The long short week

The 100 year old Rhodo tree at the
entrance to the allotment gardens

Why is it that after a long weekend the four day week seems longer?

It was such a busy long weekend in both gardens but there is still so much to be done. This weekend  I'm taking Monday off as well in the hopes of getting more done.

I have been trying to get my little tomatoes used to being outside but I don't have the luxury of putting them out as gradually as I'm sure they would like. I'm just not home. My portable greenhouse has been awesome. I did have an almost mishap last weekend when it got too hot inside and the poor things were droopy. That will teach me to close the flaps up tight when the sun came up.

It is sink or swim I'm afraid for my tomatoes and they all have to go outside, after all it is the end of May! They will be partially covered so I think they will be okay. A few of my "babies" are going to a friend's garden as I have too many. They have been a bit of extra work but it is kind of fun to grow your own. If the tomatoes are good (and they should be as they are organic heirloom ones) I will try and grow them next year from some of the seeds.

My tomatoes tucked in with hay

There was a work party on Saturday and I worked a couple of hours there. The weather was terrible in the morning but then it started to clear in the afternoon so I headed down. After my chores I did a bit in my plot. I planted two cucumber plants, a butternut squash and of course my little tomatoes. I bought a bale of straw to put around my tomatoes and potatoes but it was rather bigger than I had anticipated.

 It ended up being rather a lot of hay!

I love potatoes!

Okay, so I had my doubts about the potato bags I will admit. It seemed like they were just one big soggy mess and I was very skeptical as to the things working or not.

Well... I was wrong. Dead wrong in fact.

They seem to be thriving in their little bags. I keep adding soil, and lots of it. They are both going to weigh a ton when they are fully planted.

Not only have these ones been growing but I had extras so I threw them at the side of the house (why not). I also put them in the allotment garden and I think a few stray potatoes are growing where I had them last year (oops).

Good thing I have Irish roots. I love potatoes!

What a difference a year makes!

I remember a little over a year ago the excitement I felt when I got my garden plot.

Thirteen months ago my garden looked like this. 

As of today it looks like this. 

What a lovely job my sweet husband did with the fence. It really completes my little space. I think all it needs now is a chair!

Sunday Snaps

I couldn't resist! I'm loving instagram!

 

   

   

 

The tomatoes have a roof!

It has been such a busy time both in the garden and at work. Despite it all, things at the garden are shaping up thanks to my hubby.

On Sunday (our wedding anniversary) we headed out to the garden to cover the hoop frame in plastic. We stopped at Amsterdam Garden Centre and picked up the cloche clips that they had ordered for us at West Coast Seeds. I would have loved to go out there myself but just didn't have the time. They are great that way, if you want to order something from WCS they will do it for you at no charge, you just have to pay in advance and wait about a week.

It was pretty rainy in the morning but by the afternoon it had abated somewhat so we measured up the plastic and headed out. The clips were pretty snug but they worked really well. Much better than trying to clip it with hand made ones and they won't rust.

Here is the finished product.

Tomorrow, the fence!

More Sunday Snaps

Making up for lost time. I love taking pictures and I have recently gotten into Instagram. It is a pretty cool app that has all these special effects. I've also been playing with Snapseed, another app which kicks up your photos a notch. I swear with Instagram even crap pictures can look pretty good if you know what you are doing. Here are some of the images I was playing with today...

 

   

   

 

Busy Busy

It's been a while since I last posted anything. Family issues, work overtime and just life in general have made it hard to post. Plus the fact that I needed to get out in the garden well.... you kind of have to do what you have to do.

Despite everything the community garden and my home garden are full of surprises. More so at our new home where things are popping up and I have no idea what some things are. It is fun to guess and it is something that I'm definitely getting better at. I pretty much pegged the tulips (which were gorgeous) and growing out of some bricks and the surprise clematis. Not sure yet what kind of clematis it is but I'm loving that I knew what it was when I saw it and didn't yank it out thinking it was a weed. Other than that I will wait and see. I'm just loving the little squirrels that come (I've named them Chip and Dale) and all the birds who eat all those darn ants that seem to seek every opportunity to try and get in our house!

The rebar pegs to hold up the hoops

We just need to brace the centre and sides (tomorrow)

The community garden is in much better shape than last year and my hubby and I put up the start of a hoop house which will house the tomatoes this year and hopefully for the next few years. My potatoes, peas, lettuce, radishes and kale are all coming up and my tomatoes are growing nicely inside. I have so many that I will be giving away some plants this year.

It has been a very productive (and busy) weekend and hopefully will post more pictures of the finished tomato house soon!