I got a bit carried away...

I decided to go outside for a potter and chat with my plants last night but somehow a spade found its way into my hand and the urge to dig stuff overtook me.

And so Mr Butternut looked out the window last night to see another vegetable bed had been created in the middle of the little grass we had left. I got the desire to plant peas you see, and unable to think of any place to put them decided that some more grass had to go. Now.

And so I marked out the bed, lifted the turf, dug it up, dug in some compost, made a pea wig-wam type thing similar to my dads and got planting. I also put in some lettuce underneath hoping that it would help stop the weeds and give the ground in the middle something to do.

It will have to revert back to grass in the autumn to make way for our chickens - already provisionally named Mrs Cluckerson and Mrs Henry.

Tree Disease?

Something very odd has happened to the tree in my front garden - has anyone seen this before? I don't know what kind of tree it is but it has a lovely pink blossom in spring. Help!?

Growth and Plans

Well it has been a busy week though not for me in the garden unfortunately, the weather hasn't let me get out much. Things are growing nicely without me though and it looks like I will have blueberries this year - yum.

I've had a trip up north to my parents where me and my pa constructed a rather spectacular frame for his peas to climb up. Here is the Eighth Wonder Of The World:

I did get a bit of a fright when I went out one morning and all my brocolli and sprouts had completely wilted - a complete mystery as they weren't too dry or waterlogged and there were no beasties to be seen. I had a panic but the next day they had all totally righted themselves and are starting to form heads of broccoli.

The squashes are growing well too though I can't remember what type this is:

And then the plans...I have decided and persuaded Mr Butternut that it makes sense to dig up a lot more the back garden to create three raised beds. I want to put asparagus in one and then include the other two in the vegetable rotation but next year use one for salads and the other for strawberries. I am also planning things for the front garden which is such a mess that I am too ashamed to post a photo. We are having some building work done but once this is finished I'll be able to tidy it up and completely re-design it - very exciting!

Job Done

Lots of activity in the garden today so I am just doing a list to help with my memory...

• Potted on the purple-sprouting broccoli and basil
• Planted out the leeks (hannibal variety) and sowed another row
• Planted three more rows of beetroot (detroit globe) and two rows of swedes
• Planted out my butternut squash and jack o'lantern pumpkins
• Planted out chamomile round the blueberry bush
• Planted out a mystery squash near the strawberries
• Weeded like a demon
• Trying to get the lawnmower to work with no success
• Tidied out the greenhouse again and chatted to my plants

Construction Work and a Murderous Deed

Well I'm now back in Scotland finally which is a great relief as I'm not used to non-Scottish climates! All my plants were doing well and I have some of the largest strawberries ever seen by man in my fruit bed. Mr Butternut wants to eat them now but we are just waiting for some sunny days to redden them up.

Now I'm up north staying with family and yesterday helped my dad weed his vegetable plot and we constructed a very impressive looking pea tee-pee type-thing and planted some more seeds. Photos will follow...

Another thing - is it wrong to feel evil glee at murdering slugs? When I was home at the weekend I nipped out to water the lettuces and found the most enormous slug I had ever seen - no joke, it must have been about 15cm long - drinking out of my beer trap. I thought, 'hey ho, you look like you're enjoying that, fancy a swim?' And so I nudged it in but it keep trying to climb out and I thought 'NO, I will not be beaten!' and so I held it under the beer for a couple of minutes with a look of evil satisfaction on my murderous face. And yet it wasn't enough so I reached for my scissors to cut its drunken body in half when it finally went off to the massive lettuce in the sky and I did a dance with delight.

Does this make me a terrible vegetarian?

Ciao!

Just wanted to say hello by my blog and ask anyone reading this to send happy thoughts to my plants. I am working away at the moment so there won't be much plant progress until the weekend. Hopefully when I get back all the veg in the garden will have doubled in size and I'll finally have a lettuce ready. Keep your fingers crossed!

I Love Sundays...

Well I've been having a great weekend with no housework to do so I've been getting through all those jobs that you put off for weeks. Sewing up the broken seam on Wee Man's bed and handwashing are good examples! And I finally got out in the garden with my camera.

Spent some time today potting up my butternut squash seedlings, planting out buttercup squash plants, bringing some herbs indoors for my kitchen windowsill, weeding (as always) and eating radishes. Here is the evidence.













And then I have a question for anyone out there reading this... Do my leeks look rubbish? I'm worried that they'll never to ready in time for planting out.