Garden 2012 no 19.

Garden  2012 no 19

I’ve missed being out in my garden but things are almost back to normal and I’ve spent a couple of days out there last week.
The seasons are changing and its time to start tidying up and sorting out ready for next year. All around here the fields are full of hay bales, the tractors are out in force, and once the hay is lifted the earth is ploughed. I like this time of year, it’s a good time to be in the garden. Already the Rowan berries are on the trees and the leaves begin to yellow.
The most noticeable thing in my garden at the moment is the geraniums. They are planted every year as a pest deterrent, and at the end of the year, once they have done their job, they bloom. Its ironic really, by the time they are blooming it’s almost time to lift them and bring them indoors. I don’t like having geraniums indoors because, although they bloom virtually all winter and are very pretty, they smell horrible. But if I left them outside they would all die and I would be buying new plants every year. If I ever get myself a greenhouse they would over winter out there, but until then, I have to put up with the smell indoors.
As I harvest the spinach, the lettuce and the last of the radishes, I sift the compost, add some chicken pellet fertiliser and organic feed and store it ready for spring. I’ve been doing this for so long now the soil I’ve salvaged together with the compost I’ll sift from the composter means I’ll not be buying big bags of compost in the spring. Being self sufficient in compost for the containers will make a huge difference to the finances, and as I’m retiring next year this is exactly the right time to reach this point.
I left the last container of rocket and mustard greens to go to seed and I think I have enough seeds to at least start growing in the spring.
I intended to grow two crops of potatoes this year but I didn’t lift the earlies in time to get another crop in, but rather than waste the space, I sowed a few carrots. These may be left to over winter until about February when I will need to prepare for next years potatoes.
The herbs picked up after all the rain and sunshine we had last month. I was surprised at the size of the herb harvest. I cut far more than I am ever going to need and now I have to think about what to do with it. I think I may well just freeze as much as I can because it keeps well if frozen and takes very little space in the freezer. I like to be prepared for every eventuality and I guess even the herb harvest could fail one year.
Rosemary had the haircut of her life. She was literally taking over, she looked more like a Christmas tree than a small rosemary shrub. I didn’t throw any of the cuttings away but I’m not at all sure what to do with it all, there is so much of it.
There is an awful lot of garden waste too. I was going to put it all in the garden waste bin to be taken away. At least that way it would eventually end up as good organic garden compost, But I decided to wait until I have taken this years compost out of the composter and see haw much I can compost down myself.
And so finally, yesterday evening, I ended up with a kitchen table full of assorted herbs, a few spring onions, a couple of packets of seeds and the biggest bag of rosemary I have ever seen. 

 

This morning my whole house smells of rosemary. I also picked all of the lavender and placed it head down in one of the grandchildrens sea side buckets, and sure enough, this morning most of the little flower heads have dropped off and are sitting in the bottom of the bucket. I usually pick some of the tansy flowers and keep them indoors over the winter but this year I was too late. They had all died off while I have been stuck indoors. But I gave the tansy bush a bit of a haircut too and I’m left with a big yellow bin full of tansy cutting which is supposed to be a natural insect deterrent for the house. I’m sure I will find a use for it somewhere. 
 

The question is..... what am I going to do with this???

Garden 2012 no16

Garden2012 no 16

So now I’m 11 days post surgery and absolutely NOT supposed to be gardening. But I needed to go to the shop which is only across the road and that meant walking though the garden. The first thing I did was to fall over my tub of beetroot, while I was down there, sitting beside it, rubbing my knees and feeling very foolish, I was close enough to notice how badly it needed watering. I thought ‘just doing a bit of watering couldn’t hurt’, and that’s what I intended to do, just a little bit of watering. 

That is until my friend arrived, she’s not a gardener but she knows how much my garden means to me. She agreed to pick the last of the broad beans and pull what was left of the bean plants ready for composting. 

Some of the beans were already going black on the plants, they wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Picking the beans, pulling the plants, collecting the canes and then doing some watering was the only work that was done today, plus pulling a few of the biggest shallots and   beetroot, but it was enough to stop me getting really frantic. 

I couldn’t help noticing the rhubarb needed pulling, some of the lettuce has to come up and some of the Tay berries are ripe. 

The nasturtiums have mostly gone to seed and there is grass growing in their tub.   

And of course the weeds are thriving in my absence.  After my friend helped me out we just sat outside, enjoyed the sunshine and admired the plants. The pond is looking good. It is covered in duckweed now which, as far as establishing a wildlife pond goes, is a very good thing. The water under the duckweed is crystal clear and the tadpoles and baby frogs are loving the cover it gives them.

Today is the first time I have sat in my garden, in the midst of my plants and enjoyed being there for almost two weeks, It was lovely, until big black clouds appeared and blocked the sunshine.

