neat beds

I was mostly finished digging the bed near the  fence.. hence its name 'the fence bed'... the wood all collapsing .... inbetween this photo and

this one.. I managed to ping my lower back .... so the completion of digging took some time....

and then some lovely wood for round the edges.

this should hopefull be planted up soon with brocolli, kales , cauliflower, cabbage... greens in general. lol.
 

warning... this is rude....

 

but its also funny, a friend sent it, and  kinda know how she feels. 

have a lol. x

Worm Composting...Underground?! Subpod Review

 

this looks interesting, though its a very expensive kit, it could be copied with a crate with a good covering on it? I like that its directly in the bed you are using.

rainy days

 

torrential rain, good for hostas I dug up from the garden and potted yesterday...unfortunately whenever I have a few days off work the weather always seems to be rubbish.....

seeds planted in  the greenhouse today.... Purple sprouting broccoli Suttons Mix and home collected from the best plant from last winter. Cabbage Winter Jewel and Savoy Perfection. Collards Vates. Leaf Beet Perpetual Spinach and Swiss Chard Lucillus. Spinach Giant Winter and Giant Nobel. Kale Vates Blue Scotch Curled. Leek De Carentan 2. Cauliflower Suttons Romanescue. Summer Savory. Courgette Golden Griller. Cucumber Lemon. Brussels Sprouts Long Island Improved

think thats enough for one rainy afternoon. . I'll get some photos up tomorrow. 

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata Nightmare (Dubstep Remix) - Radio Edit

 

think its worth sharing.

todays garden

Nice weather all week which lasted into the weekend,  I got  lots of laundry outside yesterday to dry, which keeps me happy.  Seeded in the greenhouse in two medium pots are Carrot Little Fingers and Carrot Royal Chantenay. I tried to space the seeds out but its difficult.. I will thin/eat them as they grow.

Seeded directly into the middle bed, under the pallet collar/shower door ''cloche''. Carrot Ideal, Yellow Beetroot Boldor, Red Beetroot Detroit, Parsnip Hollow Crown and Turnip Sweetbell.( have marked these as 25^th because I guessed the date... lol) . 

The beetroot and parsnips are more or less 'station sown' , but the carrot and turnip seeds get more of a ''row'' thing going on because they are so small and run away from me, which means they need careful checking and thinning if necessary. ... 

Beetroot , parsnip and turnip are in small blocks about 16 inches square, and the carrots are 16 inches one way, three feet across... ish... because the wooden frame is a bit smaller than three feet. . And I must try to remember to draw plans this year because it really does not stay in my head from year to year, never has.....

Thinly scattered rock dust before the seeding and I marked out my 'squares' with calcified seaweed. I think these things do well as long term/slow release additives. The bed is dug over with horse poop so thats where most of the ''oomph'' will come from. 

In the bottom right corner of that photo is a lot of white horse hair.. I've been putting bags and bags of it into the garden which all the neighborhood birds. large and small, have been taking for their nests. its amazing watching them but have failed to get any photos. point the camera and they fly away...  

 

''Son of the Secret Gardener'', author Dr Trevor MIllum, Book Review

Dr Trevor Millum's grandfather, George Millum Snr, was the head gardener at Maytham Hall in Kent which was the home of Frances Hodgson. The very famous classic childresn story 'The Secret Garden' was written by Frances Hodgson in the early 1900s. The grumpy old gardener who tends the 'secret garden' in the book, Ben Weatherstaff, is modeled upon a younger George Millum.   George Millum's son, George Charles Millum, who like his father was born in the gardener's cottage at Maytham, also grew up to be a hard working country house gardener .

George Charles Millum kept diaries for many years of his working gardening life, also in his lifetime he was called away to war, married and had children...  his son, Trevor Millum has transcribed and sometimes interpreted two of his diaries , also giving details of  their family life throughout the book. There are family photographs and illustrations( byTwink Addison) throughout.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, amazed at the sheer amount of work involved in running and keeping a 'country house garden', not just the general upkeep but also having to grow the vegetables for the house and keeping flower displays for inside as well as organiseing, planning and providing stunning gardens.What a wonderful family heritage of personal diaries and photographs, shared by Trevor Millum.

