Bye-Bye Winter?

OMG, is it really so long since I was on here last?? Oh deary me. Well that's how long winters last up here in Scotland! lol.

I haven't been on the garden very much until recently. Been too windy, or cold, or snowy/rainy/sleety etc. etc. but mostly windy. I don't do gardening in the wind, can't stand getting the back of my neck cold, brrr!

BUT today was SUCH a lovely day I just couldn't resist getting out there and pottering about. It actually felt as if Spring was on it's way, dare we say a goodbye to the winter?? Naaaa - me thinks it will be back soon! lol. My flowers are confused already though.

A quick round up of what is out already:

Even a few Cowslips are out, but I forgot to photograph those, ooops! Hubby and I tackled the hedge today too, and it is now almost half the size that it was. No worries though, it will soon grow back again and fill in across the top. Here is hubster having a go:

I have been doing some rejigging too. I didn't like the 'flowing' aspect of the paths I did last year - too much space between the stones, and awkward spaces and planting shapes. I have decided to try a more linear look this year. I started relaying a few of the broken slabs and wee square ones to make a more square planting area, and have got one of my new 'cloche' frames out to warm up the soil a bit.

A bit of digging over too. Must get some more 'muck' to beef up the nutrients. This soil is so sandy here, most things end up going yellow due to lack of magnesium and iron. A piccie of what I did, plus hubby almost done!

Stirling work dear! Now to buy a shredder for all those branches! Good job we still have an open fire. Guess where the bigger bits will be going?

Me thinks I need to have a mooch through my seed catalogues too. Something to do tonight after I get back from work at washing up in the local chippy. Catch ya later folks. Happy gardening!!

My Poor Harvest... Update

Oh dear folks.

This hasn't been the best year for harvest at all. We had a great start to the year and I bet you were all thinking of all the yumminess to come way back in April. Well, I was. BUT it was not to be! The season died up here in Scotland, went colder and wetter with a few respites in between of some warm days. But the poor plants have suffered for it.

They have been very confused. Off to a great start with loads of seedlings and young plants, but planting out was delayed due to weather conditions. Growth came in fits and starts as the weather warmed, and cooled, and got wet and cold, then warm again. So many of my brassicas went and flowered and have gone to seed. Very disappointing.

My poor runner beans were very slow to flower and have been battered by the recent winds. I do happen to have a few beans in the freezer after they finally began to bear, but not nearly as much as I have had in past seasons. And now the wind has got them again. The sticks have been blown over a bit and some of the plants are dying off. The above pic was taken before all the winds came, just as the flowers were trying to set.

The French Beans were also incredibly slow and have only just produced a few beans to pick. I have about six pods in the fridge to date. Ooooo-er. My carrots on the other hand have been doing very well. Below are some of the ones I tried growing in a cardboard toilet roll before planting out. These got to be harvested sooner than other directly sown ones. Must remember next time to plant out before the root gets to the end of the tube!

So, mixed results this year so far. There are still some carrots in tubs. I am leaving those to see if they get any bigger. Parsnips are also doing OK, although some are trying to flower. My Kale plants were doing fine, but are showing signs of flowering too. The Redbor plants are very yummy - definitely one for next year! Not too sure about the Cavalero de Negro. Although it is pleasing to look at, the texture of the leaves is a bit stringy for my taste.

Sprouts were a waster of time and effort. NO buttons set at all, just leaves and the went off and flowered. BAH!! So far the Red Cabbage are OK, growing and setting hearts. Butternut Squash was a waste of time too. Thought they might be this far north. They did grow, and flower too, but no fruits were set. My Courgette actually bore fruits, I picked one small one as most of them are going rotten at the ends before being ready.

Ah well, this season is a bit of a write off. Me thinks the price of fruit and veg is going to rocket over winter due to the poor harvests on the farms this year. Just wish my plants had performed better this time.

Hope you guys had better luck than me! xxx

Post Holiday Roundup

Holy Crap!

Has it really been a whole month since I blogged the garden exploits??!!

Well, be warned, this post has a few photos in it, so grab a cuppa and some bickies!

After going on our jollies back down south to Gloucestershire to visit the family and friends, we came back to some glorious sunshine. But only for a few days though, then back to the usual grey. And let me tell you - those darned weeds just KNOW when you've left them alone for a bit don't they?!

I spent those nice few days weeding here and there, still got loads to do. It's like painting the Forth Road Bridge, once you clear a patch and move to the next it's time to go back to the first again.

BUT I did get a few early harvests in!

First up this yummy hearty Cabbage. This was one of the Autumn sowings I did last year.

Not too shabby huh? I also tested one bag of tatties to see if they were ready yet. Quite a small harvest from that and not worth the photo really!

