I didn't really need a gooseberry bush. But I had gone all the way to Lidl and they had fruit bushes going cheap and I already have raspberries, blueberries and a solo redcurrant stick, so the gooseberry was calling me. I will admit a lot of it has to do with sauvignon blanc - people always say it tastes / smells of gooseberries. I don't ever recall consuming a gooseberry so I figured this was one way to become better informed about wine.
So for whatever dodgy rationalisation I used, I now own a gooseberry bush, which means I had to find somewhere to plant it. My library book of the month (Carol Klein's Grow your own fruit) seemed to advise that gooseberries grow well alongside fruit trees, so I dug a hole next to the pear tree and planted the gooseberry there.
(The pear tree is still asleep. Shouldn't it be starting to show some life by now? The apple tree that I bought at the same time is budding up in a healthy way - I'm getting concerned I've ended up with a dud pear tree!)
As it was still sunny, I carried on with a bit of weeding - having a go at the creeping buttercup that is starting to spring its evil self back into life. Very satisfying it was too, to remove it. And I found some chunks of bindweed root too - ha! Take that, evil bindweed.
I was getting a niggling pain in my lower back so was about to call it a day when I realised that the Oca was still sitting in the kitchen, waiting to be planted. When I'd tried to get my boyfriend interested in the garden last year, I asked him for suggestions on what to grow. His only request was yams like he used to have in New Zealand. It turns out these grub-like yams are of South American origin and also known as Oca. I was happy to find a UK supplier and ordered in a selection in November 08, and the tubers have sat patiently in the bottom of the cupboard ready for the spring planting (Oca purchased from highly recommended Real Seeds: http://www.realseeds.co.uk/).
So for whatever dodgy rationalisation I used, I now own a gooseberry bush, which means I had to find somewhere to plant it. My library book of the month (Carol Klein's Grow your own fruit) seemed to advise that gooseberries grow well alongside fruit trees, so I dug a hole next to the pear tree and planted the gooseberry there.
(The pear tree is still asleep. Shouldn't it be starting to show some life by now? The apple tree that I bought at the same time is budding up in a healthy way - I'm getting concerned I've ended up with a dud pear tree!)
As it was still sunny, I carried on with a bit of weeding - having a go at the creeping buttercup that is starting to spring its evil self back into life. Very satisfying it was too, to remove it. And I found some chunks of bindweed root too - ha! Take that, evil bindweed.
I was getting a niggling pain in my lower back so was about to call it a day when I realised that the Oca was still sitting in the kitchen, waiting to be planted. When I'd tried to get my boyfriend interested in the garden last year, I asked him for suggestions on what to grow. His only request was yams like he used to have in New Zealand. It turns out these grub-like yams are of South American origin and also known as Oca. I was happy to find a UK supplier and ordered in a selection in November 08, and the tubers have sat patiently in the bottom of the cupboard ready for the spring planting (Oca purchased from highly recommended Real Seeds: http://www.realseeds.co.uk/).
So back into the garden I go. Now, the oca instructions tell me to plant the tubers 30cm apart. Finding that much space in the yard for the 20 or so tubers I had was tricky. So the first batch, the orange - white eyed oca, went up the back near the garlics and the bicycles. The second batch, the white oca, went in amongst the chard. The third and final batch, the pink - white eyed oca, went in at the back on that raised piece of land with the moss problem. If oca serve the same purpose as potatoes - to break up the earth - then maybe the moss won't be such a problem next year.
By the time I got the last tubers buried, the once-sunny sky had clouded over and it was definitely going to rain soon. It took me a while to clean up and put everything away - not being able to bend over without shreiking didn't help. But I got inside to have my lunch just before it start to pelt with rain.
I picked over my seed collection while I was eating. Getting seed trays organised was also on my list for this weekend - might not happen now if I have to bend over to get the compost! I picked out tomatoes, chillies, aubergine and a few others to start off in pots. And for sowing direct to garden, I've got lettuce, beetroots, spring onion, parsnips, carrots and more. The direct to garden sowings will probably wait a little while (next weekend) when my back could have recovered a bit. I only had my 1970's St Michael vegetable book to refer to when trying to judge planting times. So several of the seeds I have don't rate a mention - no-one was growing Borlotti beans or chilli or mangetout in the 70s!
I found a cluster of snails while I was weeding by the pond and put a sharp and sticky end to their lives. This year I will not lose my plants to evil gastropods! The purpose of keeping the pond was supposed to be to keep frogs who would eat the snails for me. Bless 'em - they're not the brightest of creatures, frogs. But they have certainly been busy judging by the big pile of frogspawn now piled up in the pond. I hid by the pond and made croaking noises until the frogs in there croaked back at me. I don't know why it makes me happy, but it does.
By the time I got the last tubers buried, the once-sunny sky had clouded over and it was definitely going to rain soon. It took me a while to clean up and put everything away - not being able to bend over without shreiking didn't help. But I got inside to have my lunch just before it start to pelt with rain.
I picked over my seed collection while I was eating. Getting seed trays organised was also on my list for this weekend - might not happen now if I have to bend over to get the compost! I picked out tomatoes, chillies, aubergine and a few others to start off in pots. And for sowing direct to garden, I've got lettuce, beetroots, spring onion, parsnips, carrots and more. The direct to garden sowings will probably wait a little while (next weekend) when my back could have recovered a bit. I only had my 1970's St Michael vegetable book to refer to when trying to judge planting times. So several of the seeds I have don't rate a mention - no-one was growing Borlotti beans or chilli or mangetout in the 70s!
I found a cluster of snails while I was weeding by the pond and put a sharp and sticky end to their lives. This year I will not lose my plants to evil gastropods! The purpose of keeping the pond was supposed to be to keep frogs who would eat the snails for me. Bless 'em - they're not the brightest of creatures, frogs. But they have certainly been busy judging by the big pile of frogspawn now piled up in the pond. I hid by the pond and made croaking noises until the frogs in there croaked back at me. I don't know why it makes me happy, but it does.
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