Ziggys' Home Plot

Just to start off the diary of the home plot, not a lot to see yet i'm afraid.



Red & white spring cabbages are starting to heart up, purple sprouting is staked & showing signs of taking off.

Kale will be pickable in a week or so. Sorrel is pickable now,as is the surviving mizuna. The spinage beet that survived the snow is starting to get away again and is being followed by some new plants, sown last august.

South end of the plot is dug over & the runner bean trench near the steps is hosting a catch crop of spring onions. These are much later than the ones from the West Bay plot, so should fill the gap before the new bulbing onions are ready.

Oh, forgot to mention the cloche has mangetout peas in, been a bit attacked by slugs though, so have just pelleted.

 

Hi ziggy!

looks like things are starting to get moving now the days are slooooooowly getting longer. We are finding things are still moving slowly even in the greenhouse.

Just out of curiosity, dont you suffer from vandalism or thiefs stealing your veg/cloches etc? looks pretty exposed? Not sure what its like in your village?

Looks like rhubarb central, closest to camera!

 

Hey Luke,

Had my lobster pot and one of the kids bikes nicked (probably for the scrap metal value, wonder who that would have been then, surely not the same people that stole Choppers trailer in the next village)

Apart from that, no. In fact i've come out some mornings to find trays of cabbages left on the plot for me

Oh yes, the Rhubarb is in its third year now, so might have a crumble off him this year

Checked the forcing bunker earlier, new shoots are about an inch high, so a week or so to go there too.

 

Well, a bit worn out today, so just light pottering duties.

Turned a big blue barrel into a wormery, drilled holes in the bottom & mounted it off the ground on a stack of bricks and a metal grill to stop the rats gnawing thru it once they smell whats in there.

The first of the Arran pilot potatoes are just showing & the cabbages are starting to heart up.

Did an indoor sowing of Mizuna, more Losetta Tomatoes & a tray of Beetroot. Then, I wanted to go to a garden centre.



Never grown Cardoons before, anyone else tried them ?



Couldn't resist a sack of this :D

Checked the watercress beds while I was out, was a bit worried as they did a lot of bank landscaping last year, but it seems to be recovering. Doing better than the stuff i've got growing indoors.



Its a pity I didn't have video on my camera as there were a load of whirlygig beetles going round and round like the postman in Under Milk Wood.

 

Zoo Poo !!! Now I need to gat a bag of that! Tiger turds on standby! I'm currently trying to get hold of wookie manure... harder to find than you might think. :WINK1:

Light pottering duties are always the best jobs... low stress! For example, the hardest job I did today was drill a hole in my greenhouse to modify the (very poorly designed) sliding door mechanism. The top 'beam' is what the door slides along, but was not fixed properly, and needed drilling to the main frame.

Yes, its been a tough old day... Im shattered!

I understand youve had a busy week Ziggy, so a more relaxing day was on the cards I should think... and a walk around a garden centre to top the day off.. Nice!

I too did some beetroot (a la Monty Don) and also some mustard greens... never tried them before, and probably not done at correct time, but worth a shot! Oh, and the Lamb's Lettuce have germinated in the greenhouse nicely, and Im thinking of putting them into seperate pots/cells and growing on a little until its a better size for planting outside.

Better temperature today too!

 

Hi Luke,

You might try this link for Wookie Poo, if they haven't got any no one has.

http://www.wookey.co.uk/

Mustard Greens always usefull, sow some every 3 weeks as they quickly go to seed in the summer, usefull to stake them too.

My Lambs Lettuce hadn't germinated by last sunday(Its down the other plot) But I did find a stray one while weeding that i've potted up.

Didn't like Monty's idea of little beets, I like them to be of at least weapons grade roots. Something that would do a bit of damage with a good swing

Still a bit tired, so earlyish night tonight, got to help a GC member move some stuff tommorow, then back to work again. No rest for the crimnally insane.

 

I grew beetroot last year tried the weapons grade stuff but those pesky slugs got the slimey jaws into them had holes all over them under soil level. Knew it wasn't rats or mice as i live with 7 cats that are good micers and ratters.

But trying copper tape this year and hope that works

 

wookey caves... Adult Day Tickets – Standard Admission Price £16.00

Ive just booked a ticket for next Monday. I also phoned a mate to borrow a van. Ive got plenty of old compost bags to fill up so I think 16 quid + petrol, for a van full of chew(bacca) Poo is a bargain.

Appreciate the link mate

 

:D

There was a hyena den there before the last ice age, might be something left in that, not been mucked out recently.

They do a nice line in cave aged cheddar cheese though, thats really nice, bit pricey though. Tastes of musty earth.

 

Uh, so, your telling me there is no wookie poo?

Well there's 16 quid im not going to see again... anyone want to buy a ticket?

Thanks for that zig :th_scifD36:

 

There used to be a product called slug gard that took care of the black keeled slugs, don't know if its still around & doesn't sound very organic.

I can't suggest spraying the ground with salt solution to get rid of them as thats now illegal, but thats what I would have done before the law changed.:WINK1:

 

Thinking of also purchase a nematode, but not had any dealings with them before

 

One nematode wont do you much good. They are very small.[hr]

Sorry Luke,

I've had it away with most of it, this was the link I meant to post :DOH:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinpoulton/5073179946/

 

Now THATS the stuff!