Sowing

Today I sowed (?) stuff in the area Pim cleared away.

Tada

First, all along the perimeter I sowed a mix of seeds we got in a box, supposed to deter slugs. They're gonna be laughing all the way to the bank. In any case I'm at least hoping for some nice flowers, it's like dwarf nasturtium, borago, calendula and stuff like that.

Then I used some long bamboo sticks held in place with small bits of bamboo to make little "paths" limiting the "beds".

In order from the front towards the back of the picture, I planted a little bit of rucola (path), three rows of karina peas, which are low (path); three rows of paris market or something carrots [which are small and round] (path); one row of egyptian? beets [also small](path);  and two rows of radishes, one red and one white tipped, that came in ribbons (handy).

I actually ran out of peas (packet was like two years old) by the end of the first row (first in the picture) so I put in a few more beets there, closer to the wall.

We'll see!

We also replanted a Boston ivy at the front. Unfortunately last year's didn't make it :( I am afraid I underestimated how dry the conditions are on the front façade. At least the local garden center has just the kind I like.

New Boston ivy

 I also took a few photos with the camera.

Welcome to your summer!

Hi there smaller ones.

This dude hovered and I thought it looked more like a bee than a fly.
In the photo now the wings look like a fly's to me.

Loki as usual trying to chew on branches.

Update

Some seedlings are coming up in the raised bed: chard, basilicum and dill.
Some radishes are also popping up.
Last Wednesday I got a butternut pumpkin, I transplanted it to a larger pot so it can grow stronger before I put it at the mercy of the snails and slugs.
I read that the base of clematis should be kept in the shadow, and I did not do that. Some leaves have turned a bit yellow. I've now placed the pumpkin pot on top of the clematis soil so it provides shadow.
Other seedlings on the windowsill are also looking good, lettuce in the shed also.
The hawthorn tree is in bloom. It has quite small flowers. Next to it a fern is unfurling.
The roses seem to be doing quite well, and the sage and one of the lavenders are about to bloom as well.
The datura plant (which had started to grow) and the lupine have been eaten. I guess the snails that ate the datura must have seen some weird shit.

Radishes

I cleared a patch in last year's... hollow where we planted some stuff. The radishes did best so I sowed a few rows today. Same packet as last year, from Aveve.
I added a small scoop of dried manure and a few handfuls of compost. And water.

Sowing 2014-04-10

Today I sowed some seeds I ordered from Nicky's Nursery. I got a free packet of wildflower seeds with my order!

I have to say I ignored the instructions in the package. Plenty of seeds left to try again if any of these fail.

I didn't plant all of the seeds I ordered (like for example myrtle which is probably foolish, since getting these to germinate is apparently quite difficult).

I sowed pak choi (Brassica rapa var. chinensis), birdhouse gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), catnip (nepeta cataria), violets (viola odorata). The violet needs to spend a cold winter outside (or some weeks in the fridge) before it germinates so it is probably useless!

(Poor) Notes for 2013

This is all from memory. If I remember I'll go though the seed packets at the house and check labels.

Last year we planted a few vegetables, but didn't have time to do nothing much in the garden (which will probably be the case this year as well).

With little to no attention, all of the tomatoes -cherry, some fat ones from a Spanish packet of seeds, a hybrid and a beef tomato from the garden centre, and a rogue tomato that popped out on it's own- did really great, so great that we found out we had planted them all way too close to each other. We planted them against a sunny wall, covered by some perforated plastic.

The pattypan squash did great as well (although we didn't find it of culinary interest).

 

The artichoke was the absolute favourite of the slugs, who would have thought?

The courgettes were also devoured, but to a lesser extent, we could eat two or three.

The leek and the spring onions were devoured from below by some unidentified grubs, the celery refused to grow (perhaps lack of water, too much sun?), and the collard greens were obfuscated by the pumpkin: planted too close.

The radishes did great; so did the peas, but they were low plants, this year I'll go for pole seeds. The beans were all devoured or duds, only one popped up, and that one did really great. That was a pole bean.

Lettuce in container did... psé, we neglected it too much.

The mint was in the less sunny spot of the trench we dug, but it was still too sunny, I think. Too dry as well. It was a bit better for the chives. All together a raging success compared with any herb I ever planted in a pot indoors...

We got a bunch of strawberry plants from Pim's parents, because theirs had reproduced too much. They were in a bit of a shock after transplanting (due to no planning whatsoever they spent a whole night and half a day drying out in the driveway, but nearly all survived. We got to eat a few strawberries. The snails also ate a few. Or perhaps birds.

We planted a raspberry and two kinds of red currants (I LOVE redcurrants). Only to realise the jungle at the back is mostly redcurrants and raspberries (and some stubborn blackberries), but it is too much of a shady mess to give much to eat, or even get to it.

I thought the three bushes we planted had died, and the raspberry most definitely did, but I've seen signs of life on the redcurrants this spring!

I also planted a Jonagold apple tree, that I want to train against some sort of wall that isn't there yet (we'll see), and a white peony. Both look allright (I should have protected the peony for the winter? but the winter turned out to not deserve the name: two nights of light frost...). And some annual flowers which were not too good, and two foxgloves that I hope will get nice and big on their second year! they did get some great nice leaves last year. I planted delphiniums and my father thought they were weeds too close to the tomatoes... off they went.

Except when noted, and the radishes and peas, we only planted one plant of each.