Month: April 2010
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Planting out
Today we planted out a few small trees and shrubs in the nursery beds, where they will grow on for some three years before they are ready for their final destination. They will be watered with a drip line and fed once a month from March to October. For this task, I was joined again…
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Nettles and summer
Fancy nettles being all the rage this year! There is a special on the May issue of Gardener’s World, saying that they are not only useful for attracting ladybirds but also to distract caterpillars of several butterflies from your plants, besides being a nutritious food, a compost heap starter and an effective soil test (some…
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Weeds and Friar’s Beards
I was pulling weeds here and there – a lot of grass tufts around – wondering why my barba di frate never got to come out (ok that it is a low germination seed, but…) when I realised that what I was pulling might well not have been a tiny tiny tuft of grass but…
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Most seedlings are out now
Suddenly al the seedlings are coming out together: this is the most difficult stage for me as I am not too good at potting on – a very delicate phase, with a lot of pressure to find suitable space. I have prepared the greenhouses for the chillies already, and the tomatoes that I transplanted straight…
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First produce of the year!
Today I picked some rhubarb, which I will be turning in compote tomorrow, and some nettles. I have been growing nettles to attract ladybirds, as I read once that they particularly fancy nettle aphids, and saw nettles on the canal that were full of ladybirds after that.But nettles are also a nutritious food: my Food…
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Living the Good Life?
I am doing a lot more than last year at the allotment but that means I am so tired when I get home and leave reporting and keeping track of things, which is not very “professional” of someone that is trying to assess whether she is successful!Also, as I mentioned last week, I have lost…
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Maybe it’s just me being more alert…
… but both at the allotment and at home there are plentiful spiders, ladybirds, (bumble)bees of several types and even a couple of butterflies (a peacock – bit battered, and a comma)… I made another bed today and started planting out some peas. More tomorrow, when some sunshine is forecasted. Need to clean up the…
About Me
M.Paola Andreoni
I got the first allotment in 2007 (in the UK) and started growing my own food for the first time. Learning as I went along was not enough, so I studied some horticulture. I am striving to abide by organic principles. Brexit gave me a new life in the Netherlands, and two new plots by a nature reserve.
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