tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9379728083210602562011-08-26T11:26:54.430+01:00attempting to start an organic allotment from scratchKimnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-86438272682636345072011-08-21T22:09:00.002+01:002011-08-21T22:14:20.118+01:00

We've only cultivated about a third of the plot so far, however there is plenty going on! Here is our summer on the plot so far...  Cabbages and Brocolli growing fast!  First signs of brocolli head Freshly picked french beans Courgette ready for harvesting  Late season spuds... one of our winter crops  Nothing beats the taste of fresh peas from the pod

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-52147668389839880912011-07-02T22:49:00.002+01:002011-07-02T23:06:28.191+01:00

This afternoon I spent the best part of two hours making a net cover for the cabbages and broccoli. It took ages to weave string through the net to make it nice and sturdy... I think it will be worth it though. James worked like a trouper and made a new bed with the big pointy spade which was a big job! It needs more digging to make more of a fine tilth and we'll be planting kale and romanesco

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-85974197128232500952011-06-26T22:49:00.000+01:002011-06-26T22:49:16.305+01:00

Yesterday saw our first major harvest - 25 bulbs of garlic and 45 baby onions! Very impressed with how the garlic turned out, good size! Yesterday evening we had our allotment 'Annual General Meeting' and BBQ and it was great to see that we have so many plotholders now. I think 9 plots are now taken with the potential for 3 or 4 more. I've somehow found myself as the new Chair of the Allotment

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-20608070085687013062011-06-11T18:53:00.000+01:002011-06-11T18:53:45.892+01:00

Today we've learned that when the stalks of garlic and onions go soft and flop over it means they are ready! We were worried that it was wind damage but it doesn't seem to be the case thankfully. So today whilst weeding the onion and garlic bed I dug up two bulbs of garlic and they look pretty good actually! We also sowed another row of peas and beans and put up some netting on the metal frame

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-5774308122729266952011-06-07T22:18:00.001+01:002011-06-07T22:19:22.628+01:00

A quick trip up to the plot after work this evening to sow some peas (variety is called Hurst Green Shaft) and climbing beans (Sultana). James has been running to the allotment and back as part of his triathlon training to water the plot most evenings and it has definitely made a huge difference. The onions are fattening up nicely, the broad beans have doubled in size and have started to flower

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-37810710678497000192011-05-23T22:30:00.000+01:002011-05-23T22:30:38.874+01:00

This weekend we were mostly... digging! With the much appreciated help of big bro Nick, a couple of pick axes, spades and forks two new beds were created ready for planting! Absolutely exhausting but we've made a huge amount of progress. Saturday: The boys get to work on digging in the green manure to make way for beans!  Sunday: Potato bed dug and planted! Garlic and onions are given

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-34000465764490507242011-05-15T20:15:00.000+01:002011-05-15T20:15:03.156+01:00

First post of 2011! Actually, first post for about 6 months which is pretty reflective of how much time has been spent at the allotment since the big clearing last autumn. Long story short: coldest winter in 30 years, ridiculous amounts of snow and sub zero temperatures, major building work at home and major building-related stress and upheaval. So this weekend is really the first weekend that we

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-41351845340176530232010-10-24T22:10:00.001+01:002010-10-24T22:15:12.103+01:00

Without a cloud in the sky we headed over to the plot today to get the rest of the second veg beg dug over. Last week the ground was as dry and solid as cement, this week it was back to sticky clods of clay and mud! We've learned that wet soil makes it easier to dig out bramble roots, however drier soil is easier when you are trying to actually plant things. Not the most ideal planting

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-39788236119171318392010-10-17T21:25:00.004+01:002010-10-17T21:32:12.721+01:00

Its been two weeks since we were last at the allotment having gone to Wales last weekend. Very pleased though to see that the green manure is actually growing, albeit a bit patchy. Three weeks after it was sown and it looks like this... James watered the area and scattered a little bit more seed in the bare areas so hopefully we'll have a decent enough cover to keep the weeds down. Its been

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-15972965158042388222010-09-27T13:16:00.002+01:002010-09-27T13:18:35.113+01:00

I'm desperate to have something (other than green manure) actually planted on the plot this year and I think trying my hand a few autumn-sown, overwintered veggies is the way forward. I've ordered: - Early Purple Wight Garlic - Senshyu Onions - Aquadulce Claudia Broad Beans - 1 crown of Timperley Early Rhubarb I'm working on the bigger plans for next year as well and trying to get my head

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-92032419761693953472010-09-26T22:49:00.002+01:002010-09-27T09:20:21.383+01:00

Two weeks now since the big clearing weekend and we've tried hard to keep the momentum going by spending a few hours working on the plot each weekend. This has been spent mostly digging out big bramble roots and raking over soil picking out all the little pieces of root. We managed to 'womble' a load of unwanted paving stones using our local freecycle and started putting in a bit of structure

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-28463172318082906992010-09-19T14:42:00.002+01:002010-09-27T09:01:42.946+01:00

Two days, five people and a healthy selection of petrol-driven machinery and we went from this overgrown and frankly daunting plot of land... to this freshly dug, flat and (almost) weed free plot! It felt like a long time coming, but the allotment party officially kicked off last weekend with two days of full on hard graft and thankfully two days of beautfully warm late summer sunshine. In

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-19992978720918401372010-08-01T18:54:00.002+01:002010-08-01T18:56:48.661+01:00

