Preliminary experiment results

I removed the cloches from the tomatoes today, mainly because they were rapidly outgrown. It seems that with Tigerella (two on left) it made no vast difference, except that the one that was covered looks a bit slimmer and curled up. With the Marmande (two in the middle), the protected one definitely is a bit taller and stronger.


But what a difference the wall-o-water made to the Red Pear (on right)! Twice as big compared to the other one (see comparison below, left uncovered, right covered). Very pleased with this approach, also required less watering and seemed to keep the snails away. Have to get more wall-o-waters...

Oh well, ventilation problem solved

I noticed recently that there is a big hole on the top of the mini-greenhouse. I was muttering about plastic fatigue and cursing shoddy goods when a squirrel poked its head over the fence, coming face-to-face with me studying the mini-greenhouse. Sure enough, there are more holes in the greenhouse top which look suspiciously like rips caused by a squirrel launching itself into the air. The only consolation is that it is fixable with a bit of strong tape. I also moved my set-up around, so it is not near the fence now. The weather is warm enough that I need to roll up the flap every morning so it doesn't overheat, at least the hole improves the ventilation unintentionally.


The chili plants and the tagetes love the greenhouse. I'll keep the chilis in the pot but the marigolds will eventually settle into the garden. The beans I planted in pots haven't surfaced yet and I just direct-sowed some. Apparently, "Pantheon" doesn't germinate well in poor, dry spoils but I am doing everything I can to make them comfortable.

I planted out the cucumbers "Crystal Lemon" the other day, still protecting them with home-made cloches. Anything to make them big enough quickly to withstand the snail menace. I am trying to grow them up on a wigwam, still need to put the string on the supports but had good results with that approach last year (mind you, different kind of cucumber).


Sowed more rocket, beetroot, carrots and also a fast-growing salad mix. I think my first sowing of rocket is getting eaten by snails. Between squirrels, snails and cats it's quite hard to make things grow in a London vegetable patch (my neighbour Paul regularly finds snails in his window box and has a squirrel visiting his bird feeder - on the third floor). I turned some of my beds into Vlad-the-Impaler-land with little bamboo sticks to keep the cat from digging out my seeds. Seems to be working so far.


With the nice spell of weather everything seems to be shooting up by the minute. Tomatoes are doing fine - in fact I had to leave all of them uncovered (except the wall-o-water one) because they outgrew the cloches, thus probably invalidating my experiment (see previous post). I have been drinking water from a 5L bottle like crazy so now one of them in protected again. The other one will be soon, too. Squash and patty pan are also settling in, and I think I spotted a self-seeded courgette. Is that even possible? Maybe it's just a weed in disguise...

My herbs are doing really well (well, all except the mint for some reason) . Thyme, oregano, sage, parsley, chives and some fennel. (Raspberries in foreground are just starting to flower.) However, I am at a loss what to do with all that lemon balm. I don't really drink herbal tea that much...it may have to come out. Would love to replace it with tarragon and lovage. And possibly more mint for a nice Pimm's.

Kalte Sophie

My great-aunt always told me to wait out "Kalte Sophie" for anything tender. So today I planted my tomato starts, patty pan squash and the Turk's Turban squash. Perfect day for planting - not too warm, not too cold and now it is raining a bit after a bout of sunshine which gave me enough time to work out there.





The cucumbers have to wait a bit as they are still a bit too small. I wonder why they are growing so slow compared to the squashes.


I am trying out an "experiment" on the tomatoes. I have two of each kind: Red Pear, Marmande and Tigerella. One of each I am protecting a bit more over the next few weeks and see how they do in comparison. One of the Red Pear plants is getting extra-special treatment, a Wall-o-Water. The others will have to make do with some soda bottles or improvised bigger cloches I can find.




On other news, neighbours who chopped down the tree at the back (yay!) poked their head over the shrubs/rubble. A small discussion ensued about what to do about the crumbling wall that separates their garden from mine, whether to build on top or rebuild it completely. I think the upshot was to ignore it and just stick some fencing up instead. Nice to meet them though and know that they are starting to use the garden. I just wished I hadn't been wearing my pink unicorn baseball cap at the time.

Time is marching on, garden isn't much

Things have moved on quite a bit and most of the seedlings are doing well, even though they were forgotten for a while after transplanting.


The greenhouse has proved its worth, only one loss - a cucumber seedling bit the dust. I have just sown three more so should end up with enough in the end.


The winter squash is coming along nicely, and so it should because the slugs will be at it as soon as it goes into the ground.


I have finally outlined some beds and then realised that I don't really have enough space to grow everything comfortably. I readjusted the original plan and now beans will share a bed with the winter squash. Everything will be "cozy" - not ideal but best I can do. Even as I was doing the beds two cats hung around, staking out their favourite pooing place. Need to get some more bamboo kebab sticks to secure the ground against furry marauders. Made some teepees for the beans and cucumbers to climb on and now it feels ready for planting. By now I should have planted the beetroot and rocket but just not enough time recently to do that. Hoping to do that this long weekend.

Two innovations

Curiosity got the better of me and I assembled the mini-greenhouse. Very pleased with sturdiness and ease of putting it together. Good value for the money.


Also, I put out the parasol in anticipation and a spurt of optimism. Mainly, I wanted to try out the budget base to see how heavy it is. I may move the parasol bit back inside or it could hold off the rain for the next few months.


Come on spring!!!

Transplanting the turban

As suspected, the Turk's Turban squash (and the patty pan squash) seeds are a bit big for the little compost pods and are quickly outgrowing them. The roots are already stretching far beyond and I fear if I don't do something about it they'll just die.


Today I cleaned up some old plastic pots (I have collected lots over the years) and got some potting soil to transplant the bigger squashes. There, more room.


I'll wait a few days for the patty pan. One is doing pretty well, the other is just starting to peek through. Overall, I am pretty pleased with the pods. Compact, very easy to handle and transplant, everything germinated eventually, and there's no danger of the soil getting water-logged. I still have another tray but wondering if I actually need it - if everything survives then I already have plenty to fill up my little garden.

Reviewing my plant list for this year I just noticed that I should get the Welsh onions and the rocket (aka arugula) sown. It's not a desperate rush, it's been so cold until recently that a few days won't hurt, but may as well do a first sowing. I have a habit of not spacing sowing out over time so I will try and improve on that.

What I should really do is make a plan of what goes where - I haven't done that this year. Last year, the tomatoes were in the wrong place (not sunny enough) and I think they'll go where the beans were. Keep forgetting what I have, so yes, definitely more planning needed...

Rhubarb! Germination!

Last week a "mail undelivered" slip arrived which I blithely ignored because I thought it was just some package from Amazon. Over the weekend I was wondering when my rhubarb I ordered would finally arrive (it said March delivery time), until this morning it struck me - eek, I bet that package is the rhubarb... And so it was. Collected this morning, and unpacked and planted tonight. I don't think they suffered any damage sitting in the post office for a few days.

I got two different varieties, "Stockbridge Arrow" and "Victoria". It was quite a spatial layout task to find the best position for them, since they will spread out. I hope I haven't put them too close together after all. Really looking forward to pie...in a couple years time.

(Stockbridge on left, Victoria on right - sorry, it was rainy and getting dark)

In other news, some of the seeds have germinated. The Turk's Turban squash is stretching out, I can see Red Pear and Marmande tomatoes coming up. Tigerella tomato and the cucumber and patty pan squash are a bit shy (although my spidey senses are tingling with the squash). Let's see if they dampen off or continue to grow.