Friday 30 June 2017

My home grown harvest, June 2017.

Things.  Are.  Happening.  In the garden.  It's food.  And I'm growing it. 

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

This has been my best year so far for growing my own, and I'm really seeing the potential for being able to grow loads more as the garden progresses over the next couple of years.  My new raised bed in the back garden has been amazing and I want more!

I have so much lettuce, and so many peas.  The yellow mange tout I planted has been prolific.  Unfortunately they're not as tasty as the less prolific purple mange tout I planted last year, but happily the purple ones have self seeded so I have some of those too!

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My favourite lettuce is this one, I'm not entirely sure what it is because I mixed some lettuce seed together without noting down what I was using, but it's huge and delicious.

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

I've had far too many mange tout to eat, so I've been blanching it in boiling water (about a minute - minute and a half is right for mange tout, it's probably not right, but I've just been doing odd handfuls in a mug of boiling water!), then drying and popping into a sterilised jar in the freezer to use in stir fries in the winter.

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

I've been enjoying garlic scapes, wet garlic and some unsuccessful elephant garlic (won't bother with that one again, I've included my finger in the photo for scale! It wasn't strong tasting enough for me either!)

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

 It's been my best year for strawberries.  I'm so happy!

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger

We've been picking home grown herbs all spring and summer too, rosemary, thyme and sage are our favourites and Joe makes amazing herby roast potatoes.

My home grown harvest, June 2017.  What I grew in my UK suburban, permaculture garden. By UK garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #ukpermaculture #gardenharvest #organicgarden #raisedbeds #ukgardenblogger


How are your gardens?  Are you harvesting anything exciting?





Thursday 29 June 2017

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.

My wish came true and there's a frog in the garden.  Nowhere near the little pond I made though!  I think he was hiding in the long grass and we disturbed him when Joe mowed the lawn.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

I was leaving the lawn long this year, but I think I saw a rat so I'm getting rid of any ratty hidey places.  It's a shame because we've had lovely wildlife this year, big beetles, all sorts of bees and wasps and insects, sparrows, and this little frog, and I think they've all been using the long grass to hide in. 

Joe's been giving me a hand this week and the garden's looking a bit neater and nicer. There are a few piles of grass about waiting to go into the compost bin and I still haven't finished painting the fence, but there are definitely less weeds!

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

Our second raised bed has been placed on the lawn and is waiting to be filled.  I was going to have a raised bed at the front and one at the back of the lawn, but it just didn't feel right.  About a week ago I had a total rethink of how I want to design the garden, drew a new plan and now I'm super excited to get going.  The whole back half of the garden is going to be fruit trees and bushes and shrubs, and the front half will be the raised veg beds and mostly cottage garden style planting with fruit and veg interspersed through.  When we can afford to do the hard landscaping I want to curve the path to the right, where we'll have a studio shed, and plant a tree in the middle of the end of the garden so there's a nice central focal point. 

Anyway, Joe's put the new raised bed in the lawn, and dug a little trench for it so it sits level, as the lawn is really slope-y and bumpy.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

As you can see the other raised bed is doing so good!  I've only fertilised it once too and I'm only watering using the ollas and a couple of wine bottle waterers.  I slightly regret planting two courgettes in there because they've got huge, but at least I think I'll have some courgettes this year!

I've never grown borlotti beans before, aren't they beautiful?

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

I'm growing rat's tail radish this year too and it's a lot bigger and taller than I expected.  It has lots of flowers, and I'm waiting for them to form seed pods, which are the edible part.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

In the front garden the raised beds are doing good, but I'm not planting anything new in them because we're going to change up the front garden too. 

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

We going to change the gravel, put in new round raised beds and a half barrow pond, a wheely bin store with a green roof and these wooden raised beds will move to the other side of the front garden. 

I bought some exciting new plants this month, there are lots of gaps to fill after slugs ate all my summer seedlings!

