These are blog posts that Geoff Hodge has made.
-
What a washout - or snowout this Easter was. This is one of the most
unpleasant ones I can remember. Snow, biting cold winds, frosts and
sub-zero temperatures. They all combined together to make me feel more
inclined to stay indoors and eat Easter eggs and hot cross buns
Read More...
-
As it was an awful weekend weather-wise (not sports-wise - Wales
beating the French at rugby and winning the Grand Slam), I spent most
of the time indoors - but luckily I had plenty to entertain me there,
too
Read More...
-
The broad beans and lettuces in the growing frame seem to be doing
really well. They even needed a watering this week, as the conditions
in there are so warm that the soil had dried out quite a lot. The slug
pellets are holding their own in there too and so far no damage at all
Read More...
-
This weekend I was involved in a couple of local radio gardening phone-ins - Garden Plus on BBC Essex on Saturday and Dougan Does Gardening
on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on Sunday. It would seem that everyone is
desperate to get growing, probably because of our extremely mild
January weather - is this climate change
Read More...
-
"I'm late!, I'm late! For a very important date." So said the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.
And if I was an exhibition veg grower I would be late. I've just sown
some ‘Mammoth Improved' onion seeds, whereas exhibition growers always
try to sow their onions on Boxing Day or as soon after the shortest day
as possible.
These are now sitting in the propagator in the garage.
Sadly, I can't get electricity down to the greenhouse, so always have
to sow seeds nearer to the house. In the past I've always used the
conservatory, but light levels there (it's north facing) mean that the
seedlings grow a bit tall and lank. But how can the garage be any
better? Well, we've just got our hands on a growlight and we've set it
up in the garage to see how well it does. We'll be using it to grow on
a range of plants; I'll let you know how we get on
Read More...
-
I don't make New Year resolutions as I think they're a waste of time
and effort - if you want to do something just do it. But I feel I need
to ensure I get something done this year - so here's my mid-January
resolution: "I will keep up with my veg blog this year".
Read More...
-
I woke up this morning to a strange noise on the conservatory roof -
a noise that I remembered from a long time ago. What was it? Oh yes,
rain. Rain! I immediately jumped out of bed and shot into the garden -
remembering to put on some clothes first. All the protective covers
over the crops were either removed or opened to let in this precious
downpour
Read More...
-
Easter weekend - what a glorious few days we had - and perfect for spending lots of time in the garden
Read More...
-
What a glorious weekend - lovely, sunny weather, with just a hint of cold weather at night to get the nerves of anyone with seedlings and young plants jangling. So, it was a weekend in the garden, getting ready for Easter
Read More...
-
I mentioned on Friday that the seedlings in the conservatory weren't getting enough light and that I'd installed a growlight. Well, to help things along even more I also made a 'light box' - a light-reflecting seedling box. Sounds fancy, doesn't it? Actually, it's just a three-sided, topless box lined with silver foil! The foil reflects the light at the back and bottom of the seedlings, so they get light from all sides and don't tend to become too stretched. Now, where's my Blue Peter badge?
Read More...