Chicken bald back

[mostin]

Cats!!! I'm obviously sowing 'expletive deleted' cats!!

 

I sowed beetroot and carrot seeds and covered the bed with fleece fabric to keep the cats off.

 

I noticed the fleece was billowing in the wind yesterday, then watched in disbelief as two heads popped up They were playing under it......no doubt after they've pooped somewhere under there as well I'll have to go and start again

 

, oh dear. They always find a way don't they. if I leave my greenhouse door open and unattended for even a second they are in like a shot and finding things to knock over and digging in the strawberries .

[Lesley]

Hi Lesley

I use bamboo canes laid in a criss cross fashion to stop the cats and the fleece jumping around on my newly sown bed!

good luck!

 

I was using canes - but it's been too windy for them. We've put a cage made from trellis on it for now - they were made for the beds at our last house and are a bit small. They do seem to have stopped the cats for a while.

 

We're making new cages - 3' high - and covered with enviromesh, to cover seeds beds and keep the cats off and they will be tall enough for brassicas and will keep the butterflies out as well.

[Cinnamon]

Hi Lesley

I use bamboo canes laid in a criss cross fashion to stop the cats and the fleece jumping around on my newly sown bed!

good luck!

 

I was using canes - but it's been too windy for them.

 

 

I actually use my old wooden Cube & Eglu roosting bars - they work a treat

[henny penny]

Hi

It must be the week for naughty pets etc. Earlier in the week I planted some onions, beetroot and garlic I had overwintered in modules on my newly dug rockery. ( which the chickens had very kindly helped me with!). The plants were looking very good until last night when the chickens hopped over the fence I had put up and had a good dig/scratch around! It serves me right for turning my back for two seconds!!!!

 

I have managed to rescue some of them and hoping they will recover!

I think I need to get some better netting!!!!

[Guest]

all the potatoes, onion sets and garlic are in down at the lottie including some carrot seeds interplanted with the aforementioned.

 

I found some sprouted spuds under the sink so I've planted them at the bottom of the garden to see what happens!

 

I've planted some lettuce seeds in pots in the garden and, if the rain holds off, I'm sowing my patio carrots (amsterdam 3- Sprint) in a couple of big pots on the patio today.

 

I've got some chilli, pepper, tomato and alpine strawberry seedlings coming along nicely in the kitchen/conservatory too.

[Cinnamon]

I came home to 3 more huge raised beds yestaerday, as Hubby had some spare wood & a new rotovator that he wanted to try out

 

Brilliant for me, as I can now grow so much more than before, & maybe even have a strawberry bed, which I have always wanted

[Christian]

.....maybe even have a strawberry bed, which I have always wanted

 

Spooky Cinnamon, I have just finished planting mine Those blackbirds won't get near my precious strawbs this year

[Cinnamon]

I know, I saw your Blog & got all excited about one of my own.

 

Brian has strict instructions to make me an anti-bird cover 'just like Christians'

 

Just back from Aldi with 4 trays of Strawbs, a tray of Lettuce & one of Cabbage

[Christian]

Poor OH. The pressure you put him under

[Guest]

now that we have the lottie, I'm making our big raised bed into a strawberry bed it was mostly full of strawberry plants anyway.

 

off to have a nosey at yours Christian. Sarah, post some pics of yours when you've done it

 

I have visions of sitting on the edge of the raised bed (it's high up) with a glass of something bubbly, just sipping and helping myself to fresh strawbs

[Cinnamon]

Its a lovely thought,isn't it Poet?

 

I think I am going to hold off planting them up for the moment as the research I have done says to plant young plants out in late June.

Its forecast to be really cold again this weekend, so I think I am going to give them a month at least in the Greenhouse, which is unheated but sheltered.

 

Potted on the little lettuce & cabbage plugs today though, so haven't been totally idle

[Valkyrie]

OH found some shoots had been snapped off the Jerusalem artichokes that had dared to surface. The rest of the bed has now been covered with old windows and the lid of an old cloche. Naughty pets week - yep I agree. OH said "I know what we are doing this weekend" - barricading everything that hens will ruin - including my poor peonies!

[Egluntyne]

Not sowing exactly, but planting. I put some rhubarb crowns in today.....and broke my spade whilst doing it.

 

Still....it was a wedding present so getting on a bit. TBH it was a bit heavy, so this is the excuse I need to get a daintier model.

[Valkyrie]

It seems I am growing ruddy woodpigeons in my greenhouse. Grabbed it and set it free. Fortunately it didn't do much damage other than knock some pots over.

[Redwing]

Hi Redwing

Congrats on getting your parsnips to germinate!

How did you do yours?