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

Other nice plants in the garden this month, this huge fern, pretty calendula, self seeded hypericum, lavender with very yellow nasturtiums behind and lovely sage with slightly pink tips.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, June 2017.  By UK permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #suburbangarden #ediblegarden #ukpermaculturegarden


How's your garden this month? 


 
 

Friday 23 June 2017

Photo an hour, June 2017.

Saturday the 17th was photo an hour day, in Susieland this is an excellent date because it's nice and neat, 17/6/17 - I always think I'll have a better day when the date's a nice number.  Here are my photos.

Photo an hour in organised by Jane and Louisa, anyone can join in and post their hourly photos on social media throughout the day tagging them #photoanhour.  Why don't you join in next time?
 
10am -  Feeling very hayfever-y so I took a long time to wake up - sofa + tissues + weetabix in the meantime.


11am - Plan for today involved doing at least 3 loads of washing so it can dry in the sunshine.  I think this makes me officially old. 

 
12pm - I pulled a few weeds up in the garden and admired these pretty flowers. 

 
1pm - I regretted my choice to go to the market, it was suuuuuuper hot, but 2 older ladies stopped me to say they liked my dress, so that was something. 

 
2pm - My lunch is home-grown salad, and couscous with chickpeas. 
 
 

3pm - Second lot of washing out, third lot of washing in.  Not the most exciting of days. 


7pm - I lost a couple of hours to a nap, then woke up really sleepy and out of it.  But I still managed to watch Doctor Who.


8pm - Watering the pots outside just as the light caught this pretty foxglove. 


9pm - I wanted to watch this when it came out, but no cinemas near me showed it, thanks to Netflix I got to watch it at last! 

 
Did you take part this time?  How was your day?



 
 

Tuesday 20 June 2017

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.

Garden visits it a blog series where I visit gardens then blog about them! 

We're back at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Macynlleth again, there's too much there for one blog post! 

I loved the Forest Garden at CAT.  Forest gardening is something I'm super interested in and something that I intend to incorporate, on a small scale, into my garden.  Basically, forest gardening is a way of working with nature to grow food crops.  If you visit a woodland you'll see trees, shrubs and ground cover plants all growing together, they don't get watered or fertilized by human hand, but they still grow big and healthy.  What I've read about permaculture says that nature hates bare soil.  Nature will send in lots of things to cover bare soil, annual and perennial weeds, shrubs and trees.  Any ground left uncovered and uncultivated for long will turn itself into a mini forest and grow quite happily and abundantly.  So forest gardening uses these principals and tweaks them for human use, by choosing the right plant species, to grow low maintenance and abundant food forests that benefit people, wildlife and the environment.

Anywho, the Forest Garden at CAT is fairly small, but I think that's a good thing as it shows what's do-able in an average sized garden.

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

There are lovely old apple trees, underplanted with gooseberry and currant bushes and perennial food, flowers and herbs.

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

I loved the perennial salad area.  Growing perennial crops, rather than annuals, is another important idea in permaculture and forest gardening.  The idea is that perennials can grow better root structures and be more productive because they're longer lasting plants.  Perennials are also lower maintenance, they don't need to be sown or bought every year like annuals.  Growing perennials disturbs the soil less too, you're not yanking them out of the ground at the end of the season, so they're better for no dig gardens.  

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

There's an edible flower selection too, including things like pink purslane, creeping bellflower, snow garlic, ladies smock and campanula persicifolia. 

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Wild strawberries are used lots as ground cover. 

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

And around the back of the forest garden are more fruit bushes and a beautiful carpet of something with blue flowers that was attracting a crazy amount of bees.  It wasn't labelled but if I had to guess I'd say it was maybe either vipers bugloss or hyssop.

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

This is what CAT's website says about it's forest garden, 

"A truly ecological way of growing food. In a forest garden, the plants grow under and over, in and among each other. It is designed so that the plants help each other grow - with trees providing shade to shade-lovers, ground covers suppressing the weeds, and nitrogen fixing plants increasing the fertility. It has the same multilayered structure as a woodland, but all the plants are edible or useful. Check out our string plant and our creeping raspberry."

