The next type of narcissus has opened, as the tête-á-têtes start to die down. Looks like I’ve magically made a bed full of successionally flowering bulbs.
I’ve also sprinkled some Amazing Grey poppy seed for summer flowers. More poppies will be added a bit later.
John’s put my trellis panel back after the storm blew it down. Since it’s old and brittle now, it’s not been screwed on, but rather wired up into place.
At home, I sowed:
The tulips are getting closer to opening, and a new kind of narcissus is waking up too. I’ve sprinkled some poppy seed all over this bed for some summer colour.
Before putting the compost into Bed 2, I gave it a sprinkling of phosphorous, good for root growth. (I must stir some into the parsnip bed too.) I’ve planted all the Sturon onions – I think 47 of them? There’s a bit of space at the end of the bed, so I’ll find a companion plant for there.
Before lunch I got Bed 8 edged, lined and half-filled with manure. I’m emptying my bags halfway, so that I can move them around to elsewhere. I’ve added some more to Bed 3 in my continued efforts to up its level a bit.
The bug hotel is now finished. I added another small level and tucked in a couple of leaf-filled flower pots. I’ve incorporated a couple of planter modules, which are planned for nasturtiums. Hopefully, they’ll sprawl a bit over the pile, climb the fence and then later drop seeds everywhere!
Bed 8 is now complete, having had its top layer of compost. So there’s just one more bed to do.
Over in Bed 10, I’ve added a dusting of coffee grounds for the future acid-loving kalettes.
I’ve sown the first seeds of the season and now have a few trays in the office. The first to be sown are:
The lobelia and alyssum seeds are ridiculously small, the lobelia in particular, so I won’t have any idea where they’ve landed until they actually germinate.
18/3 – I’ve sown half a tray of marigold seeds next to the nasturtiums.
The blue tits have finally dared to try the nuts and there were two in the tree flying around. Maybe they’ll find the nest box that’s *right there*.
The garlic is big enough to see from a distance now. With any luck its roots are now big enough to stop the plants being pulled out by curious birds.
I uncovered Bed 2 and found that buttercups left from last year were starting to break through the newspaper. It was only a thin layer, but I decided to go with cardboard to be sure. It turned out to be double-walled cardboard too, so the weeds are going to be really up against it. I got most of the bed edged before lunch.
Mum dragged the last of the homemade compost down to Bed 1 and spread it as the leaf mould layer.
After lunch I spread a good layer of compost on Bed 1. It won’t hurt to add more if I have leftovers. I’ve realised that I’m going to need another round of manure to do Bed 4, plus compost for Beds 2, 4 and 8.
Bed 2 has been fully lined with cardboard and filled with manure. So that just needs compost and then it’s ready for covering before the onions go it. I did some light weeding in this Bed, which was just as well, because I unearthed an acorn that had sprouted. I imagine that would have gone the through the cardboard if it had wanted to.
I’ve made a start on the bug hotel at last and after less than half an hour of working out how to stack the edging, I put down cardboard on top of the mint (of course now I think I should have put more, but never mind) and started building.
I’ve filled the middle of the cells with moss, decaying wood, fallen pine cones and needles, leaves, bark and so on. I’ve smashed up empty suet coconut shells and put them in, hessian strings attached. The remaining hügel sticks are going in to this and I’ve been picking up more stuff from the rec. I expect the big park might be visited again too.
I’m not sure how my design is going to work out as it grows, but I’m looking to integrate the previous bug box, some small terracotta pots, some bee holes and maybe the lacewing hotel (but its shape is more difficult.) A sloped roof would be best, but probably fairly impossible to make.
I think all the garlic is up now, pretty much all still in line.
I escaped from the office in the afternoon to get my Tête-à-têtes planted, as they’d started blooming. They’re dotted among the various narcissi. I’ve left the left corner for the tulips. I want to get more and more bulbs in here, but I’m picky about what exactly. More tulips need to go in the corner and then in among the narcissi too.
I’ve added the remainder over in the front bed, around the pear tree and under the elder. Space has been left for the bug hotel and for mint to come up again.
With the sun mostly behind the clouds, we finished off the apple tree pruning and took a few bits off the pear tree. I’ve no real idea what’s what on the pear tree, so I’ll just have to watch out for it looking crowded, I suppose. The same goes for the foliage on the apple tree in the summer. I need to try and remember to take off anything I think is excessively leafy.
A few more bags of compost have been delivered to the plot, so more hauling about is on the cards for next weekend.
The first thing I did when I got the shed was drop my new nut feeder out onto the outside mat, so the second thing I did was fasten the catch with wire. I managed to get it up on a chosen branch with my new steps and gripper. The ladder got quite a workout today.
While the compost defrosted, I made a start on the apple tree pruning. It’s not finished yet, but even when we get the remaining long bits done next week, I still want it to get professional attention, because the tree is just insane.
A few tiny weeds are appearing in the compost. When I picked them out I saw the first shoot of garlic coming up. A few inches away was something white, which turned out to be another clove, starting to shoot. I poked around and quickly found its hole and reburied it.
I’ve filled the last half go Bed 9 with compost, so that’s complete. Bed 10 has had its compost and is complete. Bed 6 had the last of the lovely leaf mould and then a layer of compost and is also now complete. The thickness of the compost is varying a bit from bed to bed, so as it all compacts, I’ll be looking to see what needs topping up.
After lunch I put the last 2 bags of compost onto Bed 7. I’ve made the inevitable decision that the remaining plot compost should go on Bed 1, as that’s only had manure so far. Hopefully we’ll be able to drag it down there on the cardboard and plastic it’s on. My bad wrist allowing, of course.
I went round the plot and gathered up the last mounds of clay. I finally got round to sorting out the mint area, which turned out to be the perfect moment as the mound of earth just crumbled and I was able to rake it out. I dug up the weeds and threw out the grass. Now it’s ready to have some kind of bug hotel and recover the mint to whatever degree it wants too.
I dug up the hyssop to move it, but it fell apart, so I’m now in the market for a filler at the front right of the triangle.
With the broken trellis panel not currently in place, I was able to dig up the big mound of grass on the fence line and reduced what I could of the bits of bramble and nettle. The everlasting pea is still in there, but needs to not be trampled any more. I’ve cut back some of the bramble further down, growing between the fence and the trellis, but it would be too big a job to get it out entirely.
Storm Eunice blew through yesterday, wreaking a lot of havoc across the country. I went down to the plot this morning to check on my piece of land. There was an amount of rubbish strewn down the path and as I turned the corner to my plot, I was faced with a huge dark rectangle. I quickly established that it was not my roof – and that there was an entire potting shed attached to it. Mr R’s shed has been a bit damaged too, and Mr T’s greenhouse is missing its door.
In my plot, the biggest damage incurred was one panel of trellis having blown down and broken. Although most of it is actually still intact, so I’ve put it away safely. The corner that was still attached had been wired to the fence, so I’ve done that to the other bits of trellis that were a bit loose. The easiest thing might be to simply lash the panel to the fence again and weave the broken bit back in.
I re-covered Bed 9 and picked up all the loose sticks that had fallen. Someone else will have to poke the nest box straight for me.
Meanwhile, aside from the all the drama, the first Sweet Williams have opened in the pot by the shed.
