Category: Flighty’s plot

As forecast it’s noticeably cooler today with the temperature in the low teens C and a chilly north-easterly wind gusting up to 30 mph.

Yesterday I dug up the two no-show first early potatoes Foremost I mentioned recently and I wasn’t surprised to find that both were badly slugged. I discarded them and planted two I was given (variety unknown), all the rest  of the potatoes have now appeared.

I’m growing a cucumber Diva this year which I’ve started off in a pot on the windowsill.  I won’t be taking it to the plot to plant out in a prepared area until early June.  Confusingly some seed suppliers state this is an indoor variety, and others that it’s a good outdoor ridge one.

Last year I grow some dwarf runner beans Jackpot which did well so I shall grow them again this year.  However I have been given some climbing ones Moonlight so I’ll be putting up a wigwam of six bamboo canes so I can grow these as well.

The plot highlight at present is the carpet of poached egg plant flowers, both the yellow/white ones and the white Meringue.

Have a good week, and take care!

It’s been dry, sunny and warm this week so I’ve been going to the plot early, especially yesterday when I watered all round and again today, which is heading for the mid 20’s C.

I’ve now sown most of the flower seeds, including the cosmos and sunflowers.  I’ve a few spares for any gaps, and I’ve always got plenty of saved pot marigolds Flighty’s Favourites.  The three sunflowers Holiday I started off at home in pots on the windowsill have reached around 12 in/30 cm  so I took them to the plot on Tuesday and planted them out, tied to canes for support.

Nearly all of the second early potatoes Charlotte are now showing but two (out of twenty) of the first earlies Foremost are still no shows so I’ll have a gentle dig to see why not.

The rose Pretty Lady used to flower in early June but has got earlier appearing by mid-May in recent years, and this year it started flowering earlier this week.

This warm weather looks short-lived as by Monday the temperature is dropping back to the low teens C, and feeling even chillier dipping to a few degrees C around dawn a couple of days.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

this blog at the end of May 2007 I had no idea that I would still be doing it nearly 18 years later but here I am doing the 2,000th post. I don’t look at the stats very often but during that time I’ve posted over 5,000 images and vistors have made over 20,000 comments, nearly all of which I’ve replied too, and with a few exceptions I’ve posted every Thursday and Sunday.  My heatfelt thanks to everyone who has visted here, and especially to those of you who have also commented.

On the plot over the past few days I’ve sowed a double row of carrots Royal Chantenay, and will do the same at the end of May and also June.  I also replaced the onion sets that were showing no signs of sprouting.

I’m pleased to say that I’ve started sowing the annual flower seeds.  Yesterday I sowed some Candytuft Fairy Mixed, then today Nasturtiums Tom Thumb and Pot Marigolds Orange Flash.  Over the next couple of days I’ll be sowing the Cosmos and Sunflowers.

The carpet of Poached Egg Plants (Limnanthes douglasii)  have started flowering, mostly the yellow and white ones (picture is from May 2017) but also plenty of the all white variety Meringue (picture is from May 2021).

Have a good week, and take care!

On Friday morning I planted out the main crop potatoes Desiree, just a couple of rows, which were the last potatoes for this year.  This morning I noticed that some of the first earlies Foremost have started to appear, which I had planted  out just under three weeks ago.

Rather than dig up, split and replant it I recently pruned the sedum clump, which now looks like a large hedgehog instead of being heart-shaped as it was previously.

At the momemt it’s looking okay so I’m hoping that it still will be later in the year when it flowers.

 

The ox-eye daisies in the black plastic half-barrel container by the shed are doing really well and are now showing some flower buds.

I’ve still not sown any annual flower seeds but I have hoed and weeded all the areas where I will be doing so over the next week or so.

Have a good week, and take care!

I’ve not done much so far this week as I spent two days mostly armchair gardening.  Tuesday it was damp and dull with some welcome light rain for much of the day and yesterday although dry and sunny was cold with the wind gusting around 40 mph at times.   Today is much better as it’s the same as yesterday but calm.

This morning I cleaned the mini pond which is on the ground near the shed and under the rose Pretty Lady.  It’s a 7 inch/ 18 cm plastic plant pot saucer with a couple of stones in it.

