Weeding the Cabbage (and behind the shed)

The weather today has finally cleared up enough to get out into the garden and do some much needed weeding. It is windy, but sunny.

I have weeded all the beds and have noticed that, because I have been so disciplined in taking out even the tiniest of weeds when I am weeding, there are almost no weeds around the onions, garlic, shallots and parsnips. The cabbage, however, has not really been properly weeded so the bed was quite overgrown.

I had also, if you remember, covered the cabbage with bird netting. This has caused my grass cutting endeavours to not be able to get close to the edge of the bed where the cabbage is growing.

I didn't take a picture before I pulled the netting back and uprooted most of the foot high grass that was encroaching, but the picture below gives some idea of just how overgrown it was (if you look to the back of the bed, where I haven't yet removed the netting.

Pre-weeded cabbage bed

The interesting lesson that I have just learned today is, that really long grass was hiding a LOAD of slugs and they have been eating all the cabbages (well not all, but a lot).

Anyway, I think the lesson is, when the cabbages are no longer seedlings and you don't need to worry about the bird, take the netting off because you will NOT ever be bothered to pull out all the pegs and remove the netting whenever you cut the grass. If you don't, you are providing a perfect slug habitat.

Anyway, that's my lesson for the day.

Most of the slugs were at the left of the bed; where there are fewest surviving cabbages :)

Having done a full weed of the garden (about 25 mins of my time) I then decided to attack the waste land behind the shed, where the stingers and those horrible weeds with juicy purpley/red stems and roots which you can never get out. They are the bane of my life in this garden.

Anyway, three wheel-barrows later, and a completely full green bin, went from this:

To this:

Not bad going I think.

I now have to wait another two weeks before the waste of space, thieving git, council deign to come again to take away the pathetically small green bin that they charge me an arm and a leg to remove (when they can be bothered, or when it isn't 6 inches too far onto my property).

*breathes*

I was totally exhausted after all this weeding, as a lot of it was carried out kneeling down, or bent underneath tree branches.

Sorry there are no pictures of tomato plants; nothing at all has changed since the last time (apart from about 4-6" growth on each plant).

Stinging Nettle Tea update, and progress

Well it's been quite a while since my last update, for me. Just life getting in the way.

I have been keeping on top of the gardening, but the time to write up and upload pictures onto the blog just hasn't been forthcoming.

This is one of those things as a Part Time Homesteader, as you have to prioritise your time and, obviously with the weather we've been having, getting round and watering all the plants is far more important while it is so hot.

Anyway, I have been taking photographs over the last few days and this is just a quick update about a few things I wanted to get out as they're starting to get very passe now.

First of all, I don't know if the Stinging Nettle Tea worked on not, but GOD DAMN it smelt FOUL so I had to get rid (it was effecting the use of the garden with the stench)

Mmmmm stinky water with stinky stinging nettles in it.

Oh well, you live and learn.

The Thyme is showing through nicely (this is a couple of days old so they're even better now).

The Basil is coming through even better.

I'm up to three tyres on the potatoes now. I've now run out so if anyone has any knackered tyres they're not using....?

The main bed potatoes are growing really well too, and I'm having to earth them up every couple of days. This is taking the most time of everything (including having to water all the tomatoes)

The Cabbage really is ready for "pricking out" now; thinning the seedlings so only the strongest remains, at a good separation for maximum growth per plant.

So that is my very quick update; I have another couple of blogs in the pipeline so I will update again later today probably.

Thanks for reading.