Dwarf Beans

The Dwarf Beans are all about 3 inches high now and producing the first set of real leaves. They will need to be transferred to larger pots now. I'm not sure what size these beans will grow to (being dwarf I imagine quiet small) as it does not say on the packet. Just to be on the safe side when these beans are ready for their final big pot I will add a cane next to each. I don't want the same problem I had with the tomatoes last year, were I didn't add a cane until they had already grown tall. I could not get the cane close enough to the plant because it would have damaged the roots.

My tray of various vegetable seeds has produced a very poor crop. 5 seeds were planted of 8 different veggies. Of the possible 40 I have only got 2 tomatoes, 3 beetroot and 3 leeks. I suspect I over watered them to start with and although they were in the greenhouse I should have put a propagator lid over the tray to create more humidity. I have replanted new seeds this weekend, I hope its not too late in the season.

Potato crazy

The recent warm weather has sent many of the seeds flying into action. Germination is going crazy for some, such as pototoes, onion, garlic and drawf beans and not so well for the rest.

Tulips and daffodils

Sweet peas planted out

The first sweet peas of the year have been planted out into the border. Five plants were sown during the winter and kept in the greenhouse. During that time they have grown slowly and now the warmer weather is with us they have started to shoot up. These plants were grown from the seeds I harvested from last years crop.

This first batch should provide early flowers. A second batch of seeds will be sown this weekend for a later flowering.

Ive attached netting to the fence for the sweet peas to climb up. I have tried to position it slightly more to the right of the plants this time. The wind can often blow towards the top of the garden causing many of the plants to drift that way. As a result last years sweet peas grew away from most of the netting.

The same batch of sweet pea seeds were given to family and friends at christmas. I hope to hear news of their own plants soon.

The wind also effects the bulbs which blow over easily. To control the wind, I plan to put in shrubs to act as wind breaks. I have lots of shrub cuttings in small pots at the moment. I hope they will be big enough in a year or so's time to be effective.

Busy, busy.

Its all go in the garden now, with sowing of seeds and clearing the ground for the new crop. The greenhouse is full of garlic (now sprouting), onion sets, potatoes in large pots, peas, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, beetroot, salad and more. Carrots have been sown outside. Potatoes have been planted in big pots outside.

Daffodils and tulips have started to flower. Only two tulips have matured to flower with more developing at a much slower pace. The bright yellow violas shine brightly on these chilly days.

New greenhouse

My now older and wiser head will tell you all to never buy cheap as it costs more in the long run. This comes from my experience of buying a cheap Wilkinson mini greenhouse last spring and expecting it to last more than a season.

It was a very nice greenhouse, only 15 quid, with 3 shelves and just enough space for my first year of vegetable cultivation. However, the clear plastic cover started to develop weaknesses at the corners or where it was once folded. The weak areas developed into holes, and once the strong winds blew in February it soon became a mass of shreds.

I can only presume that the plastic cover could not withstand the extremes of temperature change.

My greenhouse wows are over now as I have bought a 4 tier variety from Homebase, and luckily for me I happened to buy it on a sale day so got it for £20 instead of £30. Well done me. Its cover is made from a much stronger plastic with mesh running through it and also a fabric zip. I would expect this one to last a good few years.

Perfect gardening weather - lets run 10km!

This weekends weather was perfect to make a start on the first gardening jobs of the year. However, I had different plans. Instead I ran in the St Davids Day 10km run around Bute Park. I'm suffering a bit now - everything from the hips down aches - but the aches and pains are worth it. This was my first run for about 3 years and with a time of 1hour and 2 minutes I now have something to beat when I come to run again later this year. The big plan is to run in the Cardiff half marathon in October. Before that I hope to run in 2 or 3 more 10km events.