Birds are singing in the spring.
Mar. 8th, 2012 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
supermouseBack out into the garden again, on *another* warm sunny spring day - although we did have a hard frost a few days ago. Yesterday, it rained sideways, until I fell downstairs and badly twisted my ankle, after which it became warm and dry and perfect gardening weather. Today was lovely to begin with so, regardless of my ankle, out I went.
My 'normal' peas, Kelvedon Wonder, (not sugar snap or mange tout or sweet or asparagus) have developed a white mould, so that tray is out in the open to dry out. Everything else in the tray is burgeoning and couldn't be healthier. I have baaaaaaaaaaaby watercress. So tiny! I think I am down one leek, leaving 15. Everything else is still alive too, including the rocket which has lots of new true leaves and should be ready to harvest in four weeks or so, if it doesn't all suddenly die.
The rhubarb is alive and very well, with several leaves out now. I've dumped some asparagus crowns behind it, two different sorts the names of which I can't remember. At the time I planted them, which is to say this morning, the place where I put the asparagus was as far back as I could go. As it gets tallish, it's fine being the backmost plant. Of course, since then I've hacked into a thorn bush and the laurel, and now there's several feet of bare earth behind it, even counting the space for the growing fronds. I don't know what will play nicely with rhubarb, asparagus and strawberry and be taller than any of them.
I found a strand of bramble that had snaked out onto the lawn, disguised as cut twigs, and looped round to go back into the overgrown evergreen shrubbery again. I cut off the loop, cut it into sections and put it into a pot. Tame blackberries would be very nice.
The blackcurrant bushes have stinging nettles sprouting behind them, but apparently stinging nettle is very good for blackcurrants, so I have left it. The space underneath that the nettles don't get is going to be full of sage and nasturtiums later.
The west-facing wall, where I would eventually like fruit trees, has revealed two rose bushes hidden under the blown-down climber (winter jasmine? not sure). I'm planning to put all sorts of peas there this year, with winter squash and spinach underneath, interspersed with lavender and rosemary. The herbs will stay there but I'll have different veg next year, and have the peas where the leeks are now. My in-between planting there is rocket salad and pak choi, sown in August over the cut-down peas in the spaces between/under winter squash plants. I haven't fully sorted out the architecture of putting squashes in, but I know they like peas. I hope they like spinach.
The leeks and spring onions will have companion plants too: carrots (red, purple and fly-repelling orange) and purple-sprouting broccoli and romanesco. Marigolds will probably be in front of this bed, as well as dotted around elsewhere where they can do the most good.
My north-facing fence is wild. It's filled with shrubbery, snowdrops, rotting logs and cut twigs and is left alone, although it's probably getting a load of woodland-mixture wild seed at some point. Everywhere I'm not actively growing vegetables is getting wild flower mix.
Bulb-wise, the daffodils are *still* not out, and there's some hyacinth making an appearance, although obviously it has a long way to go. There are a lot of not-flowering bulbs that look like snowdrops - lots of healthy green or green-and-silver, but no flowers. Not sure what to do with those.
My ankle doesn't like me any more.
My 'normal' peas, Kelvedon Wonder, (not sugar snap or mange tout or sweet or asparagus) have developed a white mould, so that tray is out in the open to dry out. Everything else in the tray is burgeoning and couldn't be healthier. I have baaaaaaaaaaaby watercress. So tiny! I think I am down one leek, leaving 15. Everything else is still alive too, including the rocket which has lots of new true leaves and should be ready to harvest in four weeks or so, if it doesn't all suddenly die.
The rhubarb is alive and very well, with several leaves out now. I've dumped some asparagus crowns behind it, two different sorts the names of which I can't remember. At the time I planted them, which is to say this morning, the place where I put the asparagus was as far back as I could go. As it gets tallish, it's fine being the backmost plant. Of course, since then I've hacked into a thorn bush and the laurel, and now there's several feet of bare earth behind it, even counting the space for the growing fronds. I don't know what will play nicely with rhubarb, asparagus and strawberry and be taller than any of them.
I found a strand of bramble that had snaked out onto the lawn, disguised as cut twigs, and looped round to go back into the overgrown evergreen shrubbery again. I cut off the loop, cut it into sections and put it into a pot. Tame blackberries would be very nice.
The blackcurrant bushes have stinging nettles sprouting behind them, but apparently stinging nettle is very good for blackcurrants, so I have left it. The space underneath that the nettles don't get is going to be full of sage and nasturtiums later.
The west-facing wall, where I would eventually like fruit trees, has revealed two rose bushes hidden under the blown-down climber (winter jasmine? not sure). I'm planning to put all sorts of peas there this year, with winter squash and spinach underneath, interspersed with lavender and rosemary. The herbs will stay there but I'll have different veg next year, and have the peas where the leeks are now. My in-between planting there is rocket salad and pak choi, sown in August over the cut-down peas in the spaces between/under winter squash plants. I haven't fully sorted out the architecture of putting squashes in, but I know they like peas. I hope they like spinach.
The leeks and spring onions will have companion plants too: carrots (red, purple and fly-repelling orange) and purple-sprouting broccoli and romanesco. Marigolds will probably be in front of this bed, as well as dotted around elsewhere where they can do the most good.
My north-facing fence is wild. It's filled with shrubbery, snowdrops, rotting logs and cut twigs and is left alone, although it's probably getting a load of woodland-mixture wild seed at some point. Everywhere I'm not actively growing vegetables is getting wild flower mix.
Bulb-wise, the daffodils are *still* not out, and there's some hyacinth making an appearance, although obviously it has a long way to go. There are a lot of not-flowering bulbs that look like snowdrops - lots of healthy green or green-and-silver, but no flowers. Not sure what to do with those.
My ankle doesn't like me any more.