I don’t what, if anything uses it but it generally needs topping up every few days.

Back at the beginning of the month there was one day when I found a handful or so of the planted onion sets Sturon had had been hoicked out the ground by birds. I replanted them and thankfully it hasn’t happened again.  I’m also pleased to see green shots appearing on some of them.

Some potato foliage  has appeared on the patch where I grew them last year, and obviously missed lifting a few second early Charlottes.  This morning I dug them up, including the ones shown here, and have got enough  for a couple of dinners.

Have a good Easter weekend, and take care!

and there are already flowers on the strawberry plants, which is way too early by at least a month or more.

It’s the same with the raspberry plants which have flower buds starting to form.

I do wonder what will happen with both of these and if there will be edible berries.

The picture below shows the double row of raspberries, with comfrey below and left of them and the white meadowsweet in the top left-hand corner.

The past few days couple of days have been sunny and warm  so I’ve been mostly hoeing and weeding parts of the flower patches ready to sow some seeds next week.

At home on the windowsill most of the plants are for the plot.  There are three sunflowers Holiday and two each tomatoes Outdoor Girl and Yellow Perfection.  Last Wednesday I sowed six each Cosmos Apricotta and Double Click Snow Puff in a small seed tray and by yesterday three of each had already germinated and appeared.

It’s cloudier and cooler today with a possibility of some needed light rain, and the week ahead is looking similiar.

Have a good week, and take care!

a quiet week so far and I’ve not done much on the plot.  I’ve now planted most of the onion sets Sturon and the first row of second early potatoes Charlotte, and hope to get the rest done by next week.

I’m slowly cutting out much of the dead wood from the rose Pretty Lady,  but taking it steady as it’s very thorny.  I’ll then hopefully be able to rescue Foxy who has now almost completely disappeared under the ivy which grows below and around it.

At home the three sunflowers Holiday I sowed a week ago Tuesday had germinated by Saturday, and are now a couple of inches high with the first true leaves just visible.

This picture shows some Candytuft Fairy Mix from July 2021.  I hope to be sowing plenty of saved seeds direct next week.

Despite being sunny there was a noticeably chilly wind yesterday so I gave the plot a miss.  Today it’s a chilly and dull start but hopefully it will get brighter and warmer, and if it does I’ll go after lunch as usual.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

The weather has continued to be mostly dry and sunny, but with a chilly wind at times, and looks set to continue through next week.

I’m not that fussed about rhubarb so only grow a small patch. It’s now big enough to pick, which is what I did with these three one foot long stems yesterday.

I replanted a very small English Daisy last year which I pleased to see has grown and just started flowering.

It nestles by the path near the shed where I hope that it will continue to thrive.

 

I left it too late to hard prune the rose Pretty Lady but this morning I made a start on cutting out all the dead wood, of which there is lots.  I did about half and will hopefully do the rest in the next few days.

At home the three sunflowers Holiday which I started off in small pots on the windowsill last Tuesday afternoon had all appeared yesterday morning.  These are the ones which grow four tall and the same wide, forming a rather stately plant with plenty of flowers. I did this post about these in  December.

Have a good week, and take care!

This week I’ve started planting on the plot and sowing seeds in pots at home on the windowsill.

Yesterday I planted out the first early potatoes Foremost. I dig individual holes with a hand trowel, put a potato in each with the chits upwards, cover with a handful or two of compost then backfill.  When I’ve done them I hoe round then water.  I’ll be doing the second early Charlottes (picture shows six of these) next week and the main crop Desiree the week after.

So far I’ve planted out eight rows of ten onion sets Sturon  so that  the tips are at just at ground level.  The rows are about a foot apart and the onions five inches.  I’ll be planting the rest over the next week.  The two onions shown here are the biggest and smallest of the dozen in store from those grown last year.

At home on Tuesday I sowed two each tomato Outdoor Girl and Yellow Perfection seeds in 3.5 in/9 cm pots.  Once they germinate and start growing I’ll sow another two of each.

It’s good to start planting and sowing again for this year.

Have a good weekend, and take care!