Here's the string plant, in case you're curious! 

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

You can read more about the Forest Garden at CAT on their website

Garden visit, the forest garden at CAT.  From UK eco friendly and garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #forestgarden #organicgarden #nodiggarden #centreforalternativetechnology #garden #gardenblogger

PS.  In case you missed it, here's my post about the allotments and polytunnels at CAT.







Friday 16 June 2017

Charity shopping.

Going on holiday means new and different charity shops to explore!  

Charity shopping. From UK charity shop blogger, secondhandsusie.blogspot.com Featuring retro bedding, pyre and Sylvac pottery. #charityshopping

I couldn't walk past this pair of retro pillowcases!
Retro pillowcases, £1.49, Aberystwyth charity shop (can't remember which one!).

Charity shopping. From UK charity shop blogger, secondhandsusie.blogspot.com Featuring retro bedding, pyre and Sylvac pottery. #charityshopping

Joe spotted this cute little mirror for me when he was rooting through a basket of stuff.  It was 10p!  10p!!!
Retro Holly Hobby-esque mirror, 10p, CRAFT second hand shop, Aberystwyth.

And that's all I bought on my holidays, I'm trying to cut down on my spending and the amount of stuff we have in this house (which is way too much!).  But that didn't stop me from having a little look in the charity shops at home too,

Charity shopping. From UK charity shop blogger, secondhandsusie.blogspot.com Featuring retro bedding, pyre and Sylvac pottery. #charityshopping

For some reason this was in the children's section of the shop, which is wrong, because it's for me! 
Wooden necklace, 25p, local Cottage Hospice charity shop. 

Charity shopping. From UK charity shop blogger, secondhandsusie.blogspot.com Featuring retro bedding, pyre and Sylvac pottery. #charityshopping

If I see a big, cheap, pretty dish I usually buy it to use in my greenhouse or conservatory to grow my seeds in.  There's no need for ugly, plasticy plant growing in my life!
Pyrex dish, £1, local Salvation Army charity shop.

Charity shopping. From UK charity shop blogger, secondhandsusie.blogspot.com Featuring retro bedding, pyre and Sylvac pottery. #charityshopping

So, I'll admit to not really knowing what this is intended to be.  A big serving dish, a planter?  I think we all know it's going to become a planter.  I can't find any info on it online, or anything or a smiliar size (it's at least a foot long!), but it's Sylvac and it was relatively cheap and so fifties looking I had to lug it home with me. 
Sylvac big dish, marked 3817, £8, local Shelter charity shop.


Have you had any luck in the charity shops lately?
 
P.S. Check out my other charity shop posts for more!  



Tuesday 13 June 2017

Make one small change, litter pick on the beach.

Making one small change at a time can make becoming eco friendly loads easier.  Lots of small changes add up to a big difference.

Make one small change, litter pick on the beach. From UK eco friendly blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #litterpick #plasticfree #makeonesmallchange #ecofriendly

If you go on your holibobs to the seaside this summer don't forget to take a minute to pick up any plastic rubbish you see.  Small bits of plastic can be eaten by sea-wildlife like birds and fish and turtles - it hurts their tummies and can end up killing them.  The main culprits we found on our recent beach holiday were plastic straws, the plastic stems of cotton buds, and plastic bottle lids.  We picked up handfuls each day and there was still loads and loads left.   

The thing is, all of these are avoidable.  You can get reusable stainless steel straws for super cheap on Ebay, paper cotton buds (I use these ones from Marks and Spencers) and reusable bottles.
So, yes to picking up litter on the beach, but also yes (please!) to changing your habits a little and producing less plastic rubbish in the first place.  Somehow it's ending up in our seas and on our beaches and that's not cool.  

Don't forget to check out my other small changes to help you live a greener life!



Friday 9 June 2017

Life lately, Spring 2017.


Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Celebrating - Joe and I had our 1st wedding anniversary in May.  We had a lovely party with lots of family and friends (kind of a belated wedding reception!) and Joe bought me a this book, I'm not sure what that says about what he thinks of me or our relationship, but I love it anyway!

