Thursday, July 17, 2014

Just for the Joy of it...

... This year getting the plot fixed up and ready to go has been a real joy. We have used our greenhouse to start everything until it was bursting with new life. We have fed the ground with manure, the very best I might add, bought by the girls we all have come to appreciate. We limed where we should and we planted out, tended, watered as we should and we are now seeing why the 'old boys', always said, 'the answer lies in the soil'. 
We have also worked on the look of our plot this year adding little picket fences front and back and planted flowers alongside them. The Gazinias are exploding with colour every time the sun comes out which has been often the begonias are holding their own against the wretched slugs and my pretty little Aqualegia foliage has emerged ready to go, though probably no flowers until next year now. I can wait. I have waited seven years to see my plot how I pictured it when we first started. Full of flowers including the lovely big blousy yellow roses I got from the pound shop. Even fuller with veg of all sorts, swedes, onions, parsnips, cabbages, sprouts, calabrese (though not so happy with that), squash, peas (two kinds), celeriac, shallots, potatoes (three kinds), parsley, beans (two kinds), leeks, courgettes of course, corn (our favourite extra sweet), broad beans,lettuce, radishes, beetroot and then... there is all the fruit, strawberries (not so many owing to them being new plants, raspberries, plums (two kinds), apples (three kinds),blackcurrants and red, rhubarb, perennial now as well as spring, and of course cucumber indoor and out and tomatoes three varieties indoors and out. 
Our little picket fence
So we are happy bunnies this year so far and as long as the slug pellets hold out. I do have a new pet in the greenhouse or you could call him a secret weapon, he is Charlie our toad. The other thing we had fun doing this year was adding a few very old stepping stones from the reccy yard to our little path by the greenhouse well it is just half paved because we stopped at the overhead quote I put up a while ago of Lord Byron's which seemed just right...' there is a pleasure in the pathless woods'. Yes, this year has been a real joy working on our plot I just hope we are eating our labours well into winter and sprouts come Christmas.
To the pathless woods

Saturday, March 22, 2014