Slow progress on the ground

Unfortunately the final stretch of digging was postponed at the weekend due to the rain and the ground being way too soggy. Looking at the forecast for the end of the week it is currently looking ideal with a couple of days of dry sunshine carrying through to saturday, ideal digging weather!

Once the remaining two beds are dug and edged, We can then lay the ground cover sheeting on the little paths through and around the veggie patch. I can also sort out a more permanent home for the cold frame ready for hardening off seedlings in the spring. It will be great to have the garden looking less like a building site.

Starting the indoor seed sowing

Today I had a go at making paper pots to sow the first seeds indoors and I still can't get over how simple they are. After a brief experiment I've found that doubling up and using two strips of paper seems to make a sturdier pot and three strips is a bit too much and they have a tendancy to unravel more. I knew the business section of the newspaper would come in handy for something!

Today nursery tower was created too. Using a wire veggie rack that we inherited when we moved in, I've given each tray a base of thick cardboard covered with a layer of bin liner for a bit of waterproofing followed by a decent layer of newspaper. The paper pots then sit on the top.

I've got some clear polythene sheeting now which I intend to use for homemade cloches outside, but I'll use some of it to make a cover for the nursery to help keep the seeds in a nice, warm environment.

- Welcome to the nursery -

Seedlings will live in here until they are strong enough to be hardened off and put in the cold frame outside

Seeds that have been sown today are:

6 pots of Lettuce 'Amorina'

6 pots of Mizuna

6 pots of Aubergine 'Little Finger'

4 pots of Tomato 'Totem'

4 pots of Tomato ' Tigerella'

This morning we also pruned the mature wisteria that is trained over the kitchen door. It was looking really messy and woody as we suspect the previous owners might not have known to prune it. We've given it a good renovative pruning and once new shoots have formed, we'll fix up a frame work on the wall above the door using wire and vine eyes and properly train the new shoots on to that.

More double-digging has been done today and the edging has been finished around the second bed so the veggie patch is slowly starting to take shape.

The first sowing

Today the jerusalem artichokes and shallot sets are going in the ground in the first raised bed that is now finished. We have a bit of a problem with local squirrels and a local cat who casually let themselves into our garden and do as they like. Until I see new growth, these will be covered with a protective layer of wire mesh (covering the ground not the wildlife) to prevent the wildlife from digging thing up. I'm hoping it will work ok.

Our ground cover sheeting arrived this morning too along with the much-anticipated paper potter. Now I can get on with sowing seeds indoors. I haven't made newspaper pots before so I will be intrigued to see how they come out. They must be a good way to start of seeds though as this way the roots are not disturbed when planting out as the paper with just biodegrade in the ground.

Jerusalem artichoke tubers with our new wooden paper potter

Building the first raised bed

Progress is being made out in the garden today. As I have jerusalem artichoke tubers and shallot sets waiting to go in the ground, we've had to get on with finishing their allocated raised bed.... and here it is (Still in final construction stages)

and amid the building site that is currently our garden, a little bit of colour brings a little bit of cheer...

Winter colour - crocus vernus

Too many seeds?

I now have 30 packets of seeds in stock. That is not including seed potatoes, j. artichoke tubers or shallot sets. Would this be considered too much? A tad ambitious for our first proper 'growing year'? I'm not sure.

I have a shed load of coursework to do this week and so I am hoping to have the bulk done over the next few days to free up some time over the weekend for sowing seeds. The jerusalem artichoke tubers and a large batch of seeds arrived this morning. The j. artichokes came with a note entitled 'read this now!!' which did the job of catching my attention. It was basically saying that the tubers need to be in the ground as soon possible. I plan to put mine in at the weekend. I hope they will be happy in a cardboard tray until then. I will also be sowing the shallot sets outdoors. Indoors I will be sowing tomatoes, lettuce, mizuna and aubergines.

Potato shoots

I started off my pink fir apple seed potatoes in a dark cupboard. I discovered when reading up on the subject of chitting that pink fir apple are slow to get started when chitting and they should go in the dark until the little shoots appear.

I've checked on them today and found that they now all have a few little shoots poking out - hurray. They have been in the dark for about 12 days.

So they have now joined the roseval potatoes in the kitchen to live in the light until I plant them out in the spring.

6 Roseval seed potatoes (front left) and a dozen pink fir apple seed potatoes merrily chitting away

Snow falls in London

As forecast, we have a good couple of inches snow here in London and it is still steadily falling. The forecast shows that it is not likely to stop until this afternoon.

The big shrub (still currently unidentified) that normally screens our front window doesn't look too happy with the current weather conditions though. It has either decided to slump due to the cold or the weight of the snow is just too heavy for it to bear. Either way, it was a bit of a shock to see it looking so low and feeble. I'll have to see if it is going to pick itself up or whether it is going to need some TLC.

Normally you wouldn't really be able to see the red car out the front much at all

Our snow covered street this morning - unsurprisingly not many people out and about!

Snow-capped garden - a much heavier snow fall then the last one

Crisp winter frost... beautiful!

What is it about the sight of frost or snow that makes many people (myself definitely included) get overly excited? Is it that we all secretly want to wake up one morning to find ourselves in the land of narnia, or is it just the simple pleasure of something that sparkles in the light, transforming a usually unnoticed outdoor surface, moss or tuft of grass into a little work of art (like the above, a tiny patch of moss at the edge of what was the lawn, suddenly catches your eye.)

This is my first year of getting excited about frost from a gardener's point of view. Gardening really does give the weather forecasts a whole other meaning. I am hoping that these frosts will help to further break up the soil for us (only two beds left to double-dig now!)