Holidaying - We had a lovely week long holiday Aberdovey last month, lovely walks on the beach, some sunny days, and an inspirational visit to CAT in Machynlleth.

Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Listening to - I have a Lush Spa CD (this Beatles one) and I love soaking in a warm bath and chilling out while it's on.  

Auntie-ing - My littlest niece suddenly had this whole new vocabulary - it's all 'that's a bit manky' 'she will be disgusted by it' or 'please pass the sellopape' roud here - she's only two!  Big niece just gets cleverer and cleverer too.  We spend a lot of time checking out the tadpoles in my Mum's garden, looking at wiggly worms.  I'm so lucky I get to spend this time with them, I'm making the most of it before big one goes off to school in September!

Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Watching - I don't like Amazon, but hypocritically signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime because I Really needed something delivered next day and didn't want to pay the £8 delivery fee.  So we've been watching Amazon Prime TV this month, I've watched nearly all of Awkward and Joe's been watching American Gods.  I loved the 3rd season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and the new episodes of iZombie too.  And Doctor Who is so good this season, I love Bill so much! 

Gardening - My raised beds are super productive at the moment and they're making me so happy!  I've decided to try to squeeze as many trees into the garden as possible, and started by buying 3 this month!  I've been reading lots about Permaculture and hope to include lots of Permaculture principles in the garden.

Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Reading - So many gardening books, and lots of easy reads (all I can cope with during a snap general election!), I've been enjoying the Worst Witch series - please can I go and live in a witches school?!

Working - Work is workish.  It's fine.  I'm trying a new thing where I don't talk or think about work at home, and it's working out pretty well.  I came back from my holiday so lovely and calm, and I'm trying to keep hold of that feeling! 

Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Looking forward to - a summer of being in the garden.

Eating - I've become a regular at my local Novello Lounge (for the vegan breakfast!) - I've been twice this week! 

Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Guiding - I'm so looking forward to a big district event this month to celebrate 100 years of Guiding in Shropshire (and there'll be a special badge!)

Writing - I've started writing 'morning pages' when I have time in the mornings.  The idea is to just get up and write, stream of consciousness style, ideally 3 pages but I usually only manage 2, and it gets all your creative and stressy feelings out and helps you to work through stuff.  I was sceptical but I've been finding it really helpful.  

Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Wanting - Labour to win the general election, so bad.  I'm writing this in advance, on Thursday, so I don't know what the outcome will be, but I'm hoping so hard for a Labour government, and if not I'm hoping so hard that we can come together and make it through another 5 years of the Tories.  

Life lately, spring 2017.  By UK blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Blogging - The most popular posts in this little corner of the internet have been, 

Use a wooden toilet brush (I don't know why, but it's popular!)






Hope you've had a happy springy spring!
 

 
 
 

Tuesday 6 June 2017

Things to think about before you vote.

Things to think about before you vote. seondhandsusie.blogspot.com #votelabour #toriesout #booTheresaMay #YeyJeremyCorbyn

Urgh.  The general election is on Thursday (the 8th of June, please don't forget to vote!).  I'm currently not friends with politics (see Brexit, Trump and Theresa May), but it's our duty to know the facts and to vote.  I'll be voting Labour.  I'm a Green Party girl at heart, but I don't think they'll win (yet, one day maybe) and I can't bear to think what another 5 years with the Tories will bring us, so Jeremy it is.  He has an allotment and buys the Big Issue after all.

Firstly (most importantly) you can vote between 7am and 10pm on Thursday.  You should have received a polling card that tells you where your polling station is.  If you've lost your card you can still vote as long as you're on the electoral register and at the right polling station and can give your name and address (find your polling station here).  If you're unsure of anything contact your local council's electoral services, they are wise and can answer all your questions. 

Find out which political party matches up with your views at I side with.

Read about why climate change matters this election, and what you can do about it.

