Fixing and transplanting

The recent blowy weather knocked over my mini-greenhouse and put a huge hole in the side of it. After a week, I finally managed to get myself to a shop to look for replacement or repair options. Of course, it was the nicest weather this weekend which meant that the gardening centre was hopping and most supplies were stripped bare. No replacement cover to be had and I didn't see the point in getting a new, smaller mini-greenhouse (never mind the more expensive aluminium ones). This meant that transparent repair tape had to do. To be fair, vastly cheaper and it'll do for now. Can hardly tell where the hole once was... ;) Now the bottom of the greenhouse is weighed down with a brick and my garden implements. Hopefully, that should steady it.


Once that was sorted it was on to transplanting the seedlings. They were doing almost too well on the window sill. Everything came up nice and strong -- except the patty pan (only one germinated) and the cucumber "Crystal Lemon" (there seems to be movement on one of them but I am not that hopeful overall). Probably the seeds were old as they were left over from last year.


Have to have a peek at the rest of the seeds soon as lettuce, etc can be sown out in March and April. Time is moving on!

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.

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!!!

Dead of winter

Lots of snow this year and cold too. At least next growing season there should be fewer snails and slugs (hopefully).

The garden is mostly shut down. I left some white beetroot leaves out there, not sure if they survive or will be any good. Raspberry canes have been cut down. Plenty of material from guinea pig cage cleaning is being dumped on the beds. The ornamentals look a bit bedraggled but that is to be expected in early January (especially as there are some where frost-hardiness is doubtful; at least I managed to bring my pelargoniums inside).

I still need to go through the seeds which I ordered and that have arrived (rhubarb will arrive for planting in March). There are some items in there which I may be able to start off early inside. I am also contemplating getting a cheap greenhouse, which means I can move things (like tomatoes) outside much earlier. This year I am going to try the individual growing medium, having not had much success with the toilet roll method and also the normal seed trays.

Still haven't had a chance to build myself a better compost bin - lack of light/time and surplus of snow has been against me. As soon as it warms up a little bit I shall try though.

Probably not much happening for the rest of January...