No time for housework!

You turn your back for just a few days and everything in the garden seems to double in size! I went to Malvern on Thursday afternoon to find my way ready to be on the Access Garden Products stand at Malvern Spring Show on Friday morning.

Such a lovely day I had talking to lots and lots of fellow gardeners who had come to have a good day and see as much of the show as they could.  It was so busy I hardly had time to eat!  Not like me at all.

I hope some of you that ordered mini greenhouses and cold frames – not to mention raised beds will send me a message to let me know how you are getting on when they arrive.

I arrived home today, (Sunday) to find an explosion of growth not only in the raised beds, but also in the seed trays!  Not all look too well though.  The sunflowers have gone yellow instead of green.  The beetroot needed a good drink and the dwarf beans need to be re-homed into the ground quickly. Amelia set to with the watering can and hose and I planted all the plants I couldn’t resist to buy at the show.

I spent the day with my Sister in Law Jayne at the show on Saturday.  She is a keen gardener, impressing me as she knows lots of the Latin names for plants.  We have made it a tradition now that we always buy the same plant when we go to a show together.  That way, we can compare how they are growing in each others gardens, but also when we are walking around our garden and see that plant, it reminds us of each other and what a lovely day we spent together.  Of course, over the years some and lived, some have died, so on occasions we have also split a surviving plant and given it to each other.

So tomorrow, I will be planting some very sturdy leek plants, transplanting some more Globe Artichokes and making new homes for my dwarf beans and bi-colour beans, these are the beautiful beans I bought from ‘Ryton Organic Gardens’ on Potato day.

I have removed some of the Kale plants from the square foot raised bed as I need the space and I stir fried them for dinner in a little melted butter and chopped fresh coriander. The chickens had the rest of the plant as they love them too.  I have sowed some more Kale to replace these plants for later on in the season.

The garlic plants are huge with very substantial stems.  When do I pick these?  Do you know?  I will have to get my book out and look these up.  Have you heard of ‘wet garlic’?  This is when you cook them, including the green shoots instead of letting them dry.  Lovely roasted with a chicken.

Have a busy week in your garden and let me know if you can help me answer any of these questions.