In praise of the futility room :)

Now the porch is nice and clean and has dried out I can get started filling it up with seeds and plants and stuff :)

I am going to re pot all these geraniums as they are looking a bit sad. A bit of worm compost in the bottom of the pot and they will feel much better :)

It is too cold today to pot things up in the polytunnel so I have moved into the porch to work. Here is a christmas basket with two cyclamen waiting to be potted  into seperate pots and given some tlc.

I also washed more gravel trays and seed modules in the futility* room - normally I do this work in the polytunnel but it is just too cold out there for me to work without my fingers seizing up. So I have come inside to do this job. Thank goodness we have a futility* room with a sink in!

It feels so good to be doing some gardening again :) 

(It's a utility room, really. But I prefer to call it this as trying to keep it tidy is a futile task ;)  )

A cleaning up day, with many uses for a bowl of bleach :)

I don't often use bleach ( not very environmentally friendly and not good in our septic tank in large quantities) so when I do have to make up a solution of it I tend to use it for as many different jobs as I possibly can.

Today I had some fabric for a craft project which needed lightening, so I made up a washing up bowl full of bleach and water. I left the cloths to soak for a bit until they were the shade I wanted.

I then used the bleach water to soak some tea discoloured tea towels, wash cloths and flannels before putting them in the wash.

As you may recall I use our double glazed porch as a greenhouse to start off plants for the polytunnel. I start sowing seeds on 2nd Feb ( Imbolc, or Candlemas if you are Christian) so I need to make sure the porch is nice and clean before I start.  This is my seed sowing area for early stuff and I need it to be absolutely spotless with no lingering mould spores, before I set up the heated propagators in there and get cracking on 2015 tomato, pepper, cucumber etc seed sowings.


So I then used the bowl of bleachy water to wash down the windows, window sills and walls in the porch. I then wiped the walls and windows clean with a cloth and clean water (important, otherwise the bleach dries and turns to salt on the walls, which will then provide a focus for damp to be absorbed - not good for walls!)

Compostman is going to re paint the removable bench, which lives in the porch during seed propagating season, so it is nice and clean looking and has a sealed surface. That way it won't get spoiled by water drips.

The porch looks a bit of a mess at the moment but at least it is nice and clean now :)

I then used the bleachy water to give all four of the heated propagators (bases and lids) a good clean and I also gave outer ceramic pots (used to hold house plants) and the old plant labels a good soak to make sure they, too are clean before use.

After that the water no longer smelt of bleach :) So I used it to clean the downstairs toilet then flushed it away

I also scrubbed a number of water holding trays clean with hot soapy water and lavender essential oil. That helped to hide the smell of bleach in the house a little!

Tomorrow I will have to put the porch back together again but for now it is drying and I feel pleased :)

15 th April, whatever year it is, it is a bad day..

Today, 25 years ago this morning at 6.30 was the anniversary of my Mother dying. I am an Owl not a Lark but on this day I always wake early, so today I was up at 6 am and by 6.30 am was out planting, composting and growing stuff, with Cassi Cat, the feathery gang and some tea-and-marmite-toast to keep me company.

My way of coping.

Everyone else was (quite sensibly!) still asleep - but not me. I cannot sleep in on this day.


I find this date very upsetting and sad, but I cannot escape this day even if I did want to (not that I do want to IYKWIM) as it is also is the day 96 people died at Hillsborough for a still not yet established set of situations. I will just say - my heart goes out to all of those involved    - and 25 years is FAR TOO LONG to find out what really happened to your loved ones..

But obviously I personally cannot get away from this date as the media reminds me every year. Even if my own internal clock did not.

Today, (insert number of years ago here) my Mother died. I was only 26 when it first happened - now I am 51 and in a week or so will be 52. It hurts, every day. Some days more than others. Today is a bad day as it is an anniversary of her death.

Despite the difficulties this day presents -  and other various family stuff  happening as well (which seems is not going to change, sadly!) I have had as good a day as I could - helped by getting my hands very soil-y with planting and growing and nurturing. I also was helped in my distressed state by being able to spend an hour sitting in the wood, meditating, listening to the birdsong and just being. I am so blessed that I can have the luxury to do this.

I went down to the log circle mid morning  as I really felt I needed some help with how I felt and hoped for some renewal and healing. After the last few days which have been rather fraught, I needed it. I lost track of time - thought I was sitting there for maybe 10 mins? - was actually more like an hour. I think this was healing time for me and certainly I felt much calmer afterwards.