This is an good relaxing, want to read and keep reading book. Perfect to sit reading  and relaxing with a cup of tea in the garden, I mostly sat in my little old greenhouse, as its not that warm outside just now!

I hope, as a keen gardener,  there might be a follow-up of the entire set of diaries transcribed ? please?  lol

does gardening save you money ? ...... does it have to ?

 

this post from Lifehacker suggests you can be saving money with your vegetable garden, buts its not all sweetness and light .

I wonder sometimes too, with bargain stores selling vegetables cheaper than big supermarkets, speciality vegetable shops are few and far between and those have high prices, but always very good quality. 

one thing the article did not 'quantify' , or price?.. no words for it... is the feeling of satisfaction that you get when adding your own vegetables to a meal. even if you haven't grown enough for a whole meal.... a few winter months I was more than happy to make a small omlette one day at the weekend with a few little bits of broccoli, some chard and kale that has survived and grown a little through the winter. at this precise moment I could probably pick about three leaves of chard and some chives... perfect for an omlette.. but I have no eggs... lol. 

so my question is ''does gardening have to save you money?''

and my answer is... no it doesn't have to because it will provide enjoyment and health in itself, I think overall that it does save money and provide good fresh vegetables, the expense of potting compost and equipment is considerable, it can take years to build things up. the last couple of years I've purchased a few new seed trays and propagator lids each spring, I now have just about enough and wont' have to look about for alternative.. the kitchen washing up bowl or a plastic storage contaier, these are useful things too. lol.. 

 yesterday I seeded the little trays with a mix of lettuce seeds, greens for small leaves, some peas just for the leaves,,, fashionably these things are call 'micro-greens' now. 

seeds planted include,...Peas Ambassador, Endives, Mustard, Pak Choi, Cabbage, Beetroot, Collards, Turnips, Oriental Spicy Mix and a lettuce mix that is varous left over seeds that I've mixed into a plastic container.only the peas are new seeds. all the others are from last year and older which is sometimes a hit or a miss, but its all in the fun... have fun.

todays garden

 

Casper is very happy with his wee blanket in the greenhouse. video taken with my 'new to me' fancy phone ...lol.... as up till now I've used a flip phone that texts and phones.. nothing else... lol... still have to upload it to laptop to put it on here... see if that works ok. 

last week was very nice almost summery weather... because I'm off work this week its snowing in flurries, my usual luck with the weather. I've put my laundry out anyway because it'll get mostly dry and smell nice. as a holiday present to myself I've bought four more seed trays, and two clear lids. and three small ones to start stuff in the house.  

in the greenhouse the leeks are doing great, some onions came from last years seed and two trays of marigolds seeded so hopefully have lots for in amongst the vegetables. you can see in the video there is new wood for a veggy plot beside the clothes pole, there did used to be one there but its grown over. it might not get used this year as i'm short on time to get it going, also it'll get filled with fresh manure and it'll be okay for  next year. 

POTATO

 thumbnail for size referenct... lol.... potato in a bucket in the greenhouse... last year this method produced four potatoes in total... so maybe not the best... but it pleases me to grow things so thats a yield in itself. 

the weather is fabulous this week.. like summer... of course I'm at work and have next week off... here's next weeks weather report... 

''Still settled for many at the start of next week but a trend to showery and colder conditions is expected to take place from the north from Monday. Showers will likely be focused on northern and eastern areas, potentially wintry over northern hills and at lower levels in the far northeast. A good deal of dry weather persisting in the south and west. Potential for strong winds in the far northeast early in the period. Later next week and beyond, more unsettled conditions are likely with more frequent showers or longer spells of rain for many areas. After a spell of below average temperatures next week, temperatures are likely to return to near average later in the period.''

hackamore tying

 

I'm sure that I saved this before, but I can't find it , so I'm saving it again

NOTE...... for future reference... due to size of halter/horse... reduce by one loop after the rein.

Garden Sales Company

 https://www.quickcrop.co.uk/learning/plants/

just discovered this company. saving to remember to go back and have a good look at all the information they have freely available. you never know everything, no matter how long you have been gardening. 

I've had a look at their raised bed kits. and considering the price of wood I think they are a good price for what you get... I'm putting one on my 'never ending wish list'.......

Quantum Savvy Horse and People Training, saving to watch later

Another 950 trees planted, and shelterbelt design.