Friend's of the Earth have published a survival guide for the election, their comparison on how the parties score on eco issues is particularly helpful.  

Check out Labour's manifesto, and the Conservatives too (if you really want to, ack, ack).  The Lib Dem's is here and the lovely Green Party's here.  

Use your vote tactically to prevent a tory victory and maybe make Brexit a little better.  

Here's some unashamedly pro Labour, pro Corbyn propaganda,

(By the way, I think you should vote for the party, rather than the leader.  I like Corbyn, but even if you don't the Labour Party has lots of good and skilled politicians in it.  Let's face it, no one voted for Theresa May and she's in charge, so anything can happen in 5 years)





I don't normally watch The One Show, but I randomly caught Corbyn's appearance, where he discussed manhole covers, his allotment and he brought a jar on home-made jam to give to the hosts.   

And can I just remind you that Theresa May supports fox hunting, fracking, is the anti-feminist, will privatise the NHS, under-fund our schools and she held hands with Donald Trump.

Fingers (and toes) crossed for Thursday and all the positive vibes and Jedi mind hugs for everyone feeling pre election jitters/ennui/anxiety/extreme nausea!

Friday 2 June 2017

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017.

The other morning the postman said to me 'your garden's gone woosh hasn't it?!'.  And 'woosh' is exactly the right way to describe the garden this month, it's been the perfect combination of roasting hot and big rainy that promotes lots of leafy wooshyness. 

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Unfortunately the weeds have gone woosh as well as the plants I want, but you can't have everything!  The slugs ate all my seedlings when we went on holiday, and there's a blackbird nesting in my wigela so I can't get over there to prune and weed under it.  I'm quite happy to have a nester though, it shows the garden's attractive to wildlife which means I'm doing something right!

I've planted 3 new tiny trees this month!  In the side garden I've planted a rowan and a hazel.  There's a little oak tree too that I intend to grow in a pot (I'll increase the size of the pot as it grows, but there'll have to be some pruning too!).  I also bought a little dog rose to grow up the fence and (hopefully) hide the view of the neighbours heads bobbing up and down their driveway.  I bought all the saplings online from the Woodland Trust.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

I wonder how many trees I can fit into my little garden.  I think I have 7 in the back garden and there's 4 in the front garden, and I have plans for loads more fruit trees.

My little apple trees have some apples on them!  Quite a lot have dropped off (June drop?), but I'm hoping for at least one home grown apple this year.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Here's the side garden, the raspberries are looking goood.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

I have chives all over the garden and the bees are going mad for them.

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

The raised beds in the front garden are doing really well.  There's some slug damage on some plants, but I've got yellow and purple mange tout (the purple are self sown from last years plants), broad beans, minipops sweetcorn, borlotti beans, strawberries, nasturtiums, pattypans and some leeks in there.  It needs a bit of a weed!

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

The ground elder in the front garden definitely needs weeding!  Joe's dug loads out and we've covered the bare ground with cardboard, but there's still more to do (before those flowers set seed!).

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

My back garden raised bed is really giving me the happys.  The first photo is from 4 weeks ago, the next one is from now, so you can see how much it's grown in a month!

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Woosh! 

I'm really pleased with the lettuces - I have never been able to grow salad and I currently have loads of the stuff.  I'm creating my own polyculture salad seed mixes to sow (and keeping track of them in my little gardening journal).  I just mix a few varieties of seeds that I think will complement each other and sprinkle them where I want them to grow.  I've been sprinkling quite liberally then eating the thinnings! 

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

I'll leave you with this beautiful rose, which smells lovely and has loads of flowers (because I didn't prune it last year and now it's about 8 foot tall!) and this lovely nigella flower cos it's pretty too!

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

Diary of a suburban edible garden, May 2017. By UK suburban permaculture garden blogger secondhandsusie.blogspot.com #gardenblog #ukgardenblogger #permaculture #permacultureuk #organicgarden #ediblegarden

PS.  I still haven't finished painting the fence! I did one more panel but it keeps raining!

How's your garden this month?