My Patch

Sprouts, shoots and leaves.

Source: Green Fingers
Tuesday 13th May 2008, 3:14pm

Basking in the glorious sunshine watching all the little sprouts....erm well sprout.

Reading Hugh Fearnley Whittering-Twittering-Stall the other day reminded me that May is the month to become contemplative about your patch. Bar a few pickings of rocket and other seld set salad leaves there's not much to do other than sit back and watch as hopefully the seeds sewn germinate and the seedlings planted out hopefully manage to stay ahead of the slugs and snails.

Can Slug Pellets ever be considered organic?

My partners in grime dismiss my claims that DieSlugDie pellets are as organic as their ineffective but cute methods of leaving out dishes of various beers so the offending slugs "go merrily". Poppycock - aren't chemical presevatives and sterilizing agents used in the production of the cheap ales used?

As "organic" as a land rover is environmentlly friendly

Call a spade a chuffing shovel I say and if the little-blue-pills - I mean pellets work and the impact of such tiny traces of copper sulphate is negligable then it shouldn't ruin the beleif of good wholesome growing.

Slugs, snails and puppy dog tails

Couldn't resist adding this little quip courtesey of this Land Rover Owners Forum http://forum.landrover.org/forums/topic.cfm?topic=1128

snail is attacked one nigh by a gang of slugs.
snail goes to the police. Policeman askes "what did they looked like"?.
snail replies "i ddunno it all happened sooo fast"!

Permalink | 0 comments

My Damp Patch

Source: Green Fingers
Monday 21st April 2008, 5:39pm

Might as well rename this to My Damp Patch - its sopping wet and I'm not getting the job done

Another appalling weekend of weather and the patch was once again neglected for the home. To coin the Paul Whitehouse Character - this weekend I've been mostly looking at home fabrics.

Fun with Home Furnishings II - Bedding and Blinds

The mission was to spruce up the boudoir with new bedding and some better blinds.

How grim can life be when following a trip to the South West's finest shopping venue TRAGO MILLS CAMPUS I'm sat at the PC browsing pages about interior design getting to grips with colour wheels - trying to make some sense out of choosing fabric textures and colours for the bedroom. As one site informed:

"We spend a huge amount of time in our beds, and therefore it is essential that you have bedroom that has a calming influence, to enable you to get a good night's sleep."

Well first and foremost blow the colour I need to feel warm - so a luxurious non allegenic duvet and fine cotton duvet cover is top of the list . i was intrigued by the suggestion that I could share my bed with Kylie - what better then than to slip between the sheets with Kylie endorsed bedding from the "Kylie at Home" collection

Kylie at Home Duvet Covers and Bedspreads

Considering the rain piddling down outside it seemed apt that a search for "Kylie sheets" returned various results for incontinence products - but there was a reasonable selection of Kylies latest bedroom offerings at Austins, Newton Abbot.

Is it just me or do loads of people hit the shops to have a good look and jot down prices only to return home and see how much cheaper you can find them on the net?

Compare prices online - find bedding cheaper than high street shops.

Search result - Terrys Fabrics

Eventually I found an on line fabrics shop site which seemed to be the answer to all my home furnishing needs Terrys - (not sure what the association with nappies is). I found the set I'd seen in the shops and got a king size duvet cover, pillow cases and two sheets for clicked add to basket and wait for delivery.

As for the blinds......now thats another story.

Keep your spade shining, till next time.

Permalink | 0 comments

Artful Bodger

Source: Green Fingers
Wednesday 9th April 2008, 5:26pm

That grim reminder on the evening weather - "gardeners beware" - time for a spot of home improvement - fitting a curtain pole.

Well this blasted cold spell continues to make it pointless in sewing seeds let alone planting anything out - Coldest night EVER in Penzance i heard!

Whats an active chap to do?

Household chores grrrrr there's always something.

The cold snap was a timely reminder that I was supposed to have fitted new draught excluding curtains to the back door. The new curtains were made of really heavy fabric and like all things DIY this means an additional job was required.

