I SO want root trainers

And here begins a post with words I thought I would never EVER utter ....

"So, I was sat here watching Gardener's World ..."

(sigh I am hooked!) and ole Alan Titchmarsh is demonstrating something called Root Trainers. I was so "WOW" over these root trainers that I had to pause TV (gotta love Sky Broadband!) and look them up!

OMG they are terrific and I so want me a whole mega pile of these!!!! If anybody loves me enough, you can get them at http://www.rootrainers.co.uk/ and they aren't expensive ... I'm just skint! LOL The cells open up like a book so that you can check on root progress and check that there is enough moisture in the roots. It also puts a lot less stress on the seedlings when they are ready to plant out.

I am now never ever going to miss Gardener's World again!! Damn I really am getting old and sad huh!

So consider these officially on my birthday wish list! LOL

My fingers are getting greener!!

Look at my tomatoes!! Yeah! Aren't they looking healthy and happy? LOL I am so pleased! I spent a good part of the morning repotting, planting and generally pottering!! I had such a good time! Hehehe!

What amazes me is these tomatoes are the same ones that were attacked by something looking like thrip - I chopped them right back to get rid of any diseased leaves and even started new seeds off "just incase" ... but they are actually looking pretty dang good!

The black pots on the right are my lil baby aubergines - doing real well, and on the left are the 2nd batch of lettuces that have just come out of the propagator into pots. They look all sickly and week from the stress of moving, but within a few days they will be healthy again!! I planted the third batch of lettuce seeds today - all the spicy variety this time ... and it is just so exciting knowing that I am growing my own food!

This is a pic fresh from today of my first batch of lettuces (the ones that I have been taste testing and the ones I posted a pic of yesterday from a few days ago!) I am SO pleased with how well they are doing, and the fact that I have my third batch on the go now is like yeah baby!!

I can't believe that *I* am getting so excited and so caught up in gardening! I am actually even thinking about starting to watch Gardener's World ... but don't quote me on that eh ... hmmm I could even sky plus it so that I never have to miss it either! Damn, did I say that? Holy crapoly what is happening to me! LOL

So anyway, moving on and keeping on track ... it's actually been an exciting day in Dee's plant world as my chervill seeds have started to pop and all 4 of my basil trays have popped up too!! I'm still waiting on the cucumbers ... but the packet does say up to 14 days to germinate and we DID have that snow and cold spell recently ... but still, they are in a propagator in the conservatory so they should be okay!

I SO SO gotta get me some square pots too ... look at the pic of the lettuces above all procariously balanced on a plate - it's not good!! Square pots would be better space wise, and also a little birdie told me that it's actually better for the roots in a square pot too. So yeah ... when I can eventually afford it, I want to replace ALL of my pots for square ones. That'll be a while then!! Hahaha

Chatting with a friend today about the bluebells everywhere too. Apparently there are a few different types and my garden is covered in them! I've been asked to take some photos to try to identify whether they are native, hybrid or a nasty "take over the world" type of variety! LOL

Watch this space for some err bluebell pics tomorrow I guess!

Lettuces, pain relief and toothache ... a mixed bundle!

Okay I've been slack due to my migraine & toothache - so sue me! LOL This pic of my lettuces was actually taken a week ago and trust me these babies have grown a LOT since then!!! My arse is firmly planted right on the sofa right now though (with a glass of wine) and I'm NOT getting up to take new pics - I'll do that tomorrow, or the next day! HAH!

These were planted 10th March from seed ... so technically as "30 day lettuces" they should be ready about now - I promise to take a new pic tomorrow to show how much they have grown because the difference is incredible - I've just had a couple glasses of wine (or six!) and can't be assed to move right now and hook the camera up!! I HAVE however tasted them already and they are sooooooo nice! As it's my first crop of lettuce, I want to just wait a couple of weeks to see what difference that makes to the yield!

The new seeds I planted the other day that have been in a propagator have sprouted ... so plan for tomorrow is re-pot the tomatoes (doing fabulously since my "chop the crap out of the leaves with thrip" method of organic bug warfare!) as the roots are showing at the bottom of the pots ... use those empty pots to re-pot the lettuce seedlings and then get more lettuce on the go!

