A really good Friday!!

Ohhhh it's been such a good day today! First thing this morning before going into work, I repotted *everything* LOL It all looks terrific in the conservatory - my tomatoes are in individual pots, and potted on all of my latest seedlings. The basil and chervill look terrific!! I'm such a proud plant mama!

Got a call from the optician today and after school I took Nathan down to the optician to pick up his glasses... he looks great! They really suit him! I didn't take any pics because I was running sooooo far behind this afternoon!!

I am REALLY looking forward to tomorrow .... I have secret stuff planned with my sister but I can't say more than that incase eyes that shouldn't be reading this ... are reading this! LOL

Anyway, a bit of a short entry this evening ... It has been such a hugely busy day that I didn't even have time for the friday five!!!

Ok I give up ... could waffle on for ages but I need my pillow!!

A good Sunday always involves gardening :-)

Yeah it's been a good day today! I went into work for a bit but can't do a huge amount until my wax delivery on Tuesday, so I've been doing packaging and working on the website updates mainly. It is soooo frustrating having the kids on school holidays cutting my working hours, but even MORE frustrating that I have no wax!!

So anyway, this afternoon after I'd finished work ended up as a bit of an accidental brainstorming session to help a friend out! What started off as a conversation about (I believe it was my lettuces! LOL) ended up suddenly going off on a tangent with all kinds of ideas! It's always good to see your friends with a smile on their face too. I know most of my good friends are as stressed out in real life as I am, and seeing someone else smiling, motivated and positive made me feel that way too :-)

Aaaaaaaanyway teensy quick gardening update! My 3rd batch of lettuces have sprung up ALREADY!! I only planted them on THURSDAY last week! I checked them this morning and almost fell off my feet when I saw that the majority of them have popped up overnight! That is literally 3 days to germinate into baby seedlings!! Wow!! These are all the mixed spicy lettuce variety too - my favourites! The chervill seedlings are doing okay - as are the basil ones ... but no cucumbers yet... well, there IS one, but I am not entirely sure that it is a cucumber as I planted individual seeds in the middle of the cells and this little thing has popped up to one side. I can't see how weeds have found their way into compost stored in a conservatory ... so I will have to wait and see on those! Still - the 3 day lettuces have MORE than made up for it!

I'm getting old and sad huh! But I tell ya it makes me happy!

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

My fingers are getting greener! Seedlings update!

This is what I got up to on Sunday afternoon! I'd been in the workshop all day from early till late, and when I got home I decided to relax by pottering with my plants! I love that word ... pottering ... it's a way of describing how you are doing something, yet hardly anything at the same time!

Anyway, my baby lettuce seedlings were ready to re-pot into their first pots, so I split a black sack as a waterproof table cover in the conservatory and got busy! The pic to the left shows them just before they went into their pots.

CHECK OUT MY PINK SPRAY BOTTLE!! This was a pressie from a very good friend that obviously knows me very well. Apparently it was spotted on the shelf in B&Q and I was told that it was so me (as in pink!) and that it just couldn't be walked past!! I love pressies but this is such a GREAT one!! LOL When I water the brand new seedlings with a jug of water, it compacts all of the soil down (ie not good!) and the spray mist (pump action yeah baby!) is so gentle! They did look a little sorry for themselves after being re-potted but I can happily report that they have perked up now!!

Aaaaanyway, I also planted more tomato seeds, ummm 6 cucumber plants and I have started on this years herbs from seed - I've got basil and chervill on the go at the moment! I really want to do everything from seed this year!! Ohh, and as I had a spare propagator, I planted another whole tray of lettuces! I didn't take a pic of those as ummm well it's just soil in trays! Hahaha!

Wax, Work & Weather!!

... well I always did say I was eclectic hence the subject line! My days are never simple!

Ok well I am definitely hooked. I planted my lettuce seeds today too! As the seedlings in the propagator had been moved onto pots, it was just crying out to be filled up again! I've got the "cut and come again" type seeds - the idea is to sew new seeds every few weeks so it becomes a rotational constant crop. I've got a mix of crunchy and spicy lettuces and I just mixed all the seeds up together to see what I come up with! LOL

Work was tough today! I had so much to do and where I'd been in and out last week due to "circumstances", I had almost completely ran out of packing boxes, so had to get an urgent order in for those! I spent most of the weekend pouring stock votives and bulk dozens of votives and there were ummm 28 dozen votives to wick! I timed myself once and from putting the wick in the votive, putting it in the bag, taping the bag up and labelling, it takes an average of 6 minutes per dozen ... that would be 168 minutes of solid votive packaging! I didn't fancy spending over two hours stood up at work doing it, so I spent the time at work doing other things and then brought all the wicking home! I've sat here this evening with a glass of wine and done ALL the wicking while listening to some tunes!

