Look, look! They have arrived!

Labels: gardening

Eight weeks old and look at them now! Pretty big and they have their first yellow flowers appearing.

So, I have been checking out t'internet for what happens next and there seems to be a whole debate about whether tomatoes grown indoors self pollinate, or need help pollinating. I've read a lot of different articles and forum responses but many of them conflict. Wikipedia seems to give the most comprehensive explanation, but I don't understand whether they need pollination to bear fruit or whether that just makes the fruits bigger and better.

Without bees many sites recommend replicating a bee's buzz with an electric toothbrush?! Or gently vibrating the plant at the pace of a bee's buzz. Hmmmm.

Labels: gardening

Our back fence has been on its last legs for a while and although we did a repair of the side panels about a year ago, the wood warped because the wrong fixings were used. So the first few weekends after we got back from honeymoon it was time to re-do the side length and also replace the one at the bottom.

With the bottom fence, we needed to use something stronger than gravel boards to contain the soil because it backs onto a path that is lower than the soil. We toyed with the idea of building a wall (too much work), then thought about railway sleepers (too thick), then spotted some thick stair boards used for decking at the garden centre - perfect.

So, the first weekend after we were back from honeymoon we set about rebuilding the bottom fence. On Saturday we pulled down the old one, dug away the soil, dug out deep holes for the posts (very difficult job), put each post in level, fixed one stair board in place, stabilised with props, filled the holes with dry concrete, watered the concrete mix and left to set over night.

On Sunday Dom put the stair boards in, one on top of the other,

then attached the arris rails,

then screwed on the individual feathered edge boards. Sunday night it was done, all bar the paint job.

The next weekend we only had a day free and worked on the side fence. My job was to take each individual feathered edge board off with a crowbar and take out the nails with the back of the hammer. There were about 70 of these to do. Dom screwed them back on, then I touched up the paint. I also painted the back fence.

The final weekend was for building a trellis for three of the panels on the side fence. Dom built, I painted, and Dom attached. We had to build them ourselves rather than buy them because the posts were set a bit further apart than the length of the trellis you can buy. Anyway, homemade is more sturdy.

It looks good!

Labels: d.i.y., gardening

I once had a school teacher who loved tomatoes so much he would send two volunteers down to the village fruit and veg shop every lunch time to get him a pound or two. What was both bizarre and befitting was that not only did he have red hair and incredibly red looking skin (and us kids would joke that it was because he ate so many tomatoes), not only that, but his first name was Redgrave, or Red for short.

Tomatoes are a real favourite of mine and I have many happy memories of picking them from my Grandad's and my Dad's greenhouses, from walking in there and smelling the unmistakable tomato plant smell.

So, I was most pleased to smell that smell from the mere wisps of seedlings that I had planted far too late for them to have much chance of bearing fruit.

Nevertheless, I have persisted and planted them on into grow bags. I am hoping that they will flourish over the late summer and I may get a late crop in September - October.

This is really my first foray into growing fruit and veg. I would like to grow more, not just because it's become trendy lately, but because it is what I grew up with. It's not going to be very practical with the garden layout we have now though, because the back garden is north facing, and just about everything struggles to survive in the chalky soil. I will see how I go with pots and growbags this year and in the coming years we may consider building some raised beds.

Labels: gardening

Despite the looming wedding, we have recently managed to squeeze in some non-marriage related tasks. For example, we have now scarified, forked, soiled, seeded and feeded our front lawn. It took a couple of nights of hard graft (mainly by Dom) and some follow-up watering, and we are now waiting patiently for the effects.

We feel that since the ground was under concrete for godknowshowmany years before we set it free it has not had enough nutrients to deliver us a green and luscious lawn. So we decided, that in it's third season of growth it was time to show the lawn some tlc.

The idea is that you fork the lawn to a depth of about 30cm in 30 cm intervals to let the soil breathe. Then you use a scarifier to rip up all the 'thatch' (grass which is growing in a matted fashion and strangling the thicker blades). A fine coating of top soil is then raked across the lawn to give something for the seeds to germinate in. The seeds are then evenly distributed, followed by a covering of feed.

It looks a bit bruised after it's horticultural botox, but I'm hoping that it will develop over the summer into a smooth, flawless, green complexion.

Labels: gardening

It certainly felt like spring today, so I was out in the garden, ruthlessly cutting back all those dead plants that winter had ravaged. Clearing away leaf-litter, turning and airing the soil, stopping young weeds in their tracks. And when I got up close I found evidence that spring is surely on it's way.

Labels: gardening

I'm really pleased with my recent plant purchases. I specifically chose plants that can cope with chalky alkaline soil and shade, for our back garden which is north facing and has quite a few trees. I ordered a bunch from Crocus: a bugle, a hardy male fern, a cyclamen, wood spurge and a geranium (Dusky Cranesbill). They have done well so far.

Then I bought a hydrangea, another fern, a laurel, a californian lilac and some summer bedding from Homebase. The hydrangea has really flourished. They flower pink in alkaline soil and blue in acid.

I discovered today the the white powdery coating I had noticed on a couple of my conifers is actually spider mite. All of a sudden the leaves have gone brown, which prompted me to look online for what mite (!) be the problem. I immediately went to Asda, bought the appropriate spray and drowned those bastards in the stuff. I enjoy unleashing my wrath on insects, especially ants, but they haven't really appeared yet with all this rain we've been having.

