(sorry folks got distracted, the Chairperson of the newly formed Allotment Association came to collect some of my Tomatoe plants!)
After some cutting with the jigsaw, hammering of nails, and stapling here we have the new lid.
Compost Lid
it sits on top of the composter
Composter
I’ve recently dug out over 500 litres of organic compost, which has been used in the garden. Here’s a picture of compost corner.
Compost Corner
Two plastic composters made from recycled plastic, and a 1m x 1m square wooden composter, the wood has started to rot, so this will need replacing in the next year or so.
This is a little job, I’ve been meaning to do for a while. The lid on my composter broke a year ago, the cooking apples on the tree above the composter, fell and broke the black pvc on the compost lid. The result of this was the compost has been getting too wet and too dry. So armed with a Black and Decker jigsaw, hammer, staple-gun and nails time to fix.
Compost Frame with Angus No.2
Compost Frame with Angus No.3
Oh, and Angus (the ginger cat in frame!), decided he was going to help as well! In the background is an old whiteboard, I no longer use, that I’m going to recycle to nail to the lid, so the apples don’t break the black PVC when it ages!
When the term blog wasn’t invented, I was “blogging” of sorts here with How Does Your Garden Grow? It was a few years ago, when a friend told me he was captivated by my blog, that he started to grow his own vegetables. (Thanks David!) I said “what blog?”, that’s not a blog, well I suppose it was!!!! If you not seen it, it’s still here How Does Your Garden Grow? (please be patient, it’s not bandwidth friendly and badly coded!)
So I’ve really been blooging of sorts since 2003! Which reminds me to why I posting…..
In Memory of Esme & Charlie, this is a piece of video footage I found on a DV tape, down the back of my desk. Where better to archive it, but on youtube!
It was shot in June 2003, what we didn’t know at the time this video was taken was that Charlie would fall seriously ill and die in September of that very same year. Esme died 3 years later in July 2006 of aspirated pneumonia. Esme is the soggy cat, that has just fallen in the pond, and Charlie is the white cat in the background that comes into frame.
An update on the tomatoes and chilli plants growing in the porch. Tomatoes are doing very well, chilli plants are very slow growing, I may transfer into 3″ pots now. I’ve been asking people, if they want any free tomatoe plants, not had any takes yet! I don’t know what’s the matter with them, if I was offered FREE tomatoe plants, I would take them. The weather has been so warm outside, that two of my tomatoe plants were severely affected by heat and wilted, one has recovered fully, the other looks very poor.
I’ve been neglecting my blueberry bushes over the past few years, and just reaping the benefits, lots of fruit from May through until September. Last year, the first time in five years, the crop wasn’t as good, I’m not too sure if this was seasonal, birds eating the fruit, or time to prune, top dress and fertilise the bushes. In the five years I’ve had them, apart from potting them up and investing in an automated water irrigation system – I’ve just eaten the fruit! So in the last couple of days, I’ve weeded, and top dressed, and washed all the hydroleca on top of the pots. I’ve also purchased some fertiliser to feed them in May.
Blue and Goji berry bushes
The other plants in the smaller pots, are my Goji Berry bushes, and hopefully I’ll have some fruit this year from them. In the background, is my potatoe farm, covered with frost protction fleece!
I blogged about them last year The world’s first blue Busy Lizzie “Blue Sky” https://andysworld.org.uk/house/?postid=117, so i’ve decided to purchase some more from Thompson & Morgan this year at a bargain price of 12 young plants for £4.99. The plants arrived today by Royal Mail, and I’m a little disappointed in the poor condition, I’ve received them in, the majority of the plants are dead, roting leaves, broken stems. I’m going to have to email Thompson & Morgan Customer Services to make a complaint and ask for replacements to be sent.
picture of the received young plants, and this is the best example!
It’s very unusual for rubbish plants to be despatched by Thompson & Morgan , maybe they’ve been handled poorly in the postal system.
UPDATE I’ve had a reply from Thompson & Morgan Customer Services, they have arrange for replacement plants to be delivered in May 2009. Many Thanks to Thompson & Morgan Customer Services for making it happen.
Since transplanting the seedlings into 3″ pots, they’ve started to romp away and grow very quickly. Here are some updated photos. The only small issue one of my trays has sprung a leak so when watering, water gets on my shoes, underneath in the shoe rack. I’ve applied a little bit of science this year in growing tomatoes, rather than plant any seeds, I’ve gone for early cordon and bush varities. I’ve only planted half the allocation of seeds I received, the other half can be used next year, but out of this half, only 1/4 germinated, but I still have too many plants for me! So I’l be gving some away! The varities being grown are:-
Bush Varities
Red Alert
Tumbling Tom Red
Gartenpearle
Cordon Varities
Black Cherry
Money Maker
Alicante
Tigerilla
Golden Sunrise
Genovesa Costoluto (Italian seeds)
Tomatoe plants, cordon varieties
Tomatoe plants, bush varieties
Tomatoe plants, cordon varieties
Tomatoe plants, cordon varieties
Tomatoe plants, bush varieties
The porch where they are located was getting a bit cold at night, and also there is a small damp issue, because of a poorly fitted damp course, so I’ve installed a Glen tubular electric heater on a timer, thermostatically controller, so if the temperature falls below 20 degrees C, between the hours of 12.30 – 7.30 GMT, the 200 watt heater comes on. (I’m on Economy 7, so 200 watts of electric is neglible, when your average is 3 kwatts a day!).
I’ve now planted all my potatoes , first and second earliers, salad and main crop in exhibitor bags. Not having an allotment or space to put a row of potatoes in (unless I did up the lawn, now there’s an idea, wouldn’t need cutting then!), exhibitor bags will have to do for the moment.
Potatoes in exhibitor bags (from above)
Potatoes in exhibitor bags (side shot)
Tags: potaotes Posted in All, vegetables | Comments Off on Potatoes in exhibitor bags
I’ve planted out my First Early potatoes today in exhibitor bags, and dug out over 216 litres of organic compost from the compost heap to fill the bags. I’m a little tired!
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