Hi there!
Sorry for the neglect!
Here we are stampeding up to the half year mark!
Weather has mostly been dark and gloomy.
Poor apple trees – they are done 🙁 Going to have to take them out and start again!!
The new beds have, of course, sunk over the course of the last season.
I want to revisit the idea of getting both the big raised beds planted out with strawberries. I dumped a couple of bins of coffee grounds in, then topped up with one of the bales of straw that’s been breaking down nicely.
Once I am ready to plant, I’ll top this up with soil and compost.
I ran out of pickled beetroot. (Horror)
Easy thing to go into the garden and pull up a heap and get cooking!
So glad I still have lots of lovely rocket in the garden to raid!
And – finally finally finally it looks like I might get some broccoli!!
I was beginning to think I’d planted cabbage!
The other day I went mad and planted about 50 lettuce seedlings around the place
In the hothouse was the main lot then scattered the rest about the garden outside.
I decided to try out the eggshell slug barrier again – because I was feeling way too lazy to cut up bottles for every plant.
You need a silly amount of eggshells really…
And they don’t work!! Well… the ones in the hothouse are mostly surviving – but its a lot drier in there so I am guessing slug population is small and they have to cross a lot of dry area to get to them
Pretty much every single one from outside is gone!
Oh well… Now I know to stick to what I know works best.
Bit annoying though.
Garlic (purple patch) is sitting up nicely so far!!
The garlic in the strawbales seem to be going along happily enough so far too!
I asked my friends husband if he would pop over some time and instruct me on pruning my raspberries.
I’ve never really known what to do and have winged it each season.
Gerry arrived under instructions from Maureen to ‘be gentle’ hahaha
I am a shocker at wanting to leave everything.
But – I wanted to learn so I was really brave 😀
I do need to restring the support wire and tied the remaining canes to it so they’ve got some support during the spring winds. These should grow well without all the weedy ones sucking out the energy from the plants.
Next season I should dig up the whole row thats closer in the photo so I can weed it properly and replant.
Next season…
Gerry also spent time with me pruning the fruit trees and sharing good advice so that was all really awesome!
On a bit of a roll that day, so I tackled another overdue job that was on my mind.
The asparagus plot. The soil in this raised bed hasn’t been touched much for years and had sunk so low.
I thought I might try my hand at digging them up and separating some crowns,
Weird tentacle creatures
I used most of the leaf mould compost – it was so lovely and chock full of worms!
Not sure if I’ve done things right, but for better or worse.. they are all replanted and with luck, spring will show some new growth
Today has been so dark and dismal!
I’ve pottered about inside – continuing the last lot of garlic in the dehydrator so the place smells… amazing? Garlicky? Insane?
I’ve got another batch of salt in and some plain to make some powder.
It’s taking ages.
Hope you’ve got some fabulous stuff planned for the weekend!
Cheers!
Asparagus is my favorite crop. Little work, the gift the keeps on giving, year after year. We have a raised abed 4 ft. 6 ft. You’ll be happy you tended to them.
I certainly haven’t had to do much with them over the time they’ve been in… but hopefully as you say, they’ll respond well to the TLC!!
the apple trees died? 🙁 🙁 what happened? can you tell at all?
Not exactly sure – Old and some disease 🙁 The smaller one shrivelled last spring, the big one is cracking/splitting through the trunk.
We’ll have to look into removing them and getting new ones 🙁 Such a shame!
aww poor apples:(
I know!! We are feeling rather sad about it!! 🙁