Running out of space

I’m missing my little plastic greenhouse at the moment as I’m running out of room for all my seedlings. Hopefully we will see some progress with the new greenhouse soon as I need it! Today’s activities included repotting some sorry looking cauliflower seedlings which have
somehow survived since last October. I put some out in a raised bed yesterday but still have a lot of plants to find a home for if they start to thrive in their new pots.

Sowed another pot of coriander plus some rocket and mixed salad leaves and then got a bit carried away with a small seed tray of lobelia, another of antirrhinum and some pots with 4 sweet peas in each and another couple of nasturtium in pots.

Then some tidying up, sorting out some empty pots and trays and thinking about what to grow next – before it was time for a lovely BBQ, what a great Sunday. 

Book Review: The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult

I’m torn with this book, really didn’t enjoy it at the beginning – Sage and her story did not
capture me so I was on the verge of giving up. But then Minka and Ania took over the book,
changing my views completely. Just so harrowing to read about Minka’s life and how she
survived those terrible years during WW2.

The intertwined story of Ania, fighting her own battle to survive was also moving and
beautifully written.

Now I’ve finished the book, I almost want to read it again and try harder with the Sage story as the other parts of the book were so moving.

I guessed both the plot twists too which never helps..

Hard at work..

What a gorgeous day today, sunshine and warmth at last. All my seedlings went outside in the sunshine for a few hours and I’m hoping for great progress from them now! I have been trying to get organised enough to plant out the broad beans I’ve had growing in the cold frame over the winter and finally, today was the day!

I’ve also planted some more broad beans in the row opposite so hopefully a staggered harvest will be ours later in the year. We need to put up some more canes and string – tomorrow’s job as I got sidetracked doing other things today. I’d also sown some cauliflowers last October and they have been sitting in the cold frame but not really looking too good – so let’s see how they get on in the raised beds. I’ve got them under the netting so hopefully they won’t get munched (see last year’s ‘Massacre of the Brassicas’!)

I’m not very confident that they will do very well, but might as well give them a try, I’ve (just about) kept them alive since last year after all…

Other jobs today included putting some more erinaceous compost round the rhododendron in a big pot in the front garden as it was looking in need of some tlc, lots of weeding and I’ve sown some more stocks and leeks as well as another couple of cucumber seeds. 

Hope it is sunny again tomorrow, lots more to do – need to get some salads going and try and rescue the surviving geranium and fuchsia plants that I’ve kept indoors over the winter.

Sad sorry stocks

Might have to have another go with these:

Wordless Wednesday

Growing pains

Not quite sure that everything is thriving quite as it should but I might just be my usual
impatient self. I put everything outside when we had some sunshine on Friday but it was
chillier than it looked. All back inside again in the warm but now I’m wondering if my little
seedlings are warm/cool/dry/watered enough. 

 

 

I’m hoping that operation ‘new greenhouse’ will make some more progress next week, the ground needs levelling first as it slopes a bit which won’t work.  Still no sign of life from the leeks out in the cold frame and the mesembryanthemum seedlings have remained too weedy and tiny to transplant so I might have another attempt at sowing some more tomorrow. 

I’d also like to get my overwintered broad beans in the raised bed but I’m a warm weather
gardener 😉 Maybe tomorrow…

Wordless Wednesday

Nasturtium gone wild…

Not sure what to do with this, one of the other 5 seeds sown at the same time has just started to make an appearance and the others are keeping a low profile. I think it probably needed a lot more light so I’ve moved them now.

Book Review: The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The WWII Codebreaking Centre & the Men and Women Who Worked There

This was a really interesting look behind the scenes at the very secretive wartime activities at Bletchley Park. I knew a little bit about Enigma and the code breaking successes during the war but had no idea just how big and vital the Bletchley Park operation was.

The book was more about the lives of some of the individuals who worked at the Park than the code breaking work, which I would have liked to have learnt a bit more about. But the stories really painted a picture of what society’s expectations were back then and how people had to put their lives on hold during the war – and yet, life still went on.

A fascinating glimpse of wartime life in England.

New greenhouse – part one…

Started the process of getting the new (to us) greenhouse up and running. It might take a while to complete the project, but we’ve made a start…

 

 

To be continued…