For Plocket

[Weeterrier]

[Pip]

I think that I have missed something!!

Pip

[Weeterrier]

No Pip, I once said I collected molehills, and Plocket wondered why. So I have sent her a photo of the lovely stuff, so handy for tubs and filling low bits in the border. ;D Yes, it does have grass seeds in it, but I like weeding.

[Plocket]

Oh wow doesn't that look wonderful! Thanks WeeT - I've got a tub-trug in the back of OH's car in case I see any ;D

[Weeterrier]

Glad to hear it. LP will love gathering too, I'll bet.

[Plocket]

That's if and when we find some!!!

[Weeterrier]

That's the problem Plocket I am so lucky. But I also collect seaweed , which I have to collect from travels. And animal droppings.
I keep saying it, I MUST get a life.

[Plocket]

Mmmm! I don't have a beach close enough, but what exactly do you do with the seaweed? Do you use it in the garden, or press it and put it in books to look at???

I don't want to know about the animal droppings!!!

[Weeterrier]

No Plocket, I put the seaweed into the compost bins, though I believe it can be placed on top of the soil. It is the animal droppings I press in a book to look at.
No, they go in the compost too. ;D Of course, it is just herbivore's droppings.

[Plocket]

I kinda guessed it was for gardening and not for admiring - I'm not sure what you see in the droppings though!!! If I had more room in our compost bin the rabbits droppings would go in, but I've got to wait for some warmer weather to finish it off and then I can start topping up again

[Yakram]

I saw this thread "For Plocket" and thought "Aha" - because I can't remember (senior moment) where I posted last week about seed sowing, and I hope people won't mind if I do this week's update for Plocket on here.
Thank you for your forbearance, folks ;D
Romano are the long red peppers, as mentioned last week, but are also called Ramiro, just to confuse things. I haven't sown those yet, but there's plenty of time. Last week's dahlia seedlings are through already!
Today, after spending the morning preparing seed trays and 3" pots, after a quick lunch I sowed 70x9=630 Pea Early Onward; 8 trays of 18 pots with three seeds of Beetroot = 312; two lots of Broad Beans, two seed trays of Onion Red Brunswick, 3 trays of different cauliflower - All Year Round, Snowball and Wallaby (about 200 seeds in each tray). I used almost four bags of 80L seed compost with added vermiculite.
Week 6 sowings will be ready for pricking out in Week 8 (next week), and there will be lots more Broad Beans and other stuff to sow next week, so I'll be like one of those speeded up films I think. It keeps me out of mischief

[Plocket]

I haven't got around to doing mine yet Yakram!

You have such an exciting job Yakram and I love to hear what you are up to. So many little babies to care for but then again they do have a lovely home and owner!!!

[Yakram]

Even more 'babies' now, Plocket.
Tuesday a.m. I do the 'prep'. I prepared 105 trays of 9 cells in the morning, plus 54 x 3" pots. In the afternoon I pricked out 54 Dahlia Mignon mixed (bedding dahlia), 170 Cauliflower Wallaby, 135 Cauliflower Snowball and 135 Onion Ailsa Craig. Then I ran out of time, but the lads are detailed to get some practice in tomorrow. Will be interesting to find out how many they each pricked out in three hours!
Full moon tonight, and the weather will change for warmer and wetter. Pity it's cloudy as it is a lunar eclipse at 3-4am and we could have had a good view in the UK.

[Plocket]

Yikes! It makes my few little pots look very insignificant!!! And I missed the full moon last night

I bet you were glad of that lovely greenhouse over the last few days - I hope your little babies didn't suffer.

I'm going to try and get around to sowing my peppers today - after I've been out to buy seed compost!!!

[Dutchy]

Missed the moon eclips too.
Was snug and comfy in bed... sound asleep.
I won't sow my peppers until middle march. Indoors on the window sill.
I have always started things up right after my skiing hols.
Somehow the time seems right for things then.
I found this site with moon calendar so I thought I would try and stick to that this year to see if things really are better that way.
( only have the annuals to compare as I am new to veg )
Has any of you got experiance with this moon planting?

[Yakram]

Has any of you got experiance with this moon planting?

Only for myself, Dutchy, on a home basis; it does seem to work once you have the hang of it.
At work, only the "country-bred" gardener believes in it; the 'inside' gaffer and the others don't. Basically their work schedule has no leeway for experimentation.
Give it a go, Dutchy, but do keep notes - essential for future reference. Good luck.
Nearly forgot - here is a useful website: www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk
but maybe that's the one you found. or was it this one?
www.gardeningbythemoon.com/

[Yakram]

For Plocket, and anyone else - excitement in Yakkers' home (cold) greenhouse:
I sowed some Whitworth's dried Goji Berries (Lycium barbatum) a couple of months ago and .......drum roll ..... they have germinated.
I'm going to sow them properly this time, for interest, by soaking the berries first, then opening them up and planting the little yellow seeds. I'll let you know if I'm successful.

Just in case you wish to browse in your local newsagents: In the April edition of Kitchen Garden, starting page 56, there is an article about where OH and I volunteer. One picture purports to show the new Pinery-Vinery, but in actual fact shows the Vinery and a bit of the green-painted Tomato House where I spend Tuesdays (& later Thursdays) growing all the veg from seed for the kitchen garden (plus bedding plants for the formal gardens). The pictures were taken last summer.

