Free's Baby Steps

Members adventures in the Vegetable Patch all year round
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Mo
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

Post by Mo »

Think of any weed seed heads as bird food - so your sculpture will come alive.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Freeranger
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

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So, when I last posted about abandoning hope, little had I remembered about how quickly the seasons roll around again.
Winters are long here, and yet again I find myself somewhat unprepared for the current year!
Or currant year either, as it happens. My blackcurrants were struggling in amongst tall weeds and grasses. I've cleared those away and had to strip a load of moss and lichens from them too. Some serious pruning took place while they were just in bud and I stuck the cuttings into the ground next to the main plant. Many of those seem still to be fine, and there's even a bit of new currant-y growth. The bushes had started to self-layer, so may end up with a million shrubs - but not such a bad thing. Ditto the gooseberries.
I've put cardboard and pallets down in the gaps between the bushes, ready to move seedlings in when there are some ready to transplant. We're still likely to get heavy frosts, so start many things indoors or under bottle cloches. I've stuck some mankier spuds from the veg basket into the ground ad if they grow then it's a positive (I know this is against best practice but it is an exceptional year). I have more chitting and some garlic in pots.
I've cleared a load of weeds from my 'new beds' and think they're now full of weeds like daisies. The adage that a weed is just a flower in the wrong place has been applied by designating the beds a 'wildflower zone'. Some things are meant to be there, like yarrow and ox-eye daisies, so the idea is that I can gradually get more selective over time. There will never be a shortage of docks (quite useful when the loo roll and newspapers run out?!).
I have also heavily pruned more ornamental shrubs, and stripped off the moss from them. Almost bare of bark now, but at least free of any additional drains on resources. Last year's radical prunery has seen lots of new shoots generate around the base of the shrubs.
As I've been working away from the gate to the house, I've also been clearing the drive of weeds and soil (it's the countryside) to the same distance, so frankly, that looks a bit of a mess, but will keep it that way and hope to borrow a pressure washer at some point.
My next job is to try and sprout old seeds to see what we can produce The shutdown came at the wrong point for buying new from my usual haunts.
I have been given loads of plants by friends, and kept most of them in pots near the house - didn't quite find their homes last year. Consequently have loads of 'stuff' growing. Can't remember what they all were, thought some of it was dead anyway, and will have the gardening equivalent of a magical mystery tour when they make themselves known.
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Mo
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

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Freeranger wrote:My next job is to try and sprout old seeds to see what we can produce The shutdown came at the wrong point for buying new from my usual haunts.

Yes, didn't it.
Not sure that any of the old seeds in my tin would grow, I tried last year with runner beans, failed, and was given some plants that I had to untangle before planting them.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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lancashire lass
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

Post by lancashire lass »

Mo wrote:
Freeranger wrote:My next job is to try and sprout old seeds to see what we can produce The shutdown came at the wrong point for buying new from my usual haunts.

Yes, didn't it.
Not sure that any of the old seeds in my tin would grow, I tried last year with runner beans, failed, and was given some plants that I had to untangle before planting them.


You might find some "old" seed are still within the packet expiry date, and then add some - many seeds are easily still viable after 3 years (some like parsnip probably not so but you can always "chit" them on damp paper towel in a warm place like an airing cupboard and see if any come up) and the cabbage family (includes sprouts, broccoli, caulis, swede) are viable up to 5 years. Even then, there'll still be some viable seeds but these drop off as time goes on so just sow more heavily.

Last year I heavily sowed the Borlotti bean seeds I had saved from 2015 expecting only a few to survive but surprising they all sprung up. However, not a good year so they ended up as a "green manure"
Freeranger
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

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So, from this year's packets I've sown basil, parsley, mint, beetroot, spring onion, cucumbers, courgettes & carrots. I'm also soaking broad beans.
From my old tin of stuff, some of which is very old, I've started with big things like peas, which again I'm soaking, and then - flollowing LL's advice, thank you - I have put out different seeds on top of wet kitchen roll on to of damp compost (so I can leave them if they grow or scrape them off if not) and under cling film on our sunny shelf. These are things we eat a lot of like kale and lettuce, some white beetroot and turnips that were yummy. They're a lot less likely to do anything, but many were heritage varieties and chosen for my cold little spot.
I'm struggling to get the tomatoes warm enough, but we'll persevere for now.
Something has eaten every single leaf off my vincas, and had a good munch at the sweet william and lambs ears. The sweet hop I planted last year from a cutting has vanished - also eaten, I fear.
Freeranger
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

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I've identified the culprit for the plant eating. Mostly, it's a pair of pheasants, but also some other LBJs from the forest. I keep having to replant bulbs, which is a combination of them tugging at the new leaves and moles.
Frankly, as a newbie, I can do without the sabotage.
Mixed results for the germination. Courgettes up and throwing of their hats. Some success with tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, spring onions and basil. Everything else a bit slower than I'd like.
I started beans on a saucer and then transferred them to a jar, primary school style, to help eke out limited compost over the season. The tips on about 4/10 have gone black. Not happy.
Other seeds were just non-viable, I fear, so I'll just concentrate on the newest.
Freeranger
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

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Well still mixed results. One of the courgettes went mouldy and died, but I now have some radiccio, cucumbers, tomato, spring onions, basil, carrot and rocket. The beans are growing away now, so hopefully they'll turn out OK. Time for some second sowings, I think, and to branch out a bit.
The old peas went smelly in spite of the Milton, and the old seeds are all still just sat there. Experiment failed.
I'm chitting potatoes, which are growing very very slowly and it's getting a bit late, but not too much so for this area.
Potted cuttings and shrubs all still alive as far as I can tell! Two of my water-based cuttings have a root each on them.
I'm gradually clearing back soil from the driveway, creating neat edges, and gradually carrying the soil up the garden to fill raised beds and create a huglekulture bed that I'm going to try this year. Looking a lot tidier, though I kind of miss the re-wilding look!
Freeranger
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

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Just when you think things are going well....
An unexpected heavy frost got to the courgette and cucumbers on the car dashboard, and most of one variety of tomato seedling. I hadn't worried about them as I thought they'd be fine there. I've brought them indoors but it's not looking good. Time to resow. ugger.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

Post by lancashire lass »

oh dear, you aren't having much luck - the cold front forecast this week is not going to help. I'd keep stuff indoors for as long as you can if it is possible. It must have been extremely cold for the frost to have affected those left in the car.
Freeranger
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

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Yes, it was a good, thick white frost. It did for the daffs and tulips, which had been in full flight. The plants didn't recover.
I really need to get my greenhouse and cold frame up and running. The car has been good for some things but the temperature can fluctuate very quickly, and I suspect has been too hot for some seeds which haven't germinated, and it's been a challenge to keep all the compost moist. The light levels are a bit low on the seats and foot well but the dashboard is too hot.
As a middling step, I'm planning to use pop-bottle cloches on some things outdoors, and I have a 10" deep wooden frame (from an old packing crate for a painting) with a window on top, but have to work out a mechanism to get ventilation or it will be way too hot. I can only grow things that are very short!
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Mo
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Re: Free's Baby Steps

Post by Mo »

Freeranger wrote:I can only grow things that are very short!
{rofwl}
I remember that problem. When we moved in here 50 or so yrs ago, we replaced a lot of windows and tried to used the lights to cover makeshift frames. More complicated than we expected.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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