Cleaning the Gabriel Ash mini greenhouse

Some of you may remember I was given a lovely  Gabriel Ash wall standing mini greenhouse to review, back in 2014

Sadlly due to   being bitten by a Blandford fly   and having to be hospitalised, the mini greenhouse didn't get put together until 2015.

It's been   moved around the patio  a couple of times, but settled into it's current position about 10 years ago.

I've found it invaluable to be a half way house between seedlings that need to be in the porch and plants that can go into the cold frames inside the polytunnel, before being finally planted out in the polytunnel.

It's also a good greenhouse for herbs and overwintering plants.

Anyway, it gets used as a bit of a dumping ground for stuff overwinter, and hasn't had a good clean inside and out for several years so, as today has been bright and sunny I got cleaning.

I emptied out various pots and trays last night and put them in the polytunnel.

(Which is one of the next big jobs for me to do , giving it a good tidy up, and washing the cover!)

Today, Compostman took out the top panes of glass, which were absolutely filthy, and with them out I could get inside the greenhouse to scrub all the glass.

I scrubbed inside and out, as well as cleaning the wooden shelves.

I got VERY wet and splattered with dirty water!

All back together, nice and clean , ready for plants 😀

Grass mown yesterday, and when I'd finished getting wet and dirty  I sat in the sun and listened to the birdsong.

I do so love it here.

Planting stuff! A little bit of normality

Today I spent 3 hours in my polytunnel planting tomato and pepper and cucumber plants. So good to be able to be doing stuff in there, after the horrible Post COVID-19 weakness stuff I've gone through. Felt really wonderful to be getting my hands dirty, again. Definitely an improvement in my recovery post COVID-19.

And 32 beans planted outside by Ian

All a bit later than normal, but we live in not normal times, and I've been very ill for 8 weeks, so stuff I normally get on and do just has not got done.

Frankly, I'm impressed we have collectively managed to get any vegetables in the soil, roughly around the time when they should be.

Tidy up

                     

So, February. Normally, the start of outside gardening, with bed clearing and bed digging and mulching; but its far too wet and soggy and cold to do anything outside

So I decided to clear out the porch ready to start off the tomato seeds in the heated propagators.

 Its a bit of a mess in there, old plants, stuff dumped over Christmas, old growing medium still in the propagators and lots of cobwebs

Part way through, much tidier!

I cut back the overwintering geraniums which were in the porch as well and put the stems into a jar of water for later propagation.

It felt good to be doing something to do with gardening!

RHS Great British Village Show - review

So, thanks to the lovely Viv at DK Books, I got a beautiful hamper through the post today :)

Bunting! Jam! Chutney! Seeds! And a lovely book written by Thane Prince and Matthew Biggs :)

The jam and chutney were hand made by Thane Prince (you may remember her from the Big Allotment Challenge?) and are delicious :)

The book is beautiful, lovely illustrations, and a good solid volume with a sturdy hardback cover.

And although I have not read every single word (yet) what I have read is great and very informative.

The book is well laid out and very clearly written ( as one would expect from DK!) 

From DK's website ;-

Enter a world of tents, tea, and terrifically good jam with RHS Great British Village Show. Written by Thane Prince and Matthew Biggs, and with a foreword by Alan Titchmarsh, this is the only guide to a unique British tradition.
Every year, hundreds of country shows and fairs take place across the UK. Celebrate this tradition and step behind the scenes of the British country show with insider facts and beautiful photographs that show you every aspect of preparing, presenting, and prize-winning on the big day.
Discover how judges reach their nail-biting decisions by using official RHS guidelines for over 100 fruit, vegetable, and flower categories, and learn how to prepare show-quality preserves and bakes with tips from the experts. RHS Great British Village Show tells you exactly what the judges are looking for - and what to avoid.
Packed with staging tips, expert guides, photo diaries, and prize-winning recipes, RHS Great British Village Show is a unique insider's look behind the scenes of a wonderful British tradition.

So, if you were wanting to have a go at entering a village show this summer  ( with fruit, veg, flowers baking, preserves or other goodies)  or even just wanted a useful guide to growing and making stuff from what you grow - this is a great book to add to your bookshelves.


RHS Great British Village Show, published 3rd April 2017 by DK books price £20

ISBN:

9780241255612

Thanks, Viv!

Disclaimer. I was sent a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own and I was not paid to write this post.

View from my office desk

 #gardening  #wildlife  #bumblebees

I have spent a lot of time working at my "desk" recently, sometimes sowing seeds, sometimes doing some paperwork - but mostly sowing seeds or pricking out and potting on many many small plants.

My version of hot desking. If I get up, I have a job to sit back down sometimes! Cassi Cat is a faithful companion, even if she does steal my seat at every chance.

