After weeks of dry sunny weather at last we had rain yesterday. It was that ideal type rain that really soaks into the parched ground, steady, gentle and all day. Everything is looking very lush this morning.
A couple of days ago was a very exciting event – I had a large 60L bag of compost delivered. This meant I could get on and transplant seedlings, sow carrot seeds and finally put my potato seedlings into an old compost bag. My patio/allotment is slowly taking shape.
Here are my Six on Saturday hosted by The Propogator blog.
1. Marigold ‘Boy O Boy Orange’
These little seedlings are almost ready to be moved on to a bigger home and when ready to go out into the big wide world will look wonderful in the flowerbed near the drive.
2. Nasturtium ‘Gem Mix’
You can’t go wrong with Nasturtiums, that’s my opinion anyway. They are so versatile, easy to grow, fill in gaps and happy on poor soil. Gem Mix comes in a variety of colours from gold to deep maroon.
3. Beetroot ‘Bolthardy’
This is an experiment in more ways than one. Just like the broad beans I am growing, beetroot is another disliked vegetable throw back to childhood, when the vinegar made me cough and everything on the plate turned pink. Again, like broad beans, I am assured that fresh young beetroot tastes wonderful. I found an old wooden fruit crate which I have lined with a black bin liner. A couple of days ago, aware of the warnings that beetroot doesn’t like being moved, I transplanted the seedlings. Fingers crossed they’ll be ok. The tray is covered with wire net to protect them from squirrels and pigeons who believe they can eat whatever they like!
4. Cerinthe ‘Purpurascens’
I love Cerinthe and the fact that once established they come back every year. I found an old Sarah Raven packet of seeds so gave them a go and was delighted to see so many germinate. Yesterday I potted them on and they are now in my plastic box cum mini greenhouse. I wanted to wait until the true leaves appeared before repotting but they were getting so leggy on the windowsill indoors. There are tiny proper leaves if you look carefully so I might be lucky.
5. Gaura ‘The Bride’
I have always thought you had to buy Gaura as an established plant so was delighted to find Gaura seeds, tucked away at the bottom of my old seed box. It’s amazing what you can find when you rootle around in places you don’t often look in. They have taken a long time to germinate and look very delicate so they probably need some gentle nurturing. Once they are ready to go out they will look right at home in the herbaceous border. If you have any advice please let me know.
6. Tomato ‘MoneyMaker’
My tomato plants were doing really well, and still look healthy but they don’t seem to be growing in height. I grow tomatoes most year so know what to expect, but in a moment of lockdown boredom I watched a YouTube video about growing tomatoes. We were shown tomato plants Blue Peter style – “this one is 2 weeks old” and “this is after 4 weeks”. The 4 week ones were about a foot tall, mine are half the height and about 8 weeks old!! I have moved them out now into the plastic box greenhouse with the hope they will realize they have to grow. Time will tell.
Apparently we are now in for some warm sunny weather again so hopefully everything will put a spurt on. We still have time though just in case we have a frost snap before May. Take a look at The Propogator and look at what everyone is growing during the lockdown. Meanwhile take care and keep well.