I don't know what the blue flowers in the picture are. I bought them yesterday from a little independent garden centre while waiting for Dom to get a car tyre replaced. Aren't they gorgeous though?

Labels: gardening

I was going through some old photos and realised that I have never posted the before and after results of making our garden green again. It was a long and difficult task.

Whenever I feel like we are making slow progress on the inside of the house I think we should remind ourselves of the difference we have already made to the outside.

Not only have we improved the appearance, but it's much better for the environment.

Before


After

Labels: gardening

It is such a gorgeous spring day outside: the sun is out, the sky is blue, there's not a cloud to spoil the view... but I'm stuck indoors concentrating on big daunting law exams and that's enough to cloud any rosy outlook.

I took a stroll down the garden path and this cute little crocus display cheered me up, but now, it's back to the books.

Labels: gardening, seeing_doing

Our first spring bulb has flowered, and there are many more popping through.

Labels: gardening

After weeks of working away, weekends studying and hunting for wedding venues, I was determined to spend the one day I had free last weekend (Sunday) in the garden, rain or shine.

The weeds had taken over and it was time to do battle. First we went to Homebase and bought lots of nice gardening tools and a nice selection of plants. Then, Dom got stuck into clearing the back garden of all the tree cuttings he had done a few weeks ago while I weeded the front beds, tended to the finished tulips and planted young red geraniums and petunias. We removed one of the less attractive rose bushes by the garage wall but left the other with it's lovely big yellow blooms. Next to this I planted more red geraniums and another red flower (can't remember the name!). Then we weeded the back garden and planted freesia, ixia, anemone and gladioli bulbs, a hosta, a fushia bush, a margeurite, some ornamental grasses, a couple of alpines and a row of sweet pea plants to grow up the fence. We filled about 15 bags with tree cuttings and weeds and took a car load to the local tip. It was 7.30pm when we finished and we were quite tired but very satisfied.

Both gardens look so neat and tidy now and are ready to flourish this summer. I am going to keep a close eye out for weeds as they sprout and will try and do a walk round the garden each night. I am going to do a light water, with the can, but I'm conscious of the water shortage. We are thinking of getting a water butt and attaching to the drainpipe.

I will see how these plants fare in our very chalky soil and will make sure I plan ahead for next year by getting some tulip, daffodil and snowdrop bulbs to plant this autumn/ winter.

Labels: gardening

Study for my business law exam is taking up all of my spare time at the moment, but I took an hour this morning to plant some tulip bulbs, (bought ready sprouted). Tulips are my favourite flower, I really hope they survive in our chalky soil.

It was very satisfying doing something other than study. Back to it now though!

Labels: gardening

On Saturday we added the final few fence panels to our very long and impressive fence. Early Sunday morning, before cricket, Dom built one of the three gates and I spent the rest of the day painting the fence in my bikini.

Fence painting is one of those tasks that sounds easy and quick but is painstakingly slow. I think this is because picket fences have too many sides at awkward angles that need to be covered. I have got my timings down to approximately 45 mins per panel. Only another 10 hours to go!

Labels: gardening

On Friday 1st July at approximately 9.00am our turf was delivered, I raked and levelled, Dom rolled and tamped, and by 10.20pm our lawn was complete.

Two weeks on and it has grown a good couple of inches. It will soon be time to make the first cut. It looks beautiful. It makes me smile every time I come home.

09.00 - The first piece


12.00 - Good progress


15.00 - Half way


Peeping over the turf rolls


My job - raking and levelling - exhausting stuff!

Labels: gardening

We are ploughing through our garden project (literally), with Dom digging up 170m2 of rock hard soil with a pick every night after work and with me pulling up tree roots that have come to the surface in their quest for nutrients from beneath the crazy paving.

After a minor mishap last weekend in which Dom punctured a gas pipe (lying only 2 inches below the soil!!), we are ready to rotovate. We also have the vibration damped breaker hired again for this weekend so that we can finish off the fence post holes and the remaining fence panels before the turf arrives for laying next weekend.

I can't wait til it is finished. It has been more costly and time-consuming than anticipated but it will be well worth it for the joy it will bring for years to come.

Labels: gardening

The garden has been making good, but slow, progress since the crazy paving was removed. We hired the vibration breaker again to dig deep holes for the fence posts, as unfortunately we hit concrete, where the council have edged the path outside our house.

Dom's dad came down on the late May Bank Holiday and they began setting the panels and posts in place. We now have 16 out of about 30 panels erected and this weekend I have been painting them dark oak in the glorious sunshine.

Dom hasn't really appreciated the heat, as his job has been to break up the soil with a pick, which is some punishing physical labour. He got about a third of the way through yesterday. We need to get it rotovated and ready for the turf in the next week or two or it will become too late and too hot to lay and won't establish.

This picture shows the fence in it's beginning state.

Labels: gardening

We spent the May Bank Holiday weekend doing some serious hard graft in the garden. We hired a jackhammer (which I operated on the first day) and an 8yd skip, which Dom filled with a spade, a wheelbarrow and a ramp. After three days of backache and swollen wrists, we investigated other options.

It turned out that we could pay a professional (Bobby) to come and do it with his big trucks with huge grabbing arms cheaper than it would have been for us to hire a mini-loader and five skips.

Finally, we are rid of an amazing 170m2 of criminal crazy paving. Our two trees are no longer gasping for water and nutrients, but are thriving and our soil is ready for rotovating, turfing and planting!

Labels: gardening