Spring has sprung...(and the clouds have sprung a leak)

Well, there's been very little happening in the garden the last couple of days because of the ground being so wet and a pesky thing I have do which involves earning money. How inconvienent - don't my employers know I have a garden to look after?!

So here is a photo of what the garden looked like on the 17th of April. (There's nothing under the cloche - I just put it there to make it look like there was and so the garden less empty!) Tomorrow if the sun comes out I'll take some pictures to compare. The combination of rain and sun has made everything double in size. (Apart from the lettuces I have in the greenhouse which seem to be taking an age...)

And this running thing will probably not go away anytime soon as I've now entered the Inverness 10K in October. Oh dear.

Non-Gardening Excitement

All has been a bit quiet on the garden front as yesterday I took part in a relay team running the Edinburgh Marathon. And exercise is not my strongest point.

I took the glory leg of 5.2 miles which meant I got to run across the finish line and pretend I had run the full thing. I was quite scared though of the amount of runners that were doing the full thing and overtook me after they'd already run 23 miles. I have to say it was tempting to think about training for the full thing but not sure how I could fit it in when there are so many vegetables to grow and eat...

First Feast

Finally - I got to eat something out the garden!

Last night I had ristotto with mushrooms (not from the garden), chives, broad bean tops and salad leaves. Yippee!

I would have taken a photo of this historic meal but it smelled too good. So here is what you get instead.

Dead Potato

Oh dear.

I was planting out my brussel spout and kale plants last night and noticed that a random single potato had withered and died.

What does this mean? Has a mischievous cat chosen to do its business right on top? Was the potato plant protesting that I had planted them all too close together? Or is this the dreaded blight?

Well I dug it up and the tuber was totally rotten and soggy - it was gross so no picture. A frantic check through potato problems in 'The New Vegetable and Herb Expert' (thanks Dad) brought me to the conclusion that Dr. D. G. Hessayon hadn't come across this before either.

So...anyone any ideas? Dad?!

And so I carried on and planted out my brussel sprouts and curly kale.

The garden is starting to fill up finally. Tonight its the turn of the courgettes and squashes so I'd better be off and get busy. And the housework is beckoning too. Oh dear.

Endless sowing (of seeds)

I am unbelievably stupid. Was about to get on the train today when I get a phonecall from my man D to let me know that I have his keys for the house and the car he has borrowed for the week. And my response?... 'Can you drive to the station and pick them up?' Perhaps one of the most illogical things I have ever come out with.

As a result I had two extra hours this morning until the next train and so two hours in the greenhouse (every cloud and all that...) Managed to sow some more beetroot and the first swedes as well as some Jack O' Lantern pumpkins. And finally take some photos. So here they are.





And the strawberry cage is still there. I am doing a little dance!




















From left: blueberry flowers, some orange seeds I spat out in a pot, cucumber babies and the first strawberries

Hi everyone

Hello there

Well this is my first attempt at blogging. It seemed a good idea for me to keep track of what I'm doing and maybe get some help and ideas from anyone who might ever come across this...

You will pick it up as I go I suppose but basically over the last year I have turning our garden into something a bit tasty, and making some clothes in the process. Fruit and vegetable growing is taking over at the moment but I usually have some kind of crafty thing on the go (to keep me busy on my daily train journey if nothing else.)

And so tonight...

• I crafted a rather feeble/tremendous (I can't decide) fruit cage for my strawberries and cranberries. I love birds and there are loads in the garden but when it comes to my fruit I have declared war. And I will win.
• Decided to be brave and leave some brassica seedlings from the greenhouse out for the night. I wrapped them up real nice with fleece but if they die I will weep.
• Potted up a nice big half barrel with a sunflower and some coriander. (I was absolutely convinced that I was growing lemon balm but these little plants look suspiciously like, and smell suspiciously like coriander.) Still good but not as nice in tea!
• And re-potted a yukka house-plant. Please pray for it. I am rubbish at keeping house-plants alive. I heard that if you rub banana skins on the leaves it makes them shiny but I tried and they just looked covered in yuck. Maybe I was rubbing with the wrong side of the skin. And I think I heard that on How Clean Is Your House and I don't think I trust those ladies anymore.

Unfortunately its dark now so I will take some photos tomorrow (if the fruit netting hasn't blown away that is!)