Sunday, May 17, 2009

At last the rain has stopped.

No rain expected for a few days so everyone can get out and enjoy a little sunshine.

Tommyticklemouse is happy to bask in the sun and watch dad do all the work.
Even though the rain has stopped there are still lots of wet areas around the garden.


This puddle is teeming with tadpoles.
Things are blooming. The Determinate tomato plant.............
.....and............

..........some of the potatoes too.
I have finally got the Yolo Bell pepper plants into plot 6

I planted them out Thursday evening. I staked then as we were having some quite stiff winds blowing at the time
Plot 5 is abundant with green

We enjoyed some of our Swiss Chard the other night.
The tomatoes in Plot 2 have taken a severe beating with the torrential rain but I think.....

....that now things have settled down they will buck up and start to look a little happier.
I've finally got some Parsnip seeds to sprout.

I've found the ideal location in a small cupboard above the range which seems to be working well. I set out a row on Friday evening and I have enough sprouted seeds to start another row next week.
Here's something else that's looking a lot cheerier now that the deluge has ceased.

We may be trying a little Mesclun Salad soon with a little luck.
Of course, there's always the mowing to do so Herbie was called into action.

Now everything looks.................

.....far neater.
I even got the front flower bed weeded and a few bedding plants in.

They'll be more to come but my back has had enough for this weekend.
I have a long weekend coming up so hopefully will be able to get a few more jobs ticked off of my "to do" list.
Enough!!



3 comments:

DP Nguyen said...

Your swiss chard looks great. I've seen lots of people who are growing swiss chard this year. I think I should investigate this. I've never eaten swiss chard before, but it's always great to try something new.

We've had so much rain in TN as well. It's been weeks and weeks of rain. This week is the first sunny week in A LONG time!

Dan said...

Glade to hear it has stopped raining! I am planting parsnips some time this year. I will have to try the pre-sprouting, thanks for the tip.

Mick said...

dp.
Swiss Chard is a good substitute for Spinach, something I struggle to grow because as soon as the temperatures rise, it bolts!
Another good thing about it is this:
If you cut it right back at the end of the season, down to just above ground level, cover it with straw or some other mulch, it will grow back the following Spring

Dan
I love Parsnips but they have a reputation of being difficult to germinate and grow. They're a great winter veg and actually taste better when have sat through some really cold winter weather (a bit like Brussles Sprouts). I'd get some in now, mulch them when they are around 4 or 5 high and leave them until late Winter, early Spring.