Yep Ladybugs Again.

Its was late in the afternoon when I realised the ladybugs in the garden were acting a bit peculiar. There was lots of flying around and congregating on plants. I wondered if now that their food supply was probably getting low (they have done a spectacular job of clearing the garden plants of black, green, white and other colour flies/ aphids), if they were thinking about leaving on mass, or was the recent rise in temperatures over the last forty eight hours getting them geared up for procreating because although there has been a large rise in the native seven spot, I haven’t seen any mating or any signs of their larva. In fact only the harlequins and the two spots have been spotted mating in the last month and I have seen larva of the 22 spot and the 14 spot as well.

Well my suspicions may be partly right because just as I was thinking maybe they gathering for a great ‘mate down’ I found a few pairs happy at it.

My other theory that they may also be hungry (could be due to the pheromones ‘now these are just my theories’) was also confirmed when I decided to transfer a couple to my ochre plant in the greenhouse which on inspection I found some red aphids. The first one I transferred literally snatched the fly straight off and well you can see for yourself. The aphids started to panic and started to drop off the leaf onto the lower leaves and the pot’s soil, so I answered with more ladybugs who also immediately tucked into the feast that had suddenly materialized.

Another sign they maybe getting rather hungry was this scene my daughters happened upon, a 7-spot ladybug eating a harlequin larva. Oh yes and when one flew on me it bit me, the little bugger!!

There were a few more ladybugs seen:

A very pretty yellow and black 14-spot ( they are normally cream/ white and black).

A ten spot that has not yet got it’s spots totally through as yet.

And there was also other mini beast like this black beauty, a solomon's seal sawfly.

A lone robin also made an appearance, it looks like it might be the garden regular male but in full molt.

Late April Showers

Well we have had more or less a wet week, with a return to rainy weather. The garden will look all the better for it as it hasn't had a good continuous soak for a while. This year I'm trying out the theory of not watering plants to often once they are established. The theory is once the plants have set their roots into the soil if you keep watering they grow their roots shallow near the surface moisture which drys out quicker due to evaporation and thus they suffer more from wilting, etc but if you don't water after they have established themselves then the grow their roots deep into the soil seeking moisture where it's level remains more or less constant.

So far it appears to be working except for one watering session after my return over the Easter break I haven't watered any further and the young plants are not worse off at all if anything they are growing very well, even though the weather has been very hot and dry.

Check out the progress of some of the young plants I planted out over the 3rd and 4th of April in the next set of pictures:

Mangetout Peas.

Lettuces.

Turnips, and there is even one forming (not sure if this is early or normal as I have never grown turnips before).

Mizuna and Pak Choi.

Perpetual Spinach.

Saturday no gardening done today had other commitments but I had to take stock of my melon plants properly and soon realised that the damaged leaves on one of the plants which i initially assumed was sun scorching is not. It appears that it maybe a fungal infection of some sort. I posted a question on the forum I belong too Allotment 4 All but with no real outcome on which infection it is and how to deal with the plants. Here is the link to the question where I posted photos and descriptions of the symptoms: http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,51095.0.html

The chard have begun to germinate and the early purple sprouting broccoli began germinating on Friday.

Sunday I finally got round to pricking out the amaranth, romenesco, kale and cauliflower seedlings. I also potted up two of the cucumber seedlings and the basil seedlings that are in the conservatory. It was very hot work in the greenhouse as the sun was beating down, the only way I was able to stay out and get it done was by draping an old tea cloth on the glass roof over the area I was standing. I will definitely get myself some old white chiffon type curtains to drape over the greenhouse this summer to create a little light shade which will help to stop the plants that will be grown in there from becoming sun scorched.

I noticed that the loosethrift which were sown way back early March have finally started to germinate. They were sown on the surface of the compost in a pot which was left to stand in water like was advised in my main herbal book and many times this month I was tempted to throw the lot out but decided to simply keep topping up the water and wait. As they say patience is a virtue.

Monday while the rain was coming down I sprinkled some lawn seed in the weeded bare patches and with all the continued wet weather there should be a good germination rate.

