Spring is around the Corner

 

The warmth of the sun filled the afternoon the last two days and beauty of the first almost spring flowers are out. Spring will officially begin next week, but some of the early flowers along with some of my first seedlings are getting a head start. Spring is such a beautiful time in England.

Organic White Potatoes Seeding

We've saved a few organic potatoes from the shop and have allowed them to shoot in order to plant and grow more potatotes. I just think the shoots are absolutely beautiful. And they grow so quickly. I can go to work, come home, observe and notice the growth.  All very exciting.  I'll let them continue to sprout on the windowsill for awhile longer and then plant them out in a patch I have prepared in the garden.

Winter Parsley

Winter Parsley, originally uploaded by j_wissinger.

I was resigned to setting the window box outside after the Aphids got the upper hand on the Thyme. Fortunately the Parsely is quite hardy and seemed to almost rejoice in the chance to play in the snow.

Allotments in Hackney Wick

Allotments in Hackney Wick
Originally uploaded by Amanda Alessandrine

These are great looking potatoes, reminding me of some of the deer I've seen roaming around England!

Pruning the Apple Tree

At the end of last year I purchased a self pollinating Cox Apple Tree from Aylett's Nursery.  I had considered several of the quality online fruit tree retailers, such as Keepers Nursery, however when shipping was included it was less expensive to buy at my local nursery.  There is also something quite nice about being able to visually select your tree, especially if it will be a highlight of your small garden.

The tree was on M9 rootstock, 1.5 meters tall and I believe 4 years old.  It has been looked after sparingly and does not have the greatest shape, but generally is quite well thinned.  So the pruning I needed to do could be considered light.

This was my first attempt at pruning a fruit tree so I did a bit of research first, finding several useful sites to guide my hand.  Garden Action gives a really easy to understand overview of pruning your apple tree and provides information on different formations, such as step-overs and cordons.  When it came time to think about exactly how to prune it though I found the article on About quite helpful, with many photographs and illustrations.  And of course I made sure I had a sharp set of pruning shears so the cuts didn't tear.

I also applied a few principles gleaned from other reading, such as to allow shoots to have four buds and no more as this will allow the trees energy to be more aptly directed.  Now I look forward to watching the tree grow this year and hopefully supply and fair number of apples.

Cheap Garden Supplies at Wilkonson's

We all love a good deal.  I feel like I scored a fantastic bargain at Wilkonson's, and its not the first time.  This time it was a 4 Tier Greenhouse.  Maybe Greenhouse is a bit overgenerous of a description, but acquiring  essentially an open bookshelf with a plastic cover or £12 seems like a bargain.  It took about 15 minutes to assemble on the lounge floor before placing it in a corner of the garden which is destined to get bathed in sun...sometime.  I'm looking forward to getting some of my first seeds of the season planted this coming weekend; Brussel sprouts, broad beans, peas and more.


While Wilkonson's does not have a large range of garden products and seeds, notably missing much in the way of organics, the range they do have is extremely affordable.  For some basic garden essentials and even a few surprises it is well worth a visit.  The planters section is especially noteworthy with large pots for low prices.  If you are looking for high quality, this is probably not the place, but if you are looking for a low cost options have a look.

Harvesting your own Sunflower Seeds

I finally took down the last sunflower in the back garden, sending most of it to compost, saving a bit of the stalk to try to hollow out for a recorder and the flower for harvesting the seeds.  They were just a bit damp from all the rain (wetted November on record!), but otherwise came out with ease.  We filled a small bowl and then set about the menial task of breaking each shell open and removing the small seed.  While most recipes for eating sunflower seeds leave them in the casings we chose to remove them for cooking...especially enjoying them with a bit Kale, butter and salt!

After a few hours and a little help from my dear wife we had a small bowl of seeds.  They were then placed in a single layer in a small pan and placed into the oven at 150°C for about 15 minutes.  However in retrospect this was a little too long.  They also may have benefited from just drying out a bit more first as some of them 'puffed' a bit, probably from the residual moisture boiling inside.

I then took the seed head and the 'rejects' and placed them out in the garden in a pan for the birds.  Many people claim to have problems with birds, but we would love to see few!