Anyway ok that's the gardening update out of the way!

Me update ... well the period from hell finally finished yesterday! I am now officially "back on the pill" so my oestrogen levels should increase and any "menstrual migraines" should techincally be gone! I woke up this morning and realised I'd been left with a *minor* headache that would be about a 1 or 2 on the 1-10 pain scale (10 being childbirth!) but it's one of those niggly "there all of the time" type of headaches so I didn't bother taking pain relief today because it kinda hasn't been that bad ...

Maybe it's just me but I don't like to take pain relief unless I absolutely HAVE to. I've always been like that though ... I'm not a weak person, I am a strong person and when things HAVE to be done, I am there to do them! It's almost like taking pain relief is somehow admitting defeat ... and anyone that knows me knows that Dee doesn't ever admit defeat!! Needless to say, with a headache that has niggled all day, I took some prescription pain relief about half an hour ago and oh joy, oh bliss ... it has gone ...

... along with the toothache!!!

Damn the frigging toothache! You know, I could cope with a 1-2 on the pain scale headache, but toothache at the same time is such a bitch. Funnily enough after Megan was born I remember saying to another new mum I'd rather go to the dentist than give birth, but that was before I had ever experienced real toothache!! Gimme childbirth anyday these days!

Okay see now I have been sat here for the last ten minutes thinking about how much I would love to have another baby again ... DAMN I have to stop thinking about that! Okay am gonna close now before I get all depressive! LOL

I get excited over the silliest things!!!

Heheee I had such a grin on my face this morning ....

LOOK!!

My ickle itty bitty tomato seedlings for this years crop!! When I checked them this morning, 11 out of 12 have poked their lil heads up!!! They are in a seed tray inside a propagator ... they live in the conservatory overnight to get the first light in the morning, then I've been moving them into the lounge on the windowsill in the afternoons to get the late sun!

It put such a huge smile on my face this morning when I saw they had popped up! LOL The smallest things amuse me sometimes!

I need to get another propagator and more seed trays though because I have salad leaf seeds that I want to get on the go, plus chervill and some other herbs. Can't wait for the summer this year!!! I am just so looking forward to being able to go into the greenhouse (when I get one!!) and pick things fresh to cook with!

I found where the spare minutes hide!!!

Okay so anyone who reads my blog often enough will know that I often complain about how I am convinced there is some kind of time pixie out there that pinches minutes out of my day, because somehow I never seem to have enough time for everything!!



Well .... It SUDDENLY occurred to me that it's a leap year this year and it all made sense! There are 29 days in February this year which means there are a whole extra 1440 minutes at the end of this month that we wouldn't normally get if it wasn't a leap year! Feb 29th is a Friday this year too - soooo that's gonna be Dee's catch up day!! Whatever it is that REALLY needs to be done on Friday 29th Feb is what I will do! Whether it's catching up on things I am behind with at work, or doing the things around the house that really need doing (like re-painting EVERY single damned room in the house!) or clearing out the garden ... both of which NEED to be done soon!

Spring is coming so EARLY this year! The weather has been (dare I say it ...?) warm recently! Okay maybe WARM is an exaggeration, but it's definitely been open windows and not necessarily wear a coat type weather. You'd normally expect it to still be really cold at this time in February... yet there are already daffs and tulips out and they've been out a while already!

It's REALLY made me want to get out there and start doing something with the garden too. Last year was a bit of an experiment in the garden ... I grew herbs, red chillis, jalepeno chillis, cherry tomatoes and a few other bits, but it really was just an experiment. I know what I can be like and I'll throw myself into something then lose interest after a couple of weeks!! Soooo I hadn't wanted to spend too much money.

Also part of it is that I am GOOOOOOD at everything I do ... purely because I don't do things I am not good at!! Soooo I hadn't wanted to invest a lot of money into it ... but this year I am seeing TONS of cherry tomatoes, runner beans, aubergines and hopefully some soft fruits too!!!

I WANT a polytunnel!!

Ok I've been drinking while I've been writing the last part of this and now can;'t concentrate on the screen, so err time for bed said Zebedee!!!