Garden Work And Progress At Home

It's been a busy time in the lotties lately. This past weekend the weather was decent enough to go out to the allotments and play in the dirt. There is enough to keep me out of trouble for quite a while to come.
First of all broad beans that had been hardening off at home were now ready to go into the ground. The pic is hopelessly overexposed, but you can still get an idea of how it's going. Here is the first section:


The next section is hardening off now at home. They will go in the ground alongside the ones above in a week or two. I will plant more beans when the adjacent plot has been made ready. I shall plant the seeds directly in the ground.
This seemingly chaotic method will give me harvests over an extended period of time. The blackfly (aphids) may be a bit of a problem, but I know what to do about those.

The next things to do was to till and make the soil ready for my crocuses along the fence. It is ridiculously late to be planting them, but when I wanted to plant them back in the winter the snow and freezing came along and ruined my plans. Oh well, if they do not "take", so be it. Better luck next year. I planted 75 bulbs along that narrow strip.


Then the dead purple sprouting broccoli plants had to be removed and the ground min-tilled. The puny leeks will be lifted soon and the section here will be made ready for corn.


There is a narrow bed in the middle of the new garden that will be where I shall plants onions. I planted a bag full at the far left end of this bed. I will put a different type in next to these and then other veg in the rest of the patch--beets or parsnips.

Back over in the old garden, it was time to make the last path to divide the big patch there in the front of the flower garden.
With so many wood chips in bags, one could wonder why I didn't use them. Well, they are being saves for the area over by the greenhouse and to supplement the paths once the other ships have settled.
I wanted to make it a stone path, because it connects two other stone paths--it seemed to 'go' better.


When the rabbit population got so bad I had to completely fence-in the gardens and that meant that the normal entrances were then sealed--the paths dead-ended at the fence so one had to re-trace their steps to continue the walk through the garden. Now not only can one navigate the garden easier but the plot can be more easily accessed for cleaning and planting--the proverbial, "win-win situation".
The new path is the one that veers off to the left.

At the home front things are progressing well also. Do you remember those couple of toms that had arisen from the soil overnight a few days ago, well not there are lots more to keep them company.


It won't be long before I transplant these youngsters.
In the group of cells I can see the Basil coming up. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

I am trying a new type of purple sprouting broccoli this year. It is meant to harvest in the summer/fall.
The seedlings are above the soil level now.


Not all at home is to eat though. The Lathyrus has just emerged also. I am happy about this. Hetty, up the way wanted me to start some for her, so some of these are for her.


I know this has not been the most interesting of postings and the fotos are a bit boring, but it shows the progress here.
One thing that IS interesting (to me at least) are my "pet clematises". I have been nursing these fragile babies for a year almost.
The shorter one on the right is the one that was chewed on by Roos, one of my cats. You may recall that I did a little piece about how she chewed-off the new shoot. This was a little cutting that has given me alot of trouble because it was taken at the wrong time. I am just lucky that I was able to get it to form roots, and then at the first sign of life this spring , Roos decided that it was cat grass.
Well, in spite of it being on the menu, it has now generated another shoot. I think that it will make it now. One doesn't often get a second chance in life, so I am well chuffed! This dark cloud really did have a silver lining.

 

Looks great and full of promise, as per usual Sjoerd. I have bareroot perennials planted up in my potting shed ready for the ground to thaw. Most of the snow is gone now except for in the wooded areas, and the birds are singing every morning. Happy spring!

 

Lovely! Oh, you've got lots of bare dirt to play in. Good luck with saving that clematis, please pen it in. Or pen Roos in. Whatever works best.

 

Everything looks wonderful Sjoerd! I have just planted a few tomato seeds so far.
If you recall, you were my inspiration to try some Lathyrus again this year...I bought a package of "Supersnoop" and wondered if they were better planted in situ or in pots the way you did?
Yippee! on the Clematis babies!

 

I think Roos deserves a kitty treat! Well the cat did help the clementis along now. New shoots and all.

(runs away fast from sjoerd)

Your plants are looking great, and i think the path also looks very intresting and will blend in very well.

