Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Seeds

Exciting news at Dan and Amy's allotment. We have sown our first seeds. I bought some compost from the Robert Dyas next to the Duke of York's Theatre, which is the UK's most expensive place to buy compost. The airing cupboard is now cooking with a mixture of tomatoes, chillies and aubergines.

In other developments, the BBC weatherman thinks it's nearly spring. "It hasn't been this temperature since late November!" he forecasted breathlessly.

13 comments:

Helle Kristine Tumbridge said...

It does seem a bit warmer, but I am on the Brighton sea-front, so hard tell.
I can't wait til you reap what you have sewn... Did you sew them in your airing cupboard, or are those things you have reaped? I need to know!

Dan Woods said...

I'm afraid I have reaped nothing. I put the seed trays in the airing cupboard to germinate, imagining it to be the warmest part of the house. But I've now realised it wasn't as warm as I thought it was, so the seed-compost-water mixture is now on the kitchen windowsill.

Flatfoot Johnny said...

Hi there, I hope you dont mind me contacting you but im looking for some kind people to help me grow some canteen gourds. I am a banjo maker living in forest Hill (and a 5 minute walk for OTH allotments) and have tried to grow my own gourds (so that i can make gourd banjos), so far not very successfully (4 plants 1 gourd) as my garden is quite small and pretty shady. If anybody on the allotment would like the challenge i have a batch of seeds left. The previous people i bought the U.K. grown gourds from have moved to NZ and i dont want to have to import gourds from the U.S. Please take a look at my website for images of the things i make - www.flatfootjohnny.com

I hope to hear from you soon ... If we get a good batch of big gourds maybe i'll donate a banjo to be raffled or auctioned off for the allotment funds or something.

All the best, John

Jo said...

Why don't I get comments on my site that are as interesting as Flatfoot Johnny's. I want to grow banjo gourds!

Dan Woods said...

Jo, you should probably get in touch with Flatfoot Johnny. Growing banjo gourds is something I'd be a great fan of, but I've never had that much success with cucurbits on my plot. I could give it a go, though. I feel as though we should all give it a go. Perhaps I'll even write a song about it.

Jo said...

What's a curcubit? I'm good at pumpkins. Is that the same thing?

PS: It's a great idea for a song about making music from veg. Ideally we need a gourd banjo to demonstrate - maybe if we grow gourds for Flatfoot he will give us one for the show. Although I would prefer it to be a banjolele rather than a fully-fledged banjo 'cos then I could actually play it. It would be WAY COOL!

Dan Woods said...

We should organise a banjo-growing competition. I expect mine would be pathetically small, therefore perfect for a banjolele.

I know there's a gourd that makes maracas, but it only grows in a greenhouse. I think it's possible to make a carrot flute. What else?

Jo said...

I am racking my brains. I'm pretty sure you could hollow out a giant marrow and place different-sized courgettes on top to create some kind of xylophone.

Was planning on going to the allotment this morning but it is raining. Boo hoo.

Flatfoot Johnny said...

yeah you should all give it a go.

This message was meant for the whole community but i didnt know how to post on everybodys blog so i did the 1st one i came across.

If you like i'll come down and show you the gourd banjo thats complete. they grow pretty quickly so long as they get loads of food and water. my biggest is about 8" diameter (good banjo size) the other is about 6" but i think is rotting (was going to be a gourdulele).

get in touch... :-D

Amy Ip said...

Has the flu gone to my brain or are people talking about growing banjos?

Helle Kristine Tumbridge said...

Hello, I am looking for some advice on, or someone who can help with growing insertible vegetables. I haven't had much luck with this in the past, especially with the larger varieties.

Flatfoot Johnny said...

Im quite serious about the gourd growing, so please let me know if you are up for it. Ive just completed my latest gourd banjo check it out on my website.

Cheers, John

Dan Woods said...

Flatfoot Johnny - I've emailed you.

Helle - don't be silly.