Sunday, April 22, 2007

A quick fly through the weekend !

Another weekend been and gone. So much done with so much still to do.

Cleared the deck to give it a power spray with a wizzy machine borrowed from the boss. Of course it drizzled all weekend which meant the deck treatment didn't get done, and we'll probably have to borrow wizzy machine again next weekend. I moved all the bird feeders to divert our feathered friends away from clean deck, but tell the pigeons they're supposed to stay away ! They're not that bright and keep landing on it looking for food. While we had the sprayer, the OH did the paths and concrete steps to our place and upstairs ! I've never seen anything look so clean ! They're positively beaming ! Neat little toy and will certainly plan on getting one in the next sales.

With the deck clear, it's gone back to looking enormous and I quite like it that way. Less is more so they say, so I'll be having less pots and more space when everything returns to normal.

I never did tell you the story about the auto vent opener did I ? Well to cut a long story short, it was a right royal pain in the butt to fix the first one, a million and one holes drilled in the frame and we eventually managed to get everything lining up ! I wasn't filled with confidence when the OH was going to start drilling with the glass still in ! :-O (shaking head and sighing smilie). Still after 3 hrs on the first day, and an hour on the second, we managed to get it on, lined up, but no temperature to test it out on !! Since then, I've actually seen it work a couple of times, once being tonight when I'd put the heater on to look after the newly potted up toms ! So I had to run out and turn the thing off. lol We still haven't plucked up the energy to install No. 2, but really should, and soon too. If this mild weather carries on, I can see me needing all the ventilation I can get soon.

Right, where were we ? Ahhhhh ! The veg !

Courgettes: Defender, Astia, Black Beauty, All Green Bush - first lot sown on 6 April have mostly germinated and half of them potted on today. The other half really do need doing but I've run out of pots ! I got some root trainers from ebay last week and sowed some more in them, just as an experiement ! :-P Remember the 57 tomato plants ? That's just about par for the course. Read on and you'll see how I've mismanaged the sowing this year.

Aubergines: Calliopie sown 17/2. Sowed 6, wanted 2, got 5 (potted up)
Black Beauty, sown 5/2. Sowed 6, wanted 2, got 7 ! (need potting up - no pots !)
All looking healthy but do need to move on. Move onto where I've not go a clue ! I've run out of space in the g/hs and they're all still on the window sill.

Carrits: Parmex in pot in g/h, thinned, and lots of lovely green growth, just waiting for the golf balls now. Hopefully because they've been up on the staging, old rooty fly won't have found them as I've not kept them covered !

Rainbow (A4A gals trial bucket) have germinated and coming through nicely. Took the lid off them today to give them a bit of air. Won't put it back on now as they're well on their way.
Nantes in the bath, coming on, but quite slowly. Could do with some sun and I should give them a bit of a water. Ditto Red Cored Chantenay. I've sown these two rows really thinly so no need to thin !

Broad beans: aquathingies, lots of blooms now rotting and going black. can't see any have set. Where's a bee when you need him ! The plants themselves continue to grow so i'm not at all worried, but it would be nice to have some more bees follow the "This Way" sign lol. Green Windsors have looked a bit floppy lately so gave them a good drink and propped them up with some canes. I would liked to have thought they'd be finding their own water supply by now, but perhpas it's been THAT dry that they needed a helping hand.

I have PEAS ! about 3 or 4 Twinkle pods. They're fattening up nicely but will be gone in two shakes of a lambs tale. Well you don't think they're actually going to get to the kitchen do you ?

First sown beetroot doing well under the pop bottle cloches. Sowed some more in the root trainers for some succesionals.

Beans - all germinating nicely ! I love seeing them push their way up through the soil and throwing it everywhere lmao.

Squash - sowed some of Sarah's Japanese dumpling and Futsu. I think they'll be through tomorrow morning !

Garlic seems to be fine, Runty too. Onions still seem a bit lacking, especially those that have been overwintered. Don't think I'll bother with that again in the autumn.

Strawberries have a few blooms with teensy tiny fruit forming. Oh can't wait for them !

The salad leaves direct in the bed are really taking off now. Had a couple of early cuttings already, but now you can almost watch them growing when I take the fleece off.

Think that's it ! Doesn't seem anywhere near enough given the fast that I've been working my butt off for weeks on the things, but I've probably forgotten half of it but that will have to do ......... as Zebedee would say ... BOING ! time for bed !

T'ra

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Peas - finally you're growing something worthwhile ;-))

Ziggywigs said...

Oh Mrs KP you are soo ahead of me in the outside planting stakes...think i'm going to go for it and risk it. Fingers crossed!

MrsKP said...

Hi Z!

i've 10 mile of fleece at the ready, just in case.

It has been sooo mild (albeit a bit wet this week, but we needed it so i'm not complaining).

At least i can stop worrying about what to water the blueberries with ! I planted out some more marigolds and calendula round the bottom of the fruit trees last night cos I really do need the g/h space for the aubs which are like a forest of triffids on the windowsill.


It IS very exciting though.

Will pop over to your gaff and have a browze later tonight.

xxxx