Great job Sjoerd! **reaches down to put Roos behind me**

 

I expect you'll be picking beans before you know it. I haven't a place to plant them yet. Our house is almost empty so I expect we'll be moving in April sometime. We haven't been down there for a few days since wannabe came. She'll be going tomorrow though and I can start packing up the things in the house.
dooley

 

KASEY´L--Thanks. I am hoping now that your snow is pretty much gone that you can start doing stuff in your garden. The bird singing is asure sign, isnt it?

DROOPY-- Thanks also. Yes I shall have to try and pen that cat up. Hahaha. She is such a mischief-maker. I´ve been playing every day and shall do so tomorrow again.

NETTY--Thank you so much. I am so delighted that you will be trying the Lathyrus again. I really love those little flowers so much. I am hoping that you will have very good success.
I have never heard of `supersnoop`. I assume that it must be a `odoratus` mix.
The word snoop, `snoep` in Dutch means candy. The pronunciation is the same even though the spelling is different. This makes me think that they are the odoratus group.
I always plant my peas--sweet or edible in pots )root trainers', but I have planted them in the soil. I think that bioth methods are good--I have trouble with birds and mice on my lottie, so I raise them at home.

I sure hope that you are right, TONI-- I shall do my part, if Mother Nature will hold up her end of the bargain is always an uncertainty. hahaha.
You asked about the colours of the blooms--the smaller Clematis (chewed by Roos) will be white.


The taller of the two will be a multicoloured gem (I am hoping)


Now BIITA-- You shouldn´t be protecting that little beast of a cat! hahaha. She is such a terror.--I ought to give your ear a good twist!
That path will be more functional than decorative...very handy I think. I am already using it alot.

DOOLEY--I can already taste those beans. As soon as the weather warms up here they will take off and I shall be eating them fresh in six weeks.
I am glad that things are going well there. Hopefully Wannabe will have an uneventful trip back home...and you can finish the move. Are you anxious to get into the new place?

 

I think it's an interesting post. For one, It's easier to see the structures, supports and hardscapes at this time of year and I like to see that kind of stuff. Fences, paths, edgings etc. For another, it made me look up lathyrus so I learned something new. It all looks nice. the clematis blooms are beautiful. I guess Roos will not be invited to visit the lottie then, huh?

 

I missed this posting the first time around. Enjoyed the tour of your gardens and the progress you are making. I did not realize you had that much space to garden! Those photos of the clematis are beautiful, I have not seen either of those varieties. Did you start them from seed?

 

Hi Sjoerd, you certainly have a lot going on! It's looks like everything's making good progress. Good luck with your pet clemetis, they're hard to grow and maintain but worth it in the long run. Just make sure Roos has somethin else to nibble on! Chris

 

Thank you, DAISY--I am happy that you found it an interesting oisting this time.
You are absolutely correct about Roos--I shan't be inviting that little demon to the lottie any time soon. hahaha.

Hi GAIL--I am delighted that you enjoyed the posting. I have quite a bit of spacer to garden in--one lottie is 265 m² and is divided into a flower garden and veggie garden. The other one is 100m² and is strictly a production garden.
The clematis plants were started from cuttings...one was bought and the other one came from the garden of a fellow member here.

RHCS--Thanks for your nice words. I really like Clematis plants and have a number. So far this winter has killed one for sure and another couple that I am not sure about yet. I am hoping that these two will make it in the lotties. I am not entirely sure if I will plant the terniflora out this year because I suspect that the root system may not be developed quite enough yet.
I was speaking with a gentleman over there who is a member of the British Clematis Society and he reckons that That the root ball will not be big enough to plant out until the plantlet is at least two years old. I shall think about it, but if I see roots coming out the bottom of the pot then in the ground it goes.
Miss Roosie has been blackmailing me for some gourmet tinned catfood paté. :-? What is she like!

 

Could you post a photo of the infamous Roos, unless you must protect her innocence until proven guilty

 

Hi Gail--
Here is Roos:


....and here is Roos and her sister, Gül:


Rose is on the right (not paying attention of course).

 

Beautiful cats...I love the expressions. Are they from the same litter? They look very similar. Thanks for posting the picture.

We had dinner at a friends house last weekend and I brought her a gerbera daisy plant as a thank you. She put it on the table and while we were having appetizers, her cat decided to eat one of the flowers and then threw it up (at least it was on the rug).