The Potting Shed

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French beans are swelling, potatoes have pushed their noses up, rhubarb ready to harvest as are a few cucumbers, but the tomatoes have stopped dead in their tracks. The chillies are starting to recover at last.

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Planted out Pansies, Marigolds and Livingston Daisies that I raised from seed.

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I've just picked the first beans of the year. 

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Tied-in the cucumbers, gherkins and tomatoes and gave them a haircut. They are only now starting to romp away strongly.

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I picked the first 2 tomatoes from the garden. I showed them to the missus, and she ate them immediately!

I've been browsing on blackberries and watching the grapes swell.

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Green bin tomorrow, and rumours say that the collections will end even earlier this year.

So I filed the bin with prunings from the grapevine, kiwi and blackberries. I also hacked the blackcurrants to ground level. They will either sprout or be binned next year.

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Repotted the seedling catmint in the greenhouse. I felt something at my feet.... it was all 3 of next doors' cats salivating. They normally won't come within 6ft of me.

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Gave the tomatoes a haircut and destroyed snails on the plant. Repotted the Aronia cutting from a few years back.

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I sowed the chillies and tomatoes in the living room on April 1st. The toms were all up 5 days later, and the chillies show signs of stirring.

I've just pruned the grapevines, blackberries and kiwis. A full green binful I reckon.

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Almost all the chillies are up, so I have sterilised some compost, pots and the second propagator.

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I just sowed the cucumbers (mini munch, marketmore and an unnamed small variety) plus the climbing French beans (Isabel and blue lake). All snug in the greenhouse.

It's still too cold at night to move the chillies and tomatoes out, and they are taking over the growspace in the living room!

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Fed the back garden and then sprayed the marestails, bindweed and brambles coming from next door.

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The first of the cucumbers has sprouted.

Catmint and Livingston daisies will be sown after teatime.

The Jack's Magic compost I used last year stunted all growth of any plant that was put into it. I found  several gardening forums that say the same thing. Peat had been replaced with wood fibres that help some sort of contaminant.

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I resowed the climbing French beans as none of them came up.

A big bag of oregano harvested. The proper wild stuff with plenty of aroma and taste.

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Cleared the bluebell leaves and soaked the ground ready for transplanting Impatiens later. The ground was dust dry down to a foot at least.

I also fed with front garden and watered the plants that were in shade. Rain is possible on the weekend, but they needed water now.