Growing

We've been on babysitting duty again today. Last night's lecture on organic gardening was very interesting, apparently, and I was again sorry to have missed it. The speaker, and his family, have had an organic smallholding for more than twenty years and now are completely self-sufficient in vegetables and eggs, and put on the garden only what is generated by the garden - that is, compost, chicken manure and leaf mould, with the addition of comfrey which is made into liquid manure and used as a mulch. Al said that the whole thing could only work if you dedicated your life to it; it was evidently hard work and constant endeavour, but is obviously very satisfying and effective. I asked if seed and potting compost had been mentioned. They have big builders' 1-tonne containers which they fill with leaf mould and leave it to rot - the reason for the containers is to minimise seed infiltration - this is used as seed compost and is very similar in texture to peat; and then they add comfrey fertiliser for potting on.

Anyway, Squiffany had her dancing class this afternoon, so Pugsley came to visit, then we all went to bounce on my bed, then I went through in time to watch In The Night Garden, which is a great treat for me, before I left Ro and Grandpa reading bedtime stories. "Ro" confided Squiffany to me "is my favourite boy."

And the real news of the day, which I am now allowed to mention, is that our daughter El and son-in-law Phil are expecting their first baby in August. They emailed us the scan today - it made us go all peculiar, in an exceptionally happy way.