This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Friday 6 May 2011

Growth Spurts

The recent warm weather seems to have helped some of the seedlings grow.  Photo above taken 11 April 2011. Photo left taken 3 weeks later, 2 May. I find this change in the plants quite amazing. Variety: Bean 'Dwarf Purple Queen', Mr Fothergills, 100 seeds £2.35

Three weeks growth - what a difference!
Variety: Courgette (yellow zucchini) 'Soleil F1', Mr Fothergill's, 10 seeds, £2.39. Sowed: 3 April 2011. Photo right (emerging): 11 April 2011. Photo left: 2 May 2011.
The cucumber was also sown on 3 April 2011. I've never grown cucumber before. Looking forward to grating it, mixing it in sour cream with herbs and using it as a dip for my radishes and carrots (and a few crisps/potato chips)... sipping mojitos (I need to grow mint!)!

Variety: Cucumber, Plant Hart's Seeds, US$2.29.
I wish I'd grown more Calendula. The edible flower petals will look good in salad this summer. Variety: Calendula 'Orange King', Carters Tested Seeds, 150 seeds, 79pence. Sown: 18 March 2011.
The rhubarb speaks for itself!
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11 comments:

  1. Hazel6 May 2011 at 01:09

    That is a healthy lot of plants you have there, Kelli. I like the way you have photographed them with the seed packets...good record for you.

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  2. Jo6 May 2011 at 05:08

    Things will grow even quicker now we've had a bit of rain. Those courgettes will be producing in no time, bring on the glut.

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  3. Mark Willis6 May 2011 at 05:11

    re Hazel's comment: I too have found that writing my blog is a good way of keeping records. The pictures Itake are all dated too, so this is also a good way of tracking progress.
    You can use Calendula petals soaked in warm water to produce a colour not unlike saffron, which can enhance a dish just as well as saffron but much more cheaply.

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  4. HolleyGarden6 May 2011 at 08:43

    Wow - it really is amazing how fast plants can grow! Aren't you glad you took pics and notated dates? You made me want to sit with you and enjoy your cucumber dip and drink mojitos!

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  5. Malay-Kadazan girl6 May 2011 at 08:50

    I wish I am more adventurous trying calendula in salad next winter. Can't wait to see how they grow.

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  6. Egretta Wells blog6 May 2011 at 12:14

    Your plants look so healthy an vibrant!Will you transplant some and grow some in pots?

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  7. Anonymous6 May 2011 at 19:10

    It's ALMOST time to plant our warm season vegetables, I can hardly wait. The cool season veggies are doing great, with radishes, green onions, lettuce, spinach and carrots all coming up. The spreading purple plant you admired is simply called creeping phlox, and very common here in spring. It comes in purples and pinks, and spreads easily with early spring blooms.

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  8. ~TastyTravels~6 May 2011 at 20:28

    Wow! Your seedlings have grown quite a bit! They are looking good!! I didn't know calendula leaves were edible. Cool!

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  9. Rainy Day Gardener7 May 2011 at 15:49

    Kelli, I'm spitting jealous of all the warm weather you and Mark keep blogging about! We're still soaked to the bone on the flip side of the world. However, I am quite glad for you to have this seed sowing success and encourage you to grow some mint for you mojitos! I found spearmint to provide a lively taste :)

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  10. littlekarstar7 May 2011 at 19:02

    It is always amazing to see new growth, how do seeds know to do that!! Love the yellow zucchini. Yum.

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  11. Peggy8 May 2011 at 15:11

    The growth of the past few weeks has been pretty amazing!
    I see your cucumber is a bush variety?We had 3 plants which have all keeled over!I think I will try to find a bush variety as I was not aware they were available.
    Beans & peas are the most satisfying plants to grow from seed the way they just forge ahead.

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