Where has the season gone

I have been so busy with other project that I have let this slip. Here are some pictures to update the blog.

Cucumber

Courgettes

Butternut Squash

Carrots

Pumpkin

Apples

Tigerella Tomatoes

Nardello Peppers

Tumbling Tomato

Tangerine Peppers

Aubergine

Aubergine

The Sun Arrived

A few things to do

The sun came out for the second day and it gave time and momentum to do a few jobs. The greenhouse is quite full so some of the seedings have been moved outside, these are mainly vegetables that would normally be sown direct so they should cope without the pampering.

Seedlings

 

The conservatory was also getting full with the squash and tomatoes. I felt these were strong enough to move to the greenhouse and free up some space.              

Leeks

 

Squash, pumpkins and Courgettes

There is not a lot if anything that can been planted out yet because we are still in April and the last frost in 2017 was April 25th.

One of the main jobs was to transplant the tomatoes to hanging baskets and the main plants to buckets. They are all over 6 inches tall so they should cope with the change.                   

Tumbler Tomatoes

               

Tigerella Tomatoes

Cape Gooseberries were in plugs and would need transplanting when we are away so I completed that and moved them to 3”pots.

               

Cape Gooseberries

The sweet peppers were sown with the tomatoes, they were in cells in the conservatory and have been left behind compared to the tomatoes. The temperature was the main culprit but I have transplanted them to 3” pots and returned them to the conservatory that maintains a more even temperature that the greenhouse.

Peppers

           

Aubergine

       

Parsley and three types of Basil

I thought I was a bit short of courgette plants so i put the last three seeds between wet cloth and placed them in the boiler room. Three days later and they have germinated. They have now been transplanted into 3” pots.

Sunflowers were sown by our grandsons and they have started to put a spurt on.

Sunflowers

I made a mistake when buying french beans. I bought a dwarf variety. I have since bought a climbing variety and they were sown indoors to give them a better start. They are bow just breaking the surface.

Cobra climbing French Beans.

The extra Spring Onions are now showing although the original ones are not standing up as they should.

Spring Onions    

   

Strawberry

A couple of hours gardening

The sun is put and there are things to do in the vegetable patch.

         

Cabbage seedlings            

Cauliflower seedlings          

Cabbage seedlings

Cabbage savoy and cauliflower romanesco have been transplanted out and netting installed over the bed.    

     

Spring onions

 

Beetroot  

Leeks  

Marigolds 

• Leeks and spring onions are growing slowly
• Marigolds will soon be ready to plant out
• Lettuce seedlings have been transplanted alongside the cabbages

Seeds to sow.

1. Nasturtiums cells in gh
2. Radish direct to bed
3. Lettuce mixed in trays in gh

April arrives but it is still cold

The snow has gone and the clocks have been altered. The weather is still changeable but it is slowly warming up with some sunny days. Here is a tour in pictures of where we are so far.

The Basils have Germinated

 

Aubergine and Peppers with Beetroot just showing on the left

 

Two surviving Squash plants with more sown.

 

Cucumbers / Gherkin

 

Pumpkins for Halloween

 

Spring Onions started in a tray

 

Leeks started in pots this year

 

Marigolds

 

Cabbage and Cauliflowers

Lettuce

 

The apples beginning to bud

 

 

Lupins just transplanted out

 

Last years Cowslips

 

March Madness

It is the beginning of March and the February snow has now gone although there is talk of another bout soon.

The garden is just starting to recover  from the dormant winter period and the first signs of spring are here. The birds thought February was spring and with the warm spell at the beginning of the month they were out in force, then the snow came and they had to divert their efforts into finding food. Now March 13th they are back in Spring mode.

Daffs and Crocus

Cowslips

I always start Tomatoes and Peppers in February but I left them a bit later this year and the tomatoes have now sprouted along with Lettuce, Cabbage and Cauliflowers. The tomatoes are still in the conservatory, in here it is not getting below 9c at night. This will hold them back a bit until we move into April.

Tomatoes and Aubergine

The Lettuce, Cauliflower and Cabbage have been moved to the greenhouse which is not heated but because it is a lean-to, it very rarely gets below 1c at night.

Cauliflower and Cabbage 

I have sown some flowers, Marigolds, Lupins and Nasturtiums which have germinated indoors and I have moved them to the Greenhouse to slow the growth down. If you keep them indoors they get very leggy with the lack of sunlight, but moving them outside slows the growth down and they are not searching for daylight.

Marigolds at the front , Lettuce behind

Nasturtiums 

Outside the Strawberry bed was dug up and the strawberry plants sorted and thinned. They were then planted back using the strongest young plants, hopefully the crop will be a bit more consistent this year.

Last Years Lupins ready to go out

All the other beds have been cleared and fertilised ready for the new season. The fruit trees were pruned in December. I have three small blueberry bushes in the greenhouse which I repotted before Christmas, they are now starting to bud and they will be moved outside within the next month.

All the beds cleared

Blueberry