[Yakram]

Feb 21, 2008 8:35:52 GMT Dutchy said:

Has any of you got experiance with this moon planting?

Hi Dutchy: I've found a better 'moon planting' site, which seems to give sowing and planting info for the week in regard to moon phases, which I hope is of use:
www.the-gardeners-calendar.co.uk/Moon_Planting.asp

[Plocket]

Cool! Goji berries are the "in" thing for health foods aren't they? What sort of plant do they grow into Yakram?

I don't usually get The Kitchen Garden but I might have a peek in my newsagents to see if they stock it

[Yakram]

Mar 4, 2008 8:54:47 GMT Plocket said:

Cool! Goji berries are the "in" thing for health foods aren't they? What sort of plant do they grow into Yakram?

Lush and prolific, I hope.
Found a link which describes them:
www.victoriananursery.co.uk/exotic_fruits/exotic_fruits/goji_berry/#GojiGuidance
More pricking out today, same as last week - onions, leeks, lettuce, cauliflowers, stocks, tomatoes, etc. etc. Hope to do some more seed sowing next week.

[Plocket]

So not particularly small then!!!

Good luck with your sowing. How many seedlings do you try and grow each year? It must be hundreds. And do you fill your greenhouse?

[Yakram]

Mar 5, 2008 7:58:24 GMT Plocket said:

So not particularly small then!!!

Good luck with your sowing. How many seedlings do you try and grow each year? It must be hundreds. And do you fill your greenhouse?

For myself I do try and restrict seed sowing to a maximum of 20 seeds per packet, because I only have a 6 x 10ft greenhouse with staging each side. I do have a linear lean-to greenhouse-type thing on the 'blind' side of the house for cold-grown things like grasses and dahlias. I do try not to buy more than 50 packets of seed.
In my 'domain' at 'work' the sky is the limit. Each small packet of seed produces at least 200 plants, all of which are pricked out. The bigger packets can contain 1200 seeds, for example Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima) and Myosotis (forget-me-not) as this many are needed for the replanting of the Italian Garden.
As I keep a Seed Diary for both work and home, I'll total up at the end of the sowing season, and let you know. We're only on Week 10 at the moment, so have a way to go. ;D
More excitement in my home greenhouse: A nectarine 'seed' has sprouted, and it looks like a Cydonia has too. If the slugs don't get them, it will be exciting to watch their development.
I don't know where the little slugs come from, as I regularly check the underside of pots. At 'work' fieldmice are the problem, eating the peas and beans .

[Plocket]

It's so exciting and I love to hear about what you are doing, particularly as I know where it's for now, and what your working environment is like.

I'm very restricted with what I can grow because the garden is so small and already crammed. We do container vegetables though, and annuals for LP's little garden. We haven't started many seeds yet this year but I have planted the Romano peppers seeds I saved and dried. And I've got a few other pots of things on the go but not much yet. And I'm going to chit some potatoes for M&D in the next couple of weeks because they are going on holiday and want them ready for when they return. I won't see them again until the beginning of May so I think starting them in mid-March should be ok. AND dad wants me to start some tomatoes for him. My porch (greenhouse!!!) is going to be bursting at the seams!!!

You are very adventurous with your trials! I wouldn't think of trying a nectarine! We did acorns with LP last year but as well as it being a good lesson for her, I knew we can plant them in M&Ds 2 acres when the plants are big enough. Three out of four germinated so LP was chuffed!

I don't know where the little slugs come from either but they are a pain. They even had a go at my amarylis and goodness knows where they came from - it's never been in the garden and I used a brand new bag of bulb compost when I planted it up!

What do you do about the fieldmice? We've got a nest of the little whatsits in the garden and although I don't want to hurt them, I don't particularly want them eating my clematis roots!!!

[Yakram]

What do you do about the fieldmice? We've got a nest of the little whatsits in the garden and although I don't want to hurt them, I don't particularly want them eating my clematis roots!!!

We have always had fieldmice in our garden. The one (only one?) in our garden I love to watch pinching seed from the ground feeder table - he is like clockwork, zipping speedily too and fro.
I prefer to think that the ones at 'work' are relocated in the backwoods beyond the Kitchen Garden; same for the moles and voles.
Today, sowed nasturtiums, calendula and annual aster for the grandsons, together with Rudbeckia and Cosmos.

[Plocket]

I've found where ours are/is nesting but no matter how much I dig there they won't move on. Ours pinches food from the bird feeder too - it moves so fast!

[Yakram]

Yesterday was a bit of a change for me as two of the volunteers wanted to try some pricking out. So, I acted as 'pot boy' and spent most of the day filling pots and nine cell trays for them, which is an art in itself. I was happy to pass on some technique tips and have some helping hands as there was a lot to get through. They each pricked out 150 of Nigella Oxford and Light Blue, and that number of tomato plants. We also sowed Bunyard's Exhibition Broad Bean. I pricked out Delphiniums, Artichoke and a couple of rare varieties of tomato at the end of the day. We used four huge barrowloads of compost and were all quite tired but pleased at the end of the day - and there was no room left on the staging. ;D