Below are some Carrots. These were a test that I did after watching a guy plant some seeds in toilet roll tubes on 'Superscrimpers'. I planted these out in early July. Me thinks I should have got round to that sooner, BEFORE the roots came through the bottom and curled over! lol. Looks good though, and they tasted FAB!

Now, these next few are rogues.

This is a Kale - Cavalero de Negro - and the flipping thing has gone to seed!

Swiftly followed the stalk left from that Cabbage. I can use these little sproutings though, so I think I'll leave those to grow some more.

And as for this one - it's meant to be a Sprout, but those yummy little buttons decided to be leaves instead. ARGH!! Maybe I can use them too, look out veg pot!

I am very pleased to notice some flowers on the French Beans I am having a go at growing. Not tried these before, so they are all new to me. This one is called 'Amethyst', for obvious reasons. The beans are supposed to be purple too, but we'll see if I actually get any. Not very impressed with the other variety I am trialling, 'Solero' a kind of yellow bean. Not much growth there at all, and no flowers to speak of either. Maybe this year has just not been very good all round.

I am also still waiting for something to show on the Egyptian Beans. I thought I saw some flowers earlier, but apart from that not much going on.

My fruiting things are very sad too. The Strawberries are sending out runners everywhere, only a few of the flowers got pollinated, so I have very few decent fruits from those. Nothing on the Blackcurrant. Nothing on the new Pear, or the new Red Apple. Only this solitary Green Apple:

I have some flowers on my Winter Squash (Butternut), but whether they form fruit or not is anyone's guess. I also have flowers on the single Courgette that lived, a yellow variety that I forget the name of now, but here it is with one fruit set:

Think I need to so some feeding, those leaves are a bit yellow.

So, here are a couple of views of the patch in all it's glory(?)

 This is a Red Cabbage that is forming a nice heart. I am looking forward to pickling some of this for the Christmas Table. I do like my Pickled Red Cabbage, yum!

Are you still with me? lol. Well done folks!

I think I will leave you with a wee pic of some edible flowers - Calendula and Love in a Mist:

Thanks for looking folks!

Enjoy your harvesting!

xx

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

Hiya folks!

I (did) have all three of these in the garden this morning.

Haven't been able to get out there for a few days, so everything was a bit neglected until today. Didn't get as much done as I wanted to, what with doggie walking, shopping and stopping for food making (kids!) but there you go.

Okay, first up, the good, of which there are just a few photos:

Allium:

 Himalayan Blue Poppy:

Kale - Redbor. I shall be sampling this for lunch tomorrow!

 Strawberries at last! These started flowering way back in April, but until now there haven't been any fruits. Hope the rain stays off so they can ripen without going mushy.

 Runner Beans have reached the top of the poles! Hoorah!

BAD point - I accidentally snapped a stem whilst weeding today :( Bugger!!

Planted out the rest of the greenhouse bits in the new raised bed I finished a few days ago.

BAD point - I didn't continue with the Cucumber as they were not very forthcoming in the end. I saved one Courgette, so we'll see how it does.

 Those Carrots I told you about the other time. These have come on greatly, mainly because I put some fleece over the top in the hope that I could keep the 'fly' off them. Then the s***e weather hit and ripped the fleece! Had to remove one piece, so I hope them creepies stay off...

Now for more BAD elements. That flipping rain we had put paid to the fresh Rosebuds. Not only are they all speckled, but some of them just won't be able to open as the petals have all stuck together!

 Darned slugs have been at the plantings I did last time.

The poor Chard has been the worst hit, along with my Hostas!

 And it has been so chilly recently that my florals are soooo far behind.

I mean, these should be flowering by now!

And last but not least - the UGLY!!

This is just one of the Chinese Leaf plants that has gone to seed.

This should NOT be happening, but everything is so confused dot com!

And this is one of my Cabbage plantings from last Autumn that has also started flowering instead of forming a lovely heart. Rest assured though, I did manage to salvage some of it for Sunday Lunch last week! Trouble is, the rest of them are going the same way!

 And finally, the most UGLY of all - Lovage:

This brut was planted last year, thinking I could pop some in my stews and casseroles.

Little did I know it would grow so HUGE and be such a thug!

Needless to say it is no more...

Recycled Again!

Hiya folks!

Been a while since I blogged here, so about time I got on and let you all catch up. The weather has been a bit up and down here in North East Scotland. Lovely and warm for a couple of days with loads of sun, then cold and wet and windy. Now it is just grey and dull. So much for 'Flaming June'! It is gorgeous when the sun does come out though, in between the clouds.

I have now managed to get mostly caught up out in the garden. I tackled the weeds that were threatening to take over, and have planted out most of my plants at last! All I have left in the mini greenhouse are a few seedlings, a few 'pottings on' and the Squash, Courgette and Cucumber plants which I potted on the other day.

OK, time for a photo roundup. First a couple of flowers, the Alliums have finally decided to flower. These are normally over by now here in my garden!