Yesterday our little allotment society had a BBQ to get all of the new plot holders together for the first time. Pretty much everyone came along and we were very surprised to see so many people! It seems that since the start of the year, quite a few people have taken on new plots. It was great having a chance to chat to our fellow plot holders over a glass of wine and a burnt sausage and

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-91316436862385786602010-07-11T14:42:00.008+01:002010-07-11T17:42:58.261+01:00

Many reasons why it had been at least a month since we'd been over to the allotment... holiday abroad, friend's wedding, James travelling away for work. However, with a bonus extra pair of hands belonging to big bro Nick, we trooped over last Saturday for a few hours. A lot of brambles that we'd chopped to the ground had grown to waist height again and the plot was once again looking rather

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-71658194039701863632010-04-18T22:03:00.003+01:002010-04-18T22:18:04.212+01:00

A beautiful weekend of weather here in London and we made the most of it spending a few hours at the allotment both days. We had our first proper bramble bonfires and have cleared about three quarters of the plot now. We made enough progress yesterday with chopping down brambles to progress to his and hers tasks today. My job to continue cutting down brambles and put them on the bonfire and his

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-53416265623957558732010-04-11T11:18:00.008+01:002010-04-18T22:04:11.424+01:00

The plan when we were offered this plot back in October last year was to get all of the bramble growth chopped down and the ground covered with old carpet to break down the roots and grass etc ready for digging over in the spring. Fast forward six months and we have only now managed to get down there for the first day of clearing. Why? Well my shoulder injury turned out to be much worse than I

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-4740188811421006512009-10-18T19:07:00.002+01:002009-10-18T19:12:26.746+01:00

Back to the allotment today to collect our key and a chance to have another look at the site. It has been a wonderfully sunny day and being back there just made us even more excited about it. We trampled across the brambles with Secretary Steve so he could show us where the boundaries are, now we just need to clear the way! I'm still recovering from an injury to my shoulder, however it is on

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-71326716894775390802009-10-13T19:15:00.004+01:002009-10-13T19:21:05.288+01:00

We've used our local Freecycle group for a good while now. So far we've only used it to give away things we no longer need, however there are just as many 'wanted' posts on there as there are 'offered' posts. So, spurred on by the fact that people ask for all sorts of things from cardboard boxes to furniture, I thought that it might be worth a shot adding a 'wanted' post for old carpet/rugs for

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-7637644862290513222009-10-11T19:00:00.001+01:002009-10-11T21:55:16.399+01:00

Amidst the crazy world of 10 year waiting lists for a london allotment plot, we seemed to have found ourselves a plot, albeit a rather rustic rough and ready one, in the space of three weeks. Its actually quite a sorry tale in that the allotment has been reduced by half as the council sold off the land to developers for houses and the rest was shut down for a while. However, what remains of it

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-6217412964021243212009-10-09T12:22:00.000+01:002009-10-09T12:22:57.467+01:00

Today I've had a call from the guy running one of the allotment sites I selected on my application form recently sent to our local council. I honestly expected a fairly long wait, however it seems this particular site has become somewhat overgrown as it has been closed for a while and is now being reopened with plots to spare. He's asked if we'd like to go and see the site this weekend to see

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-52400845552224403362009-09-13T12:15:00.003+01:002009-09-13T12:26:07.368+01:00

Ok, it has been a looong time since I last posted. Main reason for this is that we have been growing much less in the garden. Well, more ornamental stuff rather than edibles. The main thing grown this year were a pretty decent crop of 'anya' potatoes. These are all in storage now and should keep us in baby new potatoes for a good couple of months at least. Our crop of Anya potatoesThe garden

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-80367257026278810642009-03-27T15:30:00.007Z2009-03-27T15:48:42.064Z

My grandma grows a few veggies in her garden and has just got a new greenhouse to grow her tomatoes in. My brother who lives near them has been roped in recently to help grandad with the hefty work to move the shed and put up the greenhouse and even he is catching the growing your own bug! Talking to him today he was asking me what he could grow on his little south facing balcony. He lived in

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-42111997743505675372009-03-24T20:06:00.007Z2009-03-24T20:29:26.179Z

I've just read on Jane Perrone's 'Horticultural' blog that Gardeners' World will be heading to a new patch of land instead of Berryfields when the new series starts next month. At first glance I was really quite sad to read this headline as I'm pretty attached to Berryfields having avidly watched the programme for about 5 years now. I can understand that new presenter Toby Buckland, who

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-68983398155562852372009-03-21T22:27:00.006Z2009-03-24T20:05:57.891Z

Ok, it might not look like much but trust me, A LOT of work was done on this little patch of soil today. Over winter it had a thick mulch of bark on top which was collected up and the whole thing (its 3m x 1m) was forked over then raked to a finer tilth. 56 'Anya' seed potatoes were sown in four carefully made trenches and take up pretty much the whole bed except for a bit of space around and in

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-73198403427052839192009-02-11T18:29:00.005Z2009-02-11T18:45:41.366Z

I have to confess I left my seed potatoes in the box a lot longer than I should have. I did think though that by excluding light and keeping them cool and dry that they would be fine for a bit and then I'd find them a home to start chitting them. I opened the box yesterday to get them out and put them in egg boxes and it appeared that they decided to take the executive decision to make a start on

