Finally I have been able to uncover the beetroot seedlings.
Yesterday for the first time I took off the little propagator lids that I have been using to keep them warm in the Net tunnel, the wind can whistle through there sometimes, so it's always best to be a bit careful with tender young seedlings when they first leave the warmth of the polytunnel and move over to the Net tunnel.
I'm really glad that I have been reading here and there in blogland that other people are struggling with seedlings doing badly in compost this Spring, I was blaming myself and me possibly losing my 'green fingers'. All my seedlings are less than half the size they usually are by this time of year, and that includes all the ones in the polytunnel who usually romp away in the balmy temperatures in there.
I'd just sat down to eat my lunch half an hour ago and Ginger brought me a present ... a mouse. On it's last legs poor thing so I had to shoo him away to finish it off on the patio. Better to be killed quicker than rescued and left to die a slow death ... it almost put me off my lunch, but my tummy was grumbling so I managed.
Cats ... who'd have em!!
Sue xx
Eek to the poor mouse, nature is cruel...
ReplyDeleteRe the seedlings: we have lost the bean plants after frost got to them a few days ago. Luckily we had a few spares growing on in the shed but the potatoes took a hit too. Hopefully they will recover. Our allotment neighbour also lost his sweetcorn to the frost. It's all a big learning curve to us!
My potatoes are the one thing that are doing really well ... and I didn't plant any!!
DeleteIt seems I left some little potatoes in the bath that the beetroots are now in and every time a little plant has come up I have transplanted it into one of the other beds and they are doing great.
I didn't plant any on purpose as we have suffered really badly with blight here for the last few years and I thought it best to rest the ground and hopefully break the cycle ready for the new owners, so it will be interesting to see how these little 'volunteer' potatoes do.
It was definitely the compost I bought that caused problems with the seedlings. But I'll try to keep the season going a bit longer with succession sowing.
ReplyDeleteOh Sue your cartoon made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteI've seriously thought about having a cat for the last few years but the 'gifts' put me off. I could probably deal with the dead ones but the barely alive not going to survive ones would break my heart.
ReplyDeleteI have bought really cheap compost in the past and found it very poor quality. Mostly ground up pallets.
ReplyDeleteWe've had slow progress with many of our seedlings too. We put it down to very hot daytime temps, then very cold at night, so the poor thing don't know if they are coming or going! The things we have planted now have blown a sigh of relief and are starting to grow properly. No problems with the spuds as they were in the ground straight away of course. With the frost, we had to cover everything in the ground with huge pots (spuds) or bin bags and membrane (beans and peas etc) and they survived. Looking at some of the hedgerow plants and small trees, some of those really got nipped, especially the ferns and bracken, and tender oak leaves.
ReplyDeleteOur cats have upped the anti with what they bring home for us to admire, and we have had two baby rabbits in the past 10 days .. .
I've now had the mouse and four baby rabbits off Ginger ... and that's just today ☹️
DeleteOh dear, my outside cat used to have 2 bells on her collar as an early warning for any creatures!
DeleteAs for surprise gifts, a friend used to live at a lighthouse with lots of untamed land and her Siamese would bring snakes , dead and not really, to the back door. It was not wise to open the door before looking on the step.
My best surprise was a little mouse asleep in my slipper.🤪
My cat looks at me often with that very same expression...
ReplyDeleteThat was very generous of Ginger :) I'm also a regular recipient of this kind of gift. X
ReplyDeleteWe have a mouser who insists on bringing in her latest catch in to our back yard - a 'perfect arena' sigh. We often find a poor little carcass abandoned. I have struggled with seedlings too, but in the last day or two - things are finally happening - my own feelings are that although I had bought them prior to the lockdown, I suspect that they were old/stale stock. But, my greenhouse is now finally looking like it is meaning business!
ReplyDeleteKarma hasn’t brought us any gifts for a while now ( am I tempting fate?) We have hundreds of birds in the back garden at the moment though, so when she is out there, I’m on watch!
ReplyDelete