Gardening in March: Pruning, Seeds and Harvest

My gardening endeavours to share for this week’s Six on Saturday are courtesy of windows we had in the weather. One moment blue skies and sun the next a squall rolled in from the sea and we had torrential rain.

Pruning Washingtonia

~Only a couple of weeks ago I was moaning to Mr. Piglet, and on my blog, how scruffy Washingtonia’s become once you can no longer remove the dead leaves due to its height and how unsuitable I felt it was for small urban gardens. So …. you can imagine my surprise when during yet another downpour of rain an enterprising gentleman called Mohammad appeared at our gate asking if we wanted our palm tree trimmed. My reaction was intitially very much the same as if a crew of chancer tarmacers arrived at my door telling me they had some tarmac spare from a job they’d completed up the road and did we want our drive/path tarmaced. This is a well-known scam in the UK. You say yes, you pay them cash and two weeks later you have weeds growing up through the tarmac.

I hesitated. Asked what the guy’s qualifications were and as if insulted by my intimated slur on his abiblities drew himself up to his full height looked me in the eye and told me he was a qualified tree surgeon from Albufeira and gave me his card. I told him to wait. Summoned Mr. Piglet we had a PowWow then I left the men to discuss price. Before I could blink. Two more men appeared. One shimmed up the ladder with a safety harness and sky hooks then removed the dead branches. Job done in 30 minutes.

Just goes to show. Be careful not to judge a book by its cover. They are already booked in for next year. We will see.

Garden Diary: Why the Washingtonia Palm is Unsuitable for a Small Urban Garden

Growing Cucumbers from Seed

Unable to attend the local monthly Sunday market, I decided to grow my first batch of cucumbers from seeds. Variety: Long Anglais

Growing Strawberries in Pots

Thanks to the central watering system method (more on that another time), my vertical strawberry planter became infested with fruit flies. I evacuated all the strawberry plants and rehomed them in temporary accommodation. Dodging showers over the last week, I repotted each plant individually to encourage growth before I replanted in the vertical planter.

You may be wondering, or not, why I covered all the pots with an open weave crate. Here’s the thing: birds. In their search for worms, they toss the newly planted strawberries aside.

Growing Physalis in Pots

Physalis grow like weeds throughout the year in our garden. Drop a couple of squashed fruits into a pot, cover with soil, water, and hey presto! And like weeds, they even grow in the gravel.

For natural food enthusiasts, it may surprise you, as it did me, that physalis offers numerous health benefits.

Quote:

Results showed these crops contain many essential minerals and vitamins, notably potassium and immune system supporting Vitamin C, also known for its antioxidant activity. Beyond nutritional properties, these crops also contain a class of steroidal lactones called withanolides, which have been recognized for their antitumor, and antinflammatory properties.

Source: A review of nutritional properties and health benefits of Physalis species

Spinach and Carrot Harvest

One of the things that motivates me to keep growing my own vegetables, despite the numerous failures, is not only the smell of fresh carrots and produce but reading a list of recipe ingredients and then realising you have the vegetables required growing in your garden.

Red Onions -HELP!

My red onions have remained almost dormant since I planted them in xxxx. I am now wondering if it was worth the effort to plant them so early. Can any onion experts advise me on what I am doing wrong?

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That’s my garden Six things in my garden on Saturday for this week as hosted by Jim. Do check out other gardeners.

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