Veggie Patch - coming on nicely ;0)

Mr World is my hero... he made a raised bed for our vegetable patch out of wood which was lying around our garden.  Actually it was stored by our shed, in the 'one day it will have a great purpose in life' pile.  I'm just glad that this particular wood did find it's calling in life, sadly there are still many bits without a purpose, every time I pass I do whisper 'don't worry your day will come' what they don't know is that they'll probably end up as kindlers...shh ;0)

Photo taken 10 days ago

Introducing....... from left to right: leeks, spring onions, carrot, beetroot and at the back lettuce.  What's great about them all is a) I like eating them all,  b) I never spent a penny on them - nor did I steal them! freebies & gifts  and c) I have a fabulous recipe for beetroot cake.  If you've never tried it before it's an experience in itself, I'll post the recipe at a later date, naturally there's chocolate involved too.

up to date photo and carrots coming on nicely

I'd love to take credit for the patch but well...em...I didn't even get my fingers dirty yet... yes - Mr World again, so much for my great plans of conquering the green fingered foliage lol.

Spring onions popping out in the middle row

 you may have to squint your eyes to see them ha ha

Most of the seedlings have been transferred now into the bed, there's still more carrots and broccoli in their pots, think we've actually ran out of space - maybe that other bits of wood will get a new lease of life soon (hint hint Mr World!!)

Lettuce ready for planting now too

Hopefully not too much love and attention from me is needed, although I did promise myself to 'make' the time to do gardening this year.  If only I could rustle up a few extra hours in the day - life would simply be perfect... actually on second thoughts, even if I could manage on less sleep that would be helpful... the kids manage it, why can't I ?!

Killing weeds the KIND way

Getting into the garden again feels fantastic! Now there are loads of things I love about winter, hats, scarves, slipper socks, candles, homemade soup, soft fleecy blankets, hotwater bottles, mulled wine...ooh I could go on and on but back to the here and now...

This bit of paving gives me endless hours of back breaking weeding, so this year is going to WILL be different.  In the blink of an eye (a few days anyway) it looks overgrown and neglected, and then I spend too much time weeding and none of the nurturing my garden craves.

Ta Da...now I want it to stay this way, at least for a while longer, so I am road testing a new weed killer.

ECO FRIENDLY WEED KILLER

...for the weeds which love your patio (or wonky paving slabs!)...

All you need is SALT and BOILING WATER

Carefully spread salt between the cracks and then pour boiling water over.

It's now been 2 days since I salted and no re-growth to be seen so far, early days though, I'll keep you posted on progress.  Taking of re-growth, wonder if it works on hairy legs ? ;0)

Will my fingers ever turn green?

Having lived in my house for 10 years...I can't believe it's been that long... that bit of waste land surrounding my house, I think it's known as a garden!, has really been neglected.  I would love to have a prize winning garden, you know the kind, fabulously green lawn not forgetting the strips, with a floral borders, all my own herbs ready available and not prepacked rubbish from supermarkets, the pick of the crop of vegetables, ready whenever I want.  To date, I have not quite managed my dream, okay I've not really made an attempt, loads of excuses - of course - not enough time, not knowing what I'm doing, my fingers being forever blue (always cold but warm heart), lack of money and by the time I do get round to doing a spot of gardening, I've missed the planting season.

Last year I'd sown carrots and spring onions, which I was delighted with, especially as I had not put any effort into it at all, although I've come to realise that thinning carrots once they've grown a bit would have be an advantage to say the least!.  The previous year I grew lettuce, another lesson learnt though, as I hadn't staggered the planting and never quite thought ahead of what I would do with 20 lettuce all ready to use at the same time, after a few passed on the rest wilted and died a horrible neglected death.  Spring Onions harvested two years ago gave a grand crop of only 8?  Hmm, I'd like to say the seeds were of poor quality but in actual fact it's more likely that I hadn't prepared the soil or tended them very well, if at all.

This year I am going to try much harder, well any effort on my part will make a huge improvement.  I have found a fantastic book, The Veggie Growers' Bible by Lorraine Burn, it's exactly what I've always wanted.  Easy enough for me to understand, no 'big' words LOL, tells me what pests to watch out for, where to plant...all the basics on one page...care, sowing, planting, harvesting, pests, diseases, even crop rotation plans, I know, I know - I'm getting ahead of myself here but I might as well think big even though I only do small.  Full of easy to follow symbols - even the kids are able to use and understand it!  Thats left me with no excuses for not having the garden of my dreams.  The only problem I have at the moment is the weather, snow, but it doesn't stop me from planning, and making lists (which I love doing) of where and what I'm going to plant, so watch this space.....to be continued :0)

ps. If you know me, please stop laughing, NO this isn't an April fools - I really am going to have a wonderful garden this year!!!