This evening I have bottled my first jar of beetroot and my first jar of shallots. It’s a start and the rest will be OK in the ground for a little longer. I hope I can get back out there soon, my garden needs me.

                                                                                                      

Feb 20 2012, Garden no 5

This is just a quick update on the composting situation. I decided to tackle the pile of fresh compost emptied from the compost bin on Friday. I’m still not feeling 100% so settled myself in a sheltered position on the steps.
I sat and brought the compost over one bucket at a time and sieved it into the tubs ready for planting. I’m really pleased with the results; I worked my way through about half of the pile and filled one big tub and one pot of finely sieved compost ready for planting. The bits of twig and organic matter that wouldn’t go through the sieve just went back into the compost bin. The whole thing is quite labour intensive, but it’s also satisfying to know I’ve reduced my contribution to landfill and returned all organic matter back to the earth. The only real problem was dragging the full up tub back off the steps and into position, must admit I never thought of the weight once it was full.

Tags: garden 2012, plants, garden.

Prev: Garden 2012 no 4
Next: The Greek Hero; Manolis Glezos

reply edit delete

7 Comments

Add a Comment

delete reply reneenay wrote on Feb 21 nice

delete reply hotclaws wrote on Feb 21 I love my compost bins.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Feb 20 looks good :)

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Feb 20 greenwytch said there is just nothing better than putting our hands into our very own home-made compost! I sooo agree-great job Loretta

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Feb 20 Hope you feel better soon.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Feb 20 there is just nothing better than putting our hands into our very own home-made compost!

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Feb 20 forgetmenot525 said The whole thing is quite labour intensive, but it’s also satisfying to know I’ve reduced my contribution to landfill and returned all organic matter back to the earth. That must make it doubly satisfying.

Feb 20 2012, Garden no 4

Garden 2012 no 4

I’ve spend most of the weekend suffering the cold, runny nose, shivers and back to bed, but before I felt really bad, I manage to spend a couple of hours in the garden on Friday.
I spent quite a long time rearranging and moving my herbs. The reason for this was to make more space for the vegetable plot. I’ve not dug the extra yet but at least I can see what space I have. It may not look like much but its surprising how little space you need to plant a couple of rows of veg. Next to go in will be carrot and beetroot seeds which means I better get a move on and dig out the extension to the vegetable plot.
I’ve acquired another set of native hedgerow bushes and made spaces for some of them just inside the fence. I planted Holly, Hawthorn and dog rose. My daughter also took some, she has a much bigger garden than mine. I was a bit worried about over planting the hedge until I looked at one of the natural hedges in the nature trail. The old hedgerow seem to have little saplings growing every where, but only the best of them survive and I figured if this is the way nature does it then I guess its good enough for me.
Once the saplings were in I scattered a box of assorted wild flower seeds among them and gently smoothed over a thin layer of soil. The only other seeds I sowed that day were some spinach seeds. I now have lettuce, radish and spinach seeds planted in tubs at the side of the vegetable garden.

I’ve never forced rhubarb before and wanted to check how it was doing, when I lifted the pot off the top I saw the tiny bud of pink there. Mt rhubarb has never started this early before so I’m assuming I’ve done the right thing. I’m not too worried about the rhubarb, even if the forcing method doesn’t work this plants seems virtually indestructible which means I’ll get stalks from it later in the year. I know rhubarb leaves are really poisonous, but I’ve always composted them, now I’m wondering if I should allow them to compost because the compost is being used to grow food. I’ve never read that you can’t compost rhubarb leaves, but now I’m not sure,  does any one know??
The last thing I did was to empty out the compost bin. It looks as if I’ve allowed it to dry out too much but on the whole, it’s a good pile of earth I can return to the garden. I need to sieve it, there are some bits of twig, egg shells and cardboard that didn’t rot down, but among all that there is also a good amount that is usable.  I have a system now, I have two compost bins; I use one all year for one year, then let it stand for another year, and empty it at the start of the third year. While the first one is standing, the second one is in use. When the first one is emptied (now) the second one is left to stand for a year and the first one is used again. This time next year I shall empty out the second one and start all over again.

Tags: garden, garden 2012, plants

Prev: A Greek Tragedy
Next: Garden 2012 no 5

reply edit delete

21 Comments

Add a Comment

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Feb 20 a friend of mine growing up had rhubarb growing all over his back yard :)

delete reply catherinearmant wrote on Feb 20 This looks so promising dear Loretta ! Take care.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 mitchylr said If anyone would know, it's Frank :-)) yeah..............thats what I thought :-)

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Feb 20 It's coming along nicely. I see Frank has provided the answer you needed re the rhubarb leaves. If anyone would know, it's Frank :-))

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Feb 20 i *think* i have seen the bare root plants for sale over here in the garden centers...but i'll check the next time i head out there and i will let you know. ; )