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-58417428019654928292008-12-14T00:02:00.005Z2008-12-14T00:12:50.152Z

The seed potatoes and shallot sets have arrived in the post. I haven't gone crazy with the amount of seed potatoes I ordered for next year as I had too many this year and ended up giving about half my desiree seed potatoes to a friend for his plot.Potatoes for next year are limited to one good salad spud, Anya. A cross between Pink Fir Apple and Desiree (both of which I have grown before) Anya

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-1460204396384048112008-09-28T11:34:00.007+01:002008-09-28T12:11:49.404+01:00

Since my last post, we have spent hours and hours in the garden basically giving it a complete makeover. For the first time in over two years since we moved in, the garden now functions exactly as we want it to.When we first moved in we had a small gravel area and a raised lawn. The raised lawn then made way for raised beds and so began our attempt at veggie growing. However, we were finding that

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-41203729150553178532008-08-21T15:44:00.005+01:002008-08-21T15:58:31.293+01:00

There has been a distinct lack of blog posts over the past few weeks as we have been away on our summer holidays and when we got back, the big decision was made to redesign the garden.Our garden is teeny, really teeny and so far we have tried various combinations of raised beds etc to try and make the most of the sun we get throughout the day to try and grow our own. We are finding though that we

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-87853240302188410942008-06-07T22:39:00.007+01:002008-06-08T12:28:21.871+01:00

I meant to write a post last weekend and time seemed to run away before I had a chance. This was to update on the jobs I had managed to get done on Sunday. The various peas and beans that had been hardened off were planted in the ground to climb up willow obelisks in the raised beds, the green-sprouting broccoli seedlings were carefully planted out in the ground.The slugs seem to be attacking

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-52187657080585028972008-05-18T17:37:00.004+01:002008-05-18T17:55:05.363+01:00

Over the last couple of days the peas that were sown indoors have started to come up, as well as the rocket seeds. It doesn't matter how long you have been gardening, the sight of a new seedling pushing through the soil is always exciting!Some of last minute packets of seed that arrived a few days ago have also been sown today, a little bit later than I would have liked but that is just the way

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-1499967932003121442008-05-13T19:21:00.003+01:002008-05-13T19:32:18.452+01:00

After a failed first sewing of peas outdoors (slugs... again) I managed to get a load more seeds sown yesterday in pots indoors. Once the shoots are large enough to handle and transplant, I'll harden them off briefly then get them in the ground.I'm growing 4 types of climbing peas/beans this year and have sown seeds for:Pea 'Ambassador' (A pea-pod type pea)Pea 'Ezethas Krombek Blau' (A purple

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-28026843296388689682008-05-11T10:13:00.004+01:002008-05-11T10:41:07.563+01:00

Most of our veggies this year will be grown either in the two raised beds or in pots. This does make life a little bit easier when it comes to creating a fortress to keep out the dreaded slugs.I tried nematodes last year which definitely seemed to help and in the end I managed to raise a good crop of salad without it all being decimated by slugs so this will be part of my slug defence strategy

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-47885952958209476192008-05-09T12:25:00.005+01:002008-05-09T12:58:06.020+01:00

I've been pretty immobile over the last couple of weeks with a lumbar back sprain and only now starting to be able to move around without a huge amount of pain... typical that this happened just as we start to see some decent weather, and so far I haven't been able to do anything useful in the garden in the lovely sunshine!That said, there are bits and pieces going on regardless of my lack of

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-17920565160894766032008-04-27T13:10:00.005+01:002008-05-08T11:13:09.345+01:00

I’ve been tagged by bloggers Our Pint Sized Plot and MarigoldThese are the rules:Link to the person who tagged you.Post the rules on your blog.Write six random things about yourself.Tag six people at the end of your post linking to their blog.Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.Let the tagger know when your entry is up.Six random things about me:I didn't

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-27600445056442461342008-04-06T17:27:00.003+01:002008-04-06T17:42:21.198+01:00

Like pretty much everywhere in the UK, it snowed here in London overnight with a good inch or two settling on the ground. It was a bit of a shock this morning I must admit - I had no idea snow was forecast!Unfortunately we hadn't covered the areas where the potatoes had just been planted and were a bit worried that the snow might lead to frost which spuds are not a fan of. So, we shoveled the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-35358199294205705442008-04-04T22:16:00.003+01:002008-04-04T22:23:32.825+01:00

It has been incredibly mild in London over the last two days and with another poor forecast for the weekend, we raced home from work to make the most of the extra daylight hour and get the potatoes in the ground... something we had planned to do at Easter weekend but had no chance because of the freezing weather.So, we've managed to get a small amount of early Charlotte and a larger amount of

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-46373424731653279282008-03-23T10:31:00.003Z2008-03-23T10:40:19.707Z

We had planned lots of tasks to get on with in the garden over the Easter weekend. However, it is Easter Sunday, zero degrees outside and snowing. In London. In March.The chitted seed potatoes will have the wait a bit longer before they go in the ground and we will be busy indoors instead... and eating chocolate eggs of course.

