Growing mushrooms, and the triffids....

I have made a start with growing things.
Beetroot in one seed tray, lettuce, and kohl rabi in the others.
What I ended up growing, though, were mushrooms!
Leggy, spindly things they were, definitely not harvestable.

...... they also grew in pots of cuttings I was experimenting with...

I don't know what the red cuttings are from as they were 'borrowed' from a neighbour's hedge, but the green ones are lavender, taken from a plant which became neglected to the point when only one small branch was still alive, so I thought I would say sorry for my miserable treatment of it by growing on some new plants taken from it,  and try and make a better effort to look after them. 

As for the mushrooms, I think the compost must be s**t. 

It is to be rehomed and definitely not used for growing seedlings again. 

Maybe not to grow from seed this year, then, but to buy already established plants.

As for the raised beds, after a slow start with them last year they did finish up the year doing well. 

 But everything that was growing was left to grow on, because I went 'off ' gardening because it was winter and it was wet and it was cold, and I was getting over my hospital experience, 

and excuses, excuses, excuses.....!!!

Anyway, in a brief spell of dry weather mid April 2018 I did an inspection of things. 

.... and all had carried on growing, so I decided to let them carry on then harvest the seed heads when they arrived. I had it on my mind to try seed saving thinking that any plants which had done well here would make for strong and sturdy plants in the future. 

It was a good idea. 

However......four weeks on and things have gone manic here. No flowers have arrived, therefore no seeds are available to be saved. The plants are growing bigger and bigger though.....

...... and the plants are now so big that they are sucking the life out of the raised beds they are in, 

so...... they will have to come out and the seed saving activity will have to wait until another time.

Sometimes one has to take control. 

I shall harden my heart.

I need the space. 

But why do I need the space! I have nothing to put in it. I did buy ten lettuce plants from the market but they were set upon by a bunch of now dead snails.....

...so I am having a go with egg shells as a deterrent rather than slug pellets. 

I would like to save the five lettuce that are left. 

I would like to do it sympathetically to the soil.

And while I am on the subject of things eating our food,

we have 'lost' three of our laying hens. Not sure where they have gone, but possibly down the throat of feral cats, of which there are quite a few round here. We know this because Maz, our rottweiller girl, has developed a new passion for chasing them up trees when she sees them. 

The chickens are not fussed with their new regime. They are not allowed out of their pen until we get the grass cut on the farm so that the stalking activities of the cats are reduced. It might take a while. Lester is very busy, and my only lawn mowing appliance is my little push along which can hardly cope with the lawn in the courtyard, let alone the rough pasture grass on the rest of the farm. 

I do have my scythe, though, and that will probably be what I end up using. 

...... so I suppose I had better go sharpen it!

So, bye for now,

Vx