Raised Bed & radishes.

I have an eight foot by four foot raised bed in which I planted rows of baby lettuce, radish, rocket, carrots, turnip and beetroot. All of the vegetables, which I make good use of, are flourishing. Radish and turnip greens as well as beetroot leaves can be cooked and enjoyed in various ways.

Today, I ate this season's first radishes with crackers spread with Philadelphia cheese. Previously, I bought some radishes from the supermarket. They were large, a little woody and almost tasteless. My home grown ones are tender, juicy and slightly spicy. My grandson, who popped in after school to give me a slice of upside down cake that he made in food technology, agreed with me when he  tasted the radishes.

Such a humble salad vegetable but so delicious. I shall plant another row elsewhere.

Garden and Bird Feeders

Yesterday, I bought bags of compost to add to either manure or my homemade compost to top up a raised bed. I also bought a packet of geranium seeds. It’s so much cheaper to grown my own instead of buying plants. I like potted red geraniums both indoors and outdoors. I also bought a red, a yellow and a pink rose bush and two rhubarb plants.

My squirrel proof bird feeders arrived today. Small birds fluttered through the one I filled with seeds. I have to buy peanuts for the other one. The wood pigeons strutted around on the lawn but I didn’t see any squirrels today.

Writing and Gardening

I have been busy with many writerly matters but had set myself a deadline to begin a new novel today - Monday's Child - the sequel to my Regency Novel, Sunday's Child - and kept to it. I've spent so much time thinking about it that the first few pages flowed well.

I didn't have time to write for as long as usual because the gardener who works for me once a fortnight arrived and I needed to give him some instructions etc. We removed my peach tree from a large container and planted it in the the garden. He then laid wee suppressent over an 5 foot by 8 foot vegetable patch bordered by fir trees. The trees drain the soil and nothing flourished in the patch so we put two four by four foot raised beds over the weed suppressant which will filter the water.

After the gardener left I finished cleaning the greenhouse and repotted more of my orchids in a special growing medium.

All in all, a very satisfying morning.