Dooh!

   Well only known to somewhere in the far reaches of my brain two weeks has all but gone by and I had not written my gardening blog. Dooh! I can find excuses but they are not worth putting here that is for sure.

   The continual problem of the grass continues with yet another cut over the whole garden and down by the river, however, there is promising signs that it is slowing up. That is probably because there has not been any significant rainfall. I breath a sigh of relief!

   So what has been going on? Galina, Roma, Millefleur and Gardeners Delight have been transplanted into a poly tunnel plot. As I write this they are well established and already showing flowers. Let me be a pessimist. How long till the blight strikes I wonder. I have three very good looking All the Year Round cauliflowers in the poly tunnel with one nearing the time it should be cut. Along with these are a couple of Renne de Baccalan cabbages. These were grown from home gathered seed. There is a lot of lettuce in the poly tunnel. The red salad bowl and salad endive are now coming to an end and the Jack Ice lettuce is taking  off. My section of Little Gem lettuce has suffered from a fungal attack and are not as good as I would have hoped but still edible. More seed sowed and hopefully I will  get more later. Sweet corn, variety Special Swiss, (first open pollinated sweet corn to be developed for a long time apparently) has been sowed in modules. The majority of a row of radishes have been pulled due to lack of consumption! The Hundredweight Pumpkins have been transplanted to larger pots and I am determined to get big pumpkins this year. I have the manure, I have the room, I have the plants! Do I have the willpower to make sure I water them?

All The Year Round Cauliflower

   In the outside garden a row of Sanguina beetroot, Colmar Coeur Rouge 2 carrot, small fow of Early Purple Sprouting and a resowing of Guernsey parsnips have been sowed. The first lot of french beans, Coupion, have been also sowed. Work continues to clear ground for plants nearing the need to be transplanted (Aubergines, sweet peppers, Nigel's Outdoor Green chili, celery, celeriac to mention some). I have now removed the cloches covering the lettuce and there are some lovely looking plants. Potatoes are now all but over the chickens and are growing well. My poor Gigante runner beans look a very sorry for themselves having been victims of a mass attack by my feathered rivals however the Cucamelons are looking good and almost ready to transplant. We are all looking forward to trying these this year. So onward and upwards! 

   

Someone stop the grass!

   Days are flying by and more and more needs to be done in the garden and it is not getting done! The grass continues to grow, yes, like grass!
   In the outside garden potatoes are well established despite repeated chicken attacks! The Champion of England peas are up but how long before my feathered beasts find them! I have tomatoes that now need to be transplanted. Summer cabbage has been transplanted, varieties Precoce Louvier and Golden Acre. I have taken a chance and transplanted my Gigante runner beans plants after hardening them off. Unfortunately the chickens took a fancy to them and they now have no leaves. I believe they will recover. The asparagus in the outside bed is doing very well this year and I have had a good number of spears already with the promise of more to come. The long suffering rhubarb now has enough stalks to pick some. I have lots of lettuce all but ready to cut and I think there will be glut. Lettuce soup anyone?
   In the poly tunnel celeriac and celery has been transplanted to pots along with sweet chocolate and orange sweet peppers. The new sowing of coriander has germinated. I continue to sow small amounts of radish. So far my succession planing with the radish is working well! Other seeds have germinated too - La Diva and Wautoma cucumber, Hundredweight pumpkins and sunflowers. It is all go go go!

Asparagus

Running around tearing hair out!

  I had managed to gain some time over the grass, however, as I type it is growing and will need to be cut again soon I fear. Fears are well founded. Sunday 26th April and the grass need cutting again.
   Progress in the outside garden. Pea trench dug and manured with Champion of England peas sown. Fingers crossed. I would love a bumper harvest of peas this year. I have been putting the Gigante runner beans out during the day to harden them off while I prepare the bed that they are to be transplanted to. That bed is now ready for the bean poles to be put up. Two loads of cow manure arrived this week from the local farm. A little late for the potatoes but good for the pea and runner bean trenches. It will come in useful for the courgettes, melons, squash etc. The potatoes are now poking their heads up and I am going along the rows covering them up and as fast as I do they reappear. The threat of frost is minimal and every day that goes by and gets us closer to May the less chance there is of there being one. The rhubarb is proving to be a disappointment. Last year I divided one of the plants and all the divided plants have failed leaving me with only one or two plants. Good excuse to get a new variety I guess. The asparagus continues to produce. One or two breakfasts of asparagus and dippy egg have been consumed.

