The nursery is now heading towards the end of July with a severe water shortage. Both ponds are looking more like damp bog gardens than deep ponds. They have been topped up with the remaining rain water from our water butts, but there is now no more water in any of our butts, as the picture below illustrates.
Copious watering from our tap now seems the order of the day. As everyone only turns up once a week, the majority of our work-days are spent watering seedlings, pot-plants and small trees...just to keep them alive till next week.
Copious watering from our tap now seems the order of the day. As everyone only turns up once a week, the majority of our work-days are spent watering seedlings, pot-plants and small trees...just to keep them alive till next week.
July being peak holiday time, there weren't many volunteers on hand to continue this effort. Having a temporary Mediterranean climate in Stanmer Park certainly has a downside. The upside, wearing shorts and tee-shirts, languidly working through Fridays and having long lunches by the pond are some compensation for lugging watering cans around the site for hours on end.
The reward for all this watering is simply to see our nursery beds vaguely damp for a couple of days, and the plants still green and growing. We have put up shade netting where possible and put some pot plants in shallow trays filled with water.
The reward for all this watering is simply to see our nursery beds vaguely damp for a couple of days, and the plants still green and growing. We have put up shade netting where possible and put some pot plants in shallow trays filled with water.
All of the germinated seeds have now been transplanted to the junior beds. The cold spell earlier ruined what looked like a great year for our seeds. They germinated, went to seed trays and were promptly frozen in their trays at a key stage in their development. Where we hoped to fill three beds with seedlings, there are now only two beds worth of plantlets.
On a different note, the wild flower seeds germinated well in the meadow, with plenty of colour. Currently there are lots of wild carrot thriving in their new home.
The learning curve is wonderfully endless.
On a different note, the wild flower seeds germinated well in the meadow, with plenty of colour. Currently there are lots of wild carrot thriving in their new home.
The learning curve is wonderfully endless.
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