Day 16 of the Advent Season, First Snowfall and The End of An Experiment

Handmade Paper Dolls

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The kids received paper dolls today from their Advent Calender, I made them with jointed arms using paper fasteners to create the joints and made simple clothes for them to start off with. My eldest made me proud by immediately making boots for hers and her sister's doll, which slips on and off quite well. Why did I feel proud? Well I wanted to make shoes for them but couldn't quite figure out how to do so without using a tab fold over edge (and she did) and I was also happy because my main reason for making them these type of dolls was to encourage them to use their imagination to make new outfits for the dolls which I hope will help to stretch their creative juices in relation to the materials they may use, etc. So I was really pleased that its purpose worked so quickly. (Golly just reread this and what a lot of waffle to explain something so simple, sorry about that).

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The bible story they heard is pictured on the right.

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Woke to an even more frosty morning today, with mini ice crystals designs on the conservatory window, frozen shed locks and completely frozen to the bottom bird baths. In the greenhouse the water in the watering can also had a frozen surface, these two very icy nights I'm afraid have lead to the end of the 'extend the season tomato experiment' and put paid to the hope of picking homegrown tomatoes on Christmas day. But there has been enough benefits for me to repeat this next year, I mean how great is it to pick ripe tomatoes right up into December :) The picture on the right shows how many more full tomatoes I had slowly ripening on the plants. I cooked some this evening for dinner, chopped up with onions and sauteed in a little olive oil, salt and black pepper.

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The yukon plants have also been completely killed off from the frost and so I'll be harvesting some roots soon to try.

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Well the frost doesn't only mean doom and gloom and to prove it, below are some pictures of beauty frozen in time for you to enjoy.

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Calendula

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Annual Salvia

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Heartease

These although they were pretty droopy with the heavy frost, once it was melted by the sun they perked right up.
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Sweetpeas - I couldn't choose between them so I decided to show you all both pics.

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Now the sun did come out really bright and warm today and was much more efficient at melting the frost today than yesterday, it go so much warmer that I was sure the promised light snow forecasted would not have materialised, hmm? How wrong was I? Here is a short video this winter's first snowfall all be it a light one. It did settle enough to let you leave foot prints but during the night it was washed away by a light drizzly period.

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Today's Trini christmas song is another parang tune originally written and sung by Daisy Voisin who I told you about here. This time the singer is another lady who is making a name for herself in the parang feild of music.

Sharlene Flores - Sereno, Sereno.

Day 15 of the Advent Season and The First Hard Frost of Winter 2009

Floral Headbands

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The girls got some more hair accessories from the Advent Calender today, they both loved them and the little one didn't take hers out till bath time and the eldest has plans to wear hers to her school dance on Friday.
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The bible story they heard is pictured on the right.

Well if I wasn't sure I am now, winter is definitely here. We woke this morning to our first hard frost, everything is coated in a layer of icy crystals.

Plant foliage, seed heads and fallen leaves taken on a wintry beauty, which helps to take your mind off the numbing cold but only just! The birdbath and mini ponds with their frozen surfaces needed melting too.

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The greenhouse door was frozen shut, when I finally wrestled myself in, I found standing water frozen and frost damage to my yakon and tomato plants (those leaves are frozen and

were crinkly to touch).

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There was a small ray of warmth, this chocolate cosmos (given to me by a thankful freecycler back in the summer) which I am attempting to over winter in the greenhouse was blooming! It sadly had no sent but I would think it would need the warmth of the sun to gets its oils going.

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Well with the definite return of the cold weather, I decided it was time to start feeding the birds. I normally start to feed the birds with the return of the first hard frost, I generally don't tidy the garden too much at the end of autumn, so prior to this first hard frost there was lots of foraging foods for the birds to find amongst slightly tall grass, fallen leaves, wind fallen apples, numerous seed heads, etc.