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-11473557949535911152008-03-02T21:42:00.006Z2008-03-02T22:25:13.937Z

This has been the first weekend that we have spent a decent amount of time out in the garden since the autumn. The weather was mild and sunny, particularly on Saturday, and we have managed to get a lot of sorting out, tidying and preparing done.Yesterday I had a big sort through of all my little plastic seedling pots and other bits of paraphernalia and it has all been tidied away properly in the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-70753017548829206602008-02-02T12:17:00.000Z2008-02-02T13:03:14.487Z

If like me, you've never ordered a bare root plant by mail order, it is intriguing to see how it is packaged and sent to you. In my post this morning, I finally received my Blackcurrant 'Ben Sarek' which I ordered bare root from the Organic Gardening Catalogue.It arrived in a tightly rolled jiffy bag with a sticker saying URGENT - Bare Root Plant Open Immediately...Once out of the jiffy bag, the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-64021676153911628522008-02-02T11:06:00.000Z2008-02-02T12:29:24.848Z

January has come and gone and the garden still looks decidedly bare and empty. I can't wait to get sowing seed and filling up the new larger border at the back of the garden.I also have plans to make the garden look a little less like a building site (in the 18 months we have lived here the garden sadly hasn't had very much TLC and we are still living with dull, cracked concrete and bare fence

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-39991758047340326142008-01-19T19:07:00.000Z2008-01-19T19:18:07.154Z

I've laid out my seed potatoes on newspaper in an old veg rack that was used in the nursery last year to start off seeds in paper pots. These will live in my studio which is a cool, north facing room so the light from the french doors in here should give them enough light without lots of bright direct sunlight. Top tray is half Charlotte (second early salad potatoes) and the rest are Desiree (

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-82370094879222326502008-01-17T19:48:00.000Z2008-01-17T20:01:16.787Z

I love choosing what to try and grow in the veggie garden... what I love even more is receiving the lovely parcel of seed packets in the post! Today I have arrived home to find a box full of goodies waiting for me and contains my seed potatoes (Charlotte and Desiree) and all but one of the packets of seed I ordered (runner beans, brussels sprouts, green sprouting calabrese, kohl rabi, baby onions

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-42011380544996764252008-01-06T17:05:00.001Z2008-01-06T17:15:49.685Z

I bought various packets of bulbs late last autumn and most of the ornamental flowering bulbs went in the ground at the front of the house or in the three window boxes on our front bay window. The few ornamentals leftover I had planned to put in my new cutting garden.December then became pretty hectic and any time to go out in the garden to plant the remaining bulbs seemed to simply disappear. I

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-35800076614597010132008-01-04T22:31:00.001Z2008-01-04T23:10:07.667Z

I feel like a complete stranger to the blog at the moment. The garden is so bare having not grown much at all this winter and I'm itching to give it all another go again this year!I've received some fantastic gardening presents at Christmas which I intend to put to good use. A pair of lovely gardening gloves, left-handed secateurs, a compact plant trainer with space for 49 seedlings, a proper

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-31131484832782573552007-11-04T17:08:00.000Z2007-11-26T17:34:07.760Z

The jerusalem artichokes were beginning to show the signs that they had had their day and were ready for pulling up. The leaves and stems began to turn yellow and generally look a bit sad and droopy. So, we managed to find a bit of time on a cold afternoon to pull them up. With the light fasing fast, we worked as quickly as we could to cut them back and then pull each from the ground to see what

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-56470271747181786302007-10-13T22:35:00.000+01:002007-10-13T22:57:31.285+01:00

Living in London, we have a typically heavy, clay soil. Last year when we first decided to create the veggie garden, the soil was double-dug then bolstered with organic matter and we tried to improve the drainage by digging grit into the subsoil.Now that the Autumn has arrived and also due to our recent ground work creating the new back border, we have decided to try a winter crop of green manure

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-32721506716707328262007-09-23T19:12:00.000+01:002007-10-13T22:06:36.493+01:00

Despite late planting out and poor summer weather, we have actually had a crop of tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes 'Totem' wern't as successful as last year in terms of yield and both those and my 'Tigerella' tomato plants succumbed to what I think was blight.All was not lost however, and we've had a fairly decent harvest from both varieties, albeit mainly green ones which will need ripening off the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-63272096446178375712007-09-02T20:49:00.000+01:002007-10-12T22:19:58.847+01:00

We have been really pleased with our recycled raised beds (so called as all timber used to build them had a previous life of either an old bookcase or a wooden crate) however, we decided that the larger two at the back of the veggie garden weren't the best use of our tiny space.So, using the small stack of bricks left over from when the previous owners built the low wall, we have dismantled the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-74359190982506384732007-08-11T11:49:00.001+01:002007-08-11T13:46:13.155+01:00

Today I have pickled my own homegrown produce for the first time. The remainder of my modest harvest of baby beetroots have been preserved with a couple of our homegrown shallots. Here is the Fresh as a Daisy recipe:Pickled Beetroot with Shallots(Makes 2 jam jars worth)350g of raw beetroot2 shallots350ml red wine vinegar1tsp whole peppercorns1tsp whole coriander seeds1 bayleafA pinch of crush

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-43114416474808756652007-08-11T08:28:00.000+01:002007-08-11T09:55:51.424+01:00

Slugs have been our biggest problem in the garden so far. We haven't seen any aphids this year, escaped the dreaded potato blight and we only began to get black fly on the broad beans towards the end of their season (tip from a veggie-growing friend, once your broad beans begin to come into flower, pinch out the tops of the plants and this is supposed to prevent black fly..... don't ask me how,

