Vermiculture Revisited

After eight weeks it is time to assess the worm farm.

Opening it up it was wriggling with life but worms are shy of light and soon darted 'underground'.

Top Draw

 For the most part they had abandoned the middle draw.  Any I came across were retrieved and retained in the farm

Middle Draw

This is the first time I have seen worms in the bottom draw. Some fell in as I dismantled the farm, but some must have made their way there and drowned.

Bottom Draw

Surprisingly the newspaper laid down as a liner at the bottom of the middle draw was still intact.

Middle Draw Contents Inverted

It's not much to show for eight weeks but it hasn't been much trouble. So now I have tipped out the middle draw and made it the new top draw, where new 'food' is added.

A knot of worms in the top draw.

Swans on the Pond

These chirpy chaps hatched yesterday and were out on the pond today.  A brood of eight. Well done mum.

Cabin Fever - The Musical

 It's raining so I thought I might update a state of play review that I did about a month ago In-cold-storage.  The greenhouse is bulging with plants waiting to be liberated. The forecast for the next three nights is 3 degrees C so it would be foolhardy to plant out.

Stage Left

Stage Right

Balcony

Outside the greenhouse there are plenty seedlings that would just love to be inside.  I cover these with propagator lids each night at dusk and remove them each morning.

Terracing

There's no lids to spare and some of the overwintered plants just have to tough it out.

Stands

Despite the cold temperatures the recent rain has seen a surge in the slug and snail population.  They quickly home in on these runner beans (and some dahlias suffered too). Reluctantly I have applied a sprinkling of (Organic Approved) slug pellets under each tray.

Overdone Brassica

Of course everything is going hell for leather right now what with spring proper arriving and all that.  Rather than try to list everything here is a representative picture of the sort of madness that is abroad.  This is my third sowing of brassicas (the earlier ones being cabbage, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts).  They have all come good with the exeption of the two Tuscan Kales.  Either they are slower to germinate or the seed (which is years old) has finally lost its viability. 

I find it amusing that blogging drops when there is more going on in the garden.  Paradoxically there is more to report on too.  Busy makes busy.