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So with the ground becoming frozen and the temps getting to -1C during the night and barely getting above 1C during the day, its time to help out the feathered friends of the garden. So I have put up three feeders to begin with, a fat ball made by myself with lard, rowan berries and seeds, a regular bird feeder with wild bird food and another feeder(not pictured) filled with nyjer seed to attract goldfinches and sikens.

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For dinner tonight I used some of the pumpkin 'Snowman' in a rice and beans dish, I found the taste quite bland not much sweetness all. There is three quarters of it left in the fridge and I'll try it i at least two other types of dishes before making a definite judgement on whether I'll grow it again but at the moment its not looking too good. Interesting to look at though.

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Today's Trini Christmas song reminds us that not everyone enjoys a merry Christmas but be aware the singer I believe is getting his comeuppance for possible past bad behaviour but a surprised ending. Its a very catchy tune and is another local favourite sung by a Calypsonian with a parang influence to the music.

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Crazy (his stage name) - Yvonne

The Weather Did Hold But Not For Long.

Well the weekend turned out to be fabulous and we all had a great time visiting with the extended members of our family. The gardening bug followed me to South London and I spent a few hours preparing a little herb patch for my aunt (sorry no piccies) in the area I planted up three plants I brought for from my garden a mint, oregano and bunch of chives. I also decide to sow some carrots and lettuce seeds in part of the area to prevent the bare ground becoming recolonized with.

Saturday morning had evidence of quite a hard frost even the vege ponds' surface was frozen but this did not last long with the warm spring sunshine that followed. Before we went up to South London I saw two comma butterflies dancing on the wind, they were too quick to get a picture though. There was also signs of the par-cel and agastache starting to germinate.

Even yesterday Monday was not to bad weather wise with a mixed day all round ending with rain I got lots of potting up of seedlings done mainly curcubits and some french marigolds.

I had my first sighting of a wasp for the season most likely a queen she was searching out nesting sites in the greenhouse, investigating every possible nook and cranny as you can see.

Today the bitter cold wind is definitely up but the sun is trying to break though and maybe it will, I'm off to the greenhouse now 10.00am will fill you in later to night after I get some stuff done, see you later.

Well I got more potting up of seedlings done, in particular tomatoes. I also sowed my yardlong beans, courgettes and summer squashes.

Well that's a wrap for now.

What a day!!!!!!!

Woke to clear blue sunny skies and evidence of a night's hard frost. The picture on the left was taken by Na'imah while I was outside I thought the composition was pretty good so I have decided to share it.


Friday is my laundry day and has been for years but I was not about to let this beautiful spring day go to waste in the garden, so I endeavoured to do both.

My week's seed sowing had been completed since Wednesday so I took this opportunity to pot on some young plants that were overwintered in my mini greenhouse. Some were freebies from A4A swaps and others were plants I had sown last summer.



The day was going great I was staying on top of my washing schedule and I was also achieving lots outside while Na'imah enjoyed the outdoor playing in the sandpit, then the electricity board decided to throw a spanner in the works and cut the current!!! Washing definitely stopped, Na'imah at this point had just gone inside to watch a little television which would have bought me fifteen more minutes before I needed to give her lunch allowing me to complete a task I was right in the middle of.

All that went to pot with "mummy I'm hungry and the TV isn't working" being shouted to me from the kitchen door and me not hearing her well coming to said door to be told by my neighbour that the power has been cut. So I tell Na'i I'm coming just let me finish this, I get to finish but of course there is no microwave to use so I have to reheat her lunch on the stove and " no mummy I don't want a sandwich, why is it taking so long mummy? I'm hungry". Finally she got her lunch about half and hour later than she would have wanted it, I'm too fed up to warm any for myself by this point so I have a sandwich, then its get dress to go get Nathifa from schhol......

Roll on three plus hours we are back home from music lessons and the daylight is fading fast, mad rush to tidy scattered toys and get dinner on the fire before we have to crack out the candles, news at seven o'clock on the radio says no power to be expected till after nine at night, Nathifa is upset about something that happen at school, she has also twisted her ankle and said the darkness is getting her down as well.