Fitting a Stronger Curtain Pole

Well I may be handy with a spade and some might even say pretty skilled with a set of shears but I ofetn fail when it comes to DIY - especially those jobs that are prominent and shout "BODGE" every time you look at them.

With the colossal weight of the curtain fabric I needed to fix a strong pole for them to hang off.

This video how to fit a curtain pole was excellent and after a couple of viewings i felt I could approach the job with a bit more confidence.

Well Hung - the curtain fabric that is "tuts"

Following the sage advice measure twice cut once i carefully followed the steps in the video and joy - the darn thing not only supports the heavy drapes but looks level and centred too.

Permalink | 0 comments

Digging the Dirt - Call a spade a shovel.

Source: Green Fingers
Monday 17th March 2008, 10:29am

Time to get the spade out...but watch where your shoving it.

Having successfully shirked off the bulk of this years garden preparation last month the onset of Spring cannot be ignored any longer.

Ventures into the patch of late have been only to harvest an abundent crop of Purple Sprouting Brocoll, pull the last few non-bolted leeks from the tawdry row of leeks.

The self set Rockets and Mixed Niche Oriental Salad - Featuring leaf Mustards, Golden Streaked and Red, Komatsuna, Mizuna and Sky Rocket have now all gone to seed and so cleared to make way for this years sowing.

It seems chickens have little taste sensation - the seven feathery cluckers next door quite happily noshed through the leaves even thought the red mustard was blisteringly hot - we wait the next batch of eggs with interest.

All weel and tranquil on the plot until - what the heck my spade sliced a huge pile of Dog Muck.

My Patch happens to be on a bridleway that is well used by walkers, cyclists and DOGS.

Get orrff my land Rover

What is it about some dog owners who allow their "woofers" to plop their excrement willy nilly with no intention of clearing it?

Eee by 'eck these antisocial unconcerned awfully selfish (asus) owners are too proud to stoop to scoop the poop

Its not just me - the whole row are up in arms - especially those with toddlers who are keen to prevent them becoming turdlers. We just don't need this wretched vile manure - "keep the plop on your own door stop"

Comunity action - and in no time a sign was erected using a bit of hardboard with the simple message "Dogs that S**t will be Shot"

Permalink | 0 comments

Early planting for healthy growth

Source: Green Fingers
Wednesday 20th February 2008, 4:29pm

As spring arrives time to rejoice in the good fortune of having your own patch - but beware all is not well in the garden.

Mustn't grumble.

Winter has been especially kind to gardeners in the south - seldom have we had to reluctantly leave our warm fireside seats to throw protective fleeces over our precious and tender plants following a hard frost warning during the evening news. Only another month to keep an eye out for Jack and his pointy fingers. There is an old saying - Ne'er cast a clout before May's out which is a pearl of wisdom from days gone by but in these glorious gloabal warming days you can shave a couple of months off that.

Even the most established gardeners are optimistically making their first settings of seeds - they'd usually wait until the end of March.

But all in the garden is not lovely - winter has seen a continued decline in my standard of living.

Mortgage rates hiked up, credit cards maxed out and inflation rocketing

Even the most disinterested can't fail to be un-nerved by the continued reports about the impact of the credit crunch and how we are all facing a difficult year ahead. The escaltion of food prices, houshold bills and tighter controls on credit and lending could spell disaster for many. Growing and harvesting some of your own fruit and veg saves a bob or two but is little comfort when it comes to keeping up with the cost of living.

Hobby Gardener to Turn Commercial? - Mint and Watercress

Many a keen gardener has happily sold of surplus crops to make "seed money" - prices are low as the gluts of beans, courgettes etc are enjoyed by many others at the same time but this year I'm considering exploring niche markets for local specialist shops and restaurants.

First up Mint - no not the online finance people but the ever so easy to grow versatile herb - excellent in salads, rather refreshing as a tea, perfect as a sauce for Lamb and I spotted this interesting twist on using mint as the herb of choice when making a cornish pasty on Jamie Olivers forum

Next American Landcress - incredibly simple to grow, frost hardy, year round and has identical flavour to Watercess.

Permalink | 0 comments