And we're off.....
..that’s it, the 2020 growing season has begun. Over the past couple of days we’ve repaired all the holes in the greenhouse. Our lovely pals Micaela & Sue came over to help take out all the glass broken by several tempests over the past two or three years.
Then we set about looking through our store of pieces of glass to see what we had already that would fit. I guess we replaced about a dozen panes.
Yesterday I went to Bricomarché in Bédarieux where the lovely Nicolas cut me six more panes to fill the rest of the holes. By dusk it was done.
Yes, I really should replace that bit of perspex, but the gales have pushed the greenhouse askew so nothing fits exactly any more. The piece of glass I had cut is actually 2mm too big on one corner, so what the hell.
This morning I started preparing the water jugs that I’ve been saving over the summer. Last winter I used a method of sowing that allowed me to start the process much earlier than one would normally. Basically you take a large plastic container like a 5l water bottle, you pierce four holes in the bottom, then cut it 2/3rds the way round 1/3 up from the bottom. This makes a hinge and a base into which you sow the seeds of almost any plant that isn’t super-tender. You half fill the base with potting compost, sow the seeds, water gently, cover with more compost and tape the bottle back together all the way round. Take the lid off and set it outside, remembering to mark it with its contents and the date.
The seeds will germinate when Mother Nature says the time is right. It doesn’t matter if it snows or rains. The seeds are protected in their mini-greenhouse. It doesn’t work for tomatoes, peppers or basil, but almost anything else will germinate at the right time. You don’t need to water them unless it gets exceedingly hot later in Spring. Just make sure they are out of the wind.
This method worked a treat last year so I’ve no reason to think it won’t work again. In fact last year I had plants that were ready a bit too soon to put them out in the garden, so I potted them on and kept them in a cold frame until I was sure there wouldn’t be any more frosts.
On Wednesday (two days ago) my lovely brother delivered a trailer load of poo from Caroline’s ponies. We all wheelbarrowed it down to the new compost bins in the potager. It filled another two compost bins and is already hotting up nicely.
Yes, you are reading that correctly - 65℃. That means all those lovely microbes are working away to turn the poo into compost, producing heat in the process. This manure is outside in normal compost bins in January. The heat produced is extraordinary.
Meanwhile the hens are well and happy, with Brighton producing a mammoth egg each day. Blucia’s crest is well developed so she may not be long to come back into lay. The vegetable garden is full of things to eat and looks very well.
Meanwhile coriander is growing well in the greenhouse in washed-out, previously used, foil containers.
Coriander for curries.