Sunday, March 25, 2012

The clocks go forward.....

..... and the To Do list grows ever longer.

Hopefully the longer daylight available in the evenings will help me plough through a few of the 28 on the current To Do list for the garden!

I had hoped to get a load of things done in my week off last week, but I just managed to get as many things done as I added in the end.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Log cabin - ordered!

I have finally ordered my log cabin summerhouse, after much deliberating, consideration & searching I went back to the first one I saw! It fits the bill perfectly.

I have negotiated pretty well I think & managed to get a good enough price that included delivery as well as construction, I had been told that the roof can be problematic, so I thought I could do more on the fitting out on the follow days if the workmen just came along & put the thing up in a day.

It should be with me in about a month. Fingers crossed!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Wall & roof repairs....

A couple of ridge tile repairs have been long overdue at Rice Towers, so when my next door neighbour had their gutters emptied & cleaned I enquired to the roofer whether he could undertake a couple of small jobs for me. He could he said & so I gainfully employed his services, whilst chatting to him it transpires he does chimney repairs & re-pointing & that he did his apprenticeship as a bricklayer - I've been looking for a decent brickie for ages to re-do the top course of bricks on a low wall with black engineering bricks, but couldn't find one that would commit to such a small job or do it for what I think is a reasonable amount. As it turned out Michael was free for a couple of days later in the week & could do it quickly & for a very competitive price. He has now done work for me & both my neighbours over the last couple of days, I would recommend him to anyone.

So if you live in Hampshire & need a good roofer who can turn his hand to a bit of remedial brickwork etc. the MB Roofing Contracts would be an excellent place to go. Michael Blake is a local business, he does what he says he will, he is completely trustworthy, he charges a fair price & the work is of an excellent standard. Visit his website for reviews & contact details - www.mbroofingcontracts.freeindex.co.uk He drinks tea, with milk & 3 1/2 sugars!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Luckily I had seen this before.....

So the first words to come out of my mouth weren't "What the f... is that!?" on seeing it this time.

A truly hideous example of stupidity, excess and bad taste (in my opinion). A normally serene, stately & beautiful car ruined by a colour scheme devised by a colour blind profligate egotist perhaps?

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Spring cleaning.....

A later start than anticipated meant that a change of plan was required, I set about car cleaning, so please meet Mr Clean & Mr Cleaner! 4.5 hours in total spent cleaning 2 cars, they hadn't been done properly since before Christmas, so it was looong overdue. Both looking shiny now, so hopefully they will be easier to keep looking better now I've invested a bit of tlc & time on them.

Sadly the late start (although I was awake & ready to go at 08:00, but put head back on pillow until phone rang at 11:00!?) meant that I haven't done anything of any note in the garden, so the list is now 25 items long with nothing crossed off it today. This probably means a few little chorettes will have to be undertaken in the evenings this week to catch up, luckily the daylight is getting longer by the day as we move into summer.





The first cut of forced rhubarb was had tonight, I roasted the stalks with brown sugar & a vanilla pod. The resulting fantastic perfumed syrupy dessert was amazing......

I've had an idea for more raised beds as I think I may have a desire to grow more than my existing beds will allow, so a couple of 2.4 x 1.2 metre oaks beds are being planned with a view to making them dedicated strawberry beds, thus freeing up 1/3rd of each of the existing raised beds for more beans and maybe some asparagus. This also probably means that I will go ahead with the gravel pathways idea between the raised beds.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

The first day of Spring?

Lawn raked & mowed, the normally trusty mower tried to die on me on the first day of use! Luckily it was an easy fix that took 5 mins - time to service the thing for the new season me thinks.

Raised bed #1 is now fully planted with berries, soft fruit & rhubarb, the cages have been installed to keep the birds off of the (expected) fruit. The black fibre membrane is a test to see what a gravel path might look like, I'm thinking that the grass will become compacted & worn as I tend the raised bed, so a gravel path might be an answer.... I am not 100% convinced, to do it properly will take a weekend or two, but I think it will be the solution I am looking for.









Raised be #2 has been fitted with cloches, the first 1/3rd has been dedicated to Strawberries as I had so many plants, the 2nd 1/3rd will be for potato's and the last 1/3rd will be for runner beans. That should be plenty to keep me going for the summer of 2012.

More to do tomorrow, the list is 20 long at the moment, if I can tick 5 off the list on Sunday I will be a happy man.