 

The ratio goes:

 

10% Loo roll tubes filled with sieved compost and watered well

 

90% beginners luck!

 

I don't even like parsnips but my OH does

 

The seeds were the cheapest of the chesp B&Q ones and went straight in - I am not expert enough to try and chit them first

[Snowy]

The first time I grew snips I sowed them straight into the ground and had 100% germination. "Ooops, word censored!"ody told mine they were meant to be difficult

 

Sowed some more broad beans today - I'm a bit worried about whether or not the ones at the lottie will germinate, so put some in the greenhouse as well

 

My peas are poking out now!!

[Cinnamon]

I have never had a problem with Parsnips either.

I just bung them in, then also sow some Radish seeds in the same row., because the snippers take an age to germinate & the Radishes show you can see where the row is.

You can harvest the Radishes with no effect on the Snips - it works a treat

[Christian]

I have just planted parsnips with 'radish markers', mixed salad leaves, all my seeds potatoes are in the raised bed and 'Tatty bags'.

 

A few pots of sunflower seeds, pumpkin, squash 'sweet dumpling' and more lettuce seeds went into the mini greenhouse today.

[Valkyrie]

Run out of room with all the potting on being done. OH set up his little portable table in available floor space and I immediately popped on the things that are to be hardened off first ready to plant outside. That gave me space for 6 trays - almost filled up now - I am halfway through pricking out the pak choi! I need a bigger greenhouse - no, I NEED A BIGGER GARDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[redhotchick]

I potted on some perpetual spinach seedlings and some (two!) broccoli Autumn Calabrese. Both of these were rescued from the mice in the garage. Grrr. Pesky critters!

The mice dug up all my broad beans except for 2 plants, then destroyed one of the plants. So I have one Broad Bean left. I will have to sow some more.

I have undertaken a Mouse Eradication Programme

I sowed some herbs indoors in little pots. Sage, marjoram, more basil, coriander.

I don't have much room for brassicas so I have sowed just 3 or four seeds per pot, one pot each of Sprouts, Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Broccoli Romanesco, Cabbage Primo, Cauliflower - All the Year Round.

Some Tomatoes that I sowed last Wednesday in Jiffy 7s had shot up by Saturday when I looked. Is that why they are called Jiffy? I was shocked, I thought they would take 10 to 20 days! They were very leggy and weak, I've potted them on, burying the stem a bit so that they aren't so leggy. Do you think this will work? The tomatoes were called 100s and 1000s and the seed was expensive!

I've experimented with one cucumber seed. It has germinated, but I will compare how it progresses with some that I will sow at the end of April.

[blackgold]

I still havent done any pricking out and have trays of seedlings everywhere. They are not leggy yet though as most are in my heated greenhouse. I will be starting in earnest after this week as the pups are starting to go to their new homes on wednesday and i will have more time lol love sue xxx

[Valkyrie]

Reddy - your toms should be fine. I have done that before with leggy ones. They do root from the stems anyway - sink 'em in up to just below the first set of leaves. When I grow mine outdoors I always put them in just below the first leaf joint. Any side shoots can be dunked in a pot of compost (no growing hormones necessary) and hey presto, another tomato plant - they look sad at first and then up they pop.

I haven't heated my greenhouse this year, but the seedlings (except the hardier ones like cabbage etc) have been in the propagators. All toms and most of the peppers are out now and didn't suffer with yesterday's frost, so all well on the western front (hmm, south eastern front?? doesn't have the same ring to it, does it).

[Tiggy]

peas in the garden are poking through and the broad beans I over wintered in the greenhouse are flowering, I potted up some aubergine seedlings, mizuna is comming up and I've planted toms cucs sunflowers nasturtians and began feeding the left over brassicas to the chickens

[The Spencers]

I haven't got much planted at the moment, but I have planted strawberries, a victoria plum tree and a greengage tree.

 

I've held back from sowing seeds so far as we're going to be away for a couple of weeks and I don't want to sow seeds only for them to die of drought.

 

Will tomatoes, chillies and nasturtiums cope with not being sown until towards the end of April?

[Valkyrie]

My FIL usually does that when he comes back from SA - he manages to get some toms. Nasties pop up anytime and are very quick, no problems. You might get a few problems with the chillies not ripening - but you can always take them indoors when the nights turn - they are perennial in their own hot world, but we always treat them as annuals, then you can be the first next year with one long succession over the winter! We had a chilli plant once that a friend gave us - it was about 3 years old before I killed it accidentally! The peppers were small, and they produced all year round indoors - you may have to pollinate them, but it's nice to see red, yellow and green fruits on there at any time.

Have a go anyway.