I wish those who were robbed of their loved ones at the Hillsborough disaster could find such peace. Sadly, I fear not.

Seedsava review

Some time ago I was sent a SeedSava to try out . The SeedSava is a plastic device which allows delivery of seeds in a more controlled manner than the usual sprinkling by hand method.

From the website

SeedSava is the brain child of Suffolk engineering entrepreneur John Hoare, founder of the leading drainage supplies company JKH Drainage Units Ltd. Mr Hoare, now in his 80s, has a lifetime of innovation and vegetable growing behind him.

John devised an early version of the SeedSava for his own use, which gave him many years of service – now he has refined it and made it available to everyone.

 They go on to say

SeedSava is a simple but revolutionary new product, designed and manufactured in the UK, based on many years of vegetable growing experience, to help any gardener to sow seeds neatly, economically and efficiently.

And 

This device will, quite literally, change the way you garden.

I  read that last bit and thought "wow that is quite a big claim". I think it would take more than a (however carefully designed and engineered) plastic item to do that, here! A couple of JCBs and a few strong gardeners, maybe...

Anyway, I digress. The SeedSava is a set of hoppers with different sized holes in, which fit into a base and which allow delivery of seeds in a more controlled manner than the usual sprinkling by hand method.

It comes with comprehensive instructions and a lot more information is available on the website.


I did use the SeedSava on the soil in a raised bed, back in April, but the slugs ate the results so I didn't think it was a very good illustration for you.

So I decided to show you how I sowed some carrot seed in tubs using the Seedsava

You have to select the hopper with correct hole size for the seeds you want to plant. There is a very clear colour coded chart to tell you this. To use the SeedSava you have to put the clear plastic base and chosen colour hopper together, which I found a bit fiddly to do - if I had limited mobility in my fingers I think I would maybe struggle a bit to do this. I also struggled to change the hopper for a different colour one.

 

Having set it up I placed the SeedSava on the surface of the growing medium and loaded it with seed (the orange hopper is for carrot seed)  I held the SeedSava with one hand and, making sure seed was over the closed off hole in the hopper, I slid the hopper in the carrier so the two holes (carrier and base)  then lined up and the seeds fell out of them.

It worked just as the instructions described, but I did think there were still a lot of seeds per "hopper hole" when compared with me just sowing a small pinch from my fingers, slowly distributing along a drill at regular intervals.




I covered the seeds with a thin layer of growing medium and watered them - we shall see what the rows look like when they germinate.


I  had a similar experience when I used the SeedSava to sow Spinach seeds in my raised bed in April.

So, what do I think of the SeedSava so far?

For
It came in compostable/recyclable packaging
It is sturdily made (of recyclable plastic)
The instructions are clear and easy to understand.
It works as it says.
If you are new to veg growing it reduces the chance of sowing too many seeds in one place - a common mistake made by enthusiastic beginners!
It is easy to clean after use (very important)
It packs away tidily and can be hung up (very important).


Against
I have a certain amount of limited mobility in my fingers and I found it quite hard to set up/change the hoppers in the base unit.
I also found it quite fiddly to use the unit, once setup, as it needs a certain level of manual dexterity to operate.
The seedlings sowed using the SeedSava still need thinning although to be fair SeedSava does not claim to eliminate thinning, just reduce it.


My personal opinion

Would I buy one? No. I think that, for me, the hand sowing method is as good as using the SeedSava and actually easier than using a device.

I also have a bit of a personal issue with using items like the SeedSava in that I like sowing seeds by hand. To me it is an essential part of the process; the making of the seed bed; the drawing of the hoe corner along the soil to make a drill to sow seeds into; the careful sprinkle of seeds so as to get the correct number to grow - not  too many and not too few - I love the whole process of touching and sprinkling. But I acknowledge that this is a very personal view!

I am not a huge fan of straight rows of veg seeds anyway and am quite happy with slightly wayward lines of veg.

I personally don't view thinning seedlings as a chore - I tend to use the time to also weed and generally check over my seedlings. I also don't tend to have lots of seedlings bunched together.

Conclusion
The SeedSava is not for me BUT it does what it claims, works well and I can see it could be useful for anyone who keeps on sowing too many seeds and wastes lots of seeds and time thinning out the results.




Disclaimer - I was sent a SeedSava to trial and review. As always, the words I write are my own and are my honest opinions.