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-91665345946206430612007-08-10T21:12:00.001+01:002007-08-11T09:29:51.096+01:00

As we are still unsure how safe the seedlings are from slugs in the salad garden, today I have sown some backup salad leaves in the coldframe, just in case. I've also sown a few final peas and also some winter hardy salad onions, which will be transferred into one of the raised beds when they are big enough to handle.In the coldframe, I tend to use lengths of drainpipe which have drainage holes

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-16106316635796591042007-08-07T09:57:00.001+01:002007-08-07T11:34:46.517+01:00

Life has been rather hectic since moving in here pretty much this time last year. Since deciding to convert the raised lawn area in our new garden into a productive organic veggie garden last Autumn, we have made considerable progress (well, we think so anyway) however, with so much going on over the last year, we struggled to find the time to do as much in the veggie garden as we would have

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-88986593225642078372007-08-05T18:18:00.001+01:002007-08-07T10:22:43.441+01:00

It would have been criminal not to be out in the garden today in the glorious sunshine. We did a lot of general tidying up and I spent a good couple of hours sorting out the salad garden.My first attempt at starting a salad garden was eaten before it started by my nemesis, the garden slug. Determined not to be defeated, I courageously fought back with an army of nematodes and today, I have

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-5690842573530976502007-07-29T14:19:00.001+01:002007-08-01T18:06:53.227+01:00

It has been a good while since my last post. The garden has seen little action for a few weeks and as a result is understandably not as productive as you would imagine given the time of year. After a couple of trips away from home during July, last weekend we finally got out in the garden to harvest what was left in ground and ready to come up. Despite our seemingly poor efforts over the past few

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-70009837217604595872007-06-30T20:17:00.000+01:002007-06-30T20:38:41.006+01:00

During a brief dry spell between rain showers this afternoon, I managed to get a few shots of the latest flowers that have emerged over the past few days....Sweet Pea ' Pip Tremewen' Sweet pea 'Blue Velvet' Purple-pod mange tout buds ready to open (Pea 'Ezethas Krombek Blau') Calendula officinalis

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-28883790213182138952007-06-25T10:34:00.000+01:002007-06-25T10:52:46.701+01:00

The problem I am finding with all this recent rain is that the slugs and snails are out in force! I discovered four fat slugs in my coldframe this morning, one of which had greedily eaten one of my young courgette plants. I'm not entirely sure how they got in either. Coldframe security is going to have to be stepped up I think.The forecast looks to be brigtening up towards the end of the week so

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-49946654971045011472007-06-21T16:05:00.000+01:002007-06-21T16:25:28.206+01:00

Yesterday I decided to investigate how the early potatoes were getting on as the book says to check once the plants begin to flower, which mine have. In doing this, I have discovered a flaw in the potato planters which I am growing them in. In order to get to the bottom of the sack to see if the spuds were big enough to harvest, the whole thing basically had to be emptied out in the end.At first

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-26449537156891095602007-06-19T18:05:00.000+01:002007-06-19T19:23:42.038+01:00

Today has been warm and sunny and I have been able to spend a good few hours in the garden getting on with a few jobs.The nursery is looking rather empty now that the cherry tomato and pepper plants have all be planted into large containers outside. The aubergines will also go outside later this week once they have been hardened off. As they are quite delicate and need warmth and humidity I'm

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-10263329289152227352007-06-19T09:02:00.000+01:002007-06-19T10:03:23.318+01:00

On Saturday evening we went to see the film Grow Your Own at the Barbican Centre and we both really enjoyed it. It was a classic mix of light hearted comedy with the underlying sadness of the hardship experienced by those who were given a plot to help rehabilitate them following their recent traumas.To give you an idea of what the film is about if you haven't already heard about it, here is an

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-46925795232516169832007-06-12T21:22:00.000+01:002007-06-12T21:32:42.871+01:00

This evening we picked our first little mixed leaf side salad of the season to go with a quick pasta dish for dinner. Baby spinach leaf, wild rocket, sorrel and giant leaf parsley and it was absolutely delicious.If everyone tasted some home grown salad leaves, the supermarkets would never sell a prepacked bag of salad again! I think everyone should grow their own salad leaves. Even if it is in a

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-71732154301530262662007-06-12T16:41:00.001+01:002007-06-12T18:58:16.312+01:00

It is such a great feeling to wake up in the morning knowing that you don't have to spend yet another day working your socks off towards a looming deadline! My final major piece of coursework was submitted yesterday and I cannot tell you how relieved I am that it is all finished and handed in on time.So today, I finally had some time to sow some seeds! Firstly I transplanted the three tiny mint

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-79301394466660983132007-06-10T09:14:00.000+01:002007-06-10T09:26:27.668+01:00

Here are a few photos taken yesterday as I took a break from the college work. It is so nice to see flowers emerging amongst the mass of green in the garden... An inky, deep purple clematis growing from next door's garden and up into our viburnum on the other side of the fence - possibly a Clematis jackmanii? More nasturtium flowers appearing.... some vivid orange-red, one just pale yellow and

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-35224643685020321922007-06-09T10:19:00.000+01:002007-06-09T10:37:10.144+01:00

At the moment we are getting our weekly organic veg box from The Organic Delivery Company and for the past 3 weeks we have received a free organic potted herb with each box. It started with coriander (which I picked and froze as we already had our own pot of fresh coriander in the garden) and this was followed by large leaf parsley then a lovely pot of sage this week which has such a strong,