Dinner is ready mummy gives Na'imah a quick important bits only wash as there is no hot water, we eat and Nathifa and her dad plays a few games of dominoes, I fall to sleep on the couch, Na'imah comes to be nursed to sleep Nathifa goes to brush her teeth, Na'imah falls to sleep the light are back on its 9.30pm, Thifa has a bath and is in bed at 9.45pm record time but is complaining she wishes it was still dark and can't she have a candle to sleep with in her room. Washing has recommenced, yes I know its late but Thifa needs her drama uniform for tomorrow.

Any hoo! just a quick update on the germination progress:

Garlic bulbs which I planted on the 11th of Feb, signs of growth were seen yesterday on inspection.

The lettuce, pak choi, mizuna and the turnips which were sown on the 2nd of March have started germinating as of today.

I thought I would also show you a couple pictures of what is growing in the vege beds and would be ready for harvest soon. On the left is early prple sprouting broccoli and on the right is pak choi and chinese cabbage.



I saw lots of wildlife enjoying the days sun rays first one of them was a young frog swiming in the pond (sorry didn't have my camera with me) and we were also visited by a male and female great spotted woodpecker today, I was lucky to get a picture of the female.

First Seeds Sown

Well another frosty morning followed by lovely clear blue sunny skies. Yes I know the picture doesn't look very sunny but you'll just have to take my word for it.




Anyway I got the opportunity to sow the first seeds of the season. As you can see from the picture there were sweet peppers (the two in the paper towels were saved seeds from a Hungarian sweet pepper), hot pepper as in the type grown back home in T&T. I also sown melongene and a new one for me celeriac (the family has never eaten this so its a new veg for us to try), it stores well in the ground during the winter so if we like it then we can add it to our winter veg crops. The tray of seeds have been brought inside to germinate as they all need warmer temperatures than whats in the greenhouse at night.



I am not a fan of online forums, I normally find them to
cliquey and reminiscent of primary school type behaviour, but there has been one forum which I lurked on for a while last year and decide to join last July and haven't regretted it at all. The information by the members are 98% of the times always forthcoming and the members are quite generous, with lots of seed and plant swaps constantly happening. I have been quite fortunate this winter and through the forum have acquired every type of seed I wished to grow this year and many I didn't think about. I have also joined in the spirit of things and sent seeds I no longer wanted as well as cuttings and young plants I had excess of to other members. The site is called Allotment4All the link is in my links to the right.



Well that long spiel was to explain how I acquired tubers of two new root crops to me (they are both root tubers hailing from the Incas, one is Ulluco (on the left) and the other is Oca (on the right). I was sent these by another member who was sharing out her excess. I plan to grow them on in containers as I don't really have the space to grow them in my beds, but again they are a winter crops so again if the are liked by everyone, it will be one more to add to our winter crop list. An added benifit is once you have grown these you will always have tubers to grow the next crop as the the Little ones like what was sent to me are not used for eating but to grow the following years crop.

Well thats all folks, hope to sow some flower seeds tomorrow. Bye.

I Declare 2009 Growing Season Open.

Woke up to a clear sunny day with hard frost on the ground, so I had no excuses for not going out into the garden today.

First I cleared the frosted celery from last year to provide an area for the garlic to be planted. The spent plants were thrown into the compost bin, the area was raked over and some blood, fish and bones was added to the soil. Then the garlic cloves were planted all 31 of them, there were some small ones which should not be planted as the resulting bulbs will turn out small but since this is for home use and not for market I figured I would plant all, waste not want not they always say :)

In my wanders around the garden I came across some spring flowers in bloom. They were in containers that the kids use to display their spring flowers in front of their playhouse. So I took the time to top up the pots with more compost and then placed them in their flowering positions.

The last job I did today was emptying the kitchen waste into the prepared bean trench which has a layer of shredded paper in the bottom. The paper is to facilitate moisture retention and the waste is rotting down and adding its nutrients to the soil right where I will be growing my beans and peas.

Well I can certainly declare the 2009 growing season open with the first plantings/ sowing done today.