 

how fabulous. love how many trees he's planted.

How to ,,, t-shirt ... saving...

 

seems easy enough, i would like to try this

 

or this

 

this is the basics from the tie dye man. love his videos

garden this morning

 Storm Eunice is hitting the south coast of Englane, parts of Scotland with deep snow, there isn't much here this morning. Glad I have a day off work anyway and don't have to travel anywhere.

Greenhouse temperatures show 19.5, 5.5, 1.9 this  morning

Quince had her rainsheet put on yesterday ahead of the weather so she doesn't get too wet and cold.

this is one of Abbeys old ones... as you can see by the repairs and the lack of front closures.. ... they were torn off and this has been stitched together at the front and goes on over her head....

Landslide 2020: Women Take the Lead – Anne Spencer Garden & House, Lynch...

 

what an amazing garden

this Christmas basket was put out into the greenhouse last week, it looks quite happy, there was a poinsetia in it as well when I recieved it but that died after about three days... its been in the house since the week before christmas.

something a bit odd happened there when I tried to move the photo order... 

the small pot and this bucket inside a trug... are the Home Bargains freesias and I put two of the seed potatoes into a standard three gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom... and this is sitting in a trug.. to make it easy to water and to provide some further protection from cold out in the greenhouse

the leek seeds are coming up, I will eat the excess as they grow and end up with one per square that will get planted out in the garden later in the year,

the nearest propagator is one bought last year, with its nice clear plastic, and the one behind is an old yellowed one, very brittle now, it cracked as it was washed today with hot water and a sponge, it still does its job.

the daffodils in pots, outside, are starting to poke through, it doesn't look like they've all grown.. but there's time yet to see if any more come.

some little snowdrops at the bottom of the hedge by the tree.
 

5 Most Epic Earth Healing Projects!

Kathryn Schulz: Don't regret regret

 

reminder to self to watch occasionally.... regrets of mine are usually about empoloyment.

Full Body Riding Warm Up to Feel Relaxed and Balanced (Do Anywhere Exerc... saving to watch later

its only a weed if its in the wrong place....

 this is a nice healthy nettle, i've dug it up from the farm , where its not wanted.. and its now behind my shed and i hope to re-establish a nettle patch there. there was a heap of rubbish that i had to remove, goodness know what was all in it... bits of washing machine etc.. so i think the soil is toxic. nothing has grown in it for two years... i put some nettle in it last year and they didn't survive. 

I understand that sunflowers will take up toxins from the soil.. and then you must not compost them but dispose of them in ordinary rubbish bin.. as you would just be returning the toxins to the ground.... its a bit shady behind the shed but if this nettle does not survive then i'll try it.

friends passing

 internet friends, kayaking friends. after a long period of fighting cancer Bonnie passed away http://frogma.blogspot.com/

breath....not sure this image is readable on the blog?

 

Quantum Savvy Horsemanship .... Is your horse balanced? part 1 of 2

I've always liked Quantum Savvy, sadly I'm no longer a member due to financial constraints....

Incredible New Vegetable Garden | Small Scale Self-Sufficiency... again saving to watch... no time... lol

Dr. Said She’d Die, Instead She Bought a Farm... saving to watch later

no dig gardening.. thoughts

  'no dig' subject. is a wonderful idea, I find digging difficult now, BUT.... I grow in small beds in a small area surrounded by mixed hedge which would  take over the whole garden if the long sucker roots are not dug out . The beds that are already 'going' were bastard trenced about 20 years ago and now are dug over to one fork depth.... just a turn over... to find any roots near the surface and get them out. The 'planned' bed(was a bed before,,, also bastard trenched 20 years ago,  but has overgrown to look like lawn now) will need grass taken off and again will be turned over to one forkful depth. I'll add a photo later when I've time as I would like to document the re-making of the Pole Bed.. its next to a clothes-line pole... lol. 

i'm halfway through this video so just a link here to get back to it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXsYPLzyiE4

JIMMY CARR: HIS DARK MATERIAL | Brand new Netflix special coming 25 Dece...