Yeah baby I rock! LOL

Took a call this afternoon from South Downs College (http://www.southdowns.ac.uk/) about a 2 day event they are running for May bank holiday on the Sunday and Monday. Sooo I'm definitely going to book that one! I've already spoken to Megan about coming along as my chief sales executive - the conversation went something like this.

ME - I've got a 2 day show booked for the 25th & 26th May, do you fancy coming with me?
MEGAN - 2 days? Oooh I've not done one of those before. How many hours is that?
ME - Well, it's 10-5 on the Sunday which is 7 hours, then 10-4 on the Monday, so that's 6 hours.

I could see the steam escaping from her ears as she did the calculation in her head! Megan LOVES coming with me just for fun and for Mum & Megan time, but I pay her a pound an hour (c'mon she's only nine!!!) plus I give her five pounds to spend on anything she wants while she's there... and invariably I get talked into upping that and buying slices of cake too! LOL

MEGAN - That's 13 hours. Does that mean I get 13 pounds?
ME - Yes baby that's the deal - a pound an hour.
MEGAN - Plus my five pounds to spend?
ME - Uhuh
MEGAN (punching the air and whoop whooping around the room)

That's my girl! HAH!

So yeah the weather ... god last night I could really hear the wind and rain against my bedroom windows! My bedroom is a loft conversion in a bungalow so you're pretty exposed up there! It's normally a really warm room and I always ALWAYS sleep with the window open, so when the storm started last night I heard it all! It wasn't a big storm by any means and the fences were still standing, but it was good to be tucked up safe in bed listening to the wind and rain battering against the windows. We're apparently in for bad weather for the next few days ... bring on the sun!!

Happy little seedlings!!

I repotted my seedlings into their first pots! Last year I grew my tomatoes and herbs from baby plants and this year I was determined to try growing from seed so it's a complete learning curve for me but I am thoroughly enjoying it!

The pic shows my tomatoes (orange pots) and aubergines (black pots) I need to get some little plant label thingies, but meanwhile they are just colour coded! LOL

I was a bit disappointed by the roots on them all though. I can only put it down to the compost I used in the propagator. I had been so excited when I got the seeds and I used compost that I had left from last year. I've learned a LOT about gardening recently from a few friends of mine that are very into it - one of my friends is lucky enough to have her own allotment so she's a great source of advice!

I was recommended the compost shown in the photo by another friend of mine, and as soon as I opened the bag I just KNEW it was gonna be good stuff! It has extra perlite and already has food in it for 4-6 weeks which is brilliant. So yes, my baby cherry tomato plants and baby aubergine plants are officially on their way!!

OMG Look!!!!

Ohhh this plant mama is soooo happy!!! On top of my haircut earlier and my self confidence boost that I posted about below ... I've just checked on my seedlings and yeah baby we are growing!!!!

Look at my cherry tomato plants! They are doing really well if you compare them to the photo I posted before when they had just popped up! They are probably okay in the propagator for another week or so, but I'm going to get them into pots this weekend. I still think we're due another frost so they will live in the conservatory after that until they are nicely rooted into their new pots

THEN .... I looked at the aubergine seedlings! I had all but given up on them until a few days ago because they were planted 3 weeks ago and the packet says germination in 10-14 days. The tomatoes had all popped up and were growing away happily (planted at the same time with the same germination guidelines!) I was ready to dump out the soil, call it a failure and get some salad leaves planted in the propagator instead!! I thought I'd leave it a few more days "just to see" and I'm glad I did!

Five out of six ... and the fifth one (bottom left) definitely wasn't there this morning!) These are mini aubergines that will produce (fingers crossed!!) golf ball sized aubergines that are perfect to stirfry and add to - well pretty much anything!

I am growing totally organically too. I haven't looked much into feeds for my plants yet ... last year I grew my tomatoes and all of my herbs from existing baby plants and didn't add ANY feed to anything! It all grew okay! I hadn't wanted to spend out on gardening until I knew it was something I was really interested in.

Now though I'm totally hooked!! I loved cooking with things I had grown and the taste was SO much nicer too! I want to do most of it from seed this year and really really go for it! I need more propagators and I need a polytunnel!

LOL the littlest things with me sometimes!!

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!