I'm slowly getting there

Okay, so I haven't posted anything for a while. Naughty me. Slap on the hand. I have been spending most of my time supporting Amy in the care of our new little one, namely Mia. This has meant that time in the garden has taken a backseat. Mia is now four months old now. How the time has flown! I have done bits and bobs here and there. On the patio at the moment I have tomatoes. Only two of the original five that I planted have survived. I am thinking that maybe the compost has something to do with it. The plants germinated then soon after just wilted and died.

I also have Chillis, three this year, runner beans, sunflowers, coriander times 2 and lots of cauliflower seedlings given to me by my kind neighbour Paula.

In the plot I have mini sweetcorn, which I have to say, is looking a little yellow. I'm not sure what is going on there. At least the slugs haven't done too much damage, just a little nibble here and there.

In the raised bed I have lettuce and spinach and in the remaining plots I have dwarf french beans and onions. So on the face of it I haven't done too badly with my limited time.

Orkney seaweed and other things

I have been on a spending spree recently. I've bought a giant poly-tunnel, some Orkney seaweed fertilizer and some large bell cloches. The cloches come in very handy protecting young seedlings from slugs.

Most of the seedlings are now outside in a specially prepared 'nursery' area. I've planted six of my seed potatoes. I didn't realise that potatoes took up so much room! I have placed them in one half of the big raised bed. The rest of the bed contains purple sprouting brocolli and a lone artichoke.

Yesterday I planted some lettuce, spinach and coriander seeds. Today I potted six runner bean seeds. I thought I would plant these again as they were a great success last year.

My next job is to weed the carrot plot and double-dig the marked-out plot for the poly-tunnel. Once I have done this I can plant the aubergines. I might also get some courgettes in under there where they will be nice a toasty warm!

Good news on the onion front. There are numerous shoots appearing!

I was thinking about how best to attract beneficial insects into the garden. Jake's wildflower garden should help a great deal. Maybe I should plant some more nasturtiums this year. I remember last year they were covered in caterpillars that would surely have been chomping away on my veg.

Slugs...again

Ah yes, another slug post! Due to the rain we've been having I thought it would be prudent to go on a 'slug watch'. I went out shortly before dusk yesterday to check the lettuce beds. There they were happily chomping away upon my 'lollo rossa'. And judging by their size they had been there a while. I dispatched seven or eight into a jar. I probably need to apply some more nematodes. I have also been thinking of putting some copper strips along the tops of the raised beds, which I think will be a good deterrent.

The good news is that I have harvested my first crop of broad beans. they are around 5-6 inches long and taste delicious.

Let there be broad beans

The recent hot weather has certainly pepped up the growth of the veggies. The broad beans have flowered and are now producing lovely succulent beans. The runner beans have just started to flower so I am expecting beans in the next week or so. the borage that I transplanted next to the beans has gone ballistic with great big healthy-looking leaves.

Yesterday evening I was out scouring for blackfly eggs. I came across little clumps of tiny yellow eggs on the nasturtium leaves. Not sure what they were but I dispatched them with a quick wipe. It was nice to see the bees and the hover flies flitting around the broad bean flowers doing what they do best.

The slugs are back with their eyes on my lettuce, so yesterday evening I went out armed with a torch. The first group were found behind the herb trough. I think they had been making their way up the wall and then crawling onto the mint to get into the trough. This is how they got to my basil seedlings. I collected three slugs and then cut back the mint.

In the lettuce bed I found another couple munching away. I'm not sure why the nematodes are not working. Maybe I need another application. Then again maybe the slugs population would be much worse by now without them.

Lettuce

We picked our first lettuce at the weekend. Pure organic goodness! It tasted delicious with a crisp fresh taste and nice frilly texture.

The dwarf beans are doing well. Still no sign of the beans, either broad or runner.

Over night the three chilis have started to emerge. At the moment they are green so I guess they will turn red later(unless they are green chilis).