What I'm sowing in December and January,

house sparrow

female house sparrow on the bird seed feeder

this is the best I can manage with the camera.. really missing having a good camera.
 

more daffodils

more daffodil bulbs into some pots, these were intended for putting out in the garden but didn't get around to it... so at least they are planted and they can be transferred into the garden after they have flowered

a couple already showing that they are starting to grow... poor things left in a bag....

and they are topped off with compost and a layer of stones and left outside. hmmm... think maybe a couple could go in the greenhouse to see if they'll flower earlier.

cold. very windy storm over Friday night... a couple of panes of the greenhouse have suffered... but patched up now. surrounding area has seen fences and trees down, so I'm thankful there wasn't more

Casper getting tucked up on my bed, under the blanket in the sun. he looks pleased . lol. bless him.
 

NEW Flower Pot Heater - Costs Just 4 Cents An Hour To Run... saving to remember how it works

 

they look great..... just watch this video as well as they are  not all problem free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnna1PAakV4

Cozy Cabin Vibes in this TINY Van | Ford Transit Connect DIY Conversion ...

 

this is a really cute little van

garden

I planted the bigger pot up with daffodil bulbs and topped all four of these off with little stones. I love this look and it  stops the soil getting washed out with heavy rain .

also a couple of smaller pots planted with daff bulbs, and all of the others topped with stones. I use this to show that there is ''something'' in the pot, it could be a cutting or something with a lost label, a couple of these have acorns in them and they can take a couple of years to show sometimes, and the stones mean 'don't tip this out'. it works for me.

I'm really pleased this wood fitted inside the car, I could have driven with it hanging out the back as it was only a few streets away but now that I know an 8ft plank will fit inside the car I can look for more wood and be confident I can pick it up even from a distance away.   I do try to get everything free or recycled   but I've had to spend some money  for these,  really good thick wood, and will be used to start renewing the edges of the veggy beds. it'll do one bed all round and two long sides of another.  

interesting lactose intolerance article

Mongolian Heritage

 thankfully this doesn't affect me, such an interesting article, my own thoughts are 'we are too clean and too far removed from nature'

so there is something to being horsey and gardening.... such as making and eating a sandwich without washed hands..... I'm not off work with any illness as much as everybody else in the workplace. 

people are wimps now as well.. going to A&E with the slightest little thing. 

I'm tired and looking forward to a week off work from Friday.

autumn garden

 lots of leaves off the tree, it hadn't been windy so they were landing on the grass... I cut the grass after this so they were gathered up by the mower, as you can see in the video

Casper always has to star. 💖😻

I just need a raincoat....Billy's weather forecast.....

 

I just need to put on my  raincoat, and to practice having a glass half full instead of a glass half empty......

weary of the weather

I've bought a set of  Lister Star Clippers, so Quince has just had her fourth clip, its surprising how fluffy she gets very quickly. there's not been much nice weather recently, its not particularly cold, just damp and drizzly, not keen on going out riding, can't get anything done in the garden.
 

 

a dinners worth of vegetables. , two yellow beetroot, two good size carrots and two tiny, one long parsnip hiding under the big carrot... a long skinny leek..  tied it in a circle to fit it into the photo, and some chard leaves. I've still a few tomatoes ripening in a drawer, and there's probably more dinners out in the garden, not a lot though its nice to have what comes.

saving to remember, warm milk recipe

 https://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/my-natural-sleep-aid-zbcz2101?fbclid=IwAR1KGFVqriJ_M4DFRsincATtOq3TzQVhRJkO1oF798p05r54GTBhG4kvX8k

Her Adorable DIY Tiny Home for Retirement - Divorce To Living Simple

new to me...

 

I introdude Biscuit Spider Gump.

came with lucky charm already in place, and a choice of packed lunch spots.

spider web, flat on the passenger door... interesting... 

 

edited .... reserve the right to change the name as i please.... lol

wow

''He directed dozens of sheep as a filmmaker, forming a heart captured by a drone. An Australian Shepherd's emotional homage to his deceased aunt is making its way around the world. As he told local media, Ben Jackson was unable to attend his aunt's funeral in Brisbane due to borders closed by Covid. For this on the plateau of Guyra, he decided to pay homage to his dear aunt by creating a huge heart with the help of his sheep. The video has been shared on social media thousands of times.''

