Green Fingers

There is still another week left of the Easter holidays.  Hopefully this week will be a little more relaxed, last week we were away in Cumbria at Centre Parcs, the weather was sunny and warm and we packed a lot in.  

It was nice to see on our return that the seedlings were shooting up fast, the French beans had only just popped their heads out of the compost when we left and now they are a good 6 inches high.

The tomatoes and courgettes are also doing really well and this week I have been potting them onto larger pots, still resisting the urge to plant out in the garden until all chance of frost has passed

The salad leaves have been busy and will soon be ready to use.  I have also sown more trays of these leaves so I can produce a continuos supply for as long as I can.

 The strawberry plants are beginning to show signs of producing their first tiny fruits, just need to remember to get some netting rigged up before the birds notice too!

The 3 potato sacks that I have are all producing lots of lovely growth and I will have to start earthing them up soon. 

My husband surprised my this week by buying me a plastic greenhouse, it was as cheap as chips but it means I can move my assortment of trays and pots from the numerous windowsills.  For the last week I have been hardening off these seedlings outside during the day and now feel they can tolerate a night in the greenhouse if frost isn't forecasted. 

They all look like they are coping well. 

Back soon xx

Spring is Springing

I just can’t believe it, I’ve been away from this blog for near on 13 months. At the time I hadn’t given it any thought that I would be taking time away, just other things happened that meant I simply didn’t get the time! A young baby, returning to work and full time hours and moving house twice all took its toll on giving myself the time and luxury of writing posts, let alone actually doing anything worthy of posting about.

I have been fortunate enough though to at least find time to do a few projects, crochet wise, and I always find time to bake, my kids would perish if their diet didn’t include plenty of cupcakes, I’m sure the hubby would divorce me if I stopped baking!!

This time of year though is when I really feel myself getting excited, I love spring, with that sense of anticipation of what is to come. Already we have seen a couple of warm days, with temperatures high enough to get out in the garden and even cut the grass.

Since moving to West Yorkshire from Lincolnshire, my only regret about the move has been the loss of my allotment. If I’m honest, I was fortunate to be offered a new plot near where I live now, but at the time, my second daughter was still so very young and the plot needed a lot of work, the 2 factors combined meant that I didn’t have the time or energy to commit to it and sadly I declined the offer.

But every cloud has a silver lining and as much as the thought of moving house again so soon after moving previously filled me with dread, the upheaval and effort has all been worth it because this house has a lovely big, south facing garden – I feel so lucky. I have never had such a big garden, well not since when I was a kid. Not only can we fit in the obligatory trampoline and also a small playhouse, but I also can think about starting to grow a bit of fruit and veg.

Nothing will ever be on the scale of when we owned our own plot, but in hindsight, we did produce enough stuff to supply an army – well, in our case, most of the street (not that the neighbours complained, I mean I wouldn’t if I opened my door to a punnet of strawberries, some raspberries, freshly dug potatoes, carrots and beetroots and a handful of mixed herbs) We simply grew so much food that I couldn’t bear to see it wasted but also couldn’t actually manage to handle it all, even if a lot of it went in to making chutney’s, jams and pickles, there was just an endless supply – oh the courgettes!!!!!

So I figure, a kitchen garden will be more manageable and so I have turned every available windowsill into an impromptu propagator and set about sowing some seedlings. Container growing will be the main stay of my kitchen garden with a small vegetable plot to the side of the house. I have also found small pockets in the flower beds that can easily fit in a few rows of strawberry plants and even a globe artichoke. A sad empty gap outside the back door will soon be my herb garden, just big enough to have a small selection of herbs, just in handy reach of when I’m cooking up a storm in the kitchen!

Already I have noticed the bonus of growing my own veggies at home, the kids get to carrying on playing in the garden while I’m preparing seed trays or watering seedlings.

So far on my list of seeds or plants I’m growing are:

Tomatoes / potatoes / rhubarb / globe artichoke / strawberries / peppers / courgettes (yellow & green varieties) / dwarf French beans / mixed salad leaves

In addition I also want to grow carrots / beetroot / raspberries / sweetcorn / cucumbers & shallots. I got some Kale and Chard free with a magazine I bought recently so I’ll give that a crack as well.

The garden also hosts a whopping great big apple tree, cookers, not eaters, but still a great addition to the garden.

So, I hope I will be showing my face around here more often, I am still enjoying crocheting as much as always, bonus there is, in the evening when I can’t be in the garden, I can be slumped out in front of the tv, crocheting instead.

Have a great Easter xx