Monday 5 May 2014

All part of the learning process.

Who would have thought that I would encounter two different problems at opposite ends of scale. Let me elaborate. We have had unseasonally frosty nights lately which has affected the potatoes, but also during the day the sun has been out which has turned most of the peas to mush before the have germinated.

Caught by the frost

Mushy peas

Regarding the potatoes, I was told by a friend that if I cut off the frost affected leaves, the rest of the potato plant should be OK. They even gave me a pair of scissors, which was rather kind of them. As for the peas, with me using a sheet of perspex on top of the bin acting as a greenhouse, they have been cooked. It turns out that peas don't mind a bit of cold. So off with the perspex and on with the twigs to protect what has germinated from the birds. I have put some more peas in to fill in the gaps.

Sorry about the finger in this photo

A few members of the squash family were planted today, one courgette, one pumpkin and one marrow. The courgette was planted in a pit that I'd put kitchen scraps in. Courgettes are supposed to be greedy plants and just rotting waste is what they like. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I've also resown a row of beetroots and I've put in a row of carrots. For the first time on my plot since I've had it, I've put down slug pellets. They have been put around the strawberry patch, brassicas bed, newly sown beetroot and carrots, and also around my Garden Connect bed.

Garden Connect

I haven't mentioned anything to do with Garden Connect for a while and I'm living up to my title. There are 'Downs' and 'Ups'. 

Of five seeds, just one has germinated.

Same story with the beetroots.

No worries with the onions.

I did have more lettuce seedlings growing, but the slugs got them.

Got one spinach doing ok.

As with the onions, the parsnips are fab.

The purple carrot seedlings have all disappeared, so they have been resown. At home, the French beans in the greenhouse haven't germinated, so I've tried them again. It's all part of the learning process. Till next time and thanks for reading.

2 comments:

  1. Hopefully your potatoes will recover! I am the same: still experimenting and learning. Good luck with your veggies!

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  2. Hopefully your potatoes will recover! I am the same: still experimenting and learning. Good luck with your veggies!

    ReplyDelete