Guest post No.2 - Gardening, Mental Health and Wellbeing

Good afternoon all.

Over the last year or so mental health has been in the news a great deal; high profile celebrities and even members of the royal family have talked about how their mental health has been affected. People are feeling more encouraged to talk about things that have affected them, the impact this has had on their day to day life and and to seek help or treatment.

Recently the gardener David Domoney has developed the idea of an RDA (required daily amount) of gardening. He has found that 30 minutes a day of gardening can be a real boost to a person's mental and physical well being - you can read more abut it here

There's now a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for gardening Spending this amount of time doing activities in your outside space will boost physical and mental wellbeing.

Today I am really pleased to have Kirsty from My Little Allotment as a guest blogger where she writes about how gardening has helped her deal with and improve her own mental health and wellbeing. Please take a look at her blog; she was recently featured in the June issue of the popular Kitchen Garden magazine.

I began by asking Kirsty if she had been interested in or encouraged to garden before her mental health issues.

I had heard a lot about how good growing your own and gardening can be for the mind, and that’s how my little allotment started.

* April was the 1 year anniversary of taking on your allotment. What is the biggest change both personally and also on the allotment?

The biggest changes on my allotment so far for me overall is the pumpkin patch area, last year when I started the weeds were up to my tummy and the ground was incredibly un-level. After lots of digging and clearing in the summer last year and some help from my friends this year I’ve finally managed to get it flat and ready for crops, there’s even a patio for summer evenings when we can have a bbq on the plot.

In a year I feel like I’ve come a long way in terms of recovery and it’s all down to my allotment therapy.

*What would you love to grow or are you growing which has proved to be something of a challenge

I think my aim overall is to give as many crops a go as possible. For me I tend to find the ‘easy to grow’ vegetables and flowers are always my nemesis! Last year I couldn’t grow a sunflower, but managed to grow aubergines who knows how I managed that one. So this year I’m really concentrating on getting some sunflowers to grow successfully as i didn’t succeed last season. I’m growing some really unusual varieties of squash this year and giving fiesta corn a go so I hope to have some fun unusual harvests.

* What is your go-to garden tool?

Ohh go to garden tool, that’s a difficult one. I relied on my fork heavily last year for ground prep, so I don’t know what I would have done without it, but going forward it has to be the garden hoe, anything that makes weeding easier is the one for me.

*Do you have a favourite gardening book, writer or celebrity gardener?

For me personally I don’t have a favourite book, author or celebrity gardener. I think because my passion is so new I’m open to reading and researching everything at the moment. At the moment my biggest inspirations are following the everyday people like ourselves that have a huge passion for growing their own fruit and vegetables and watching their journeys unfold.

*And I finally would like to ask you, as we are entering your favourite time of the year, Spring Bring It On, what plans are you most excited about?

For me the things that I’m most excited about this season are, hopefully harvesting a big harvest of squash, Watching the huge selection of dahlias come to life and of course watching max the giant pumpkin come to life. I decided last minute that I wanted to grow a giant pumpkin and he is already quite big, I’ve named him max and he is defiantly one of my favourites this year. 

I hope you enjoyed my guest blogger and I'd like to say a really massive thank you to Kirsty for taking the time to talk to me, for sharing part of herself regarding her love of gardening and how it helps her in everyday life.

Don't forget to visit her blog and you can follow her on Twitter @allotment9A.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Floral Fun, Sowing and Growing.

Good morning. A bit miz here today so pleased I got some outdoors jobs done yesterday.

In our garden we don't really do flowers, however we are very lucky that the previous owners planted so many daffodils which seem to increase in numbers each year. These are accompanied by a carpet of snowdrops which is further creeping its way up from the bottom fence line. Both the daffs and snowdrops have pretty much died off but are always followed by these lovelies. They're alongside the picket fence near the veg beds but it's so wonderful that nature replaces one thing after another.  

On the other side of the garden you'll find my Magnolia Stellata. 

When we first came to Bronllan I really hoped there was a Magnoia in the garden and not a cherry blossom and hey presto! This usually flowers between March and April but only came into flower last weekend, late like a lot of things just now. It is hardy so of course survived the recent bad weather no problem; I do hope it flowers into May because of it taking some time to bloom.

I've already had some of my wild garlic and it was, as usual, delicious. 

Its not quite in flower yet but it has re-seeded itself after last year so is really substantial now - can't wait for those edibles to put on salad; I'm going to make pesto and freeze it so I make the most of this wonderful herb.

