All posts tagged rain

Great Weather for Frogs

There hasn’t been much going on in the vegetable garden lately, persistent heavy rain and gusty winds constantly prevent any real activity from happening. The greenhouse is heaving with plants crying out to be planted out, I’ve yet to sow a bean seed, carrots are just a disaster and I’ve just about given up trying to keep the summer raspberry canes tied in to their support, they’re trailing on the ground again and that’s where they’re probably safe to be honest. More high winds are set to batter our region this weekend.

Aside from letting the hens out early in the morning, some days I haven’t bothered to venture outside for fear of a tree landing on my head. Our neighbour suffered substantial damage to her fence and garden when a huge tree came down, the noise and destruction was horrific but luckily nobody was hurt. But, there’s some good news with all this wet weather we’re having; potatoes, strawberries and onions are thriving, the lawn is looking the best it ever has and lots of small frogs are regularly visiting the wildlife pond, and being quite brazen about it too.

I don’t miss all the watering this time of year usually requires, but, please, a break from the wet and wild weather would be nice. I’m starting to lose enthusiasm.

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by The Garden Smallholder on June 15, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized, Wildlife

Tagged frog, frogs, gale force winds, photography, rain

Posted by The Garden Smallholder on June 15, 2012

http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/great-weather-for-frogs/

Inside my Greenhouse

Ever since the hose pipe ban came into force on April 5th it hasn’t stopped raining. At times the rain has been very heavy, sometimes hail, making gardening tasks and allotment visits virtually impossible to carry out. Seed sowing outside is a definite no-no here at the moment, the soil is saturated and cold. But, my garden is thriving in other areas, everything is leafing up and looks green and lush. I’m not in any hurry to sow outside anyway, there’s plenty of time and everything will catch up eventually.

Besides, if you’re really lucky, like me, and you have a warm glass greenhouse in your garden (or at your allotment), I’m sure you have taken the opportunity to escape the heavy rain and banish ‘gardening blues’ by pottering about inside it. As a boredom buster, try sowing some coriander and rocket in pots, or edible flowers such as Calendula to brighten summer salads or the veg plot. They come up really quickly undercover. Potting on seedlings is another task that I enjoy doing inside my greenhouse, as I listen to the rain battering down on the glass roof I appreciate my greenhouse even more.

Speaking of seedlings, cosmos are coming along well and looking really healthy, peas are coming up, also kale, sweet corn, Swiss chard, coriander and alpine strawberries. Sprouts and summer sprouting broccoli have been potted on, also foxglove seedlings – one of my favourite flowers.

According to the news we’re on course for the wettest April on record (although still officially in the middle of a drought!), flood alerts have been issued in some places. What a difference to last year, hottest April on record! Mind you, water-butts are filling up nicely, this time last year it was a real chore to get everything watered and prevent trays of seedlings from being scorched. Everything seems to be thriving in my greenhouse.

From the amount of photographs in this post I think you can probably guess where I’ve been spending a great deal of time lately. I hope you’re enjoying greenhouse or windowsill gardening if the weather is bad where you are.

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by The Garden Smallholder on April 26, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged coriander seedlings, cosmos seedliings, foxglove seedlings, garden photography, greenhouse, hose pipe ban 2012, mangetout shiraz, photography, rain, seedlings, sweet corn seedlings, tomato seedlings, wettest april on record

Posted by The Garden Smallholder on April 26, 2012

http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/inside-my-greenhouse/

Washout Weekend

The Easter bank holiday weekend was pretty much a washout, rain, rain and more rain. Mind you we had lots planned, what with family visiting on Sunday and shopping in Milton Keynes with the kids on Monday, I hardly had time for gardening anyway. I managed to visit my allotment on Good Friday to plant potatoes, then a quick visit on Saturday morning to plant some raspberry canes and a few other bits and bobs.

Last night was very windy and today we had a hail storm, complete with thunder and lightning. Very strange and unsettled weather at the moment, I’m delaying sowing outside for fear of my seeds being washed away!

I’ve recently discovered field mice are digging up my early pea seeds and eating them (they were just sprouting too). A few of the broad bean seedlings were left half eaten, the mice are digging down to the bean and chomping the top growth clean off. I can keep deer out of the garden but not the mice, it’s just one of those things I’m afraid, gardening alongside nature. All I can do is start the peas off again but in the greenhouse this time, planting out later. I’ve put cabbage collars around the broad beans to prevent the mice digging in for the bean, so far this seems to be working.