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-7520612379268751902007-06-08T13:34:00.000+01:002007-06-08T13:55:00.031+01:00

I needed to order another roll of copper tape as what we have isn't enough to go round the salad bed to help protect again slugs and snails. Whilst on the organic gardening catalogue website I couldn't resist getting a couple more packets of seeds.The reason being that our dwarf french beans were a bit of a disaster really. I have to admit they were not great the first time I grew them last year

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-28665964787621082292007-06-07T09:17:00.000+01:002007-06-07T09:42:46.497+01:00

Only 4 days to go now until my final college submission goes in.... then its back into the garden! James did manage to do some work out in the garden over the weekend which was great so here is a bit of an update in pictures from the last few days... The 6 tomato 'tigerella' plants went in the ground at the weekenda dozen mange tout plants also went from the coldframe into the beans bedMixed

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-24027151333675085712007-05-31T10:59:00.000+01:002007-05-31T11:13:33.543+01:00

With a hefty workload of final college work to do for my final submissions over the next couple of weeks, sadly I have had little time to devote to the garden.Still, we should be picking a good crop of broad beans in the next day or two and we have baby spinach ready to pick in the coldframe.The potatoes have gone crazy and with the recent strong winds they did fall over a bit under their own

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-63047347925341157382007-05-20T11:17:00.000+01:002007-05-20T11:52:25.146+01:00

My first attempt at starting off the salad bed was disasterously ruined by the dreaded slugs. I spent a good couple of hours one day preparing the soil and carefully sowing neat rows of lettuce, rocket, spinach, sorrel and calendula only for the slugs to rise from the soil each night to eat pretty much every little seedling that dared to germinate.I managed to rescue a few spinach and calendula

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-67275143956241425922007-05-18T10:56:00.000+01:002007-05-18T11:38:56.778+01:00

It is a very toasty 20 degrees this morning out in the garden and it is absolutely glorious. I just wish I could spare the day to work in the garden rather than being stuck indoors. The recent rain has been great for the veg and our 100 litre water butt filled up in no time!Still, it is a good day to begin hardening off the tomatoes. I've put them outside in a sunny spot and will do this for the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-35668144154344411162007-05-10T20:33:00.000+01:002007-08-08T10:06:37.750+01:00

If you are familiar with the author Chris Beardshaw from his television work, you will appreciate when I say that his voice resounds through the words on each page of this, his latest book. His pure passion for plants and gardening is prevalent throughout the book and really does help to keep the reader interested in the subject matter.'How Does Your Garden Grow' essentially walks through the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-29260359141273949292007-05-08T13:26:00.000+01:002007-05-08T14:15:36.019+01:00

I was rather surprised to see that the Basil 'Dark Opal' that I had sown in the mini sushi propagator has already germinated! The packet said 14-21 days and these seeds germinated in just 4 days. I'm guessing that the growing conditions in this little covered tray are ideal for germinating basil... Speedy basil seedlingsA heavy down pour of rain yesterday followed by brilliant sunshine seems to

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-83876088767479245162007-05-04T10:30:00.000+01:002007-05-04T11:41:24.944+01:00

Yesterday afternoon I transplanted my 3 Pepper 'Toreador' into 7cm pots and sowed a further 9 Pea 'Ezethas Krombek Blau' (a purple pod variety of mange tout.)I also decided to start off some of the Basil 'Dark Opal' seeds that came free this month with Grow Your Own magazine. The packet said to start them off with a bit of heat so I am trialing a new recycled 'propagator' which started life as a

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-71049467674852586502007-05-03T11:24:00.000+01:002007-05-03T11:34:38.742+01:00

I am very pleased to see that the upside down courgette seems to be doing ok now that it has been turned the right way up. The other one looks to be pushing through the soil now too so I am hoping they will both be ok. It just goes to show that if you put a seed in soil and give in light and water it will do its best to grow, even if starts life upside down! A born survivor - it has managed

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-39588051752394774822007-05-02T19:51:00.000+01:002007-05-02T20:11:27.409+01:00

One thing I hadn't anticipated when I took out a subscription to 'Grow Your Own' magazine was the amount of free seeds that come with the magazine. It seems that a packet comes with pretty much each issue as far as I can see.It's a bit of a bonus really as it means that you end up with seeds for something you might not have thought to grow. One packet that came was for Tomato 'Gardener's Delight'

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-26895969110103354962007-04-30T16:47:00.000+01:002007-04-30T17:22:43.471+01:00

I water everything in the nursery each morning before opening the blinds to give the seedlings plenty of light, sun and general warmth. I am wondering though if the all day heat is a bit too much for some. I have already had two failed attempts at starting mizuna in the nursery as it gets to a certain stage then overnight shrivels up and keels over. Now I have concerns about the aubergines and

Kimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-80714090968569204962007-04-28T18:19:00.000+01:002007-04-28T20:15:50.985+01:00

Last night on Gardeners' World, Monty talked about how to keep slugs out of your raised beds. It basically involves putting a copper barrier around the edge and treating the soil within with nematodes. Apparently slugs get a little electric shock when they come into contact with copper so they shy away from it. Monty used copper piping, however I already have a roll of copper tape so I'll be

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-22237552674409505292007-04-27T15:15:00.000+01:002007-04-27T15:49:42.743+01:00