Frosty earth mounds

A lone crocus coming up in one of my pots also caught some of the frost

It appears that the most of the UK is expected to see snow overnight tonight, even here in the middle of London. Great for the likes of me who doesn't have to commute in the rush hour and can watch the snow fall from the comfort of home, only to venture out because I want to, not because I have to. Others I'm sure will not be so pleased with it. I'll probably sneak over to the park with my camera.

Signs of spring

We don't get any direct sun in our garden in the winter months unfortunately. Today however, I was very pleased to see a tiny patch of sunlight hitting the back fence - a sign that spring is definitely on its way!

A glimmer of sun at 10.50am

I spotted my first robin sitting on the fence... (I'm not sure if spotting robins is a sign of spring, but I was pleased anyway)

The shallot sets and a packet of lettuce seed (Lettuce 'Amorina') arrived in the post this morning too...

Shallot 'Longor' set - a traditional french variety

Olympic bid to destroy 100 year old allotments

I was very sorry to read at Veg Cottage that a thriving 100 year old allotment site in Stratford is to be bulldozed for a temporary through path for the olympic park. There is a petition to try and stop this from happening - click this link to view the petition and add your name if you wish to help.

From the petition website, the petition creators write:

"Manor Garden Allotments lies in the middle of the Olympic Park site. These beautiful, productive vegetable gardens are due to be demolished to make way for a four-week footpath during the 2012 Games despite the land being given in perpetuity. A campaign is underway to protect the allotments and encourage a more imaginative Olympic development which includes this special place with its healthy, green lifestyles and vibrant community."

To read more about this site, Manor Garden Allotments have their own site at www.lifeisland.org

What a mess!

I do sometimes wonder if we have gone completely mad when I look out of our back windows. When we moved in the garden looked, well, like a garden. A bit of lawn, a gravel path, a few pots etc. Right now though it looks like a building site that has been attacked by giant moles!

One of the beds has now been dug, with extra drainage added and lovely organic compost dug into the topsoil. We mounded it too as per advice from the veggie books. The others have been loosened (an attempt at taking advantage of the frost last night) and at least one other should be finished this afternoon.

Digging! The back right bed all finished and just needs edging to make in a neat raised bed and the other looking like huge molehills...

View from my 'studio' - not particularly inspiring for a trainee garden designer! The garden generally has been fairly neglected in terms of making it look neat and tidy. We had to take up all the gravel off the concrete whilst putting up the new fence as we were trekking back and forth through the house with materials, taking out the old wood etc. Attention then moved indoors for a while whilst we put up the first of the new alcove shelving. It will look much nicer eventually though!

More general mess! You can see some of the pots that I emptied out yesterday though. I've left them overnight to dry off and they will be cleaned up and stored ready for the sowing season.

The Lunar Experiment plans

As we are completely new at growing most of the veg we plan to grow in our plot, I don't want to confuse things too much with the moon planting calendar (which is a tad complicated let me tell you) and I think it would be a bad idea trying to experiment with absolutely everything we grow.

So, I've decided to pick just a few select veggies to take part in this experiment to see if there is any difference when following the moon planting calendar or not. I'm going to try a veg from each element (which indicates the type of crop that should be sown on the relevant days) and track and differences in terms of germination rates, crop yield, general plant health etc.

Veggies that will be taking part are:

Element: Fire (Fruit/Seed days)
Experimental Veg: Tomato 'Tigerella'

Element: Earth (Root days)
Experimental Veg: Carrot 'Chantenay'

Element: Water (Leaf days)
Experimental Veg: Lettuce 'Salad Bowl Red & Green'

Element: Air (Flowering plant days)
Experimental Veg: Calendula officinalis (not strictly a veg, but I think edible flowers should get a look in)



The rules are:

Sowing: Crops will be split into two - one lot sown in the correct month in the common way etc when I find the time and will be tended to, fed (organically of course) and watered as per standard growing instructions from my trusty veggie bible. The other lot will be sown strictly in line with the moon planting calendar in my moon planting book. The exact same amount of seeds will be sown for both lots.

Harvesting: I will pick veggies from my standard plants as and when stuff is ready to eat. I will follow the moon planting guide as to when I should pick stuff from the lunar plants. (There are instructions on when to pick for the best fresh produce to eat straight away, to pick for storage and to pick for saving seeds for the following year.)

I'll be keeping note of what goes on and at the end of the growing season, for each veg I will report my findings. Ooh, it's all very scientific...

The big shop... and yes, some actual digging!

I've just finished putting together my big order for the remaining seeds so that I'll have pretty much everything in stock ready to go - I've ordered:

Garlic Chives
Calendula Officinalis
Kale 'Nero di Toscano'
Coriander 'Cilantro'
Leek 'Atlanta'
Leek 'Pandora'
Mange Tout Pea 'Ezethas Krombek Blauwschok'
Mizuna
Onion 'Purplette'
Onion 'White Lisbon Winter Hardy'
Wild Rocket
Sorrel
Tagetes 'Golden Gem'

Total: £18.32


I've also ordered a small booklet on green manures to decide which would work best in our soil. We are finally getting out in the garden today to make a start on preparing the beds. James is out there digging the first bed and I will be sorting out all of the containers - emptying, cleaning and generally tidying up the garden. On our walk home from our trip to the local butchers we spotted a broken wooden crate left in the street which looked ideal for wood for the raised bed edging. So I loaded myself up with all the shopping whilst James lugged the heavy looking crate the rest of the way home.

James gets stuck into digging the first bed

In true womble style - a broken wooden crate is recycled and will go to a good new home as edging for one or more of our raised beds!