More soft fruit trees

Aldi still have soft fruit trees on sale fo £3.99. Fantastic. Picked up a Morello Cherry, well in bud already...

Also picked up an Elstar eating apple, which I've made into an espalier against the fence...

So, I've now got raspberries, strawberries, figs, apples, blueberries and cherries. Yum Yum! I think that's it for this year...

Seedlings coming on well

The weather was beautiful this weekend, sunny and unseasonally warm. Forecast is mild but wet for the next week or so too. Seedlings are doing well in the greenhouse, which was a lovely 23 degrees. Balmy!

Snowdrops

During the cold snap in late January my other half drove onto the drive rather too fast and slid on  the ice, ending up in the hedge. LOL :) Left a bit of a gap which I planted up with a few snowdrops to commemorate the occasion...

Luckily this also revealed a little dog rose that I've noticed sometimes when trimming the hedge. I've whipped that out, pruned it and took some cuttings. Should come in handy elsewhere in the garden.

10 jobs for February

I've seen other bloggers post '10 top jobs for...' but they're pretty standard fair. I'll try to make my lists a bit more left-field. Here we go!

1. Keep an eye on the garden centres. With Spring around the corner they're keen to shift discontinued stock to make room for the new lines. Slightly chipped pots can be found at knock-down prices too.
2. Treat yourself to some tool time. Dust off the angle grinder and get sharp edges on your spades, forks and hoes. Tighten any loose rivets or screws. Saves time and effort later on in the year. 
3. While you're at it, get the lawnmower and hedge trimmers out and give them a service too. Check cables for damage. Give the blades and motors a drop of oil and WD40. Give the grass box a scrub too.
4. Maintain the greenhouse. Grease the door runners and window hinges, and replace any frost-damaged bolts and clips. Spring squalls can take their toll on any weaknesses.
5. Drain and clean your water butts. The water has probably been standing in them for several months. Best to empty it out and shift the gunge at the bottom. Spring rain will soon fill them back up again.
6. Make a nest box. The birdies will soon be looking for somewhere to nest, and they are excellent pest predators. Why not let nature help out with keeping on top of the slugs, bugs and caterpillars?
7. Empty and clean the compost bin. Last year's contents should probably be well rotted by now, and you'll need room for this year's material. Best to dig it in or use it as mulch before the weeds get going.
8. Get a good seed box. With all those seed packets arriving and seeds being sown, you'll need something air-tight and large enough to store them in for a few years. Check out Poundland.
9. Get the tomato supports in. Make sure they are tall and sturdy enough to cope with the heaviest crops. Better to get them in before the tomatoes are planted. Less disturbance and saves times.
10. And finally, a tip courtesy of Joe Maiden from Gardening with Tim and Joe podcast on Radio Leeds: "If a job needs doing, then do it now!"  

Plant ladder - finishing touches

The plant ladder I made earlier in January has had a lick of wood stain at last...

...and now it's doing its job showing off some of my pots. Simples!

Herb pots

Picked up a load of terracotta pots for 99p on Ebay the other week...

Planted some of the larger ones up with herbs today...

Planted up my old chicken feeder (may they RIP!) with herbs too.

Blueberries and apples

I love making jam in the summer from my raspberries and strawberries, and have always fancied getting some blueberry bushes, but they are rather expensive. Thought I'd try growing some from seed. Might take a while, but I enjoy a good experiment.

Aldi's are also doing some excellent soft fruit trees and bushes at the moment. Picked up a Bramley for £3.99. They can be brutes, so I'll have to keep it well pruned. They are quite tricky to grow too. For a start they are triploids, so need pollinators from three other groups. I can see five trees in the local area from my bedroom window, so there shouldn't be a problem. One of the few benefits of living in suburbia!

Also, they are partial-tip bearing, so you have to be careful NOT to cut off the fruiting branches. Found this useful video on YouTube about pruning Bramleys. So, blueberry and apple pies all round in a few years time. Yum yum!

What a load of sh*t

Some nice horse owner advertised some free horse manure on Ebay recently. Picked up a car full on Sunday. Had to drive down the motorway with all the windows open!

Managed to get 8 bags worth, and can go back for more whenever I like.

Should take a few months to rot down. Rather wet at the moment, but should be good on the roses!

Surviving the cold snap

Just when you thought spring was around the corner, winter bites you in the ass... Glad it didn't last too long, but it did get down to -5c in the greenhouse. Nice to see a bit of snow though.

The seedlings indoors are coming on nicely...

... as are the Echiums and Sweep Peas in the greenhouse.

UPDATE: Mid Feb now and the cold snap is over (for how long?) Have moved the seedlings into the greenhouse. Keeps the misses happier!