Monday, 5 May 2008

What's growing today?





May Bank Holiday in the garden




Its a beautiful sunny spring day down on the farm. Milly Molly Mandy, little friend Susan and little friend Simon are happy planting beetroot.
They dig and rake and weed the paths then a friendly neighbour tells them about 'smoke free bonfires'. You light a fire and once it is blazing, take clumps of weeds, grass, stinging nettles and douse the fire with them - green side down on top of the fire. it will then smoke. Keep piling the weeds onto the fire, on top of any part that is  smoking. We were told that the fire will burn for days, smoldering slowly to produce potash which we can scatter round our beans (once we have planted them.)
 



Look at the pond now


Simon and I drove to the flatlands round Newport and dug up a reed or two to put in the pond.
 Some pond weed from the garden centre and a few more days of rain and just look at my pond now!

Two weeks ago, April 13th, we planted shallots onions, spinach and kale. And, in the propagator in my garden  have sewn borloti beans, rocket and chicory. 

Sunday, 13 April 2008

The pond is full of water



Two months ago Ali, Phillip, Grace and I dug a hole to make a pond.
I am now back from 7 weeks in cameroon and the pond is full of water. It looks rather like a muddy puddle, not a beautiful home for wildflife, but, over time I hope to transform it so that it is bursting with beauty.
Today I put a plant in it. I hope it is a reed that will filter and clean the water but time will tell. Simon and I dug it up from a stream in Wentloog.
We also planted:
       Fir apple potatoes
Some other double barrel named potatoes (I will recored the name when I remember   it)
Shallots
Simon planted more potatoes, jerusleum artichokes and onions when I was in Cameroon.
We will now watch and wait and when my camera is repaired I will make a photo record of what appears.