So another break in the drought that is Spring 2007… It has been a very exciting night in the South West… we got soaked…
And the best thing is that we managed to remember to have our water butt lid off this time – an essential part of any water collection system – we didn’t last time …. woops!
The wet spell is predicted to continue for a few days, so perhaps we will be able to complete some other jobs on the plot that don’t involve power walking with a watering can..
I say predicted and not forecasted because I am of the opinion that weather forecaster people are more similar to psychics purporting to predict the future than ‘proper’ scientists. They have promised rain on several occassions recently – nothing…
But today is wet and the plants are happy….
I am quite keen on buying a soil tester which can measure the moisture content of soil… Thereby enabling me to know whether I have watered deeply enough – so that roots are encouraged to grow down into the soil… Then again perhaps I shouldn’t be encouraging my watering and rain obsession/pontifications… Besides sticking your finger down into the dirt is a way of analysing moisture and thats positive for mental health and for the bank balance…
Anyways in between manic watering last week we managed to get a few more plants sunk into the ground -
Spinach around and between the broadbeans. This will help prop up the broadbeans and the spinach will benefit from the shade.
Stock and sunflowers – the ornamental beds are gonna get crammed with plants…
Marigolds – dotted around in clumps – a stalwart of the companion planting approach.
Everything we have planted so far is doing ok – although sometimes it feels like we have been keeping things alive (did I mention there’s been not much rain about!) rather than nurturing them to flourish…
Watering takes up so much time… so I am off to a local church plant sale soon to pick up some bargains to fill in some gaps hopefully. We have quite a few gaps on our massive plot (114ftx18ft6) – and the expanse of brown is starting to jar me – we need more plants!!!!
Nature abhors a gap and if you don’t fill in the expanse of brown after all that wonderful rain, nature will do it. Mind you, it can depend on how a gardener views weeds. Are they plants whose usefulness is not yet discovered? I once took a closer look and discovered self-sown vegetables and herbs hidden among the weedy overgrowth.