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/25/a-love-heart-made-out-of-sheep-australian-farmer-pays-tribute-to-his-aunt

Dance of the Thistledown

saving to remember to look up this artists work

Incredible Small Off-Grid Earthship Home

Wabi-Sabi Modern Japanese Inspired Small Home

70 Year Old Builds Innovative Off-Grid Tiny House For Debt Free Retirement, to watch later

Ultimate Stealth Camper Van Tour | Nissan NV200 Self-Converted Build Wal...to watch later

rain rain rain

yipee... there are two aubergines, just about three inches long, i'll let them fatten up for a few days , then eat them.. lol. there are also a few sweet peppers about the size of my thumbnail, hope they get to eating size soon. both aubergine and peppers in the greenhouse and are infested with greenfly...

this is a lemon cucumber and about as big as you want them, this one and two smaller ones made it into a pasta salad yesterday.

the constoluto tomato monster !! most of them are single ones, this seems to be three squashing together! all the tomato plants now have fruit on them, but not anywhere near ripe. I'm cutting off all the extra growth now, just let ripen whats already there.

the courgette planted outside was decimated by slugs, this is a second planting, kept in the greenhouse in a bucket, its just started to flower so I hope it will produce . I'm glad it was kept inside as the second planting of pumpkin again was decimated... even with slug nematodes applied...

this is a sparrowhawk, sitting on the roof of a house opposite, probably the reason there are very few little birds to be seen anywhere.... 

after a too hot two weeks its now been thunderstorms and heavy rain for about four days, I got the front grass cut yesterday but the back is thicker and too wet... it'll have to wait till it drys up during the week.. if it drys up, this is typical of when I have a week off work, the weather does not play fair. I got some of the blackthorn branches removed from the back hedge yesterday, the main part of them will need a chainsaw massacre.... if my friend has time to do that, there's so much big stuff needing tamed all over the garden.

as I was typing , saw the sparrowhawk  fly over the top of the gardens.

good eating...

 at last some tomatoes, a constoluto type, squiggly, lovely. theres a few tomatoes now on all the plants. 

I've harvested a couple of handfulls of sugarsnap peas, eaten immediatley. and I've picked a few of the savoy cabbage leaves, leaving the plant to still grow, just cooked with potatoes and butter. lovely. also eating chard , kale  and collard leaves.

greenhouse video mid july

very much a jungle, the aubergine has flowers but no fruit, the peppers not even flowered, the lemon cucumber is taking over, and I've eaten a few of the small round cucumbers it produces, the tomatoes are flowering but no fruits yet.... and I've two friends report that they have tomatoes growing... so I don't know why its all so different.

the potatoes looked healthy enough but only produced three small potatoes from the bag... think a bucket would have been better as the soil that came out of the bag was very wet. i'll leave the oustide potatoes for about another month or so before seeing whats in there. 

the cougettes and pumpkin in the garden have failed totally... being eaten from underground and the tops. they started off well but can't cope with the slug population. slug nematodes are not available to buy anywhere and i won't use chemicals. there's a couple of beer traps out and i go hunting with a pair of scissors, lifting bricks to see whats under ,,,, also in the evening if its wet/cool and i can find them out and about.... cut them in half. leave the bits for the birds.... i've seeded another courgette and pumpkin , the pumpkin planted out this morning, not sure if i want to plant the courgette out or try to stuff it into the greenhouse in a bucket.

using the temporary coldframe..carrots and beetroot sown directly have done reasonably well, peas and beans that were sown directly under the coldframe are looking good , it was lifted off them when they started to touch the glass. the beans planted out.. gifted... haven't grown at all. the broccoli , cabbage, all the greens... all looking reasonalby good... have been eating a few chard and kale leaves.

Oprah’s What Can You Live Without Experiment (Pt. 1) | The Oprah Winfrey... to watch later

greenhouse , updated with video

seems that laptop will upload today. maybe its the connection.... 

 in the greenhouse, potted into growing spaces are... two fat tomatoes, two cherry tomatoes, one each of pink and green tomatoes. Two cumcumbers, two green peppers and two aubergines. There are some potatoes growing in a compost bag.. hopefully some ready to eat soon, some carrots in a pot which are small but can be eaten, and a tray of lettuce that I've just started eating, it should do a few days. 

No Dig Garden - saving to watch later

this mornings garden.

 Casper prefers to go back inside.

Equine Metabolic Syndrome ... save for reference

Peaceable Kingdom - The Journey Home (2009)

 

to watch later