Sunday

snowdrops just about ready to bloom. I might pop some into a jar in the house. otherwise I'll never see them

inexepensive bulbs all coming up, hope they're nice and bright when they flower.

I did about an hours work in the garden yesterday, weather was better than expected and cleared up a bit in the afternoon. filled a bin and a feed bag with leylandi cuttings, its smothering a small bed at the bottom of it.

uncovered a bunch of snowdrops below the leylandi, there is also a peony and should be some erythroniums though they're not showing yet.

Saturdays temperatures

Sundays temperatures.

spot the cat. lol. he is funny.
 

dreich

driech is a scottish description of a dismal, drizzley rain, foggy, cold day. todays temperatures are Max 6.7c (44f), Min 0.9c (33.6f) and current also 6.7c. Yesterday I recorded ( probably for the week as I hadn't been able to open the door for a few days... frozen shut!) Max 8.1c (46.5f), Min -8.4c (16.8f) and current of 1.3c (34f). So it's a  milder day , but preferred the cold with the sunshine....

leeks and onions , a flimsy plastic cover

and then the hard plastic domes over the top of that.  there's a post somewhere with the trays covered with garden fleece, must have been before I discovered the high dome tops and I have photo evidence of them in 2007,,,, they have some age to them and are cracking, discolouring and disintegrating.. I have purchased some new ones that are still in the house and will come out to be used when needed. I hope they last as long !!

Casper joined me in the greenhouse.. on the wicker footstool which is in there with the wooden garden chair to be protected from the weather .

little clumps of snowdrops coming up through the leaf litter beside the hedge

nearly nearly  but not quite open yet

and again , himself , quite the gardening cat today, lol

I received some amazon tokens for christmas, along with the max/min themometer, so I've just spent about an hour online choosing a garden journal , and also a plant journal to record the plants in the garden. I have attempted to keep a diary on my laptop but would prefer to write the notes , also the journals are 'prompted' so you just have to fill in info. I'm nearly finished typing up a current seed list, too many - too exciting....
 

link to recipe from MotherEarth News

Fire Cider and Chutney , useful for colds

https://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/fire-cider-recipe-zbcz1512?fbclid=IwAR2FocHTYwMtZmY6gMzMCmyU7ymtVYC0V9_NhtM6RCIXZwF_7tpOxUagNQA

garden update

 

I forget if I've posted this photo ...  must really make a seed list. And I really can't keep garden notes on the lap top, I never update it.

there are some snowdrops showing,  but not in flower yet, and can see some cyclamen green leaves in a couple of places.

 can still  pick some broccoli, some leeks and some spinach, so those are things that need 'more of' for this year. 

in the greenhouse today – using seed trays and old high dome propagators.....

Onions sown.... Walla Walla and Cipolla Rossa Di Tropea

Leeks sown..... Blue Solaise and Large American Flag

the best christmas present, a digital Maximum Minimum thermometer.... todays readings are...  max  9.9c (49.8f), min -3.9c (25f), temperature as I was planting about 2.30pm was  5.2c dropping to 3.9c by the time I was done. Casper kept running between the house and the greenhouse telling me that he's not a gardening cat at the best of times, and it was too cold!!

The Atomic Tree (360)

because I always forget the words... lol

 On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drummin'
Eleven pipers pipin'
Ten lords a leapin'
Nine ladies dancin'
Eight maids milkin'
Seven swans a swimmin'
Six geese a layin'
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds
Three french hens
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree!

editing to add this link from the RSPB with their version of birds from the song. 

Today I Rise

Jerome Osentowski-Growing Indoor Tropical Gardens on Top of a Mountain!

Pauline Pears-Composting Tips to Get You Started with Healthy Soil!

a lovely , no nonsense , how to compost everything .

The Family Plot - October 31, 2020 .. to watch later

Urban Permaculture with Morag Gamble, to watch later

Next Steps In Hand... to watch later

online gardening talks

 I've signed up for this ... so have copied and pasted the e-mail asking to share the link to join.

'''Creating healthy food sources no matter where you live!

 

Can I ask you a quick favor?

 

I'm on a mission to help people grow better food, more abundant food, in easier ways.

