Micro Tom Tomatoes

I bought a couple of these tomato plants from my local garden centre, and have been wondering why they have not been growing as well as my other tomato plants, so today I decided to do a bit of research on them to see just what they were all about….

No wonder they are not growing much, theyre a tiny tomato plant! doh! how thick am I?!  LAODS it would appear

MICROTOM TOMATOES

80-85 days to maturity

The smallest tomato plant in the world, the Micro-Tom reaches only 4-7″ high. Plants bear smallish red tomatoes, about the size of large cherry tomatoes. The plants are suprisingly productive, a 6″ plant can produce up to a couple dozen fruits. The Micro-Tom is an excellent choice for gardeners with little room, or to grow in a 4-6″ pot on the window sill. …

That’ll be why theyre not growing much then !… note to self, read the labels

 

 

Fir Pink Apple Potatoes

This evening I’ve been out in the garden planting the first batch of Potatoes into my special growing sacks..

This variety is Fir Pink Apple, I’ve not grown these before or tasted them, so I’m really looking forward to harvesting these little knobbly beauties

They are described as Long, knobbly, cigar-shaped potatoes with a pink skin and creamy yellow flesh.   Pink Fir Apple have a firm and waxy flesh that has a delicious nutty flavour.   This unusual potato is over a century old.

 

 

Maxine Potatoes

This evening I’ve been out in the garden planting the first batch of Potatoes into my special growing sacks..

I ordered Desiree Potatoes form Marshall’s and they ended up sending me Maxine instead because they had run out.. so I did a bit of research to find out exactly what Maxine spuds were like…

Beautiful round tubers with smooth, bright red skin.
White waxy flesh which stays firm when cooked.
A heavy cropping variety producing large tubers whatever soil it is grown in. 
The flavour as ‘excellent’ and the cookability as almost perfect.

I’m a little bit late in getting them planted, but i’m sure they’ll be just fine

 

 

Busy… Busy…. Busy….

I apologise for the lack of posts lately, but there does not appear to be enough hours in the day!

Last night I painted all the fences, all I can say is thank goodness for the Cuprinol spray gun thing!  So I managed to get all of the following painted:-

• The fence that runs alongside out driveway is 6ft tall and is about 24ft Long
• 4 x 6ftx6ft Panel Fences, at the bottom of the back garden boundary.
• a 3ft high x 6ft long picket fence
• The fencing that keeps our 2 rabbits safe from the dogs.
• and finally half a shed

Monday Evening saw me weeding & spraying our driveway with weedol, its good stuff because the weeds are dried up and brown already and that was in just 24 hours!

Everything in the greenhouse is thriving, I’ll need to take more pictures as an update.. but I have only had one real disappointment so far and that was the broad beans… I sowed a whole packet and so far none have germinated and they have been in for 3 weeks… not sure how long they take to germinate, will need to read the packet when I get in from work today…

I’ve also been trying to source a 2nd hand rabbit hutch without success, they must get snapped up pretty quickly once theyre advertised in the local papers and online too!.. I can see me having to either have a go at making one or buying a new one.

 

Chicken Little’s Gone Broody!

Our wee Bantam “Chicken Little” has gone broody, she is quite happy sitting inside the Eglu on the nesting well…, in the last 2 days I moved her off to lift the eggs..   Today I posted a thread on the forum  www.neeps.co.uk asking what normally happens when one of your chookies goes broody on you, just to find out what I should do etc etc..

Now, as a result of this post, (and Julie’s reply )   We have decided to buy some hatching eggs and put them under Chicken Little.   My daughter and I had a browse through ebay today and I have let her pick the breed and I’ve put a bid in for some …… now bearing in mind she is 15 and likes all things girlie… she chose these………. because they were white and fluffy!!

 Miniature White Bearded Silkie’s 

I’ve ordered chick crumb, and growers pellets and i’m looking to either buy a 2nd hand coop, aquire one through freecycle (a long shot) or make a small poultry arc myself.

The kids are going to love it :)  not told my OH yet tho LOL - he’ll be fine about it i’m sure

 

 

Another Chicken Feed Order…

I placed another order online today for my organic layers pellets and mixed corn, as i’m down to my last back of the layers and i’ve only got a quarter of a bag of mixed corn left…

I’m pleased to report that the price has come down since the last order I placed in Feb 2008!

For a 5kg sack of organic layers pellets it is now £3.52, they were £3.79 so a small saving of 27p

The 5kg super mixed corn is now £3.47, they were £3.49,  a tiny wee saving of 2p.