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 greenwytch said i have several friends over here who have told me the same. i do believe i would like it, i like that combination of flavors. if you can't buy it there I could sent you a plant, its very hardy and would survive the journey easy..........if I'm allowed to send plants to you?? You need to plant the roots.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 brendainmad said I didn't know rhubarb leaves were poisonous, but I love rhubarb, especially in crumble. rhubarb grows in all the fields and every one knows not to accidentally chop some of the leaves into the pan.......they really are very poisonous.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Feb 20 i have several friends over here who have told me the same. i do believe i would like it, i like that combination of flavors.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 greenwytch said well done, Loretta! i have never grown rhubarb, so i don't know the first thing about it. looks like you are getting well-organized and things are moving right along. feel better soon, dear. XO Deb... you haven't lived if you haven't had rhubarb.................its delicious, a combination of sharp and sweet taste, I highly recommend it.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 hedgewitch9 said You are brilliant, an inspiration all year round! Thanks Emma, nice to see you again, ..............hope you are well.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 bennett1 said How lovely to be able to garden this time of year! Yesterday I had my first meal with the basil plants I put out 3 weeks ago. I was delighted. Rhubarb is a great plant - virtually impossible to kill. This might be a good time to sow the columbine seeds. Lucky you cooking with basil already. I love basil, my basil last year wasn't too good because I started them off indoors and then put them outside.I thought they would be OK but they weren't so this year I decided to grow it on windowsill. My windowsills are still full of geranium plants that I bought in from the garden last year. They smell horrible but they have flowered all winter. They are very susceptible to frost which is why I'm keeping them in a bit longer, just to make sure they will be OK outside, I've been told they will protect the veg if planted around the veg garden. As soon as the geraniums are back in the garden the windowsills will fill up with basil and rocket, rocket is something else that didn't do so well outside last year. The year before last I grew lots of rocket and basil on the windowsills and they did great, which is why I'm going back to that plan this year. And yes.............I love rhubarb too, its grown commercially around here, we seem to have just the right soil for growing rhubarb.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 veryfrank said I know a little about a lot of things, but font - no. :-} Mostly I have good reference books. then I'm very grateful you have the time and inclination to use the reference books :-) thank you

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20, edited on Feb 20 djdx said Well done! I am surprised that you can sow so early at your latitude. This year has been quite mild and I've only planted the things the books/ internet tell you to plant. So far I planted broad beans and garlic in November and onions, shallots and more broad beans in February. The seeds I planted radish, lettuce and spinach all said on the packet feb/ march onwards. I've never tried to plant all year round before but I know some people do it so I read up on what to plant when and gave it a go. Only time will tell if I am too early. Saturday when I was feeling quite awful with the cold i heard on the weather forecast that we would have another really cold few days with temperatures down to -6, that really worried me so I actually got out of my bed and went out to the garden and covered all the new seeds with black plastic in an attempt to keep the soil from freezing. seems I did the right thing because the next day the pond was frozen. Maybe I did plant too early but I really want to try to get fresh food crops for as long as possible and if I get it wrong this year...........I'll readjust the planting scheduled next year.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Feb 20 forgetmenot525 said .I begin to think you are the font of all knowledge :-) I know a little about a lot of things, but font - no. :-} Mostly I have good reference books.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 20 veryfrank said Yes you can. The leaves are high in Oxalic Acid and are therefore very toxic to humans and animals but, in the compost pile, the 8 carbon long acid is either broken down into smaller molecules or simply diluted and Ph balanced. So, it is not toxic in the soil. thank you Frank...............I begin to think you are the font of all knowledge :-) hope you are well

delete reply djdx wrote on Feb 20 Well done! I am surprised that you can sow so early at your latitude. I just now started some tomatoes in the house. I always compost the rhubarb leaves. I don't think it is poison like round-up, it's just an element that we don't eat--maybe oxalic acid or something like that. Ah, I see veryfrank has already replied to that effect.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Feb 20 How lovely to be able to garden this time of year! Yesterday I had my first meal with the basil plants I put out 3 weeks ago. I was delighted. Rhubarb is a great plant - virtually impossible to kill. This might be a good time to sow the columbine seeds.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Feb 20 forgetmenot525 said I’ve never read that you can’t compost rhubarb leaves, but now I’m not sure, does any one know?? Yes you can. The leaves are high in Oxalic Acid and are therefore very toxic to humans and animals but, in the compost pile, the 8 carbon long acid is either broken down into smaller molecules or simply diluted and Ph balanced. So, it is not toxic in the soil.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Feb 20 I didn't know rhubarb leaves were poisonous, but I love rhubarb, especially in crumble.

delete reply hedgewitch9 wrote on Feb 20 You are brilliant, an inspiration all year round!

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Feb 20 well done, Loretta! i have never grown rhubarb, so i don't know the first thing about it. looks like you are getting well-organized and things are moving right along. feel better soon, dear. XO