawd knows what will happen... and as for the moon... was there one?
Pud with her mini greenhouse!
# posted by merry @ Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Sunday, March 09, 2003
Well... first on the list of things to do is find all our seed trays and pots etc after moving house at the end of last summer. We expect to move again so this years garden will be in pots too so we don't have to leave all our hard work behind. Me and Pud have been out and discovered all the pots and made a list of what we have... we also paced out the coutyard and decided which bits would be the sunniest. This afternoon we are gonig to make a plan of the courtyard, decide what we will plant in what pot and which seeds need planting in seed trays to start them off.
For our first job we have set the potatoes in a tray (we have bought First Earlys so we can sow between March-May and expect to harvest in June or July - probably end of July as we are setting them to row eyes late as usual!). They are now sat in trays in our cool but sunny porch to sprout!# posted by merry @ Sunday, March 09, 2003
Saturday, March 08, 2003
The MudPud garden# posted by merry @ Saturday, March 08, 2003