I also bought a 5kg sack of Chick Crumb @ £3.85 and a 5kg sack of Growers Pellets @ £3.65 (Another post to follow to explain why!)

 

 

A Day in the Greenhouse….

I have spent the best part of today in my greenhouse, sowing seeds, organising things inside, enjoying the peace and quiet…

Here is an update on the things growing:-

 - Peas

 - Mixed Leaf Lettuce Seedlings

  - Climbing Flower - Morning Glory - the leaves on this are absolutely gorgeous!

 - Coriander

 - Finally - Our Pink Champagne Rhubarb that I Picked this morning.

 

Dandelion Seed Head

Dandelion Seed Head

Originally uploaded by T o w n i e

Submitted for my Flickr group & Days of Shooting.. and were onto week 40. This weeks theme is Round Things and today is fill the Frame Friday.

 

Oh What a Night…………. (Literally!)

I’ve had a crap evening.

I was supposed to go to the Edinburgh Playhouse to see the musical “Oh What a Night”, I had booked tickets for me and the kids (OH was working).

I took the car to work today, so that I could leave sharp at 5pm and get home in plenty time so that I could get the kids organised, get to the train station and get the train over to Edinburgh Waverely, my theory was to conserve petrol…..

Well….. It ends up that there were huge delays in the traffic going home and instead of getting in at 5.30, I ended up arriving home at 6.15pm….. bl**dy traffic!

Mad rush to get changed and get back out because the show starts at 7.30pm..  we jumped in the car and drove to Inverkeithing Train Station, parked on the other side of the railway station in the Free car park, walked into the ticket office, asked for return tickets to Edinburgh, went to get my purse out of my bag .. no purse .. B*gger!..

Walked back to the car with the kids and drove home, walked into the house and got my purse, which had been knocked out of my bag by our young springer spaniel, when he bounced over the sofa!

Back to the train station, didn’t have time to park in the free car park, so paid the £2 to park in the one closest to the station… its now 6.50pm, just enough time to get the tickets, jump on the train and still be on time for the show starting….. or so I thought.

Waiting on the platform, the tannoy comes on.. turns out the next 2 trains are cancelled, next available train will be the 7.25pm …. dilemma, i’d just paid £10 for our return train tickets,  trains are late, we are now late…hmmmmmm.   If We were to go back to the car and take it over, we would be even more money on fuel, I only had a quarter of a tank left and the local garage has none… then we would be another £5.00 to park in the Greenside Car Park… yet more money!

We decided to wait on the 7.25pm train, … another announcement, there is a broken down train further up the line, the 7.25 train is now running late and wont arrive until 7.46!… 7.46 came and went still no train, and we have now missed the start of the show… the train finally turns up at 8.05pm, got on, it was busy and the only seats available were next to a bunch of alcohol drinking, foul mouthed neds… our evening just seems to be getting better and better!..

Phoned my other half from the train to let him hear what we were having to sit beside, and to complain about the lateness of the trains and how we’d missed the start of the show etc… He thought it might be a good idea if once we got to Edinburgh, just to find the next train home and he would take us out for something to eat… best idea i;d heard all night and the kids were in full agreement.

Managed to get the Aberdeen train home and got off at Inverkeithing to pick up the car.

OH WHAT A NIGHT!!

 

Sowing Seeds, WWII Homework & 4 Cards later……

I’ve had a busy old evening!

After we had got tea out of the way, I had to give up my laptop to my son to allow him to complete his project/homework on WWII.   He was on a tight schedule because I needed it back as I had an order to make 4 cards.

Whilst he was doing that I took myself out to the greenhouse to plant some more seeds and do a bit of tidying and re-organising.

I managed to get a row of raddish seeds in the 3rd bed.

Sowed more Broad Beans, Peas, Cucumber, & Lettuce.

I still have a fair few seeds to go straight into the raised beds, Carrots & Beetroot

I have no seed potatoes, onion or shallot sets in yet, still have to buy them, i’ve been so busy and so disorganised!.   So I will have a scout around online and see what I can get.

After my planting and sowing, it was back into the house, and my son still hadnt finished his homework.. so my daughter and I stepped in to help him and speed things along a bit… 10 mind later we had finished and printed it all out

I had 4 cards to made and it was 8pm! .. spent the rest of the evening trying to concentrate making them, with 2 teenagers sitting either side of me “Watching” .. Mitz, our springer lying at my feet, and the other pest of a springer trying to steal cat truffles out of the litter tray grrr….  I eventually got them finished at 11pm…

I will be posting about those over on my card blog tomorrow sometime :)