As last year’s leeks come to an end, it was time to dig them up and see what could be salvaged. Several had attempted to flower and though I removed the scapes, the thick stem was still there.
Wednesday Workout: Leeks
Category: Vegetables
Beans and Peas (1)
28 March
Mr O reduced the height of my garden arches (by removing the lower sections to bring them to a more manageable height for me). I’ll still need a stepladder if things reach the top!
April in the Garden and Greenhouse
What’s hot – and what’s not – in my tiny garden this month.
If you think certain things are missing this year, fear not! I have ongoing and separate posts for tomatoes, potatoes, the allotment, and even loofahs! Yes, this year – along with Monty Don on Gardener’s World – I am attempting to grow loofahs; in my case to use as dish and pan scrubs. I bought my seeds from the internet last year for this very purpose. I’m also growing peas and beans, and new this year, chrysanthemums and dahlias,
Verbena Bonariensis
After germinating and growing just one plant in 2021, I am trying again. With conflicting advice on the internet, I sowed seed onto damp compost and covered it with grit. Suggestions were to put the tray into a polythene bag on a warm windowsill; to cover it with black plastic; to leave it in an unheated greenhouse – which is what I have done. I will not water again until I see seedlings. Fingers crossed.
Sarracenia (Pitcher Plant)
This has FOUR flower stalks! I’ve only had one other flower (November 2019) so I am very excited and will put off splitting it until the flowers are finished. It overwintered in the Tiny Greenhouse but will shortly move outside.
Salads
Monthly Roundup: April 2021
Raised Bed preparation
Raised Bed A
I tackled this bed mid-month, hoping that we’d seen the last of frosty nights! The first thing was to clear away all the daffodil and narcissi pots to give access. Second – the temporary removal of the arch. Third, remove everything else and prune the fuchsia cuttings along the wall.
I rescued as many brassica leaves as I could (for our evening meal), then dug everything out, apart from the purple sprouting broccoli. I weeded, hoed to brake up the crust on the soil surface; added loads of chicken manure pellets; added the compost from five growing bags (my failed experiment to grow salad crops over winter), and raked and hoed everything again.
I’ve used a row of bricks to separate the fuchsias from the veg bed, added a ‘fleece’ layer (to start warming the soil) topped of with upturned hanging baskets to discourage cat activity, and replaced the arch in a new position – at the front of the bed where it will – hopefully – allow easier access to peas and beans (and provide some much needed shade while we have our morning coffee – once the beans have grown). All in all, a good morning’s work.
Continue reading “Monthly Roundup: April 2021”A Tiny Garden Experiment
Runner Bean Mayhem
23 August
With my freezer filling up and no likelihood of getting a chest freezer anytime soon, I turned to the internet to see how I can deal with my runner beans – other than freezing. Continue reading “Runner Bean Mayhem”
Beetroot : Part 2
Last month, I wrote about my problems growing beetroot. This is their ‘journey’ from 23 April, when I bought some of them as seedling from the garden centre, through May when I sowed more seeds, to 4 August, as I ponder whether to ditch them and plant something else.
It appears that it makes no difference whether they are grown in a trough or in a raised bed, or whether they were bought in as seedlings (mixed) or sown direct into the ground (red).
And so to that great compost bin in the sky – there is no hope for these trough-grown beetroot – not a golf-ball among them, plenty of marbles though. Perhaps another month would have done – or not!
I’ll leave the ones in the raised bed – for now.
Monthly Round-up: April
The first day of the month was mostly sunny, though a cool breeze blew through my garden. I’d tied these bean strings on the arch thinking I might be able to plant a few seeds out, but I don’t think I’ll risk it yet. I’ve started some off in the greenhouse though. Continue reading “Monthly Round-up: April”
Grow a little seed or two
It’s been a week since I sowed the first of my vegetable seeds. You can see what I sowed here on 24th February. Continue reading “Grow a little seed or two”
Sow a little seed or two
Another warm and sunny day tempted me into the greenhouse to sow some seeds. Continue reading “Sow a little seed or two”
Eileen's Tiny Welsh Garden 