The rhubarb, which is planted in the vicinity of the wild garlic, has been terrorised by the chooks when they went free range but I do hope it is resilient enough and recuperates; apologies for the chicken reference!

Now this is a tree I think which has come back after being cut back when the chicken enclosure was built.

Not sure what it is but I just like the colour.

Outside the kitchen window is my lilac bush which flowers when it feels like it to be honest! Looks like we are on this year; in the background across from the house is a flowering blackcurrant which I love.

The conservatory has definitely come into its own standing in as my poly house for now, but could do with a little of that warmer weather coming back... Anyhow, between the homemade propagator and in there I'm getting on with some seed sowing and growing. 

So far I have sown: 

Dwarf Bean Ferrari

Tomato Golden Sunrise

Climbing pea Colossus outside and in

Auberine Black Beauty

Tomato Costoluto Fiorentino 

Tomato Moneymaker

Tomato Red Peas

Turnips

American Cress and lettuce

Beetroot inside and out

Sweet peas

Rocket

Coriander and parsely outside

French Marigolds (for around the tomatoes)

They are all in various states of growth but most have some ways to go yet! 

I also have two containers of strawberries indoors - which I spotted yesterday are flowering!

Now, I've been making the best of the good weather this week doing a bit of garden prep. I've put a top layer of compost on the smaller raised bed and also the one outside the poly house. After being covered over for the winter there were hardly any weeds at all and now they look just lovely and healthy, ready for something very soon. Eeeek!

The larger one I think will have a mix of carrots, parsnips and shallots as the soil is much more well drained than the main bed. Have to keep an eye on the rabbits or moles that took a liking to the smaller patch late in the summer last year. 

The smaller one will have cabbage in I think; had that there last year but not too bothered that I should rotate such a small space. I'm going to put sunflowers in there, too, as it'll give a bit of height and colour, plus I should be able to see them from the top kitchen window when in full flower, then the chooks will get the heads at the end of the summer. Win win!

Ok, that is my update done for now.

As ever, look forward to see how your sowing and growing is coming along.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Mixed-planting Mayhem and Stuff.

Good morning.

I am embarking on a mixed-planting scheme this year, something dear to the hearts of certain gardeners - hi Kim.😄

I've already admitted that being an organised kind of girl - yes, at nearly 50 I still consider myself a bit girly! - I always have a plan and a number of lists on the go therefore the process is something quite alien to me.

I've wondered if this method of planting has a detrimental effect on your harvest. I have my spud tubers and last year knew exactly where I was going to plant them, how much space I would need and a very rough idea of how many spuds I may eventually earth up. Now I have some fairly random planting in my main bed and a couple of tyres just now. When block-planting you can see at a glance exactly what you have. Also I would normally put the spuds in all in one sitting but I feel I need to wait for seedlings to be a healthy size as I am planting in the open not in a polytunnel; individual sees could get lost without tonnes of labels.

I'm not saying I'm averse to the process but as I still class myself VERY much as a novice but learning all the time and I also lack confidence sometimes. I'm going to give it a go as I can really see the benefits for the plants themselves and also me as a gardener, but there are things to  consider. I'd be really interested to hear from any other mixed-planting virgins! How are you getting on with the idea?

In other news, regarding no-dig gardening which I am also trying this season, I have a question.

Does the no-dig philosophy help get rid of 'keen' weeds such as chickweed, especially as they can remain viable under soil cover for 20 years plus? Just wondered.

Ok, the weather is dry just now, if a bit blustery, so going to get outside for a bit before I need to do some baking and other indoor jobs later. Thankfully I cleared the ironing pile yesterday due to the rain. Yay, go me!

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Here Comes The Sun!

The weather the last couple of days, as in most places, has been glorious, absolutely gorgeous. My boys' had a school football tournament yesterday so were pleased with the weather and I put out some washing to dry and got into the garden. Today my youngest is taking part in a cross country event in Aberaeron so he has gone with a hat and strict instructions to stay in the shade where possible. 

I'm just going to share a few photos; this is so I can see where things are progressing and to let you see how things are coming along.

In the fruit patch the blackcurrants and raspberries are leafing up really well. as are my baby blueberry bushes. A couple of the fruit trees are starting to blossom especially this one.

I've been sowing turnip and beetroot - a cylindrical variety - in the cold frame bed. In the lettuce sink I've added American Cress; I like that this one could be ready in as little as five weeks - saw Monty sowing it this week and happened to have some so spurred me on.

