The secret to great tomatoes....

http://www.thearchersatthelarches.com

Next year, when you're planting your tomatoes into a pot with a healthy handful of Lou's Poo, Dried Alpaca Manure, don't forget to plant a used plastic bottle into the pot too, (pierced through with a few drainage holes.) When watering, fill the bottle with water or dilute Alpaca Tea and watch the difference this makes to your crops. http://www.thearchersatthelarches.com/products/lou-s-poo

http://www.thearchersatthelarches.com/

http://www.thearchersatthelarches.com/

http://www.thearchersatthelarches.com/products/lou-s-poo

http://www.thearchersatthelarches.com/products/lou-s-poo

Get the gardening togs on baby.....

Last Friday there was snow, lots of it. We were trapped because Hubby took Dizzy to work and the play date we were invited to was too hard to reach. Late that night the biblical rain that was promised made good on that promise and we were deluged. Consequently by Saturday morning the snow disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Hurrah!

Saturday arrived spring-like so I set to planting my garlic in modules. All 52 plants now reside in the greenhouse.... I may have gone a bit overboard. I may rename us The Stinky Archers at the Larches or I might sell some of my plants on a little honesty table outside the gates - lots of the farmers do that round here. Next I planted more broad beans, some peas and lettuce. The greenhouse is beginning to look green.

On Saturday night I sat with the Thompson and Morgan seed catalogue, while Hubby watched NFL and cricket, and planned out the crops for the year. (The wild life I lead) I also costed the seeds and plants - whoaaaaa! Wish I hadn't done that. Hope the veg plants are pretty, because now I can't afford flowers.

We've decided to mark out a big plot in Home Field for potatoes, pumpkins, peas and beans this year and a kindly farmer has offered to bring his tractor and plough the land for us. I am a little worried by the exposure of the site we've chosen to rabbits and chickens, but fencing it would be too expensive so we're going to have to risk it. Hubby thinks we might put one level of electric wire around it....... I suspect this is so I may be electrocuted more regularly, clearly I don't get enough stimulation from the chicken fence twice a day. We'll see.

Come to think of it, I must start chitting potatoes ready for planting March 17th.

Roll on Spring.

UK Gardening News....

http://www.gardenersworld.com/monty-don/

The pin-up returns......... yea Monty, we love you. Thank goodness you're back, I can watch on a Friday night without making snippy comments throughout the whole programme. Dear BBC my husband thanks you for peace in our house on a Friday night.......

Seasonal Change.....

Autumn has arrived for sure. We've already dipped into the 'below zero' temperatures overnight thanks to the cloudless, beautiful sunny days. The moons have been awesome; Harvest moons with twinkling stars. There's no street lighting around The Larches so on some nights the dark sky is alive with diamonds. I must get a book on the stars, check out where E.T. lives.

We've had some pretty interesting fungi in the garden. No revolting comments on the body part one, OK?

I took the cosmos plants out of my big pots outside the front door. It was getting pretty difficult to pass them as they barred your way with gorgeous colour. Although they weren't spent, they were looking tired but I didn't have the heart to put them on the bonfire so I planted them in the garden. They've had a second wind, bursting with buds. Clearly the pots were way too dry for them.

I've a new planting scheme in the pots now; 10ft pampas grasses, blue geranium and primula, all half-inched relocated from the garden.

It's been great having mini bonfires in the garden with the sproglets. Toasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate is just what Autumn dictates.