I'm thinking while I get a job done

Today's musing was on that vital question: Is growbag one word or two? A search on Google reveals the world to be evenly split. Indeed, some cop out of it altogether by using the description planting bag or some other term.

Anyway, the point is that I bought some today - a snip at 3 for £8 in the garden centre - and finally got round to transplanting the tomatoes into them. So now I have three Sungold variety plants and six Gardener's Delight. Two Sungold plants are outside in pots.

Let's hope they take off this year after the disappointing blight of last summer.

Did I say Gardener's Delight? That's a minefield as well - look it up and you'll see Gardener's Delight, Gardeners' Delight and even Gardeners Delight.

This growing lark is getting harder and harder.

I liked this

How about this for a fine example of neat and very regimented planting?

I spotted it on the village allotments during a visit to an arts trail in Saltaire. In its way, the plot is a work of art in itself.

Jealous? Moi?

Oops! But it is a serious matter

Bit of a mistake on the contents bill for today's Halifax Evening Courier. I thought at first it was something to do with poussin (obviously), but it turns out to be a story about allotment holders working on land which has been found to be contaminated with nasty things.

You've got to feel desperately sorry for them and certainly some answers are needed in the light of claims that Calderdale Council have known about this since 2004 and still charged people to grow veg on the land.

I've bean there and done it

I spent a very enjoyable few hours in the garden the other day, chiefly building a wigwam for my runner beans and planting them in. My friend Kate gave me some of her plants and I transplanted some I have been growing in the conservatory. Let's hope there's no repeat of last year's early death.

A second wigwam is up alongside, ready for french beans when the time is right. Cor, the soil is very stony, a reflection that we were once a big area for quarries. No matter how much I give the ground a going over, more stones appear.

It's a bit of a bonus that it has rained since I planted the runners.
 

More delay (but a good reason this time, at least that's what I say)

Well, it's only been and gone very chilly here.

Just as I was thinking I ought to be transferring some seedlings from the conservatory to the outside, the temperature takes a sharp drop.

I'll have to watch the weather forecast later. Ah well, this is Yorkshire. What do you expect?

Well, I never

Two miracles happened today, the first being that I used some produce from the garden. A whole 1lb of rhubarb from one of my two plants went into a rhubarb crumble cake I made this morning. Sadly, the eggs, sugar, butter and flour were provided by the shop, but I'm still pretty pleased to utilise something I have grown. The cake won't get any prizes for looks, but I'm hoping it is going to taste fine. The recipe by the way was from the nice Scottish tea room book my cousin Jennifer gave me for my birthday.

And the second miracle? It has rained after XXX days of drought. Not much, but I could hear it while I was in the bath and can see the wetness now that I am out of it. Altogether now: It will do a drop of good for the garden.

60th birthday ruminations

It was a landmark day for me yesterday - my 60th birthday. Yes, I was born when King George VI was on the throne. In fact, I came into this world just one hour before the monarch officially opened the Festival of Britain at noon. Wikipedia describes the "Festival Style" as combining modernism with whimsy and Englishness. I leave it to others to judge if I fit in.

My cousin Jennifer marked the big occasion by sending me three packets of seeds and a recipe book from Limekilns Parish Church, a coastal village not far down the road from her home in Dunfermline. There are some seriously good cake recipes in there. Mmm...I'll be trying some soon. The seeds are also very welcome and I will be particularly interested in having a go at growing peppers.

Talking of seedlings, I'm pleased that my beetroot and courgettes have started to show. The beetroot was a spectacular failure when I transplanted the seedlings last year, but that was on the back patch where the sun don't shine. I shall choose somewhere else this time.

The garden is totally parched and a bit of dustbowl after weeks without rain, although they are telling us to expect showers by the end of the week. Let us hope so.