I was going to plant the three Charlotte tubers I have but only put in two, using the growing bags provided, as one hadn't chitted as much as I'd like; I'll leave it a little while yet.

Talking of spuds, I've the beginnings of my first earlies peeping through already!

The onions are progressing nicely but the garlic is doing really well.

Since moving the strawberry plants to the conservatory they are thriving, but no flowers yet.

The first lot of climbing peas I sowed 10 days ago are already sprouting; have moved them from the propagator into the conservatory to make room for other things getting a head start.

I sowed another lot yesterday; I hoped to get the frame for these put in place as I thought I had enough tall bamboo canes... and I did! Woop woop! A before and after of course.

Need netting at the weekend but chuffed with it, even though a little wonky at the top but very pleased with myself. Its one of those things I always dreamt of having when I thought about ever having a proper veg plot.

Today, before I put up the frame, I skimmed off the remainder of the chicken poo I laid on top of the patch before covering over for winter. Although the poo had, the straw/hay had not rotted down completely and I didn't want to leave it all on the patch. 

I came up with a great idea, I think. I'm definitely leaving the fruit area to go a bit wild, it does IN the wild so why not, but I thought to keep the weeds down from around the blackcurrants and raspberries I would take up a few of them then mulch with what came off the main plot. 

Very happy with the result but I didn't let it touch directly to the bushes as not sure that it a good thing to do - whatever!

Right, I've eaten my lunch whilst doing this in between the work outside, making bread, checking on the lambs (we are not bottle feeding anymore but just keeping an eye on now and then) and putting the washing out. Need to go move the last of the bought compost out of my car boot then I'll see what else I can do.

Looking forward to seeing what everybody is getting up to in the good weather and how your sowing and growing is coming on.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Improving Weather Means Jobs Get Done.

The weather is definitely improving!

Good afternoon.

I've been doing my best to get outside when the weather has allowed recently and I really feel I am getting a few things done. The massive tyres I have are not quite need for planting yet but I've done some more preparation. On Monday I decided to check out my compost bins and ended up emptying the whole of one into this tyre, after covering the base with some thick paper; I was really pleased I could almost complete this job without buying any compost. I intend to top it up with some top soil. )Since doing this I have covered over the compost until I get planting started.)

I borrowed my neighbours' strimmer and did a little light work, as the thing was sooo heavy, on the fruit patch. I've now decided to leave it a bit wild and wooly. The patch backs onto a hedge so I hope between that and my area there will be some wildlife visiting. I'm now not going to cover it with membrane and wood chips as originally planned but I did get rid of a few large weeds and then raked it over. The three blueberry plants I have are looking healthy although I don't expect to harvest any fruit this year and put a ring of rocks around them until they are bigger and more obviously there!

I've finally got round to plating out this...

the rhubarb crown kindly given to me by my neighbour! It took a bit of digging as there are some tree stumps close my and therefore some roots but....

but I was happy to get in a place. I DO intend to put a ring of stones around it, as I did with the blueberries, so that Jon does not strim it to oblivion later in the year when cutting the grass!

I have sown some seeds, too. There is now compost in my shallow sink and I have sown All Round Lettuces. I've added more sweet peas to the ones already germinating in the conservatory; varieties include Bijou, which I grew last year, as these are lovely to keep at the front door in a small planter as they need no support. These are in the propagator in the Poly House; when I put them in I could see the climbing peas are ALREADY germinating so that is a fab result from my new, homemade toy.

I am still holding back to sow some things but it IS great to get started on some things. Today I bought Dwarf Green curled Kale seeds to grow as well as the crinkly Nero di Toscana that I have already sown plus some Black Beauty aubergine.

Ok, have to crack on with a few jobs indoors.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Go The Rocketeers! Post No.2

Hi! 

Here I am with the second post about the time spent with Kim at Green Rocket Courses.

In the afternoon, after our delicious lunch, we did a few practical things which I'll talk about but will also cover other things we had talked about in the morning and the afternoon.

A really good reason for growing in a poly tunnel (PT) is that you can extend your growing season but you can also grow things which will not necessarily grow in a greenhouse. Along with this a big part of Kim's philosophy is mixed-planting in the PT; she is a great advocate of mixing things up when it comes to planting; there are a number of reasons behind this way of doing things this way so here we go.

Why put all your hungry plants together when this means they will need loads of watering and also take all the goodness out of the soil/compost? Crop rotation is also not something you need to practice if you go down this route.

Plant your sprouting broccoli with your peas which are nitrogen fixers as we did here!

