I was reading the Allotments 4 All forums and came across a thread about water butts. It included a link to a composting/water saving supplies online store at http://www.evengreener.com/Shop/Water_Butts.html Would you have any of the “Butt Butts” in your garden/allotment (if you had the money to spare/spend)?
RSPB Garden BirdWatch
27 January 2008 at 7:45 pm (Garden, Seeds)
Today, and yesterday (as well as last week), I watched the birdies in the garden. I counted them, and had 12 house sparrows, 12 starlings, 2 blue tits, 2 chaffinches, 2 blackbirds, 1 great tit, 2 robins, 1 bullfinch, 1 pied wagtail and 1 dunnock. Previous visitors to the garden over the last month have included a fieldfare, carrion crow, magpie and a seagull (though more seagulls like to watch the world go by while sitting on the roof of the house).
On Wednesday, onions started to germinate. Today, 75% have germinated. I have 4 cauliflower seedlings (100%).
Started sowing
17 January 2008 at 8:12 pm (Seeds)
I started sowing seeds today. I sowed mainly chillis (Trifetti, Lemon Drop, Albertos Locoto, Friar’s Hat, Cascabella, Carribean Antillais, Habanero Peach), a couple of basils (lemon and Sweet Genovese), heritage eggplant aubergine, Bedfordshire Champion onions, Cape Gooseberry and All the Year Round cauliflower. I’ll leave the tomatoes for a fortnight or so.
Received the HSL seed order today. Hurrah! Am happy now. Still, am expecting 2 seed order deliveries.
Ordered more seeds!
15 January 2008 at 7:11 pm (Seeds)
Today, put in an order for seeds with Tuckers and Mr Fothergills. When I previously ordered seed, I didn’t know I was going to get a second allotment.
I haven’t yet started sowing, but have noticed others on the various messageboards I frequent have started. I am tempted to sow some seeds now, though the compost is in the shed and it is raining!
Reading again
13 January 2008 at 8:29 pm (Books, Miscellaneous)
I’m still reading Carrots Love Tomatoes. I use the transparent sticky tag things to mark interesting places in the book. I have found one on “Celery dinant or French celery dinant is a unique type that sends out a multitude of narrow thin stalks. … it has a much fuller flavor than common celery…” Sounds interesting. Two tags on one page next – heavy water – “Snow contains forty percent less heavy water or deuterium oxide than normal water.” D2O apparently slows down some chemical and biological processes of growing plants. The other tag is about another weather phenomena – lightning. With each strike, increases the amount of nitrogen available in the soil. The book suggests tying tomato plants to metal poles to attract static electricity, with nylon strips (a use for those laddered stockings/tights..).
Planning – we’d like to put a pond on the second allotment. No idea if we are going for a preformed thingy or whether we’ll go for the butyl (or whatever it is called) liner. I’d like fish in the pond. My dad had built a pond and we had a few fish – shubunkins, fantails, comets, goldfish, as well as frogs and/or toads – though they disappeared when they saw me (I think I threatened to kiss them – perhaps they didn’t want to be my prince!), also there were newts. The pond was refreshed a couple of times a week (some water removed and clean (though I think the tap water stood for a day or two) water), and we didn’t have a pump/filter. Occasionally, we’d scrape the algae off the liner. There were plenty of other creatures, including snails, in there. The fish were happy and made baby fish.