I have decide since its too wet to do outside gardening I'm going to tackle my sick melon plant problem (there appear to be two infected melon plants and I think my lovely looking luffa (torsha) plant may be infected as well. Some research on the net mentioned that seaweed folia sprays not only feeds the plants helping them to fight infections but is also a mild fungicide. So I first removed all the diseased plant material and with the most infected plant the top inch of soil was also removed and discarded and fresh amount was added (after each use of the knife I cleaned the blade with methylated spirits to prevent transfer of any infection from one plant to the next and if touched any of the infected tissue I also disinfected my gloves which I had on).The cut leaf stalks were also sealed immediately with wax after cutting to reduce the risk of fungal spores getting easy access to living tissue.

After all the prep work was done I then sprayed both infected plants and non affected plants with the seaweed folia spray. These were the melons, torsha and cucumber seedlings.

Cutting and discarding of infected tissue and soil.

Sealing stems with wax.

Spraying the plants with seaweed folia spray.

Here is the end result of the most infected plant after my attempt of treatment, its a wait and see now on if it recovers.

The khol rabi has begun to germinate.

Tuesday started off warmer with a sunny morning but ended with a wet afternoon. Didn't get round to any gardening as such but did go skip dipping and got a large half a barrel and some flower pots from someones rubbish they had out front ( and yes I did ask first). Later in the evening when I visited the A4A forum some members alerted the group to low temperature forecasts, so I checked the Met for my weather and found that the night time temp was to drop to approx 4 degrees so I went out with a torch and fleeced the tomatoes and curcubit plants as they don't like temps below 5 degrees. I also covered the outdoor container grown potatoes with sheets of plastic just in case there was any frost (the pictures were taken the following morning when I went to take them off).

Germination of the coriander has begun and the sunflowers that was sown by the girls.

Wednesday had much nicer weather with lots of warm sunshine. everything in the garden looks much better with last few days of rain and there is more forcasted for tomorrow.

I got round to sowing some beans today in root trainers (runner beans, purple podded french climbing beans and borlotti beans). At the moment they are in the conservatory but will be moved to the greenhouse as soon as they germinate, I soaked the seeds about fours hours prior to sowing so germination should be quicker.

I have noticed since the begining of the week that some of the leaves on some of the tomato and curcubit plants in the greenhouse have begun to turn yellow, so I watered them with an organic soluble fertiliser today and will do so weekly till they are planted into the ground.

There is also an update on the robin family. My neighbour noticed yesterday that there was no activity by the robins and today was equally quiet with also no sightings of the pair whatsoever, so he decided to take a peek in the nest (yes he knows this is normally advised against during the birds breeding season, especially if the nest was being used). Well he found two cold beautiful eggs and a lovely nest. the chicks appeared to have fledged when we weren't looking (the cheeky monkeys :) I really had hoped to see them fledge from the nest). We both suppose they are keeping themselves well hidden in my neighbours hedge/ shrubbery and most likely their parents are with them. Maybe in a few days we'll see them when they begin to explore their parents territory.

The peacock butterfly was seen again today along with a large cabbage white who I disturbed while it was feeding on the strawberry flowers (note to self: time to start constructing a netted cover for the brassicus bed which already has my pak choi and mizuna in it).

Thursday today, well the weather is not sure what it wants to do, one minute its cloudy and drizzly next its sunny and bright, there is some wind as well, so we'll see how the day pans out.

Well you'd never guess the collard doves are back at it again. Since their egg's sad demise last Thursday there was no sign of them in the garden or in the surrounding trees at all. That is till this morning when they were back picking up the fallen twigs from their first attempt at nest building, they were taking the twigs into the apple tree to repair or should that be reinforce the 'mess of twigs' aka nest?? Maybe they will be more successful this time but in all honesty I won't be holding my breath.

Since we are on the topic of birds I thought I would share with you the bird song I heard today on my walk home through the woods after I dropped my older daughter to school. This morning they sounded almost tropical, made me feel like I was back in Trinidad :(

The day's weather stayed fine with no more showers occurring so I got the chance to finish filling the last bean trench with kitchen waste and the soil was replaced on top. After raking it level I erected the runner beans support and one wigwam for french beans.

I didn't plan to grow any dwarf french beans this year but theses seeds of the yin yang bean are so pretty I couldn't resist buying the packet, so I sowed some today, to plant out with the tomato plants . These won't be harvested till the pods are dry to store the beans for winter use.

