Another year begins

Finally time to get back in the garden getting everything ready. Great to finally have a few dry days, been such a wet winter here. So many weeds have taken over in just a short few months of neglect. Its great that to have at least something still growing - tried purple sprouting broccoli for the first time last year and its looking good so far - hopefully will be able to get a few dinners out of it in a few months. We had a bit of trouble in late summer/autumn keeping the butterflies off it from laying their eggs - fed quite a few caterpillars.

I dug out my purple bed in preparation for March/April planting and had a lovely surprise. I had left 3 potato plants in the bed that never got picked as all others in the bed were tiny and had left those to grow meaning to pick them at the end of the season. By this stage I had assumed that they would all have rotted but to my great surprise, there was a great collection - easily enough for a few dinners for our family of four. I think as the raised bed is so high, it saved them from rotting.

 

Bed ready for some compost - weed free and turned over. Only 4 more beds to go ...

The last of the leeks - very tasty and  they have done well despite the neglect through all the wet weather.

Started digging over all the outside too - this may not look much, but I have been slowly digging over a section a week - will all be done by the time its needed in March/April. I had compost down and some cardboard in some of the sections to help limit the weeds and I have to say, it did a fairly good job. Taking it slowly to allow the muscles time to remember what its like to do work! My poor hands were a lovely red colour after the few hours work.

Split my rhubarb plant - probably a month or two late, but better late than never. Covered them both with a nice heap of manure to help protect from the frosts. Picked a nice corner that will get plenty of sun in another month or so when the sun rises. The other has full sun even at this time of year and has shelter on three sides, two walls and the small "glasshouse". 

Time to get planning on what I am going to put in each of the beds this year. 

Update around the site

This is an update of photos from around the site this morning. I have been away from it the past few days so was good to get back to it - back achingly good! :-)

Tomatoes in the greenhouse are growing well - plenty of flowers - waiting on the fruit to start forming next.

Chilli plant in the greenhouse - flowering nicely too - probably needs potting up soon

Spuds are growing well - some damage from the rain last week, but coming back nicely

Leeks closest and onions growing well

Spuds in raised bed - growing well - had a look at some of the earlies, but only pebbles yet but they were planted late

Lettuce on the left, bush tomato and basil under the cloche and strawberry plants with plenty of fruit that just needs to ripen

 

4 rows of carrots - all planted at different times. The ones in the toilet rolls are looking a lot healthier now

Beetroot - 2 rows

Onions in bed with leeks on the right

Parsnips - looking very healthy

Broccoli nearly ready to pick, Brussels sprouts and cabbage/cauliflower on the left

Rock garden - flowering nicely

Strawberry pot - again waiting to ripen!

Bed beside the rock garden - various shrubs and bedding plants in there, Also a family sunflower competition!

Potatoes in pot - very small

View back looking towards the house from the beds

Fruit trees and wildflower garden which has been a bit of a disappointment this year compared to last year - grass has taken over

Peas - mangetout to the front of the row and then petit pois - seem to be a bit behind most peoples

Our gift to the kids arrived today - bought a wooden playhouse - will update with photos once we get it together, hopefully over the weekend if its dry! Its a thanks to them for losing their parents most evenings to the garden.

Picked my first head of Broccoli this evening - couldn't wait - on the menu for dinner tomorrow!

Fab weather

The weather in Ireland over the past few days has just been fabulous!! Plants have been thriving in the extra warmth - gone from frost by night the week before to temps in the mid to high 20's C.

The potatoes in the purple bed are so healthy looking - doing great so far. Really hopeful of a good crop from these if they stay this healthy!

   

 The Calebrese ( broccoli to you and me)  has started showing its first signs of the flowers forming ( which of course is actually the part we eat). I will have to monitor these closely over the next few weeks as it can go very quickly from ready to pick to flowering and too far gone. 

I will have a large amount ready at the same time, but planning on blanching and freezing them for a supply through the next few months. Just pick - into boiling water for 2-3mins, cool, dry and then onto a freezer tray for a few hours and then bag them up and most importantly label them with date picked. You can just put them into a bag to freeze after blanching, but they will all freeze together and make it very hard to use them.

Spring onions (in groups) planted out. There were about 8 seeds put into each plug tray and now planted out between 2 wide rows of garlic into the red bed.

 

 

Finally got started with getting some of the bark down. Over 20 bags later, time was called and off to enjoy the sunshine. Plenty of days in the week to be putting down bark - but it might just have been our summer!

Jobs to do this week:

Hoeing - bit behind on this - though did spend over an hour hoeing and rocking picking at my peas last weekend.

More scallion and herb seeds to sow

Get my purple sprouting broccoli started for next spring

Also saved some cyclamen seeds from the plants through last winter and going to try sowing them now for autumn - don't know if the seeds will be viable or not - only one way to find out I reckon :-) If anyone has any tips - feel free to let me know!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclamen

Rock picking - so many rocks/stones in the soil here. Using all that I collect as mini paths/edges around my raised beds. Buckets and buckets have been picked so far. 

Ok - as I look at that list, I better go out and get started and leave the updating :-)))