Seedy Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…

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How do you say pea in russian?I’ve just seen an advert on the telly about the Daily Mirror’s free seed offer which starts tomorrow. All you have to do is send one token from the newspaper per packet plus some cash to cover the postage. They have a selection from a wide variety of seeds including herbs, flowers and vegetables, not bad for a price of a paper eh? The seeds you get probably haven’t got the exotic packaging like the russian perennial pea I got off ebay the other day (above) but I reckon they have more seeds per pack than the eight I got in mine!

Keep those eyes peeled for a copy of a discarded Daily Mirror on the train and bus to and from work next week. Me, I’ll be scouring those empty carriages!

Let it rot

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compost in a 2013 style I opened the compost bin I started just over a year ago this morning and it is looking mighty fine! The kitchen/plant waste has near enough rotted except for a few eggshells and the odd large potato. I’ve made a mental note to cut up the kitchen waste finer and to crush the eggshells even more from now on. If you look closely at the contents you’ll also see a nice blue biro. How the hell did that get in there? How long will that take to rot do you think?

Rereading Jane Perrone’s book this week I could really relate to the section about making compost where she writes “I’ve been known to secrete used tea bags in my pocket to take back for my own ever-hungry compost pile.” Tea bags never get wasted in our house, after a brew they either get chucked on the compost heap or the worms have them.

it's the worm!Talking about worms here’s how the wormery is progressing in the garage. It’s taken a lot longer than I thought (I started it early last summer) but I’ve got a big jar of liquid plant feed out of it and there’s also a good bit of compost underneath the rotting veg, sprouting onions, killer sized slugs and mouldy bread.

Also this week I started off some seeds on the kitchen windowsill, Cabbages (goldenacre) and Foxgloves (pam’s choice) and sometime soon will get those tomatoes seeds out of the packet. That’s good for me as I sowed them just after xmas last year. Patience dear boy!

Another garden-related musical release

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share the flameJazzmin Tutum – Share the flame – Universal Egg
A big shout to the dub poetess Jazzmin Tutum on her excellent new release on Zion Train’s Universal Egg Records called “Share the flame“. A great mix of bass heavy collaborations with Neil Perch (who also produces the tracks), Brain Damage, Hey o Hansen, Ralf Freudenberger and yours truly (Madtone). Respect to Jazzmin for working with “Calling live on channel” and “Message from Madtone”! A big thanks goes out to our good friend Dr Strangedub from KFAI’s excellent Echo Chamber for linking us up!

Win a free allotment (book)!

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allotment keepers handbookA big thanks goes out to Jane Perrone for sending us a copy of her excellent book “The Allotment Keeper’s Handbook – A down-to-earth guide to growing your own food”. She also writes a great blog called Horticultural which is running a couple of competitions at the moment (There’s a chance to get a anti-slug T shirt and some free gardening books until midnight on February 18th 2013) and there’s also a link to a great idea called “Seedy Penpals”.

Talking of competitions Weeds up to me knees now has it’s first, thanks to Jane! We have a copy of the aforementioned allotment book to give away which is well worth having for novice and experienced gardener alike. All you have to do is send an email  to onedeckpete@gmail.com with “I’d love a copy of that book” in the subject header with your name and mailing address in the body text and we’ll pick one lucky person after the closing date on 28th February 2013. All are invited (UK and worldwide) to enter!

Let them eat (Potato) cake

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we're just chittingIt’s that time again! With the seed potatoes I bought at the Potato Fair and Seedy Sunday the other week I’ve started “chitting” them so to get the spuds off to a good start.

All that entails is simply getting the seed potato, placing them upright in a suitable container, an old egg box or a clean seed tray with the “rose end” upwards (the end that has the “eye’s”) and put in cool, light and airy place, away from frosts and let nature do it job. Mine are in the back room by the patio doors. I’ve just checked them now and I must have put a couple by mistake the wrong way around as yellow buds were starting at the bottom. No bother, just turn them around  if that happens.

In a few weeks you will get nice tight buds forming not those long yellow shoots you get when a potato starts to spout inside the spud bag! I’ve also felt-tipped on the box what variety they are and if it’s an early or a main cropper, as it’s very easy to get confused having bought two varieties.

We were told a great tip last year from Shirley Calgary who said “Actually you do not need the whole potato – I have cut the potatoes in 2 or 3 pieces as long as you have a sprouted or sprouting eye you are all set.” Brilliant!

Remember to tell everyone else in the house that they are special seed potatoes or you might have them cut, boiled and served on your dinner plate like “lewishamgardens” did. That’s a crime!

Gardening related tune of the week

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Heard on this weeks Echo Chamber, a lovely middle eastern inspired slow-mo bass heavy track with squelchy acid overtones and available as a free download too! A track to listen to while out in the back garden on a warm summers evening sipping on some char of the Moroccan variety.

It’s a shame it’s February and zero degrees outside, roll on the summer!