A bit of colour

April 12th

After all the heavy rain this week it's nice to see a bit of colour.
(Yes, I'm English so the word "colour" has the letter "u" in it)


April Tulips



The garden creek, normally a mere trickle.

The seeds I planted on March 30th are up and running. I think that every one of them has germinated.


(L to R Cucumber, Watermelon, Squash)

I had a drive over to our little garden center here in town with the express wish to buy some lettuce seeds. I think I know why the first lot didn't come up. They were last years and apparently lettuce seed is only good for a year. Duh!!

So I picked a packet up along with 4 Bell Pepper plants and then somehow these seemed to suddenly appear in my hand...............???


Delmarvel Strawberry Plants

Well, to be honest, it's all Elizabeth's fault really. I've never been much interested in growing strawberries, too many plants rambling all around the place and taking over the garden etc etc.
But when I saw on her blog here that she was growing some in a hanging basket I suddenly had a change of heart. I also remembered that I have at least one spare basket kicking around in the garage so this was a good way of using it. We always have flowering baskets at the front of the house, why not try some fruit? All I have to do is try to keep the House Finches from nesting in it and all will be fine.

In the past we have struggled to water and tend a basket due to it being transformed into a nest site for these cute little birds. It's just a little scary as we have 3 cats who of course take great interest in the comings and goings of the parents while they build the nest then feed the young. On hot summer evenings I have to enjoy my nice cold beer sat in front of the garage rather than on the patio so I dont scare the birdies. Fledging time is a nightmare!!
I may hang the strawberries round the back of the house actually as that area gets the sun all afternoon (and I'll be able to drink my beer in peace)

More rain...........

April 7th
Wow, has it been wet these last few days or what?
It's rained so hard that it's punched quite a few holes in my Floating Row Covers. I'm probably going to have to purchase some more before spring is over. Everything looks wet, sad and limp.
But, here's the story so far...........
Yellow Onion Sets in Plot 1 are up and looking good as are the Red Onion Sets in Plot 2.
Plot 3 looks rather barren. OK, I'll wait and see.
Radish and Turnips are doing well in Plot 4 but the Spinach seems to be a "no show" at the moment.
But, here's the good news. ALL 10 potato plants are up in Plot 5.
Hurray !!
There seems to be life in the latest (and last) seeds I started indoors. Cucumber, Squash and Watermelons have all sprouted under the lamps.
And, as I type this I'm hearing thunder and seeing flashes of lightening all around the area so more rain is on it's way.
Hey, who ever said it was easy growing stuff in Oklahoma?



Baby trees in nursery

My batch of baby trees arrived from the Arbor Society last week. I'd forgotten about them to be honest and only remembered when I spotted a 2 foot long bag protruding from the mail box. Eeek, ok, dont panic Mick!!
All I've got to do is find them a home for the next year as their future sites are not ready yet.
Hey, to be honest their future sites aren't even decided upon yet.
And, I dont want to lose any precious growing space either.
Enter the old medicine cupboard...................
This fine piece of late '1970's woodwork was ripped with great force from the bathroom wall last year by my good self (the previous owner of the house having kindly fastened it there with 6 inch nails) and had been living in my shed since, awaiting a use. I potted all the saplings and found the ones which require "Full Sun" a little space in my small fenced off area so that they could get a good start without being hassled by rabbits or naughty pussycats.


Front Flower Bed

Some needed to be in partial shade so these were found a place in the front flower bed which loses the sun soon after mid-day. Since this photograph was taken I've surrounded them with chicken wire.



Front Flower Bed

So, everything is found a little home and we can all relax.
Until the next gardening emergency...................

First Trade of 2008

April 5th

Tomato plants seem to be moving along nicely.


(L to R) Giant Beefsteak, Big Red, Old Virginia.

This afternoon I called in to see my friend Corky to ask if she had any eggs available. Supplies were good so I picked up a dozen. Her husband went down to the coup and selected them himself. How much nicer than getting them from the refrigerator at Wal-mart eh?
On his return he asked me if I liked Duck Eggs and promptly produced two from his pocket.


Mr Corky's Duck Eggs.

I accepted them gladly and in return gave him an Old Virginia tomato plant from my stock.
Hmm, scrambled eggs for Sunday breakfast are worth getting up early for.

Corky also likes turnips so I grow them and trade for her eggs.

Last indoor seed planting, honest

My Assistant Gardeners

March 30th
OK, so after expanding from one overhead lamp to two I found I had a few square inches of space left available on the growing table and decided to fill them.
I dug out 6 old 4 inch pots from the shed, filled them with a soiless growing mixture and stuck in a few seeds:

Yellow Crookneck Squash
Tendergreen Burpless Cucumber
Sugar Baby watermelon

All from heirloom Seeds

That's it. I promise. No more seeds in the house this year.
Any others will be directly sown into the plots

Earth Hour

Sat 29th March
This evening we did our bit for Earth Hour and switched off lights, computers etc.
Earlier in the day I'd been "Instant Messaging" my granddaughter back in England and she got her family and most of her friends to participate too so that was pretty cool.
I know that some critics have shrugged it off as a gimmick but we are keen recyclers in our home and try to be energy conscious all the time. Anything that raises peoples awareness of wastage of any kind is good news to us and we will give it our support.
We ALL need to care.

In the garden I try to be "green" using my home made compost from all that great stuff that would normally get thrown into the landfill. It gives me great pleasure thinking I'm getting all that good stuff back, and for free too. I like free!
I also try different homemade natural bug/beetle/moth/egg-laying/biting/flying/plant munching repellants. Some work and some don't. Hey, I'm prepared to share SOME of my horticultural wealth with the natives but not ALL of it.

That particular evening my wife had prepared a super dinner of Turkey and Leek Crumble which we enjoyed by candlelight. Nothing new about having a candlelit dinner in our house to be honest as we eat that way most evenings by choice.
Kinda adds to the ambiance doesn't it?

Planting Time

March 23rd
After checking the soil and the weather forecast I’ve decided to get something in the ground so here goes............

Bed 1
Along the front I planted a row of yellow onions sets, purchased from Lowes.
Bed 2
Along the front I planted a row of red onions sets from Frisby Garden Center, Grove
Bed 3
Here I planted a row of Cherry Belle Radish along the front and Grandpa Admire’s Lettuce along the center. Both from Heirloom Seeds
Bed 4
Purple Top Turnips along the rear from seed purchased at Fairland Garden Center, Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach in the center and of Cherry Belle Radish along the front, both from Heirloom Seeds
Bed 5
This plot received 2 rows of Russet seed potatoes picked up at our local branch of Lowes

Everything then got a very light watering.

Repotting

March 22nd

Most of the tomato plant seedlings have now developed their first true leaves and so it’s time for them to be repotted. This is also the time that I introduce them to a little garden soil. I like to try to use the soil from the bed in which they will eventually be planted. I make a mixture of equal parts of sphagnum peat moss, compost (my home made stuff) and garden soil. This I mix thoroughly and dampen slightly. I then transfer the seedlings into 4-inch fiber pots. After a light watering I give them a little half strength liquid fertilizer such as fish emulsion which I mix up in a spray bottle. Then they go back under the lamp.

I have around 30 plants going at the moment so I had to go out and purchase another strip light to cover them. I also treated myself to a couple of basil plants from Frisby Garden Center in Grove and repotted those too. Those tiny pots the plants are in when you buy them are far too small and the plants get root bound and stressed. I like to buy early and get them into something bigger as soon as I can.