Nitrogen fixing plants contain symbiotic bacteria called Rhizobia within nodules in their root systems, producing nitrogen compounds that help the plant to grow and compete with other plants. When the plant dies, the fixed nitrogen is released, making it available to other plants and this helps fertilize the soil. Its always a good idea to leave what is left of your peas at the end of the harvest to rot down into the soil.

Why not mix up your herbs and salad leaves with your tomatoes, or plant your basil with your tomatoes when they go together so well in cooking why not when they are growing. This means you can go foraging in your patch for everything you need for a summer dish! You will also be able to grow a range of mediterranean herbs in your PT.

Here you can see a variety of plants all growing quite happily together - leek, strawberry, carrot and coriander.

Another fun part of mixed-planting is that if plants self-seed then you get a nice surprise for no work really!

Now there is no reason at all why you shouldn't try some of the hints and tips here even if you don't have a PT so why not give some of these things a go outside on your plot or in your green house?

Now part of the day we talked about something which Kim is very keen on and that is the no-dig approach to gardening,; this can be practised either in your PT or on your plot outside. I have written about this recently but the idea is that you cover over your soil, or a new area to make a growing patch, with cardboard as this will degrade. Then you cover that with your compost and you don't ever dig over the earth; if you do you disturb the earth then it is more likely to recover after being dug by producing weed growth. By continuing to mulch over the surface you will prevent the vast majority of any weeds from returning. 

If you take this approach it means there is a lot less work. If you are no-dig gardening outside then there may be some weeks or plants such as brambles or docks and woody plants which will need removing before you start.

(Just a tip, if you are using cardboard from large boxes it is worth is taking a bit of time to take off any sellotape or remove any staples.)

If you want to buy compost in bulk when setting out your PT it is wise to look online as the more you buy of anything will always be a bit cheaper; this goes for gravel, too, if you chose that for your pathways.

Ok this part of my post is some random things we talked about.

Should you use old seeds?
Try not to waste anything so older seeds will probably be slower to germinate but may still grow. Sprinkle the seeds in between other plants but put a marker to remind you they are older seeds so you know how they perform.

Carrot fly
Carrot fly are attracted to the actual smell of the carrot so it's a great idea to plant something with a strong or distinctive aroma close to it like garlic close to it or you could just try squashing something to deter it and leave it close by.

Slugs
One way to help cut down on the number of slugs getting in among your plants is to lay a piece of wood on the soil/compost. Slugs will always gravitate to underneath something so when you lift up the wood and find them you can just dispose of them as you wish away from the plants.

Cheat growing
It is more than acceptable to buy some things from the supermarket to grow in your PT. A great example is herb pots. If you buy a lovely, healthy looking basil plant how long does it last - not long. The reason being that if you take a look at the roots it is pot-bound so it can hardly breath let alone thrive. So, you can divide the plant into 3 or four parts and plant out and they will do much better. Basil does tend to do better in doors but if you have more than one you can keep one in the kitchen and the others elsewhere. 

- A great herb for over-wintering is parlsey and it self-seeds easily, too, so happy days!

Well, I do hope you have enjoyed my overview of Kim's Poly Tunnel course, but nothing compares to the real thing so son't forget to check out her website where you can find dates for up-coming courses this year. I had a fantastic time and I thoroughly recommend attending any of Kim's courses.

Go Rocketeers!!

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

(Apologies for the inconsistencies with typing - Blogger not playing ball I'm afraid but hope you still enjoy.)

Just Time For A Few Jobs.

It has been a busy weekend. Yesterday, as you may know I had a great time on my Poly Tunnel course, see previous post, but I did manage to get outside today, briefly.

Today, so that Jon could carry on with his jobs, I opted to take Alfie to his football tournament. Not my idea of a fun time to be honest but the mums of some of the boys are nice to talk to so we always have a chat. As it turned out his team didn't do that well so after setting off at 8.40am we were home by about 1.30pm, after a quick emergency stop at Screw Fix as Jon was slightly short on a piece of soil pipe!

After gathering myself and taking Jon, and a pal who'd dropped by, a brew I headed to the Poly House. It is a bit like sowing al fresco due to parts of the wall and roof missing but whatever....

I wanted to sow some more tomatoes as I'd bought a lovely looking variety called Golden Sunrise; I sowed two seeds in four pots. Then I thought I'd start my climbing peas off and instead of using the accepted drainpipe method, went rogue and it felt gooood, I just opted for putting two seeds in 12 pots. Finally I put compost in the drainpipe which is attached to the side of the Poly House and sowed some Rocket.

