… there was disruption, with builders all over the garden and construction of the limery in full swing. Mr Snail was well out of it working in Reading and I was trying to retain my sanity and soldier on with my work (not easy when you have to keep making cups of tea and pacify two terriers in the face of “strange men”).
Now all is relatively peaceful. No builders, only one terrier and a calm spaniel and Mr Snail is the one making cups of tea for me. There is, admittedly, the prospect of him going off to Reading again, but nothing is certain at the moment. But all that effort really was worth it, as the limery fills up with plants and the first signs of a harvest. The winner in terms of early productivity this year is a variety of pepper called “Yellow Monster”, which is already bearing fruits a couple of inches long. A second variety, Kaibi, is not far behind. Both of these are from the Real Seed people. I did succumb to some F1 pepper seeds this year, but germination was poor and no plants have survived, so I won’t be seduced next year. We’ve also got some black chillies flowering, with a lovely purple tinge to the petals.
Of course there are other things in there too: tomatillos, epazote (both for forthcoming Mexican cooking), squashes, lemongrass, a curry tree, tea (a very tiny plant), not to mention the carnivores and the passionflower, and of course several things that I started off in the limery are now outside: peas, potatoes, salad onions, sorrel. Here’s hoping for lots of crops… but, perhaps, fewer greenfly (they are a real pain this year for some reason).
There is also a new addition to the limery, but I’ll share that with you in a later post.
The Snail of Happiness 
thecontentedcrafter
/ June 12, 2018I try to imagine what it must be like in your limery, surrounded by all those thriving plants and seedlings – do you constantly potter or simply sit and admire? Is it humid or cool? What does it smell like in there? What scents mingle in the air, what sounds are heard? What catches your eye? Now I see you need a mobile carnivore or two to take care of the pesky greenfly – wouldn’t that be fun – or not…… I love to hear about your limery, it must be so hard to imagine the angst of the past now you have all this wonderfulness.
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katechiconi
/ June 12, 2018Your lemongrass is doing well considering the climate, but I had to have a tiny giggle when I compare it to my monster, which is about 12 ft high and 4 ft wide now, and will need yet another savage haircut to stay under control. Mind you, I’d swap my biting green ants and 5 inch grasshoppers for your greenfly any day… How lovely that the limery is living up to your hopes and expectations. It was fun to see it in the background when we Skyped the other day 🙂
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Nice Piece of Work
/ June 13, 2018A very encouraging post, it’s given me some hope that the disruption we’re experiencing at the moment will also be worth the effort down the line 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 13, 2018Every time we think about having anything done to the house I generally decide not to bother because I don’t think I can face the disruption. We really need a new bathroom suite, but the prospect of having it done fills me with dread and I keep telling myself that we are being much more environmentally friendly by carrying on with our chipped sink and creaky bath! How much longer before your work is completed?
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anne54
/ June 13, 2018i love hearing about your Limery, because everything seems to grow so enthusiastically in it! I like Pauline’s idea of a mobile carnivore ~ a flock of ladybirds perhaps, or a little gecko…..
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nanacathy2
/ June 13, 2018Gosh I can’t believe that was three years ago. Everything looks very lush and green.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 13, 2018I’ve finally recovered from the trauma!
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Lori Fontanes
/ June 13, 2018Your pepper plant already fruiting so well! We have blossoms but no fruit yet… Dumb question, please forgive!–is there a window in the limery to let the pollinators in? I never quite understood how that worked. I know you want to keep bad insects out but buzz pollinated plants like tomatoes do like the odd bee to come along… Thx in advance for explaining how this works…
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 13, 2018Yes, there are windows on all sides which are almost always open in the summer and the door is quite often propped open too. The pitcher plants deal with the flies but don’t seem to be attractive to hoverflies and bees, so we don’t seem to have problems with pollination, although I do hand-pollinate with a soft paintbrush if I want to be absolutely certain.
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Lori Fontanes
/ June 13, 2018Ah ha! That’s the trick! Thanks for the details!
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Charli
/ June 13, 2018It is less disruption if you decide to build your own.. it takes a lot longer though! I’ve still only got a base and a pile of windows and I’ve been building mine for 18 months!
Looks lovely in there!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 13, 2018Actually our builders were very good, but I do hate having anyone working in the house and attempting to do it myself would probably meant it never got done!
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tinaor
/ June 13, 2018Great looking plants. I am with you on the trauma of builders being about – we had work done about three years ago too – I couldn’t wait to get my house back in order !
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 13, 2018Despite needing some more work around the house , I just keep putting it off because it is SO disruptive.
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tinaor
/ June 13, 2018Ha ha, been there too! Brace yourself, get the biscuits in, go for it!
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Ann Pole
/ June 13, 2018Wow! Your peppers are well ahead of ours, but we do have flowers on the ones in the Peach House. We also have a baby 1″ long cucumber coming – hope it grows & doesn’t fall off. There are tomatoes and 1 courgette too, so looking forward to those. It over wintered the venus fly trap, some aoniums and a coupe of geraniums too. Last year we had white fly, so this year a couple of the pots have a marigold in too. It has also been a great place for geminating and growing on, with good strong plants having now moved on to the green house or garden. It’s an amazing space for craft room/office, as well as re-enactment kit and wood store.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 13, 2018Hopefully I will get to see it soon… do I need to start planning for you accreditation yet?
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Helen
/ June 14, 2018The Real Seed People looks like another good company to buy from!
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Born To Organize
/ June 17, 2018I think I was just following you when you bit the limery. I had never heard that term before. It looks like a lovely place, and I’m all about growing thriving, healthy plants. Nicely done. Thanks for the update.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 17, 2018Mr Snail coined the term ‘limery’ – our builder suggested it was an orangery, but the only citrus we had a t the time was a lime and thus it was named!
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