Though I have been harvesting crops all spring from 2008 plants, today I had my first harvest from a 2009 sowing, radishes. I am also still harvesting my 2008 perpetual spinach though this won't last much longer as the plants have started to go to seed, the leaves are still lovely and tender though especially with this weeks rain. In the picture are the fresh cuttings of the oregano, chives and last years sown parsley.

On the gemination front, the nasturtiums and sweet peas the girls sowed a couple of weeks ago have finally started to grow. The yukon is also finally pushing its shoots out of the soil.

The Sun is Back, Yah!!!

Well after a couple of wet days the sun is back out this weekend so I'm back on track. The kids sowed some more sunflowers, sweet pea and nasturtium flowers to be planted along the new picket fence later in the season. I sowed some lime basil, parsley, coriander and some Violetta globe artichoke that was sent to me by an A4A member.

I finally got round to adding more soil to the potato planters all were earthed up except the main crop potatoes as the only broke through the soil surface late last week.

Another job I was procrastinating over was the potting up of the bodi plants. They have been potted up into a large pot with their supports and will be moved from the conservatory to the greenhouse mid May or when the nighttime temps remain consistently at 15 degrees plus.

I've noticed the red orache has begun germinating already, that's only four days since sowing.

With the arrival of the sun the wildlife was abundant. I saw quite a few butterflies, but only was able to identify and photograph two types. On the left we have an orange tip, I saw both male and females, only the males have the orange tip to their wings. And on the right we have a speckled wood, I can't remember ever seeing this one before so its a first for me.

The robin I introduced yesterday has now been joined by Mrs robin in gathering food, they were both observed flying to and fro with food to the nest box, so I believe its safe to assume the eggs have hatched. They are sure being kept busy, but so far there is no chick noises coming from the nest box as yet.

The cowslips I planted out last year are really doing well I am so happy to have them in my garden.

The Beat Goes On.

The sun has been attempting to break through all day but has only managed a hazy appearance as you can see.

Nature though sure appreciated the slightly brighter and warmer day and after days of keeping their buds shut the crocuses were blooming again. The yellow native primroses on the left has also burst into flower for the first time this year and a dwarf iris on the right decided to show off its blooms.

A sure sign that spring is on its way for me was my first sighting of bumble bees I saw three in total two queens and a worker. They were working the crocuses in my garden and a flowering shrub in my neighbour's garden.

I also took advantage of the milder brighter day and got some seeds sown, tidied up the broad bean bed and harvested some fresh herbs for this evening dinner.

The seeds Riesenbutter (a giant radish) were sown directly into the vege bed. I prepared the area by raking in a little blood, fish and bone fertiliser into the amazingly crumbly soil, sowed the the seeds and watered them in. I then covered the area with some corrugated plastic to help the area retain heat and moisture which should help the seeds to germinated successfully.

The broad bean area was planted up mid autumn with 18 plants, which were all doing well till the snowfall early January. I think because the snow stayed on the ground for such a long time the plants got bent under the weight which caused their stems to become too damaged to continue growing (see the picture on the left). I was left with one plant that was healthy and upright (see the pic in the middle) and there were a few plants which appeared to be shooting up fresh shoots (see the picture on the right).

After removing all the dead plants and mounding the soil around the surviving plants (a measly four in total), I resowed eighteen seeds in cells in a seed tray which have been placed in my permanently open mini greenhouse. they can be sown directly into the soil at this time but it increases the risk of mice talking the seeds and or the seeds rotting in the ground due to cold and damp. As soon as they are all germinated and develop a decent root system I'll pop them into the ground, that way hopefully they will grow up tough which in theory is suppose to make them more resistant against blackfly, this is the reason for autumn sowing over spring sowing.

The seedling update is as follows; non of this week's sowings have yet germinated but at this time I have;

• 100% germination of my melongene seeds.
• 90% germination of the annual salvia.
• 75% germination of the celeriac.
• 25% germination of the torsha.
• 75% germination of the hot pepper.
• 25% germination of the sweetpeppers.
• 66% germination of the rudbeckia.
• 22% germination of the echinacia.

So once I don't kill these seedlings I should have something to plant out early July.

And to end my day in the garden the local Robin decided to give a song and oblige me the opportunity to take a picture of him doing so.

The day ended with the collection of two benches from a freecycle member for our dining table. Although I told the lady the size bench I was interested in they still turned out to be too small for the space. Never mind the would work in the interim and when we get or build the size bench we need I'll pass them on via freecycle too.