My "office window" has a lovely view and I am even provided with an ever changing background soundtrack.

And I have wonderful floral arrangements right next to my desk.

Just round the corner is an amazing, naturalistic, art installation which climbs up the office wall and moves with the slightest breeze from the air conditioning.

And I am provided with a variation on the office fish tank to look, at if I want to rest my eyes from my work...

Bumblebee on Columbine

and on Solomon Seal

I think I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful office :)

Lovely gardening weather

Hello lovely people, how are you enjoying this weather? I have been working outside early in the day planting seeds and doing stuff in the poly tunnel and generally gardening like a mad thing - then at lunchtime it all gets far too hot so I retreat inside to do housework, computer work, read, craft or some such.

Then when the sun has gone down a bit and the heat has lessened I am outside again, planting and weeding and generally doing my Compostwoman stuff. 

This is the road side face of our house, with a very wild flower border and a climbing Hydrangea up the wall.

I was weeding and planting this border last week when I realised I was hearing a LOT of Blackbird scolding - no cats around so I knew it was me who was the problem.
















I had a closer look at the Hydrangea and realised I could see a yellow beak and a pair of eyes...click on the photo to see what I mean!

















And later when I looked, I saw this - a Blackbird nest with four eggs :) Lovely :)

I just need to make sure that  these three do not find it. It is high enough that they can't get to it, so I am hopeful that the fledgings will be ok.

Two useful garden items

@AldiUK @Easywatering #busyinthegarden

 I have a huge polytunnel so you would think I had lots of space for plants wouldn't you? Well actually at this time of year no I don't :) I need all the space in there for the tomatoes and pepper plants so am gradually planting out all the other stuff. Some of the plants are a bit tender to go outside just yet so it is really handy to have cold frames and cloches but they are all full of vegetable plants at this time of year. Also to save my back something which means I don't have to bend down would be very handy. 

Some of you may remember that back in March I was sent some items to review by Aldi. I was sent a small greenhouse and some covers; a pair of secateurs and some plant pots. The pots are now filled with perennials waiting to go outside into the new flower bed, the secateurs are used for cutting flowers to bring into the house and the Greenhouse? It is full to bursting with all sorts of plants at the moment, mostly  perennials grown from cuttings - I must have saved 100's of pounds by doing this considering the cost of good sized  perennials to buy in garden centres!

It was far too windy here in March to put the Greenhouse outside so I left it in the box for a bit but when I  finally got around to erecting it I found it was very easy as the instructions were pretty clear.









Top tip - put together one side of each shelf like this,

before slotting the tubes into the other side fixture bar. Then add the four vertical tubes and repeat three more times.

Add the top two arched bars...

Drape the cover over the top...

And fill with plants. It took me about 10 minutes to put together with no help from anyone else.

I am very impressed with this little greenhouse :) The four tier greenhouse cost £19.99 from Aldi and  replacement covers are £4.99. Aldi also do some good offers on plants so keep an eye open for them in store.

Another useful garden related item I was sent recently was a small drip feed irrigation system from Easy Watering. Easy Watering was formed in 2005 and was based on a very simple principle. The owners of the business moved to a new house and found it took hours to water the garden. They decided to try to set up a watering system but found it difficult to get all the parts they needed then found it difficult to find someone who also had the knowledge on how to install an irrigation system. As a result they decided to start up Easy Watering, a business dedicated to Watering and Irrigation Systems. The business is based in Newent, not very far away from Compost Mansions.

I was sent a 7.5 Metre Micro Drip Line Kit to try. Included in the kit was 7.5 metres of Micro Drip Line, 4 x Elbow connectors, 4 x Tee Connectors, 5 x stop ends and a tap connector.

By using the elbows, tees and stop ends you can make up a drip watering system shaped to your design which takes water from a tap and delivers it where you need water. It was easy to set up and I have mine arranged around the pots which are hardening off on the tables near to the polytunnel. Later in the year I will move the system and rearrange it so that it adds to the other drip watering hoses I use inside the polytunnel

Easy Watering. 7.5 Metre Micro Drip Line Kit  price: £10.69



Disclaimer. I was sent these items to review. All opinions are my own :)

Gardening and tea bags

#teabagplants   @BandQ   ‪#‎lotsdoneinthegardentoday‬

I spent the whole day doing lots of veg and flower garden stuff. We did loads of digging and weeding (the very heavy stuff done by lovely Compostman) and planting of plants and I planted up two new flower beds with perennials I have grown from cuttings and overwintered in the polytunnel.

I also took the opportunity to review a few of the items I have been sent recently.

