Thunder stops play

Last Sunday we were back in action, reasonably early (for us) at 11am. The weather was a lot different, there was cold air and then sunshine back and forth until later the heavens exploded and thunder rumbled, rain poured and I thought for a moment if our shed would work as an ark - boy, the rain was heavy! In the end running out to get tools and running to the car and back etc I was soaked through - that sort of soaked were you just start to walk at normal speed; you simply can't get any more saturated, lol.

My big project was to sort of the back of our shed and get things off to the dump. It was rather daunting to begin with but then I really got into it and loved it all. I love creating a clean and clear area out of a complete mess - it feels like I am clearing my messy mind at the same time - it's calming.

So here it is (shame all on show here)...

We came to the same point about our old broken bench; there was no way we could save it, the wood was rotten so much in a lot of areas (and secretly, now Andrew has his fancy saw, he wants to make a new one altogether!) So he went all caveman on it and smashed it to bits. Fun!

Is it just me or are the slugs bigger this year, goodness there were so many under the old timber we had laying at the side of the plot. But when I meet our frog again I thought to myself, no way am I getting rid of this, I shall merely stack it up neater - obviously it's a great habitat for wildlife.

The finished cleaned up area - that big white bag has our fire wood in it and I even managed to get the wee hand rotary mover over all the grass. What a great workout for my bingo wings :)

Andrew was dealing with the old broad bean patch, they were all ready to be lifted and the peas too behind them in this picture, growing up a little net support.  I do love my broad beans so it's great that Andrew had done a succession planting and we'll have a new batch soon :)

There is something so utterly satisfying about those broad bean roots and those little nodules shown below; Chemistry and Biology in action! These nodules actively improve the soil by depositing nitrogen into the ground which is a great plant food and benefits the next crop you plant in that space ~ hurrah! Plus the stems are great fodder for the compost bin = free natural fertiliser and soil conditioner, and you know I love freebies :)

going

root nodules

ha ah, gone! and a nice big harvest in the shopping bag

Then little rain showers started to happen. They weren't particularly long lasting but they were heavy and put a stop to works for a while. 

 We hung on but then the real thunderous downpours came. The shed became our place of sanctuary; the noise of that rain on the roof was deafening and Maggie just was not happy at getting wet at all, she clawed at my leg until I picked her up and then I took the keys and ran to the car with her tucked under my arm - lucky she's so wee :)

But from all that work and the harvests of the day before we were able to come home, cold and wet from the (what felt like buckets of rain thrown on us) lottie and have this stir fry rustled up in no time - bliss. Chard, carrots, dwarf beans, turnip, all only a maximum of 24hrs old :)

Blood Fish and Bone

I just learnt an interesting fact about the organic fertiliser Blood, Fish and Bone from the old hubby here. It is no surprise that liquid feeds work fastest, but I didn't release that between dry fertilisers, the organic type takes longer to break down in the soil. Something about microbes...I drifted off.

I may sound silly telling you this, but then again, I'd never thought about it before.

&

A Story about the Benefits and the Heartache of Potash

I simply know that Potash is great for you Strawberry plants (fruit bearing plants in general) and it is highly recommended that we get out there and give them a good feed of the stuff. I learnt that off the gardening calendar in the kitchen. However, I have since looked at Andi Clevely's book 'The Allotment Book ' (good title: concise) and a RHS 'Essential Gardening Techniques' book to find out why.

The Science is simple my friends ~ Potash (K2O) contains Potassium which boosts nitrogen making the plant stronger, hardier and more resistant to disease. It also helps make the yield greater and the plant doesn't get yellowing of the leaves. Okay, it's probably more difficult than that but I like to know the basics and then let Andrew (who reads all the books there are) tell when and where to put it out. For instance we were meant to put some in with the broad beans I planted out on Sunday, but forgot and it would have all just blown away anyway. (But, I hear me cry, broad beans aren't fruit, they're veg! See not so easy.)

Ah, the joy of Potash this year was that we made a large bag of our own. Down in Fermanagh we had the loveliest wood burning stove and used it everyday (Andrew is a bit of a pyromaniac - it's under control though, don't fear), saving up the ash to take home for our Lottie. Here is were the heartache of this story comes in. Yesterday, in his haste to facilitate a lift for some colleagues over to a meeting in the Titanic Quarter, he threw out said bag of glorious Potash. It's gone, for good, in the bin of all places ~ what good will it do there?? The Lottie is miles away from that blasted bin in Belfast. I was tempted to make him go back and get it but it'll be gone now, forever out of reach; our special bag of holiday fire ash.

Yes, anyway, Potash; organic (sometimes very easy to get hold off!) and what some of your plants are crying out for.

The End.