The Potting Shed - come on in, the kettle's on!

katholicos

What a fab thread for a chat. Mine is a cup of tea, not too milky with 1 tsp sugar please!

Dustykitten

Oh thanks for reviving, I bet PenPen will be in later so I'll stick the kettle on.

Plan for today is to plant out my 3 runner bean plants and sow direct 3 more seeds. Also have 6 puple mange tout to plant out.

My veg plot is in the front garden. I also need to finish sorting out the strawberry beds (3/4 done), one variety are already starting to flower.

I've got the old cast iron water tank down from the loft and I'm trying carrots in there as I read it worked well.

Also need to do heaps of watering (one butt is already empty) as we have had no rain in ages here.

Hope the sun is shinning on you all.

Primrose

Sally, thanks for reviving this thread.
I too have been busy, I've got about 30 tomato seedlings (lots of different varieties) all doing well and this year I've remembered to label them all properly to stop them getting mixed up, as I don't want to be planting my tall plants in low containers and my tumblers against the canes for the tall ones! Because of the low night temperatures I'm still carting them outside into my mini plastic greenhouse in the morning and bringing them in at night which is a pain.
Yesterday I planted out 60 leek seedlings - back breaking job and they do look rather small but are protected with cloches so will hopefully be OK.
My celeriac seedlings are doing well, Will probably plant out next week and I have a row of peas sprouting from the soil if the slugs don't get to them first.
Peppers & chillis are about six inches high.
Half of my mini cucumbers & courgettes didn't germinate, so I have resowed and now the first little blighters I sowed are starting to peek through. Veggie growing is such an uncertain art, but I think this is what's keeps us going as there's always another chance round the corner.
But I would love some rain. Two water butts in back garden now half empty. Two water buts in front garden which I use to water my soft fruit bushes and strawberry plants are in a similar state.
Wonder if all that volcanic ash dust, which is supposed to make for fertile soil, which fell over the U.K. will make any difference to our soil when it eventually all comes to ground?

Lotus-eater

Primrose wrote: »

Wonder if all that volcanic ash dust, which is supposed to make for fertile soil, which fell over the U.K. will make any difference to our soil when it eventually all comes to ground?

I said that to the OH when I first heard about it and they can stop all planes from ever flying again as far as I'm concerned,

All of my courgettes and cucumbers germinated, every single seed, which is why I am sat here with mostly 2 huge seedlings growing out of each pot, I don't want to destroy them, so I'm going to do an experiment with the spares and see what weather they will survive in.

Optimisticpair

Hi, Yeah we've had no rain for a fortnight so I have been watering the containers of mainly early potatoes. I've had to use grey water since I ran out.

Everything is in containers until my mate comes with a digger. I took out the shrubs I want to keep and containerised them last autumn.

Usually I would plan the garden outside and then draw it up on paper but this time I've also been playing with Excel. It is really easy to move shapes around, change the size and try out different schemes.

I'm disappointed with my Elephant garlic I had four bulbs in the same container. They were doing nothing so I had them out and sure enough only one had roots. The proper garlic is going nicely though.

I'm looking forward to my first new potatoes soon.

nodwah

I got a phone call yesterday from the allotments and I might get one this year or next year! I'm so excited! I had 25 people ahead of me 2 years ago so I didn't think I'd get one for years.

heynonnynonny

Count me in. Thanks for reviving the thread!!

Sally_Davies

Wow, what have I unleashed here... well I certainly do feel welcome after that huge response, so thank you for your kind words!

Mine is a tea milk no sugar btw.

Ken, what a great tip about soaking, cooking and eating some of my bazillions of saved runner bean seeds. My daughter and I actually spent a while in the shed when we were sowing the seeds, debating whether it would be safe to do same (pennypinching gene is inherited) so thanks for that! I'll let her know. I like your salad recipe too.

Crumbs I too have run out of water butt water entirely! Not a thing I can recently remember happening in April, and certainly not in soggy Somerset. At least that means there are no bloomin' slugs

Off to make a brew then stand in the garden drinking it and pondering. Tea always tastes better in the open air, no?

heynonnynonny

I agree with that, pity I keep getting compost in my tea

Primrose

How many of you have started sowing your runner bean seeds indoors yet?
I usually sow too early and then have the problem of trying to protect them from the cold nights when they're got too tall and are screaming to be planted outdoors.

I did sow my tomatoes a fortnight later this year than last year, so gradually over the years I'm learning patience but it's so difficult to exercise patience when the sun starts shining again, isn't it?