Now I did mention the other day that I was trying to think of how to make use of the top part of the old cold frame. Well, being inspired by Kim I placed one part on the staging and put the seeds on the base... 

then put the top on like the lid of a propagator; really hope it works, even if the Poly House is a little open to the elements as you can see in the photos!

I then borrowed our neighbours' strimmer for the fruit patch; it was a lot heavier than ours which needs a little attention, when Jon has time, but I did my best to get rid of a few weeds and grasses. Again I've been inspired by Kim to leave that end of the garden to go a little wild. Even though there is a veg patch there it will not be affected as long as I strim any weeds first then I think I''l put stones I've been collecting around the wooden edges as a barrier. (Just thought of that!)

Great to get outside and do stuff, even if just small jobs just now.

Ok I think that is it for me.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Go The Rocketeers! Post No.1

Hello!

A slightly grey sky here in mid-Wales today but at least it isn't raining.

Yesterday it was raining as I made my way to what turned out to be a really wonderful day with fellow Rocketeers. Five of us were attending a Poly Tunnel Growing course with Kim of Green Rocket Courses; I have mentioned her on my blog recently.

Kim swapped the Lanes of Brighton for the hills of Wales and now runs courses on her wonderful smallholding where she is sharing her knowledge, experience, hints and tips with enthusiastic gardeners, be they novices or seasoned. I learnt so much, being a novice, and have lots of share so will be writing more than one post about the day. I may not manage to cover everything but do hope you find it both informative and interesting.

We stepped through this lovely gateway leading to Kim's garden.

The course was aimed at those looking to purchase a poly tunnel (PT) and how to get the most out of it. Kim has two including a brand spanking new one from First Tunnels which is 30 feet in length. We talked about everything from how large a tunnel you might need, planning inside and out and lots more.

The day began with tea, coffee and homemade muffins and we got started. We began talking about the actual siting of your PT and if you need any form of planning permission. In general if you are going to put it in an existing garden most people don't have to go through that process. You are best to take into account how close it is to the road and any neighbours and it shouldn't be more than 3 meters high if it is not for commercial use.Ideally it would be placed at the top of any incline for the benefit of drainage. Siting it north-south on the long side would give the best chance for sun exposure but you should also take into account exposure to wind if you are on a hill. Any company erecting your PT would be able to give you advice.

LAYOUT
When it comes to the layout this is entirely up to you. Raised beds can be made as high as you want, you would need a potting bench/staging and you might want seating; 

a PT can be a social area and being surrounded by your plants whilst planning your ideas with a brew is a lovely idea, I think.

You want to think about how you will get between the beds; gravel or slate on top of membrane where you are creating paths is a great option as this keeps weeds down and is a fairly cheap option for a relatively large space.

- Gravel laid outside of the PT is a great idea, too, as this prevents moss creeping up the sides of the structure and keeps the muddiness down outside so not bringing in too much.

You many also plan in space for a small pond. You can put an old container into a corner, add a few plants and stone etc and the water will encourage wildlife visitors to your PT whilst acting as a heat sink. Talking of heat, it is entirely up to you whether you decide to heat your PT at certain times of the year, try it and see if you think it makes a difference to the propagation or growing of your plants.

WATERING. 
Keeping your plants watered can be done by various means. Good old watering cans always work but if you have a large space to cover this will take some time. You could attach a hose to your water but and spray the plants but you could consider investing in a sprinkler system which is the most effective way as you can water for longer but less frequently whilst getting down to the roots.

VENTILATION
You will at times need to open the doors and/or vents of the PT. This is beneficial for reasons such a letting air circulate through and this can help with reducing blight if there is air flow. It might just be too hot! If you have the doors open you may want to ensure any free-ranging chickens, rabbits etc are not going to sneak in for a snack you may want to  think about some sort of barrier against the door way. It is an option to put netting over open windows but if you want the bees and other insects to fly through then just let them.

CLEANING
Now cleaning your PT is something you probably only need to do once a year; it is a bit of a faff so you might want to enlist the help of friends! A good way to clean it is to use an old duvet cover and with a to and fro motion this will clean the roof quite well then water and a sponge would work for the rest of the cover.

After a very interesting morning we stopped for a wonderful lunch of delicious homemade quiche, potato salad and lots of salad leaves and purple sprouting broccoli.

In my next post I'll talk about some practical things we learnt about in the afternoon.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx