Monday, 30th April

Just to remind you what one looks like, a raindrop that is, if you live in the Worthing area. For the last few days I have been mainly watering. I've lost quite a few seedlings in the greenhouse but that could just be my own incompetence.

                   On the other hand I've never had such a bumper crop of oranges. Marmalade anyone?

Friday, 27th April

Garden certainly looks in the pink today what with camellia, apple trees, weigela and tamarisk all in flower. Not so in pink the lettuce I put out - half of them have been eaten by Mr Slug and his friends. Must be all this torrential rain that brings them out! So today I have been planting out more slug food in the form of young lettuce plants. I also transplanted some of those parsnip seedlings I started off in cells - I'll let you know how they get on. Otherwise it was warm greenhouse work today potting up another 15 tomato plants and some pricking out. I think 45 tomato plants is a bit excessive but I expect I'll get rid of them somehow. If I don't, it's a good job I like tomato soup.

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Thursday, 26th April

Kids,eh? You do your best to raise them, they grow up, get partners of their own, leave home and well, you think you've done your bit. But no! Today I was a furniture removal man and now my garage, which I do actually like to keep my car in, is a furniture storage depot. By sheer coincidence I had to go to the tip later on. It's not what you're thinking. Like many others at this time of year, I suspect, I had accumulated loads of clippings and prunings which I had to dispose of. It's all recycling orientated at the tip now with bays for metal, bays for newspaper, bays for electrics and a massive great composting bay for garden waste. What a pile of it! It ought to generate a fair amount of heat and make decent compost. Does anyone know what they do with it? Can you buy it? If you know, get in touch unless it costs an arm and a leg or is just a load of rubbish.

Wednesday, 25th April

Rain! I didn't actually see it but there were half a dozen wet spots on my dustbin lid this morning. Not that it would have bothered me much as my only gardening today has been under cover: in the kitchen washing out some more yoghurt pots; in the garage turning them into plant pots as explained earlier; in the shed making up some compost; in the greenhouse potting up some tomato seedlings into said pots. It did look as though it was snowing at one point but it was just cherry blossom coming down by the tree-load.

I did actually get out - I had to go to the dentist's. It cost me nearly £20 just for him to tell me I needed a filling (which I knew anyway). So how much is the filling going to cost????????? Then this afternoon I went for a little walk with our Durrington based Walking to Health walking group. Got to do something to keep fit if I'm not digging.

Tuesday, 24th April

Well, I can't pretend that my experiment of sowing parsnips in cells was any more successful than my usual open ground sowing. Germination has been just as hit and miss as far as I can tell so today I resorted to the time honoured method of sowing them direct into the garden soil. I aim to sow about 3 seeds at a time in stations 6 inches apart and the theory is that I will then thin them down to 1 per station. In practice I bet some stations produce nothing at all while others will be crowded with little seedlings.

                                                                                         
                                            Parsnips sown in cells                                                                       Station sowing

In the evening I popped along to the North Star for our monthly Gardeners' Get-together but for some reason we were a very select little band this month, only half a dozen or so. Perhaps it was the football on the telly (Man Utd v Milan). Some people need to get their priorities sorted out!

Monday, 23rd April

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Sunday, 22nd April

I did go to the allotment today but only to pick some rhubarb and do a bit of watering although there were others working hard, including this couple who were building a DIY cold frame. This had necessitated digging some holes about a foot deep. Rather them than me!

Saturday, 21st April

I used some of my home-made plant pots today to sow some courgettes. Otherwise it's been a bit of a lazy day in the gardening sense apart from watering which is already becoming a bit of a regular chore. I can't remember when it last rained and trying to do much on the allotment is a bit of a waste of time; the soil surface is cracking as if in a drought and dug areas contain great clay clods that have never broken down.

                                                          
                                             allotment soil                                                                 cultivated allotment soil

So I decided to go with the flow, take advantage of the sunshine and go for a stroll round Highdown Gardens with my lady wife. What a splendid asset they are, and FREE! I think Spring is when they're at their best so get on up there and enjoy them. Then, if you want, do as I did and enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of cake in the Highdown Tea Rooms. Lovely!

Friday, 20th April

True to my word I put in my red onions today and a short row of carrots (Early Nantes2). I can't believe that took my 2 hours, just because the soil has baked so hard. This afternoon I did some runner beans and pricked out some summer cabbage. Another thing I pricked out was some comos which I really like. I do them in trays because the slugs seem to like them, especially when they're small and this way they do get a head start. Not only do I love their cheery flowers but also their feathery leaves and they're good doers if you can get them past the initail slug attack until they are big enough to look after themselves.

                                                  
                                     Cosmos                                                                  Home-made pots

What with pricking out, potting on and sowing big seeds like courgettes there can be a hefty strain on your plant pot supply at this time of year. Like many others, I suspect, I make my own from yoghurt pots. I used to try making drainage holes with a pair of scissors or something sharp but the pots inevitably cracked so I now burn holes in the bottom with a hot soldering iron (pictured above). Works a treat.

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Thursday, 19th April

Another gorgeous day! When did it last rain? Will it ever rain again? Might as well make the best of it while it lasts so this morning I finished off putting in my white onion sets. I suppose for a change tomorrow I'll put in some red onion sets. My wife prefers the red ones and thinks they might be a bit milder but I can't say I've noticed much difference myself except the colour. I'm sure there are degrees of tear power just between varieties no matter what the colour.

Mahonia x Charity

Later on, at home, I trimmed an overgrown mahonia "Charity". What an excellent shrub. It doesn't seem fussy about soil or aspect, is evergreen and flowers at a time when few other flowers are around, usually starting in November and going on for months. And the flowers smell lovely. I also planted out some lettuce but I expect the slugs will have had them by morning!

Wednesday, 18th April

Not much achieved today horticulturally speaking apart from putting in a few onions and mowing the back lawn. But there are other things in life - like going for a walk, shopping and visiting friends and some people even have to fit in going to work. e.g. my wife. On the other hand I have got round to updating the "Ramblings" section of this site.

Tuesday, 17th April

What a waste of a day! I waited in all day for some delivery men who'd said they would arrive sometime between 9.00am and 6.00pm. You'd think that gave them plenty of scope but I'm still waiting. I did get down to the allotment late on and was preparing a seed bed when I came across a colony of ants. I'm puzzled by ants. On balance, are they a good thing or a bad thing? They don't eat your cabbages or prize marrows but they are a pain if you grow apples because they farm and protect greenfly. And does their tunnelling improve the structure of the soil or does it do untold damage to the roots of young seedlings? What I do know is that one day they will take over the world. Just look how many of them there are, you can hardly move for the things on flying ant day (around the middle of July, I think) and they're one of the few creatures capable of surviving an atomic blast. Unlike me.

Monday, 16th April

Cor, even hotter today, just like the Mediterranean. If this is global warming, roll on. It could save me a fortune in holidays: no more of those sorties to Italy to pick up a bit of sunshine, just a motor up North every so often when I want to cool down. Has anyone noticed if things are coming on earlier? I spotted my first bit of apple blossom in the garden today although the crab apple has been out for some time. I must admit I did not feel like doing a lot but I did persuade myself to do a bit of hedge trimming although, it has to be said, I don't feel altogether comfortable at the top of a step-ladder with an electric trimmer. It's my own fault because originally there were just two smallish shrubs, a hardy fuchsia and a hypericum Hidcote. Over the years they've got bigger and bigger and grown into one another so I treat them as a hedge now. I put up with the once-a -year trim because I love the mixture of colour when thay are in flower.

Early(?) apple blossom

I did get down to the allotment this evening to finish filling in my tank trap runner bean trench but it was surprisingly lonely down there. Perhaps they heard I was coming.

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Sunday, 15th April

Well, I did eventually make it down to the allotment this evening once it had cooled down a bit (what's it doing, up in the 20°s at this time of year?) but not for long. My lady wife did a bit of watering for me but I didn't get very far as the soil has baked to a breezeblock type consistency. In some undisturbed parts the soil has started to crack. Still, it's nice for lazing about in, isn't it? No point fighting nature, better to take advantage of it.

Saturday, 14th April

A bit warm for the allotment this afternoon really but I hadn't been for a few days so it had to be done. I thought I'd fill in the bean trench and I did make a start but after an hour or so carting compost and spreading it in the trench I'd had enough. The exercise wasn't without interest because in the compost heap I found a slow worm.

For those of you who've never seen a slow worm they do look a bit like a little snake but they're completely harmless. Whatever you do, don't kill them as they're definitely a gardener's friend - they eat slugs and snails. I moved my wriggly friend to another heap.

Friday, 13th April

                                                                  
                                   Some overwintered fuchsias                                          Spring colours

No, I'm not supertitious so it wasn't "Unlucky for Some" day for me but "Pot up your overwintered Fuchsias" day. Well, some of them at any rate. As I pottered round the garden, I couldn't help but wonder what a lovely time of year this is for the garden as so many things are out at once: forsythia, pink and yellow primulas, bluebells, camelia, heather, choisya, berberis, aubretia, tulips,honesty, grape hyacinth, forget-me-nots and a few lingering daffodils. Why, even the bay tree and the blueberries have joined in. And OK, a fistful of dandelions as well. Not many bees about though; they reckon there's a problem with a lack of bees this year. I hope not or said blueberries and a whole host of other fruit aren't going to produce much. I'm not going round them all with a little brush like I used to when I grew melons.
A parsnip has germinated too - I do so hope I'm going to get a crop this year. It's been so disappointing the last three years so I'm hoping this year's experiment of starting them off in cells in seed trays works.

Thursday, 12th April

I needed a day off today after all that hard digging yesterday so I took it. I did go the garden centres on the Littlehampton Road to look for a wheelbarrow. Doesn't anybody sell a normal, down-to-earth cheap barrow? There were round ones and fold-up ones and they wanted £25! I just want a common or garden barrow for the allotment so I'm not paying those prices. I'll have to do without. I did buy some compost and did a lot of watering as pots, containers and seed trays are all drying out pretty fast in this balmy Sussex weather. If it seems a lazy day, my excuse is I had to go to the dentist's this morning - puts you off anything.

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Wednesday, 11th April

Another bright, bright, sunshiney day albeit after a slow start which I was grateful for as I had decided to dig my runner bean trench this morning. Over 2 hours it took me, not just because I am a slow digger, the soil looked like lumps of concrete but was harder to dig. Still, it's done now; all I've got to do now is fill it up again (no, not with the soil I took out!) before I put the beans in. No sweat. I wouldn't like any Northeners reading this to think we never get any of the cold stuff down here - just take a look at the Photo call page.

Tuesday, 10th April

A bit dull this morning but I had to go into town so it didn't matter. I did buy some Surfinias from Wilko's while there so it wasn't all time wasted.. You may have to pick over them a bit to find some really good ones but when you do they're certainly good value. This afternoon the sun came out again and we went for another little walk this time from Dover Lane car park up to the woods. The bluebells are just starting to come out; in a week or two's time they should look smashing. It was still sunny when we got back so I mowed the back lawn - amazing how quick the grass is growing already.

Monday, 9th April

Another lovely day but none of it spent on the allotment, I'm afraid and very little of it spent in the garden, just a bit of weeding and attending to the seedlings in their trays which can dry out very quickly in this sunshine. I was outdoors though, enjoying the Sussex countryside. Sussex is a very big county with lots of things to see but you don't have to go far to enjoy its delights. Today my wife and I went for a walk around Bramber and Beeding, finished off with a pint at the pub in Bramber high street. I think it's important we don't take these things on our doorstep for granted and judging by the number of people we met I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Sunday, 8th April

Easter Day. I didn't celebrate with an Easter egg but with the last of our 30 butternut squash. I'll definitely grow them again as they've been prolific, tasty and longlasting although, to be honest, I've not done too well on the storing front. Towards the end they started to rot from the stem end and I had to throw that half away. Well, compost it. I've even found away of getting rid of the other leftover food that won't compost such as meat, cheese, bread and so one. It's called a digester and looks like a green flat-topped cone. You dig a big hole to bury the bottom part then just chuck in any food scraps. It doesn't compost them, they just sort of go away. They must work as I got mine years ago and it still shows no signs of filling up. I think it was part of the council's recycling initiative. If you want one you can probably still get them from www.greencone.com.

My digester    

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Saturday, 7th April

I finally got my spuds in this afternoon, all 3 rows of them and by the time I'd finished I was shattered. I think I'll give the allotment a miss tomorrow no matter how inviting the weather is; perhaps I'll mow the lawn. It took me hours today to put in the spuds because the soil was like concrete. Much more of this and they'll be bringing back the hosepipe ban. I've already started saving water at home again in a couple of big butts just in case. It makes sense anyway as we're on a meter. The hot water always seems to take ages to get hot so while it's running I save it into a bowl then tip it into one of the barrels. I wouldn't use it in the greenhouse as it is sometimes mixed with a bit of washing up water but I figure it's OK for everything else. Things are growing on a pace but it's still pretty cold at night so watch out for the odd frost and don't put out anything too tender just yet.

Friday, 6th April

Gorgeous on the allotment this morning. Sunny Worthing at its best. I'm amazed there weren't more people there. The other thing that struck me is there weren't as many worms as usual either. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? On the other hand there's barrowloads of ladybirds which is nice as the little chaps do a good job munching other bugs. Then again, does that mean there are lots of bugs around already for them to feed on? Must be this global warming thing: the winters are milder but they don't kill off the nasty bugs and critters like they used to. And the grass and weeds keep on growing through the winter. I toyed with the idea of mowing the lawn but settled on a bit of pottering in the garden and greenhouse. Several seeds are through now: tomatoes, lobelia, petunia, marigold, summer cabbage, leek, lettuce, cosmos and basil. The nicotiana may have dried out in the sunny greenhouse while I was away and I'll be amazed if the lobelia and petunia make it to full sized plants as I often lose them.

Went for a walk with the lady wife this afternoon along Ferring seafront. I think all the world and his dog had the same idea! It was lovely in the sunshine with my ice cream cornet (£1.50!!!!) but there were swarms of little black flies everywhere. What's all that about? What are they? Why do they like my shirt? Tell me if you know.

Thursday, 5th April

Yes, a little gap there as I've been away for a few days. Lovely weather but still got a cold and cold sore. When we got back it was nice to run up to the greenhouse and see what had been happening: not a great deal although some things have got bigger. Tomato seeds have germinated now as have the cos lettuce and the French marigolds. I'll have to get my finger out now as so many things need doing on the allotment - planting potatoes (I'm just growing Desiree and Wilja this year. They're decent allround potatoes and the slugs don't seem to bother them much), digging my bean trench and getting in the onion sets, among other jobs. I also need to send replies to people who have been kind enough to write in and update the site. I can't do it all tonight, "House" is on at 9.00pm!

Sunday, 1st April

No point writing anything today; you wouldn't believe it anyway.