Would you help me spread this event by posting this link? 

http://gardeningmadeeasy.show/

on Facebook and by email to anyone you know who can benefit from better food and gardens?

Lets make this planet a better place!

 

Much love, 

 

Cathy Hague

Gardening Made Easy

A division of The Magical Herb & Vegetable Garden'''

garden day

thats all the tomatoes removed from the greenhouse and the plants into the compost

love sunflowers

always cheery

still will need to be completely tidied out, but its starting to look a bit empty

in the back of this crack between bricks, on the right hand side, is an out of focus pink bit... that is a leg of frog or toad... as it jumped in there when I moved the crate out of the back corner... eeeek..
 

first weekend in October

 weather not pleasant.

last Sunday in September

a little late, aubergines just starting to grow now.. its too cold and the green house will be emptied  in a month...

there was a frost this morning, and by the time I was up and out to the car it said 4C. the leaves are turning on the tree and starting to fall.

I halved some apples and put them on the grass.. the birds peck away at them, leaving little empty skins.

in the grass

and colours again. 

I've some nice fat tomatoes to eat, some cherry's too. several fat tomatoes still on the vines in the greenhouse, and a few bunches of cherrys.. still very green. there may be another cucumber by next weekend if it would stay warm enough for them to grow a bit. beans are pulled out, peas might have a bit of life in them, the broccoli is recovering a bit from the caterpiller onslaught now that the cold has taken them away to hibernate. some onions , beetroot and leeks still to pick, but they are fine in the ground for just now. a nice harvest to have re-started with, hopefully get more in next year. some years in the past I did have more than could be used in the moment , so I would freeze some, nice to have something you've grown to eat when all the garden is empty.

the shed got a second coat of protective paint, its about 15 years old I think, so hopefully that'll keep it going for another few years, it needs a couple of patches covered to stop rain getting in when the wind blows. the greenhouse still needs to have something done with it.. but who knows what or when or how, no glaziers to cut glass to the right size, and plastic is expensive. well, maybe next year. I managed with what I had available and that was ok.

 

lawns to gardens

 link to a wordpress article about front lawn growing in the USA

https://druidgarden.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/converting-lawns-to-gardens-natures-harvest-permaculture-urban-farm/?fbclid=IwAR2xXwCgOafMOOP2L_K7U8bAqlyBbyLToN7zoEISr2KhXNB_kDq4-Gy2YJ4

I always wonder about the ''rules and regulations'' , don't have them here. people do what they like. 

sunday

sedum, rescued from the undergrowth in the long border

just starting to show pink or red flowers, it didn't need to be in the greenhouse but that's where it ended up.... lol

taking photos and I spot and actual cucumber, the first and possibly only this year.

todays salad then, is three ripe cherry tomatoes and a cucumber, the other tomatoes will have to sit on the windowsill to ripen as their plant has given up.

bulbs purchased at the grocery store, should be nice and cheery in the spring, just need to find a couple of pots for them

the sugarsnap pea has thrown out some more flowers so hopefully get a few  more bites to eat  in the next week or so, before the season is over altogether. 

 I didn't plant a big lot out in the garden, theres pickings for a few more meals , some broccoli still to come and still picking a few sugarsnap peas and broad beans. very surprisingly the courgette and pumpkin never did anything, somewhat eaten by things, but they really didn't grow. I have some idea in my head that the tenants may have used weedkiller, though this would be two years ago, maybe its lurking in the soil causing it to not be good for growing... a lot of things did a kind of half dying then recovering, then took ages to put on growth so something is not quite right. The weather has been up and down wildly in temperature too, so that may have set things back and caused uneven growth.
I deliberatley planted a little bit of each thing, not wanting to be overwhelmed and put myself off the responsibility of growing a lot of food. It was nice , early on, to be pottering in the greenhouse even though outside wasn't good weather. I did mean to sow several things sucesionally to keep the eating season going longer,  but whenever I made plans it would be vile weather or I was too tired from work.

 

end of august

 not the clearest photo , but I've eaten it now so can't retake it.... and I've saved some seeds from this one. 

plenty of green ones waiting to ripen in the greenhouse but I think things are being held back by the low temperatures, not enough sun to heat the greeenhouse, and outside is cold and wet. things are still growing, eating sugar snap peas and broad beans.

