Think the Garden is all planted

Hey,

   I know it's been a while since I blogged but it's been a mad few weeks and am only now really in the headspace to take the time to blog.  The garden has kinda been looking after itself over the last few weeks and is looking very well, I have to say.  The Peas are beginning to pod and it won't be very long before I eat the first of the crop this year.  Having never grown Turnips before it's all been a bit of an experiment.  God, the main thing I notice with them is that the foliage is HUGE!! It really does take up about 4-times the actual size of the veg itself.  Yesterday, with the most helpful assistance of my nephew, I planted out some 'Veritas' Savoy Cabbage, 'Helenor' Swede and some 'Nantes 2' Carrots.  I made sure to give both the Cabbage and Swede the necessary room to grow without it crowding other veg.  

I'm not sure if I posted this in a previous blog, but I do not use insecticides, chemical fertilisers or nothing like that.  When we were putting in the beds (see photos in previous posts) we threw in compost from our own garden and some well rotted horse dung, as well as a good sprinkling of dried seaweed powder.  In saying that we are no where near Organic in our practices.  For the smaller beds by the wall we did not have enough soil to fill them, so we added some shop-bought topsoil, horticultural sand and bags of Westland Garden Multi-purpose Compost with added John Innes.  Stuff that we planted in those beds appears to be growing fine and all looks ok.  

A gardeners main enemy is the slug/snail I think.  Over the last few years we have used the slug traps in which you put some beer/yeastie goodness in them and the slugs go for a little swim and die.  This year, I found it difficult to find these (they tend to disintegrate a bit over time) so a local garden centre Windyridge Nurseries & Garden Centre advised me to use some Organic Slug Pellets.  They gave me 'Growing Success Advanced Slug Killer'.  It works a dream...only been a few little nibbles on some of the foliage at this stage.  You just need to give a little sprinkle of it all over the patch.  The great think about it is that it contains Ferric Phosphate which supposedly gives some nourishment to the soil.  It will eventually disintegrate into the soil so there is nothing else you need to do.  I probably re-apply every week or so.  

That's the goings-on in the back garden.  In the front, all the spuds are growing nicely.  The amount of neighbours that have commented on them is brilliant.  It might actually get some of them to start growing in their own gardens soon.  Maybe even digging up their front gardens and planting a few spuds or something else easy-growing to give them the confidence to continue. 

Anyway.....more soon!!