Post Holiday Update

Back from a fortnight's holiday, hoping that most things survived in the garden. The coldframe was covered with fleece while we were gone. From the lack of rain where we were on holiday, I worried that they would dry out. However, typical Peak District rain kept everything well-watered (probably too well-watered, in the case of the spring onions and mustard).

Borage and radish look fine in the coldframe.

On Sunday, we set up a couple of the rigid plastic cloches I got. I moved some mustard seedlings that survived the winter out in the bed into the cloches. They're relatively cold hardy, so we'll see if they take off with a bit of protection.

When we set up the cloches, I worked on shifting the existing herb plants back near the wall (where the slugs will hopefully feast on them first!) This bronze fennel plant is already in the correct position, and has started growing quite well. I hope it's not knocked out by a late frost. This is the first one I've had, and I've read they are a bit tender.


I also took the spinach seedlings that had started and moved them out of the pots, and under one of the cloches today.




On Friday, the new strawberries I had ordered from Thompson and Morgan arrived. I've been moving them into tall pots over the past couple of days. I tried six inch pots last year, but they seemed to dry out too quickly. My hope is to keep them in these larger pots for two years. I mixed half purchased compost with finished compost from the bin. We'll see if that works.

I set up the portable greenhouse to protect them a bit first after the transplant shock. I hope to move them outside in a couple of weeks.



No pictures of the other on-going project: putting chitted potatoes into containers. I've set up three pots so far, each with two potatoes from my organic box. I'll start doing the proper seed potatoes next.

The compost bin has been yielding lots of finished compost for the pots. I've got a second new bin filling now, so hopefully there won't be a shortage later. It seems a bit extravagant to use a 50/50 mix with purchased compost, but I'm trying to reduce my reliance on purchased inputs.