Designing a zero input farm, house and business for a more resilient life

Saving Tomato Seeds: How to Prepare and Store Seeds from Your Tomato Plants

from the garden

onion, leek, broad bean, sugar snap pea, chives, spinach, celery leaves, cardoman seeds and yellow beetroot, enough vegetables to cook with rice and have a very tasty meal.

a Wildside tomato. xx

 interesting colours too. 

edited.... new interface causing problems...  probably designed for the all intrusive smart phone and not a laptop.........

Slow motion movie of the horses hoof,,, to watch later

The figures don’t lie – monitoring the weight and condition of your horse

54 Things In 6 Minutes ,, Ryan Rose

and another

fascinating

TACT Understanding the True Foot of the Horse, saving to refer to, hoof

catching up in the garden

thanks again to Fiona and her Dad, clearing out their garden stuff, and giving me this great little lawnmower and other garden useful tools.

 before...needing cut, been wet and not able to borrow a lawn mower

 and after.....I was trying to beat the rain.. and only just did..

showing how thick the grass is and getting too long, I do like the clover and other flowers that come up, the bees like it. sometimes I leave patches of it for them.

about seven loads of grass.. filled up this compost bin

and a wee folding stool for the greenhouse, just right for a cup of tea.

Alan Kapuler - His Garden and Thoughts on Life

 

very interesting man with a passion for growing

lots of videos on you tube if you want to listen to more of his thoughts

Scottish Kayaking.

The Green Kayak Challenge, River Tay, Scotland from Morrocco Media on Vimeo.

I've paddled a lot of this, not all at once though. ''River Padlling'' .... eeeeek, prefer the sea. 

Open Gardens 2020

a series of open gardens, during lockdown, lovely to see them shared

tree branches

I was dreading it... but seven large branches have been cut off the tree... and I think it looks great. I know you can see the stumps , but the shape of the tree is still  nice. it was overhanging the path and road, and covering half the garden in shade.
large branches will go to a friend with a fire, smaller branches are cut up for stakes to use in the garden, and all the twigs and leaves will be disposed of or maybe composted.
I'm grateful for friends with a chainsaw and time to help ''process'' the results... at one point nearly the whole garden was covered in branches.

Canon Camera

My gardening and kayaking friend Fiona has gifted me a second hand camera, its the same as the first good digital that I had, a Canon S2IS, so here we go .... close up Calendula

 and orange too. these have come up from wildflower seeds sown last year.

 Hosta,

 this little viola has seeded itself into the edge of the 'lawn', so I have to mow around it, this is one of the reasons I can't pay to have someone cut my grass for me, they would cut it down....

 Mahonia berries. I think these are edible?

 Wildside's tomatoes, this is the first one, about the size of a thumbnail today.

and another bed planted up... the middle one, with broad beans, sugarsnap peas, peas, asparagus peas, and some marigolds and a couple of begonias, also what was left of the lettuce in the greenhouse, past their best but lettuce can have lovely flowers so they've been given the chance to do that in a corner, if they survive the slugs.....
I've used branches cut from the twisted hazel , over the peas, for them to grow through. 
the bed on the left has done well , I think most things that were planted have survived, you can see the brocolli escaping the fleece, its  not good quality and has been shredding in the wind, but its done its job of protecting the new planting and keeping the cats off.. I'll leave it on a bit longer.

How to Train Your Horse at Liberty , Hannah Weston

to watch later

hot hot hot

the garden on 30th of May 2020, about 8 o'clock in the morning. I've managed to fix the sliding window on the greenhouse door, so it can be opened to stop it getting too hot.. without leaving the door open to let the cats in. I don't mind my cat in but there's a lot of cats round here and they all take a walk through the garden at some point. I also got the hose set up to water when necessary, I had it spray on the vegetables yesterday for about four hours till it was good and wet, its been very dry and forecast to continue. I had to get a jig-saw to cut through the side of the cupboard under the sink so I could get to the tap that turns on the outside tap.... the bloke that put those units in was a fool.