Moon Trial GA Harvest

I have today dug up and weighed GA

Sown on 11th Sept

Harvested 13th March

6 months in the soil. 

Weights prior to sowing:

11, 9, 12, 8, 9

weights at harvest

34, 17, 24, 19, 16

Overall increase in clove weight 223%

No split cloves visible. All foliage is healthy with a slight browning at the edges. 

Visiting Piglet Willie and pricking out

On Saturday 28th I visited Piglet Willie and was also taken to see the lotties. Very interesting, and great soil after years of hard work. 

I was given plenty of goodies, seedlings, seeds, a redcurrant, salsa, chilli sauce, and a winter squash. Yum yum. Plus a fabulous lunch and home made cookies.

Piglet Willie's Blog

On the Sunday, I pricked out the Pointy Sweet Peppers that he gave me, and there are 42 of them. All have moved well and are looking perky. I'll spread them around the village and amongst friends once they are big enough to go into their own pots. 

I have also sowed some Rose de Roscoff onion seeds. 

Flowers, peppers and peas

I have just sowed:

Amaranthus, Marvel Bronze [T&M]

Amberboa Muricata [T&M]

Two_Sheds' Borage

Two_Sheds' Teasel

Own saved Cerinthe

Own saved Flax Red

Cornflower Dairy Maid [Chocolate fragrance] [T&M]

Dianthus Siberian Blues [Y&M]

i have also pricked out all the peppers and chillis, and into the spare modules I've sown more...and popped the tray into the propagator for a few days to make or break the seeds that haven't germinated yet. Then, I'll prick those out that have germinated and call the others as dead. 

Plus 15 modules of 5 Early Onward pea. That's 75 peas. Must get my pea and bean area at the lottie sorted out. 

Seed pile is not going down...each time I sow some seeds I get another load through the door. This week it was a free magazine for being a Mod on the Vine...with another 10 packs of seeds. I've got to swap some though as I don't even like Aubergine.

Repotting toms and onions/shallots

I've now put all the shallots out; some have gone into modules to start the roots off. I've also moved some Bedfordshire Champion onion seedlings into the modules. 

I've moved all the tomato seedlings into modules so that each one is in a module of its own. 

I'm visiting Piglet Willie tomorrow as he has some spare seedlings, tomato and pepper/chilli. 

Transplanting onions and garlic

I sowed some onion seeds last autumn, and they have been in the garden all winter. They are now nice and sturdy, so today I dug them all up, and transplanted them at the lottie. 

There were also a few random garlics that didn't do much last year, so I have left them in the ground all winter and they were also transplanted. A couple of random shallots also went in. 

Quite a few of the beans that were sown last week are now up and running. 

I build another raised bed at the lottie for all this and we have half filled it with soil, home made compost, coffee ground and a sprinkle of epsom salts. 

Sowing flowers and leeks and onions and carrots

Yesterday I sowed:

A half seed tray of Franchi little white onions [for pickling]

A deep polystyrene container of Long de Mezieres Leek and James Scarlet Carrots

These will all be left outdoors to germinate

Today I sowed in modules: 

Quaking Grass

Nasturtium: Cobra/Empress of India and Mahogany Gleam

Rudbeckia: Cherry Brandy/Rustic Dwarfs

These are on top of the fridge until germination. 

Sowing and repotting and Seed Guardian

On Feb 11th, I sowed some dwarf french beans for an early indoor harvest:

6 x Kinghorn Wax [2-sheds]

6 x Firetongue Borlotti

4 x Yin yang

6 x Yellow dwarf [2-sheds]

2 x Canadian wonder [2-sheds]

They were soaked in water overnight and I checked to them today and most have sprouted. 

Also this week, I got my Seed Guardian list through - so I have opted for:

Wild Pigeon Bean

Stoke Lettuce and 

Longkeeping Tomato

In that order. 

Here's hoping they come through!

Today I also:

sowed 22 Jiffy 7s with a pinch of onions that I will use for spring onions

repotted tomatoes, peppers, coriander, cress and orach

sowed 14 white potato slivers [from shop bought potatoes that had shooted] into Root trainers.