 

First up were some bedding plants from B&Q, the DIY store.  I was sent a press release about this because B&Q have removed polystyrene packaging from a range of bedding plants, replacing it with a 100% recyclable alternative called easyGrow. 

 This is what the B&Q press release has to say...( I have quoted only some of it!)

From April 2014, B&Q will replace all polystyrene packaging across its range of bedding plants with an innovative new concept. Harnessing Teabag Technology™, easyGrow™ is 100% recyclable and up to 95% peat-free, removing peat from commercial plant production. The new concept will be incorporated into 20 varieties of bedding plants.

As the largest garden retailer in the UK, over 80 million bedding plants will be sold at B&Q stores across the UK between March and June. Historically, these plants would be packaged in non-recyclable polystyrene trays, resulting in 22,500 cubic metres of polystyrene, enough to fill over 87,200 wheelie bins, ending up as non-degradable waste in UK landfills. Placed end to end, the trays would stretch from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

The move by B&Q is supported by the RSPB, long time campaigners for peat-free gardening. With easyGrow™ with Teabag Technology™, each bedding plant is rooted in up to 95% peat free compost.

 easyGrow™ with Teabag Technology™, consists of a self-contained biodegradable ‘teabag’ made from corn starch, a renewable resource that is fully compostable. Each bag is filled with coir, a natural fibre extracted from coconut husks.

 As part of B&Q’s commitment to working with British suppliers, easyGrow™ with Teabag Technology™ has been developed in partnership with British growers, including Coletta & Tyson, a family business based in Hull.

  

That statistic about the polystyrene packaging caught my eye when I was first reading through the email they sent me - what a huge waste of resources! So when I was asked to try some plants grown in this way I jumped at the chance - I am always keen to promote a reduction in both packaging and peat!

The plants are grown in coir inside a "tea bag" so are very easy to plant - simply lift the plant out of the (recyclable!) tray, and then pop the whole thing into a pot and cover the tea bag with growing medium. The bags allow the roots to grow through and also will slowly biodegrade
 

 
The plants I chose were very healthy looking and strong and I now have a couple of colourful pots to add to the patio collection. You can buy these bedding plants now from your local B&Q store.

To find out more about this new packaging have a look here for a load more information.

I also spotted this in the poly tunnel :) Wonder if I will be eating tomatoes before June 12th this year? 


More from the garden, next post :) 



I was sent a voucher by B&Q to buy some plants to review. All opinions are my own.

The kale is now over but the roses bloom

The title sounds like it ought to be a proverb or a password or something! But it is actually just what was happening today.

Today was another fine day so I was very busy in the garden and polytunnel. I picked the last of the polytunnel Kale

I am now planting out various overwintering perennials into the garden - see these rose bushes on the front right?

While overwintering inside the polytunnel they had produced the most beautiful blooms all winter, I cut these and have had them inside the house since 20 th April - they are still wonderful.

The rose bushes have now been pruned and will stand on the patio when the weather warms up a little more.

I planted out some of the tree peonies I grew from seed, or from tubers moved when we were doing the patio, there are loads more plants waiting to go into this now cleared bed.

And I made a start on clearing out the dead stuff from the "Hampton Court" flower bed I made last summer

The garden looks particularly pretty at this time of year :)

I also thought I would share with you the breakfast routine here at Compost Mansions. We come downstairs and make breakfast and then the ravening hordes gather,

awaiting tit bits of marmite toast :)

Getting very busy in the garden (!)

We have had a week without rain recently and the ground finally has began to dry out - it could still become very wet very fast if we get any more rain, but for now both Compostman and I decided we could get digging.

We only have leeks, parsnips, spinach and various kales left in the ground in the veg patch and it all looks a bit sad at the moment - it has been just too wet to do anything as even tidying up would involve compacting the very wet soil. So we didn't.

 But today the sun shone, the birds sang and it was glorious to be outside :)

 After lifting last years onion plastic and doing some weeding in the raised beds we got cracking barrowing leaf mould over from by the compost area to enrich the beds.

 Compostman laid out the onion plastic on the new onion bed - I had previously enriched this area with compost and lots of wood ash, before he laid down the plastic and pegged it out.

Then he planted onion sets one per hole in the plastic. I meanwhile planted potatoes in the two raised beds. One had Maris Peer and the other Vanessa - both organic seed  potatoes of course. I believe it is "traditional" to plant potatoes on Easter Day, although I can't see why as Easter can be very early or very late to be planting them?

 We stopped and had a cup of tea while sitting on the bench at the top of the wood and admired the view down into the wood,

And across into the garden and orchard.


I have lots of other veg plants growing in the polytunnel but even so it feels good to get stuff planted in the ground :)