Next, my Himalayan Poppy seems to be quite happy. This is the third time I have tried to keep one of these plants alive, and so far it seems to be OK.

Here we have a wee container I planted up a couple of weeks ago. Spinach doing really well, Calendula next to that, and Chard on the right also doing OK.

Now for a disappointment. Is anyone else have trouble with their Beetroot seeds? (Bolthardy) Last year I put some in the ground, loads of leaves came up and I thought all was well. I came to pull a couple and there was only a long root and no decent ball. This year I put some in a container thinking the decent compost would make a difference. But things are looking a bit naff here too. Yes, I know the snails had a bit of a nibble. These were very slow to germinate and don't seem to be developing very quickly either. My Mum is having the same problem with hers, and she lives down in Gloucestershire, so it can't be the temperature!

On a happier not, here is my trial of an Egyptian Pea Bean, courtesy of a swap between myself (Snowdrops) and John (the Beans). Thanks John!! These are doing OK so far. A slow germinator, even inside the house. But they seem to be happy enough just now. Flipping birds had the wool away though for their nests, so I'm going to have to fix that. Ran out of twine so had to resort to wool, LOL. Mind you the sparrows like to tug at the twine too!

And now the reason for my title. Remember a while back when I was ripping the garden to bits, and moaned about all the bits of broken patio slabs I had stashed under the hedge? Well, I finally came up with a plan to use some of them! I have been growing some Squash, Courgette and Cucumber in the mini greenhouse, and these seem desperate to get planted out. Trouble is, it is nowhere near warm enough for them in my opinion, so I decided to build a raised bed where I can add some muck and straw and have this as the bed to put them in. This piccy shows the work in progress:

I have completed it now, but haven't taken a photo yet! That green coldframe on the left is now on the right with the Squash planted under it. I will put the other coldframe on the left with the cucumber under that, then the Courgette will go in the middle where the greenhouse is.

Another little trial I am conducting is with some carrots. I watched 'superscrimpers' on the telly a few months ago, and they had a bloke on there who raised his carrots in old toilet rolls, then planted out in the garden later, so I decided to give it a try! Well, they grew quite well in their rolls (one seed per roll) only a few non-germinators, and here they are now planted out (minus the rolls, although they would rot down) Next to them are some Parsnips, Garlic and more carrots planted in the dirt.

And finally a view down the garden with most of the planting out done. A few bits are left in the mini greenhouse, namely some Basil, Tomatoes, Celery, and the Cucumber and Courgette that are still to go out. But they will go out soon, weather permitting that is. Not a good forecast for the next few days so it will probably be next week now. Lets just hope we get some summer stuff to allow all these goodies to grow, flower, and produce crops!!

Roundup

Hiya folks!

Phew, it's SCORCHIO today! Mustn't grumble though, only last week I was whinging that it was too cold and wet to plant out, and now I still can't plant out as it is too hot during the day. Have to wait until evening me thinks. I have done a wee bit here and there though. A couple of days ago I planted out a few bits in a tub, Spinach, Chard and Calendula in this one:

And here is the two varieties of Radish I planted a while ago, beginning to ripen and bulk up now. I pulled two just to see how they are going. One is supposed to be the regular red type, and the other a white, long type. Both are white just now though, weird!

Also put out my red Kale:

I put some of them them in next to the Cabbage from the autumn planting. They are doing very well indeed! I am surprised at how tall they are.

I have put some Peas in a tub, and have got round to putting my Runner Beans out as well.

My spuds are coming along nicely in their old compost bags. I have been topping up the compost around them as they grow taller, almost at the top of the ones on the left there. Those are the earliest first earlies - Swift, so I am hoping to lift them soon.

My mini greenhouse still has a lot of stuff in it. Butternut Squash doing OK, but I need to pot them on or plant them out real soon.

Courgettes doing great as well. Gotta find a warm spot for them too.

Not so fab on the Cucumber front though. Two have wilted and died, and the others don't look so well either, very yellow. I'll try potting them on to see if it is a nutrient thing.

Remember a while back I went on about this lovely tree I didn't want to part with, that had flowers a bit like a Hydrangea? Well, they have finally come out, and here it is:

Just loooove the colours. I also love this deciduous Azalea, it has such a gorgeous scent, and lovely bright flowers. I also have a red one of these, but it is a bit behind this orange, as it is in the shade. I want to get the yellow version too, but am having a hard job finding one!

I came across an old Chive I planted a couple of years back, flowering away, and had to snap it. Found a setting on the camera for floral photos and tried using that. It blurs out the background and focuses on the flower. Nice!

And finally, the first Rose of the season. This is a 'patio' type rose. My son chose this one, as he loves orange, turned out to be more red than orange in the end, but it is very pretty.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend and manage to get everything done on your 'to do' lists! TTFN folks xx