Tis the season (for sprouts)

When it comes to growing brussels sprouts we never usually have much luck. Over the years there’s been many attempts with results ranging from the sprouts being “blown” to a horrible incident from a few years ago we’d like to forget about. A week before Christmas a fox rubbed his rear-end against the one of the only brussel sprout plant leaving a nasty brown deposit on the stalk. Even after the plant had a good hosing down and it was clean as a whistle, it scarred us psychologically (possibly for life) and no way could our sprouts be served at the Christmas dinner table. We had to procure another “leg” of them from the local supermarket even though we’d been growing them for the best part of a year. That don’t make sense does it?This year it has been better, there hasn’t been any incidents nor any sprouts blowing out. We grew a couple of plants from seed (they were tiny in April here) and even though one of the plants are at a 45 degree to the ground (picture above) there are a decent amount of sprouts on it (close up of it below). 

The other plant has kept straight and has a fair few sprouts on it so you can say we’ve had some sort of success this year!Talking of sprouts and all things festive we here at Weeds wish all our readers a Great Christmas and a Happy New Year! We probably posted this tune up before but what the heck, it’s a festive one! Big shout out to a long gone second-hand shop in Coventry called John’s in the late 1970’s for having this Coxsone Dodd white label blank in its record boxes (which were just beside the owner’s snarling German shepherd). So have a great festive season and may the Bailey’s/Tia Maria (and non-alcoholic cocktails for the non-drinkers out there) be with you!

https://soundcloud.com/weedsuptomeknees/jingle-bells-unknown

A pre-gardening reggae apéritif

We’ve woken up to a bright and sunny day here in London and just before a day of pottering about in the garden (or more likely, before the clouds go in!) here’s a wonderful bit of music to get you going.

It’s Chronixx doing a live set over some classic Studio 1 rhythms from his first appearance at Miss Lilys in New York City in 2012. Miss Lily’s looks a brilliant place, a restaurant, record shop and radio station, all they need now is a little garden centre at the back and it would be an ideal place for us here at weeds! Also, here’s a set Chronixx did there from back in 2014.

Some tunes to get you in mood for weeding, watering and taking off that horticultural fleece from the cold night just has gone (which you’ll more than likely be putting back on come this evening!).