Closh before and after

4 months difference between first planting and now. Not bad considering how rubbish the soil is and how close they were planted. Goes to show that its not impossible to grow things even in a tiny space!

Collecting my own seeds

For a while now, I've been trying to collect some seeds from the plants I've grown this year.
So far, my first attempt was to collect borage seeds. Most of them had already blown away by the time I inspected the plants.

Something that I've learned in doing this, (something that I probably SHOULD have known) not all seeds develop properly. When you buy seeds most have been graded and only the best quality seeds are sold. In DIY seeds, the percentage of bad seeds is easily 30% in the plants I've seen so far.

I have managed to collect a few different seeds and put them in envelopes to dry. Poppies of various varieties and other flowers. I'm still waiting on my perpetual spinach seeds to ripen. I desperately want to grow them again next year.

I'm hoping to try and collect livingston daisies too, before the plants are put in the compost bin.

Not to mention the seeds I've bought for next year. I have rainbow carrots, rainbow beetroot, rainbow chard. I have pink currants ordered and on the way. I have PINK blueberries ordered. I have yams on order, Shetland black tatties. Anything weird and wonderful, I'm going to try it.

I can't wait for next year. 

Continued war on caterpillars and other Saturday shenanigins

Today my partner has the car, so I'm still at home in my pajamas.
Since I can't get to the allotment, I decided it was finally time to do some things in the post-stamp garden this morning. First task. Caterpillars.

I thought I'd rid myself of most of them after last week. But nope. I'd seen a few in passing to the compost bin a few days ago. But its worse than I thought.

I'm going to have to make a daily effort to go out and check that there aren't more fat hairy worms on my poor brussel sprouts. They're not looking happy.

I had less mercy with them this time. I put them in the compost bin. Probably not a good idea, as the bin is basically next to the poor plants BUT, I did do a lot of weeding and tipping out of wet old icky soil on top of the caterpillars, so they should be entombed. Even talking about caterpillars and I can feel them all over me. It makes me itch! Yuck.

Next up was onions. I wanted to dig them up. We're going away on holiday soon and I didn't want to leave them until I got back- although they most likely would have been fine. I have to laugh though as they're only about as big as they were when I put them in the ground.

This is due to the poor soil, the density of planting and the fact they've hardly been watered all summer. AND I pulled them too early. Its my own fault but it was fun to try. They're drying in the shed.
I never expected them to work properly in that location anyway. I'm going to try a lot harder this next year in the allotment with them.

I finally separated out the Rogue Pot and finally repotted my strawberry runners. If they survive, there will be 3 new strawberry plants from runners and 1 tiny strawberry from the rogue pot.

I also separated out the primroses into new compost. I now have 5 pots of primroses from the one rogue pot. Hopefully my rough treatment of them won't hurt them and they'll grow next year.

I repotted my loganberry that was looking very sad in its current pot. It was very root bound and I should have done it months ago. I'm hoping the discoloration isn't due to something more malevolent like vine weevil.

Bees are still visiting the garden.