The even bigger and better and hopefully not lower bits of growing your own in 2022!

sammy_kaye18

Woohoo! 

I’m excited and slightly concerned that my sister is being so nice to me.

she rang me earlier to see if I was busy because she wants to come up with 2 of my 4 nieces tomorrow……

ok……why? 

Ah a lady by me is getting rid of one of those plastic greenhouses. It’s a shelved one that you can stand inside of and work in, anyway I’m picking it up at 9.30 tomorrow so I’ll be with you by 10. There’s something wrong with one of the zips, it sticks a bit. 

I’m so excited. I can get all my seedlings inside a greenhouse, will have a little place to grow and pot up and my little garden patch is taking shape. Ive already decided I’m going to put it on the other side of my raised beds to block off the junk pile outside husbands shed so I can see it and I will have my own little allotment patch down the side of the garden :-) complete with my pallet deck at the end to watch over everything from. 

I can’t wait! 

Glittering_M

@sammy_kaye18 that is great! I purchased something similar from A1d1 recently and I'm really hopeful for it, although I'm still keeping some things in the house for now as I'm not sure if it will be warm enough for them as where I have it gets the sun in the am but less throughout so I may have to move it. 

I'll give the sunflowers another inch or so and then they can go out in it. Sweetcorn needs a bit longer. 

No sign of any of my Thai basil popping up, I will need to check the pack to see how long it should take. My chocolate cosmos is outside but not doing anything either, it is covered at night so hopefully I won't have killed it already in its first year! I hate all the waiting! I love looking and seeing bits growing but the first few days when nothing is happening is hard! This is why I think I'll struggle with the lemon grass as apparently it can take a few weeks to grow roots so I've just got it taking up space on my windowsill.

I think I'll have another go mapping out where I want my plants to go this weekend whilst my boyfriend watches the F1. Most are perennials so I want to get it right. Also need to plan where my veg bed is going. Unfortunately the ideal place is also where I want to put chickens! 

Suffolk_lass

@sammy_kaye18 you could try rubbing the sticky zip with a candle - it certainly works on metal ones. And don't forget to use tent pefgs or similar with bricks on to anchor your greenhouse down. I retrieved the top of my polycarbonate cold frame from a hedge yesterday (2nd time this year).

I moved one of my propagator trays of pepper seedlings back indoors and onto the windowsill in the kitchen and plugged it in to try and boost them a bit before we go on hols. They are only 3cm tall and no proper 2nd leaves yet. Very slow progress this year. Honeybees must be confused by the weather too. All over the place with both temperature and rain

droopsnoot

MissRikkiC said:

did you wait for the ‘true leaves’ before moving the tomatoes and peppers? 

Can I ask what that means please? I'm growing tomatoes from seed, and the packet just said to transfer to a 9cm pot once the seedlings were "manageable size". Mine have a couple of leaves each, so I've potted them separately. Did I do that too early?

carinjo

Hi @droopsnoot, the first couple of leaves are the ones the plant use to push through the soil when germinating. True leaves are the leaves that look like the ones the fruit/veg are supposed to have, in the case of tomatoes, the ones that have a "cut" in them. 
I took a pic of my (very small) tomato plant. The red lines are the first couple of leaves, the blue lines are the true leaves. Hope this helps. 

sammy_kaye18

Well what an eventful morning we have had here. 

Sister went to retrieve the greenhouse for me this morning and said the lovely lady who was giving it away has cancer and just cant use it anymore so she had also given me a load of tubs as well to plant in. My sister had to dismantle the frame herself and got covered in all sorts so was less than impressed. But I think I will send the lady a thank you card as I have her address. 

In the process of preparing the garden for my little nieces and sister coming (ie dog poop duty) I managed to stand on a nail that was cunningly disguised as grass and it went straight through my shoe and into my foot. So after hobbling back to hte house and carefully removing my shoe I left a nice trail of blood round the house and had to wake my son to help me. 

Sister then took me down A&E after a phone call to the doctor confirmed I hadn't had a tetanus shot since 1984. So now Im home after 2 hours there with an iodine stained foot, a tetanus shot in the arm and a week of antibiotics. Fantastic. 

