{"id":3021,"date":"2018-05-13T16:36:01","date_gmt":"2018-05-13T15:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021"},"modified":"2018-05-14T20:51:36","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T19:51:36","slug":"busy-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021","title":{"rendered":"Busy Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The spring weather continues to be glorious, and as the earth warms up, more seeds can be sown and indoor growers transplanted to outdoors.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3026\" src=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage-930x698.jpg 930w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Today we began with the task of potting on. Vegetable growing is a continuous production line; plants needing a long growing season, such as aubergine, begin inside in a warm place in the house. They then shift to a greenhouse as the weather picks up, and some stay in the greenhouse. Hardier species will move outside, and some just like being outside from the start of their little productive lives.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-sunflower-carrot.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3027 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-sunflower-carrot-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-sunflower-carrot-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-sunflower-carrot-698x930.jpg 698w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-sunflower-carrot.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>Brassicas are one of our hardiest. This year we have cheated and bought plugs from a market garden friend we know (big shout out to Martin at Sharps Growers in Kings Newton). Sharps produce them by the thousands, and when we only need 2 to 7 of a vegetable type, it isn&#8217;t even cost-effective to buy the seed packets! Another job is to keep the pesky pigeons from our luscious baby leaves, and so I delved into &#8216;the barn&#8217; (a shed), and pulled out pieces of the fruit cage we lost to a heavy snow drop a few years ago. Someone stupidly left the top mesh in place and the snow can do quite a bit of damage with its weight! I salvaged enough straight uprights and beams to make a 10ft square walk-in netted cage &#8211; possibly the poshest cabbage patch in all of South Derbyshire!<a href=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-belfast-lettuce.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3025\" src=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-belfast-lettuce-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-belfast-lettuce-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-belfast-lettuce-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-belfast-lettuce-930x698.jpg 930w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-belfast-lettuce.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> In there we have seven spring pointy cabbage, five brussels sprouts, two winter savoy cabbage, three round summer cabbage, six calabrese and six cauliflowers. Rather than staggered planting, we harvest things like the cauliflower at the same time and freeze in bulk.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3024 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse1-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse1-698x930.jpg 698w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse1.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>The it was on to the second sowing of carrots, thirty feet of Robila, and a block of Velvet Queen sunflowers. This variety of sunflower are stunning, with a deep crimson petal &#8211; they should look stunning!<\/p>\n<p>Nearer the house, an old belfast sink was requisitioned and repurposed as a pick-and-come-again mixed salad planter, just outside the kitchen doors.<\/p>\n<p>Then the greenhouses were emptied of the winter-crud and refilled with 6 Ruthje tomato plants &#8211; a great eating variety apparently, 7 San Marzano plum-type cooking tomatoes, and 6 Arola cucumbers.<\/p>\n<p>All in all, quite a productive day! <a href=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3023\" src=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse2-698x930.jpg 698w, https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-greenhouse2.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The spring weather continues to be glorious, and as the earth warms up, more seeds can be sown and indoor growers transplanted to outdoors. Today we began with the task of potting on. Vegetable growing is a continuous production line; plants needing a long growing season, such as aubergine, begin inside in a warm place [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,47,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenhouse","category-sowing-seeds","category-vegetable-beds"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Busy Sunday - Merrybower Homestead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Busy Sunday - Merrybower Homestead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The spring weather continues to be glorious, and as the earth warms up, more seeds can be sown and indoor growers transplanted to outdoors. Today we began with the task of potting on. Vegetable growing is a continuous production line; plants needing a long growing season, such as aubergine, begin inside in a warm place [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merrybower Homestead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/merrybowerhomestead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-13T15:36:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-14T19:51:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dunk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dunk\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021\",\"name\":\"Busy Sunday - Merrybower Homestead\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-13T15:36:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-14T19:51:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/07d0701e741ab7d7f6f2269f39fa71ff\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":750},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?page_id=1716\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Busy Sunday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Merrybower Homestead\",\"description\":\"One Step at a Time - A tiny Derbyshire smallholding\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/07d0701e741ab7d7f6f2269f39fa71ff\",\"name\":\"Dunk\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03fe5b72745d0dff864e2af1ab383421?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03fe5b72745d0dff864e2af1ab383421?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dunk\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Busy Sunday - Merrybower Homestead","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Busy Sunday - Merrybower Homestead","og_description":"The spring weather continues to be glorious, and as the earth warms up, more seeds can be sown and indoor growers transplanted to outdoors. Today we began with the task of potting on. Vegetable growing is a continuous production line; plants needing a long growing season, such as aubergine, begin inside in a warm place [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021","og_site_name":"Merrybower Homestead","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/merrybowerhomestead\/","article_published_time":"2018-05-13T15:36:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-14T19:51:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dunk","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dunk","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021","url":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021","name":"Busy Sunday - Merrybower Homestead","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg","datePublished":"2018-05-13T15:36:01+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-14T19:51:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/07d0701e741ab7d7f6f2269f39fa71ff"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg","width":1000,"height":750},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?p=3021#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?page_id=1716"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Busy Sunday"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/","name":"Merrybower Homestead","description":"One Step at a Time - A tiny Derbyshire smallholding","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/07d0701e741ab7d7f6f2269f39fa71ff","name":"Dunk","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03fe5b72745d0dff864e2af1ab383421?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03fe5b72745d0dff864e2af1ab383421?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g","caption":"Dunk"},"url":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/?author=3"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-13-brassica-cage.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrybower.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}