According to a BBC News article today, Met Office figures show that this month is set to be the warmest April since records began in England more than 300 years ago.From a gardening perspective, the obvious knock on effect is that things are growing at an unusual rate with flowers and leaves emerging way before they are due. Not to mention the lack of rain and higher temperatures drying out the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-42731366858906683962007-04-26T17:15:00.000+01:002007-04-26T17:40:25.178+01:00

I received an email today from the publishers of Chris Beardshaw's new book 'How Does Your Garden Grow' to ask if I would like to review the book and share my thoughts with my fellow bloggers and blog readers. I am a huge admirer of Chris's work as a garden designer and horticulturalist so it will be an absolute pleasure to review the new book.If you are not familiar with Chris and his work,

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-50898614722909288602007-04-25T18:05:00.000+01:002007-04-25T18:37:30.045+01:00

I've received an email this afternoon from 10 Downing Street in response to the Manor Garden Allotments petition which I and 7,844 other individuals signed in support their efforts to prevent the site from being built on for the olympic park.Sadly for the resident plot holders at Manor Garden Allotments, it isn't good news. The government's response reads:The Government is aware that this is a

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-47633187837078306592007-04-24T11:56:00.000+01:002007-04-24T12:04:18.031+01:00

The Green Essentials - Organic Guides 'Control Pests' book has guidelines for homemade slug traps. I'll try the prevention methods first as I am aware that slugs and snails provide food for other creatures. If our veggies are still suffering too much though, I will consider laying a few of these traps out to protect the crops...

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-73355901092148595132007-04-24T11:14:00.000+01:002007-04-24T11:44:52.363+01:00

In the tummy of a greedy snail thats where! James spotted a snail wandering along the fleece covering my salad bed this morning and kindly went out and removed the little blighter. On closer inspection, it had only gone and munched its way through over half of my lettuce seedlings! I am now on a mission to stop this slimy army from eating my veggies before I do!I have already put down organic

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-37815887595906814372007-04-23T19:35:00.000+01:002007-04-27T15:51:47.763+01:00

As part of a college outing today for the first day of the new term, we visited Parham House Gardens in West Sussex for a guided tour with the head gardener there. The whole estate is just stunning and the walled garden is such a beautifully serene and tranquil place. I would highly recommend it as a place to visit. I will definitely try to go back and visit the gardens again in the summer months

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-54276529045529292572007-04-22T19:03:00.000+01:002007-04-22T19:30:05.822+01:00

We have spent the whole day out in the garden in glorious weather today and have made great progress.Using the left over timber batons from the shelf building indoors, James constructed three frames to which we have attached pea/bean support netting. These climbing frames will support the french beans, mange tout peas and sweet peas. We already had a piece of trellis which has been attached to

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-23982628590885685482007-04-21T17:51:00.000+01:002007-04-21T18:21:04.782+01:00

One thing I didn't expect to be a major problem in a london garden when we started to create our veggie patch was the wildlife. Your back only has to be turned for one second and you can guarantee an unwanted visitor will stroll into the garden and have a go any undoing all your hard work.Any tiny scrap of bare earth has to be kept covered in some way to stop the local cats from using it as a

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-20741513418587623082007-04-20T14:37:00.000+01:002007-04-20T15:24:16.706+01:00

Two deliveries arrived in the space of about 20 minutes this morning. The first was a couple of ornamental plants I had ordered from Crocus (a Clematis 'Mrs Cholmondeley' for the back garden and a Forsythia x intermedia 'Lynwood Variety' for the front garden.) The second delivery came from Harrod Horticultural containing bean netting and organic slug pellets. I am thrilled that everything has

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-67383506258001614452007-04-16T14:07:00.000+01:002007-04-16T14:35:36.032+01:00

My first attempt at garlic chives has not been much of a success. It does make me wonder whether I actually put any seeds in the tray!? Not one to be deterred, I have sown a fresh tray of garlic chive seeds (23 seeds in total) to give them another go.I have also sown 4 Courgette 'Nero di Milan' seeds in paper pots. I will see if they all germinate and if not, I'll sow a couple more. I think 3

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-38699988880296398172007-04-16T10:27:00.000+01:002007-04-16T10:45:45.640+01:00

We arrived home last night from our weekend away and went straight out to the garden to see how everything is looking, only to find a gang of slugs merrily munching on the leaves of the broad bean plants. All visible slugs were removed, however we will need to do something to stop them on a more permanent basis.I've just ordered some organic slug pellets and I already have a roll of copper tape.

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-77050260526937584252007-04-13T16:08:00.000+01:002007-04-13T16:23:24.543+01:00

This afternoon I've repotted the tomato and aubergines into their bigger 7cm diameter pots. They'll live in these now until they are ready to be planted outside. One of the cherry tom seedlings will be given to my brother for him to grow on his balcony.The square pots are ideal for limited space as they fit together nice and snuggly if need be. I got mine from The Essentials Company which are

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-53426869818272636532007-04-11T09:36:00.000+01:002007-04-11T13:55:12.677+01:00

Over the last few days there have been loads of new shoots coming up in the garden. It is very exciting when you see the first seedlings of something you haven't grown before. I love seeing what things look like when they first come up. I am just as intrigued when I open a new packet of seeds - will they be tiny and round or big and chunky... These are the seedlings currently coming up in the

