distractedbyathing.net

First parsnip seeds have been set to germinate, using the widely recommended kitchen-roll method. Basically, the seeds are put on damp kitchen roll, kept warm until they germinate and then moved out into a prepared drill by which time the soil has warmed up a bit more. The bed isn’t even dug yet so we need to get cracking on that asap.

If this works, I will start another batch off in a couple of weeks time for succession planting.

The wireworm risk is high for parsnips (and all roots), given that we are planting on land that last year had sheep and cows grazing on it, so I am a little nervous about how well they will perform, but we have to give it a go.

The parsnips (Picador) will share a 3m x 1m bed with a few different types of carrot – round ones – cant recall the name, came free on a magazine, as well as Purple Haze, a rainbow mix and Samurai (red). Some of the local kids want to grow the coloured and round carrots too, so in return for their help moving stones, I have set aside a 1m square bed for them to share and they can choose any of my seeds that they like. So far, all have gone for the ‘funny carrots’, with one considering a side order of yellow cherry tomatoes. I think a few pumpkins will be fun too, if only for making lanterns.

Having read in various gardening forums that 2009 asparagus deliveries are already underway, it was time to get the beds to their next stage of readiness.

Steve has moved a whole load of the topsoil from front garden to back – an ingenious ramp system on the wooden steps made it possible to get the whole way with the barrow without having to unload/reload it or use buckets, phew.

We now have both beds filled to ground level. We are allowing them a day or two to settle during which my job is to get the edges weeded and straightened up, line up the raised bed surrounds nice and straight, then fix them into position for Steve to top them up with more soil. We will fill them almost full, as they will sink down as the compost composts and we can top up as required from there. I will also add some fertilizer to the topsoil layer – probably bonemeal.

Planting will be in blocks, 11 plants to each 2m x 1m bed which is perhaps too many but I am hoping it will be okay:

X X X X

X X X

X X X X

I will use 7 of each green variety and an extra purple one. The rest of the order will go to BooLou for their lottie:

Stewarts Purple x 12 early, sweet, purple

Ariane x 10 (organic) early season

Backlim x 10 (organic) mid to late, can be grown as white asparagus after a few years

Just watched West Ham 5 vs 0 Newcastle (Div 2 – 1979) with Charlie….

Yes we should have been doing spelling or reading I suppose… but.. it’s Friday.. and… er…

Brooking, Devonshire, Bonds, Lampard…. Pop Robson…. standing on the terraces… jumpers for goal posts… Brian Moore… marvelous.

Even the Cardif City fans singing “We’ll see you all outside” during their game with Stoke City had a bit of a nostalgic ring to it. A young Garth Crooks poaches a goal.

Interactive/User-generated content in 1979…?

Brian Moore holding the original letters sent in by viewers asking “just what was Alan Ball doing at the end of last week’s League Cup final” (Answer – nicking a piece of turf as a souvenir)

The Big Match Revisited (The Big Match – Wikipedia)

The Guardian’s online sports pages have a weekly selection of sports video clips (plenty of football) with a mix of nostalgia and current weirdness/sensational stuff – usually decent picks and worth a look.

This week’s:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/mar/26/youtube-bbc-liverpool-lewis-hamilton

is a corker…:
“Featuring a Brian Clough left hook, Manny Ramirez swapping baseball for cricket and a belting simultaneous double KO”
And the very nostalgic: “…1987-88, the BBC did a Goal of the Season competition just for Liverpool.”

This is a test to see if it propogates via FriendFeed… to Twitter…. then on to Facebook…

We received our topsoil order today.

I also continued work on our raised beds – adding compost then covering over with old newspaper and cardboard (as per instructions from wifey).

The topsoil was delivered by a local company (Farnaby) who deliver via a huge artic. lorry (er… wagon in Yorkshire) with a 3-wheeled fork lift on the back to lift the large bags of soil off the wagon and deliver to the customer site.

Made me think… I wonder how much energy (joules, KW, calories – whatever) will have been used in “producing” then delivering the soil we received… and how much food will we need to produce to generate the equivelent amount of energy. Also… can you imagine the idea of shipping topsoil around the country – even relatively locally – without the aid of fossil fuel based transport and “mechanical muscles”? I guess I’ll find out what it’s like to shift 2 tons of soil about 30 meters at least… by wheelbarrow!

The topsoil arrives Tuesday pm. I imagine Steves biceps are protesting already at the prospect of barrowing that lot down the garden path !
I am doing remote support by reading the latest ‘Garden Answers’ mag – free asparagus ! I wish Id known about that a month ago.

Mothers Day
Ordered 2 tons of topsoil from Farnabys, just down the road near Scotch.

This will come next week sometime, mainly to start building up the asaparagus beds once Steve has put in layers of compost, cardboard and any other organic stuff we can get hold off. I am now officially talking horsesh*t !

Some recent photos sets [see ALL OUR PHOTOS AT FLICKR]

CVJFC Matches

Charlie as Four Arms

Christmas at the Mee’s

In the Snow – Dec 2008

London – October 2008

TO DO #1 – dismantle the old raised beds, rebuild as 2 x 2m instead of 3 x 1m squares. Use the old site near the lawn to prepare for the two trees. New beds will be for root veg and/or salad, not sure which to do first, must check planting plan.
TO DO #2 – order topsoil for next weekend.
TO DO #3 – make a list of what to sow/plant and when, by month.
Ordered a starter pack of Gripples, mainly for the raspberries.