Runner bean poles going up

   In the poly tunnel more lettuce sown and various varieties of sweet pepper transplanted to pots. Another ten Roma tomatoes also transplanted to pots. I think I will stop now with the tomatoes. I have some 150 plants in pots. Radishes are  going well as are the cauliflowers, salad bowl, salad endive and little gem lettuce.
   It is time to sow the cucumbers, melons, squashes and the such. That is a job for this week end. I am later than in previous years in sowing these. I decided that I would wait towards the end of April to try to avoid the damage that can be caused by the dip in temperature we get here in the middle of May. Hopefully the plants will not be too big by then! Still, have to sow them first! Since I wrote this the cucumbers etc have now been sown!
   On the animal front the lambs are growing well. The egg laying chickens have had a slump in egg laying down to three or four a day  but as I write it looks like they are coming back up to eight or nine a day. The meat hens are growing well and look like they will be some nice birds.

Mow, mow, mow the grass....

   Ok, maybe I am a little obsessed with the grass. It seems to me that this year it is growing faster than before. Seems to me that every other day I am mowing the  grass! I am sure it is not true but certainly I am mowing every 5 to 7 days. Madness. The weather continues to be kind with cool sunny days and the odd hot one! Excellent for working outdoors and of course consuming the odd bottle of cold beer and glass of wine.

Asparagus in the outside bed

It looks like it is going to be a good year for the asparagus. In the outside bed and in the poly tunnel the asparagus is growing well. This is the first year where I have had asparagus growing inside and outside at the same time.

Thinning salad endive

   In the poly tunnel as one would expect with the warmer weather everything is putting on growth. The red salad bowl and salad endive is being picked with consumption just about keeping up with growth. I am continuing to sow small amounts of 18 Jour race Velox radish and so far my succession planing is working well. Famous last words there I fear. Basil (good chap Basil!) (lemon, Mammoth lettuce leaf, sweet Genoese) has been sown along with some flowers - African marigolds and nicotiana. African marigolds are good companions for the tomatoes in that they keep aphids away and attract pollinating insects. I have now transplanted cabbage (Precoce de Louvier) and aubergine (Barbentine and Harflinge Violette) to pots. The peas in the poly tunnel are proving to be a disappointment this year. Lots of growth, no flowers! The tomatoes in pots are now well established and starting to grown on and as always I have more plants to transplant than I know what to do with! So far over 140 tomato plants in pots.
   In the outside garden more lettuce has been put under cloches. Panic is starting to set in as I need more of the beds to be ready to sow/transplant in over the next couple of weeks. A number of the tree onions have gone to seed. That is annoying. Shallots and onions are growing well. They like the damp soil I am sure. Garlic looks good, parsnips I fear are going to be a failure this year.
   On the sheep front all our ewes have now lambed. We have six lambs, five rams and one ewe. That is disappointing as we will not be able to retain the rams. Some will have to eventually go to new homes.

