100 Mph Winds Batter Scotland .. .. .. and my Garden

We have suffered terrible winds here in Scotland today.. 100mph gusts of wind have battered the country, ripped up trees, blown trees over, blown all the beautiful fresh new leaves off the trees and wrecked my greenhouse and garden fence 😦

I don’t think we are going to be able to repair it this time somehow…

The fence at the back of the garden also took a hammering….

Seems the fence is beyond repair too 😦

It took ages to get home this evening too… because they closed the Forth Road & Rail Bridges.. and the main route M8 @ Junction 1a was completely closed due to an overturned lorry so we had to drive towards Glasgow and cut across country to get to the Kincardine Bridge.. the roads were really busy and gridlocks in some places.. but the main thing was everyone was safe and we made it home eventually…  after all fences and Greenhouses can be replaced.

Picked our first tomatoes today

I have no idea what type these tomatoes are, I got the plants from my mother in law, and I think she mentioned that they were Sungold, but they came out a different shape from what I was expecting, I grew sungold last year and they were round lol.

Tomatoes & Peppers

Just a small update from the greenhouse this afternoon…

The tomatoes are looking really really good and wont be too long before they are ripe and ready to be harvested.

The peppers are looking fantastic too… plenty of flowers and a few fruits forming, I have another 5 plants just like this one so we’re going to have loads of peppers 🙂

Tomatoes & Chilli

Tomatoes & Chilli

Originally uploaded by T o w n i e

Tomatoes & Chilli

This is the last of my tomato crop.

The plants in my greenhouse are well past their best, so I have decided to pick whats left and clear out the plants. The lack of sunshine has not helped their growth and fruit production this year.

I think they were also hit by some kind of tomato blight as some of the stalks and branches had grey furry stuff growing on them, has anyone else experienced this on their tomato crops this year?

Food from the Garden

For tea this evening we are having a ham salad… but first we had to pop out into the garden to gather a few ingredients….

First we emptied a container of Fir Pink Apple Potatoes… and gave them a good wash

Then we popped into the greenhouse and picked some yummy ripe tomatoes….

I absolutely love growing my own veggies 🙂

How the Veggies are progressing…

A bit of a mixed reaction with the growing season so far… it started out great, lovely and warm, then it kinda went downhill after that.. its not been that sunny and it has rained a fair bit, and I think this has had an impact on the veggies growing both in the greenhouse and in the garden.

Here is an up to date report on some of the veggies growing in my garden..

First of all the peas… I have some planted straight into the garden and also some growing in a trough on the high wall..

Both were sown inside the greenhouse then planted out about 2 weeks apart, the result for both is that they have grown about 10 – 12 inches tall (not really that big), they have produced pea pods, but not that many of them, I’d be lucky if there was enough to serve up onto one plate let along freeze a bag of them so we could enjoy them in winter.. so verdict on the peas 1/10 really disappointed.

Now on to the tomatoes in the greenhouse… I have around 10 plants all seemingly doing well but not a lot of fruits, in fact I had to take 2 off the plant this morning as they had blossom end rot, I always remember my dad moaning about it when I lived at home, cursing the blossom end rot lol, now i’ve got it!

The micro tom tomatoes… I dont think I will be growing these again, for me, its a bit of a messy looking plant and the fruits are too close to the soil.

 

The Potatoes are doing really well (I think)!   Grown in big spud bags, they should be ready to harvest quite soon.

Next… the onions, I’m not sure if they are doing well or not to be honest, I would have expected them to be bigger than they are, but we shall wait and see what happens..

The Carrots seem to be doing ok, must get some weeding done this weekend before the weeds take over..

Courgettes… well they seem to be doing just grand, in full blom at the moment, here’s hoping I get fruit this year, last year they rotted away just after forming because it was soooo wet.

I have some flowers growing in the garden too, which are adding a lovely splash of colour….

 

 

 

A Trip Down Memory Lane….

I took the kids to Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline today, and it truely was a trip down memory lane for me, I used to live in Dunfermline for 24 years until I got married and moved away to the village where I now live..

Many a time my friends and I would spend time down the glen, long summer holidays spent there.   Some of it still remains the same as I remember it, the only real big change is the animal enlosure, now boarded up and closed down, which is a great shame.

At the bottom of the glen, which lies at the foot of the Old Dunfermline Palace, there are lots of caves and hiding places, some with historical interest… like Wallace’s Well

 

Just along the path from Wallace’s Well is this lovely bridge….

Pittencrieff Park or “The Glen” as it is known affectionately by the local populace extends to 76 acres and was given in trust by Andrew Carnegie to the people of his birthplace, Dunfermline.

Before it was purchased in 1902, by Andrew Carnegie, Pittencrieff Park formed the estate and grounds of the house, owned by the lairds of Pittencrieff. 

Pittencrieff House Museum

Pittencrieff House Museum is a historic house with a difference. The 17th century shell has a 20th century interior. Although there is no furniture, there are 3 display galleries with beautifully plastered ceilings. Here you can begin to discover, among other things, the history of “Dunfermline Toon”, who was Dunfermline’s giant and what clothes were worn in those days. The story of the house reveals a number of owners, the last of whom was Andrew Carnegie. He never lived in the house however, and eventually gave it to the citizens of Dunfermline.

Formal Gardens

  

Laid out, colourfully in front of the Glass Hall conservatory is a Formal Garden. In days gone by this area was used by Pittencrieff House as a kitchen garden and orchard. Now developed round the laird’s walk with its own breathtaking vistas of the Abbey and Palace ruins, the garden is a kaleidoscope of colour throughout the spring and summer. It is a peaceful, relaxing setting in which to idle away the afternoon in the warmth of a summer sun.

Greenhouses

Completing the formal gardens is the 200ft Glass Hall conservatory. Built in 1973 on the site of the old conservatories the present structure is divided into three sections. The main area with its wooden bridge over the running stream and its regal display of flowers creates for the visitor an entire new world, the exotic plant world. Distributed throughout the three areas the visitor can see on exhibit plants from many countries. Look out too for the exhibit which features the fossilised trees.

We took a wander around the formal gardens which were full of beautiful flowers….

     

  

  

  

From the formal garden you can look over towards Dunfermline Abbey..

  

I enjoyed my trip down Menory Lane 🙂

Veggie Growing Update…

I have been busy in the greenhouse today, potting on the seedlings

Firstly we have the Courgettes, I have around a dozen plants, last year was so wet here that my courgettes were a bit of a disaster, the flowers came and the fruits formed, then, promply rotted away, so fingers crossed that this year is better and not so rainy!.   Its my plan to put 10 plants out into the raised beds and keep a couple in the greenhouse, just incase.

  

Next we have the Coriander or Cilantro as its known in other parts.   My daughter planted the seeds and they are thriving away nicely, i’ll be transferring this clump into a bigger pot this coming week.

   

My tomato plants are growing like mad, I have several different varieties growing here…

Gardners Delight

Microtom

Moneymaker

Totem &

Yellow ones who’s name has escaped me (my memory is shocking..will probably remember 2 days time) 🙂 

  

My early peas are doing just grand too, these will be hardened off over the next week then planted out into the raised bed.   I have another large batch on the go too which were sown 3 weeks later than these ones.

   

The chives look fantastic, tiny green spears shooting up towards the sky.. i’ll be re-potting these too next week, then hopefully find a space for them out in the garden somewhere.

 

My daughter’s sweetcorn is doing great too, i’ll be repotting these into bigger pots this weekend and wait for the weather to warm up before planting them into the garden.

 

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 🙂

 

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.