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-57011766975377366212007-04-07T18:47:00.000+01:002007-04-07T22:34:16.742+01:00

It has been a productive day in the garden today. This morning the small bed was uncovered and given a forking over before a few centremetres of fresh topsoil was spread over the top ready for sowing seeds. I've decided to have a dedicated salad bed and no doubt gaps in other beds will be filled with a bit of lettuce or the odd calendula at various stages too.In the new salad bed I've sown a row

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-90638589254584791282007-04-06T09:52:00.000+01:002007-04-06T10:28:53.327+01:00

Today is the start of the easter bank holiday. Usually I'd be very excited at the prospect of 4 glorious days off work, however as I am studying full time this year, time off work doesn't exist anymore! Well, not until July when I graduate then it is back to the world of work.The weather for the long weekend could not be better. Here is the forecast (courtesy of BBC Weather) Good Friday (Today)

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-11312392954509963582007-04-04T12:19:00.000+01:002007-04-04T12:46:02.053+01:00

I've only ever grown veg from seed so my attempt at growing climbing nasturtiums and sweet peas is a first for me. I am really pleased with them so far - all of my nasturtiums that I'm starting off indoors have come up and I am finding a new sweet pea shoot nearly every other day (also started off in the nursery indoors.) I'll sow more outdoors at some point but these sown indoors should

Kimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-33086335148541133192007-04-02T13:22:00.000+01:002007-04-02T13:33:14.199+01:00

My moon planting experiment has sort of fallen at the first hurdle. Due to masses of project work for college I kept accidently missing the right element days to sow seeds and a little bit too much time has passed now for things like my tomatoes to do a fair experiment.So, a new (and easier to keep to) plan. I'm going to reduce the experimental veg down to just two which should be more managable.

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-63170194028463270282007-03-31T14:00:00.000+01:002007-03-31T14:45:15.711+01:00

The paper pots are still going a bit fuzzy after a while so I have decided that they are good for growing individual seedlings like tomatoes and aubergines but for multiple seed sowing of smaller seeds (mizuna, leeks etc) it is better to sow in a shallow tray. I've been saving any trays that we get in the veggie box (mushroom trays are particularly useful) and also our fresh fish comes on

Kimnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-45251612279760631612007-03-30T11:13:00.000+01:002007-04-01T11:54:19.309+01:00

It is amazing just how quickly new bean shoots grow. We were so amazed that we went one step further in this observation and set up a camera on a tripod to take photos over a 24 hour period to see just how much the grow in this amount of time. The results are amazing. The shoots pretty much doubled in size in just one day.There are 19 photos in total so I have created a side-blog to house these.

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-65506283323011333302007-03-26T17:13:00.000+01:002007-03-26T17:26:16.439+01:00

A bit more seed sowing this afternoon:Indoors:I've sown 9 plugs of climbing nasturtiums for some (hopefully) early flowering action. I'll sow some outdoors directly in a couple of weeks.Outdoors:The old packet of Cornflower seeds that I came across have been sown between the jerusalem artichokes and shallots for a bit of colour. I have no idea how many will actually germinate but they are better

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-8728675573521940532007-03-26T10:56:00.000+01:002007-04-11T23:02:28.598+01:00

More seeds sown indoors this weekend and the nursery has been upgraded to a larger size to fit everything in. Our front room is now doubling up as a greenhouse for starting off seedlings - I am sure this is a familiar sight in homes across the land!So, an update. Seeds sown on Saturday 24th:Starting off under cover:9 plugs of Chilli 'Newmex Twilight' (2 seeds per plug)9 plugs of Red Pepper '

Kimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-52785024999720354312007-03-23T16:42:00.000Z2007-03-23T16:59:01.836Z

The RHS Grow Your Own e-newsletter arrived in my email inbox this afternoon and included a link to a crop growing planner. It is pretty basic but quite handy to have the basic information to hand on one sheet. If you do not subscribe to the RHS e-newsletter, click here for a link to their veg planner. I'll be printing it out and putting it next to my garden calendar in the kitchen.Tonight sees

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-64335946105966006812007-03-20T11:31:00.000Z2007-03-20T11:41:44.175Z

After the mould incident, I have made a new watering device to be able to water seedlings in the paper pots more accurately. A small hole made in the top of a plastic drink bottle, which when you hold it upright you can either let the water drip or squeeze the bottle to squirt water into the pot without drenching the whole thing. It works really quite well, I am pretty pleased with it.Branding

Kimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-71067968725033729502007-03-19T18:28:00.000Z2007-03-19T18:44:20.823Z

Is it just me or is the weather behaving in a pretty strange way. One minute it is bright blue skies and blinding sunshine, the next is proper snowfall, which abruptly returns to the bright blue skies again in the blink of an eye. When I looked out of the window at the end of lectures today it was steadily snowing, literally a minute later when I got outside it was beautifully clear and sunny. I

Kimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937972808321060256.post-66594521048648109172007-03-18T14:12:00.001Z2007-03-18T15:57:42.866Z

I love the idea of paper pots for sowing seeds for various reasons. Today however, nature decided to rebel in the nursery and I wasn't pleased to discover the unwelcome signs of mould this morning when I went to give everything their morning drink of water. The sad mizuna which despite my optimism have definitely given up and keeled over had been invaded by some sort of fungi overnight. A closer

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