2025 - What I did today

I've researched breeze blocks that we will use for the base of the two tunnels. Getting them up will mean 18 + 18 m2 of tunnel space to get growing in. Oh how I cannot wait!!

They will be behind the barn, that will get full sun three quarters of the time in the summer, but less in the spring and autumn. We think we will put them exactly side by side, with the doors on the same side, obviously.

I will take pictures of the area where they will go tomorrow and post here, as I would love your thoughts and expertise on what's best

Went into the polytunnel to prepare for planting out some caulis/lettuce/cabbage and came across a courting couple. There was a great flapping from 2 pheasants at the back. I chased them out and started raking the ground. When I finished, I thought i saw a squirrel in the fruit cage but on investigating, it looked like the couple were setting up home in there so, with a bit of squawking, I chased them out of there as well. I don't know if it is 2 of the same pheasants I saw a couple of days ago but then there was 1 male with 3 females - don't know what is normal for pheasants. Anyway, I've finished my tea so out to plant the plants.

P cut the back lawn for the first time. I mixed cuttings with chopped up leaves. The start of the compost making season.

Yesterday I bought a butter churn, and showed a friend around the garden and our plans for it. She says it's a magical place, and I have to agree

Being Mothers day today, I had an annual pilgrimage to attend two graves in seperate graveyards!

One was a fairly long hike with Kato this morning with a bunch of flowers to my wifes grave, getting blown to bits in the wind as we went!

The second was a car drive taking my Sister and flowers  to my Mothers grave in another graveyard miles away!

An emotional day!

Put the clocks forward an hour!
Pruned the dead wood out of some blackcurrant bushes. Scattered some old poppy seeds in 3 different spots in the garden. Raked out some dead grass from the path edges. Planted some DFB seedlings in the courgette pots in GH2.

Put lots of trays outside on the hardening off beanch . Planted a little garlic chives in the odd shape bed. Potted up a lavender in a new terracotta pot. Emptied 2 big pots and sieved the contents. Put all the trays from the hardening off bench back in the polytunnel.

Sowed the soaked MT seeds. Transplanted the rooted broad bean tips the mice had chopped off.  Weeded the top veg patch with a view to P starting to dig it in preparation for planting out/sowing  broad beans. In the end it mght be me digging as P has a hernia     (deep in my heart I'm hoping he can do it) otherwise we might be going no dig without all the compost topping faff.

Just had a session attacking the New Zealand flax which was attempting a garden takeover. It got flattened with the heavy snow earlier in the year and never went back to it's more vertical growth but stayed prostrate gradually encroaching on my path. I tried cutting it with secateurs, hand shears and loppers but had to eventually resort to my electric hedge cutter. Even with this it was a struggle to hack it back, but by that time it was personal, it was either it or me!

Happy to say I got the better of it in the end, even if I was ready for a lie down afterwards!

Potted on tomatoes and basil.