My sister did however going to the nearby shops and perusing around pound stretcher and B&M so I am jealous I missed that and had all the fun by myself. 

I did however get home, see her off and then my son and I have managed to erect the greenhouse and have a hail shower as well. We aren't sure its done properly as it had no plans or layouts and obviously the only person to see it up was my sister - but the cover fits, all the shelves fit and we have no parts left so we are presuming its done right! 

So Im looking forward to getting in there with a few bits and getting some things started or at least moved into there. I saw yesterday as well that radishs are really easy and quick growing so I think I might get some of them on the go as well if I can get some seeds ordered. 
I have been using budget seeds and so far they seem really good. 

Kantankrus_Mare

@sammy_kaye18   Ouch to standing on the nail!!! I can remember doing that as a kid on my dads allotment and him sucking the poison out. No lasting damage so must have worked. Fantastic about the greenhouse....hope it gives you many years of growing!

MissRikkiC

Ouch!! @sammy_kaye18 I always think anything foot related such as toe stubbing or standing on anything may as well be a large gauge taken from you by a vicious animal as it hurts the same. 

Suffolk_lass

@sammy_kaye18 you definitely did the right thing going to A&E for the proper precautions, I hope it doesn't impede your gardening too much while it recovers. 

Well done @carinjo - spot on description for @droopsnoot - the first two leaves were described as "seed leaves" by Monty on GW last night - he added that when you pot on, hold the plantlet by the seed leaves not the stem.

We finally had an hour outside yesterday and pruned some water spout shoots (they are the long vertical branches that can set off after you prune a tree) from the greengage tree - in theory taking a bit out makes it fruit more as it knows a bit has gone (iyswim).

DH planted what I bought thinking they were banana shallots - they are onions in that shape!  and we finally moved all the strawberry plants and rooted runners to the raised bed where they will reside this year. We have dug out the spent compost to fill in rabbit excavations in the bed at the back, near their warren. Chatting to some village friends at book club there are a number of approaches to rabbits being taken. Traps, poison, fencing and an air rifle. We used to have a young neighbour with ferrets but he has gone off to Uni and sold his ferrets

sammy_kaye18

Thanks all
My foot this morning is rather tender and I have taken the first two of my antibiotic tablets. I hate taking medication and it doesn't help that my husband and son are away today riding in the Forest Of Dean so I have to do it alone! I have been out though and picked up the wood that was the culprit yesterday and found some other bits hidden in the grass. Now all safely moved.

But my daughter who is 11 has been glued to my hip all day it feels like. She knows I've hurt myself so hasn't left my side but she's been super helpful as well and I think she has found herself a new hobby. 

She helped me relocate the greenhouse to a better area where it gets sun for a fair bit more of the day and secure it. We have the back tied to our fence and the front has two old tyre rims with the guide rope through as well as a big garden slab across the front strut so it is well secured. We plan to line the old rims and fill them either with flowers or maybe a courgette plant each. 

She has also helped me drill drainage holes into an old wooden piston tub we had which is now filled with compost and has peas planted in it. 
She has also planted some cucumbers, bell peppers, rocket and lettuce seeds.
Our strawberry plants are also hydrating on the side in the kitchen and she managed to poke a few holes through a water bottle lid to make herself a mini water can bottle until I can get her a proper one. 

She's currently sat now making a list of all the seeds we have, when we planted them, how many and how many months we can plant them for! To be fair though she would usually be sat at a computer, on her phone or in front of a screen of some sort so I am really not complaining and the weather has been just right.

I think I may have created a monster. She's currently got me sat watching gardeners world looking at flowers to grow! So far I think pansies are a firm favourite and she's on about putting wild seeds down behind the shed to encourage butterflies and bees and turning it into a wild garden. She already has a resident hedgehog and a bird table that seems to get quite a few visitors to it! 

Does anyone know though how to close the door. The zip that she said was damaged is in fact broken so only one side of the door shuts so I need to figure out how to close that off to keep heat in/cold out! I do have old tarp laying about though and Im fairly sure in my craft surplus I might have a handheld device that puts poppers and clasps onto clothes and material so I could popper a stretch of tarp there just to close the door. ? 

Hows everyone else getting along today?