The Sun Has Put His Smile On, Hip Hip Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Oh what a beautiful daaayyy!!!!

Yep you guessed right it was a beautiful sunny warm day today just as they forecasted.

The morning started with evidence of ground frost even the water I put out for the birds was frozen over.






After getting Nathifa off to school I went outside to get a little gardening done. There were two main jobs I wanted to get done today.

1. Was the sowing of some seeds that could remain in the greenhouse to germinate. I was not able to get all done (I still have to care for Na'imah from time to time, LOL) but got most sown even with a little help from the little miss.

The seeds I sowed were:

• Lettuce by 4 varieties; Little Gem, New Fire Red, Buttercrunch and Pandero.
• Par-cel, this is herb with a taste halfway between celery and parsley. I have never used it before and it can also be used in companion planting.
• Turnips, another new one for us to try and again if we like it, it will add to out winter croppers.
• Pak choi, a mixed coloured pack.
• Mizuna, another Chinese vegetable that I am used to eating as part of salad bags but plan to let it grow larger and use in stir fries like pak choi.
• Sunflowers were sown by the little miss and will be used for their prettiness and to attract pollinating insects (which is another aspect of companion planting).

2. My other job was the splitting of my chive clumps in the kitchen herb patch/ bed. Chives may start with just a few bulbs but every two to three years the clump can become congested and so to keep the plants healthy its good practice to split the clumps into smaller pieces and replant. This is the same for most clump form perennial plants. I shared my surplus plants with members of the Maidstone Freecycle Group and replanted the original number 0f fourteen clumps.

Now for a quick germination update:

• The teasel germinated on the 27th of Feb but yet to show their leaves just signs of a root going into the soil.
• The lemon grass began to germinate yesterday.
• And the melons began today.

Last but by no means least here is picture of my garden's first daffodil of the season, it started blooming two days ago.