Spuds, spuds and more spuds

   In the our world of sheep one more lamb has been born. We now have three ram and one ewe lamb.
   It has been a busy week in the garden. The weather has been very good. Frosty mornings, clear skies, lots of sun and not too hot. Ideal spud planting weather. Varities Charlotte, Desiree and Bintje have been planted. Elsewhere in the garden the onion and shallot sets are going well. The tree onions are well established and fingers crossed they ought to do well this year. I was a little disappointed with them last season but I think that they are one of these plants you multiply year on year until you get enough to crop. Grass mowing continues and as I write this I am thinking that I need to get out there and start mowing again!
   In the poly tunnel the asparagus has started to show itself and there is one spur ready to cut! Lettuce leaves are being picked (Red salad bowl and salad Endive). The Lisbon spring onions have once again proved to be a disappointment. I am going to give up on trying to grow this variety and just grow the french salad onions which have a bigger bulb and in my opinion are not as nice. I have a good showing of peas in the poly tunnel, no flowers yet though.Transplanted tomatoes are now well established. Up in the house I have celery, celeriac and Nigels green chilli all growing nicely. Time to get on and sow basil I think.
  The cherry blossom has finally appeared. The warm weather has helped to bring on all the fruit trees and the apple and pear trees are close to flowering. The daffodils have been really good this year and I have picked several bunches to display in the houses.
   On the chicken front all is well. The hens continue to produce eight to ten eggs a day out of eleven hens and that is very pleasing.
   So onward. Over the next week or so weather permitting I will be sowing haricots and first lot of outdoor peas.

Shallots and tree onions on the right

Short week but it continues to rain!

   Due to a quick trip back to the UK I have only had half a week to work in the garden. Still, the shallots and onions are now mostly all showing leaves. When they start they sure do get going! The weather has once more turned against me and the ground is so wet again that it is impossible to do anything with it even if I could get out of the house! Rain and drizzle has been the order of the week. Nothing doing in the outside garden, however, the garlic is thriving along with the shallots and onion sets. I fear parsnips will be a failure this year.

   In the poly tunnel work moves up a gear. I have been busy transplanting tomatoes to pots and now have over one hundred done. Several varieties:- CDB Gardeners Delight (red grape), CDB Giant Yellow, CDB Galina (yellow grape), Coeur de Boeuf, Roma (plum), CDB Ethel Watkins Best (bush, red), Millefleur (grape yellow). CDB = Champeau de Bas, which means it is seed collected from last years plants grown in the garden or poly tunnel. Salad endive, red salad bowl and little gem lettuce has been transplanted within the poly tunnel. I have even picked some red salad bowl for a sandwich! I have a good crop of coriander which I have now split into thirds. One third picking, one third growing, one third cut back. This is my endeavour to prolong the crop. Only one cabbage in the poly tunnel survived the ravages of mould and more by luck than anything I managed to plant out four cauliflowers.

   In our little animal world the meat chickens have started to wander about their coop and it is noticeable that they have grown. The sheep have started to drop their lambs and up to today (2/4/15) three lambs (2 male, 1 female) have been born. Four to go. Here is hoping for better weather over the next week.

Lambs one (black) and two

Lamb number three

 

   

The pace quickens!

   In my last blog I mentioned my onion and shallot sets. They have now rooted and a few of the shallots are showing green leaves. The onion sets are now well rooted and beyond the

First shallot leaves

ability of the chickens to scratch them out.       With the drier weather I was able to get on with some weeding and have weeded this years parsnip and carrot plot. Parsnips have been sown more with a  wing and a prayer and fingers crossed than anything! 

     Round 2 of mowing the grass completed and round 3 has started. Yes, everything is growing and it will not be long and it will be growing madly!

     I mentioned the availability of bean poles in my last blog. I finally went and got some, least enough for the Gigante Greek runner beans when they are ready to plant.

    In the poly tunnel I have thinned out the red salad bowl and salad endive transplanting some of the thinned plants. I have chopped another third of the coriander which is growing very well. My plan is to have one third being picked, one third growing and one third cut. Mice and men come to mind. First batch of twenty two Ethel Watkins Best tomato plants have been transplanted to pots. Other varieties sown in half seed trays have germinated and are well established but not yet big enough to transplant. More sowing done. This time Precoce de Louvier and Baccalan de Renne cabbage. Both did well last year. More radish also sown to try to keep a succession going (what was that about mice and men again?). The lettuce that was sown into pots has also germinated so hopefully (yes, mice and men again) they will follow on from my bought plants which are now well settled and growing.

   So despite the return of wet and cool conditions I am feeling like I am more or less on schedule. Tomato plants are behind my usual time frame but in previous years I did sow them very early. 

   Outside of the gardening front our first lamb of 2015 was born on the 25th March and our first batch of six "meat" chickens have been obtained and are settling in.