Peppers, chillis, toms and cucumbers all fed as they are fruiting like mad now.
Neighbours tell me that mine are the only toms still alive after the blight came through. Yay for Koralik!!
Blackberries ready for another harvest, raspberries ripening... it could be a glut. I've got ripe blueberries too! I bought 2 more blueberry plants to pot up into large planters.
The only Stevia plant is growing well now. I pinched out the tip to encourage sideshoots, and was amazed how sweet the tip was.
Pumpkins out the back have babies. :D
Strawberries are really nice this year, but some fruits are going black then rotting.... probably due to the rain.
Grapes are swelling!! Leeks have all sat up straight after replanting. Mongolian Giant sunflower is about to flower.
Gave the garden its summer feed of fertilisers. With this rain I expect it to go mad.....
2 very lush blueberry plants potted-on to large patio pots.
Due to the forecast high winds tomorrow night, I have been around the garden batteniong down the hatches... and nomming raspberries...
Quote from: Taf on September 10, 2011, 15:17:58 PM
2 very lush blueberry plants potted-on to large patio pots.
Due to the forecast high winds tomorrow night, I have been around the garden batteniong down the hatches... and nomming raspberries...
Yeah, due to the forecast I brought my Strelitzia in today, trouble is it's got so damn big I dunno where to put it now :-\
Keep at 10c or above, and it'll survive OK.
Or move somewhere warm and take it with you ;)
Quote from: Taf on September 11, 2011, 10:31:43 AM
Keep at 10c or above, and it'll survive OK.
Or move somewhere warm and take it with you ;)
Well it usually comes indoors through the Winter, but it'll soon need a room of it's own :-\
Had to tie-in the tallest (12ft) sunflower again after the wind knocked it over. Ditto 2 cucumber plants.
Fitted a hammock for one of the pumpkins (about a foot diameter now) as it's growing UP the fence!
Nommed raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.
Loads of big chillis in the chilliarium close to fully ripe. Some are bright yellow and I don't remeber planting those!
Sweet peppers are almost fully red too, and the Razzamatazz chillis have gone from purple to red already.
The Chinese cabbages don't look very happy. All the ends of their leaves have dried up. :-\
Loads more string beans to collect, but I'll leave that job for tomorrow.
Oh I found something growing in one of my pots the other day, didn't know what it was so left it there.
It's a Sun Flower, about a foot tall now. Birds must have planted it as I didn't
They do that, so do squirrels and magpies.
Quote from: Taf on September 14, 2011, 09:33:12 AM
They do that, so do squirrels and magpies.
I HATE Magpies!!
I do too, especially when they gang up and terrorise the local birds, cats, dogs and people!
Catapult comes in handy tough....
Quote from: Taf on September 15, 2011, 09:01:01 AM
I do too, especially when they gang up and terrorise the local birds, cats, dogs and people!
Catapult comes in handy tough....
They've also been pecking at my shed so much they've gone through the black stuff & almost through the wooden roof! >:(
Hmmm that's something else I gotta do, find out how much it'll cost to replace the roof as I don't think it would withstand the Winter :(
Thye did the same to mine too, so I laid a layer or featheredge strips over it to stop them.
Quotefeatheredge strips
???
It's 4 inch wide strips of treated wood with a thin and a thick edge, normally used for fencing.
(http://www.barlowsofhermitage.co.uk/media/4846/feather-edge.jpg)
I just attached 4 battens to the existing roof, then annular-nailed the featheredge to it.
You can overlap it to make a fairly watertight joint, but as I had bitumen-painted the roof covering, it's watertight already.
Quote from: Taf on September 17, 2011, 09:27:33 AM
It's 4 inch wide strips of treated wood with a thin and a thick edge, normally used for fencing.
(http://www.barlowsofhermitage.co.uk/media/4846/feather-edge.jpg)
I just attached 4 battens to the existing roof, then annular-nailed the featheredge to it.
You can overlap it to make a fairly watertight joint, but as I had bitumen-painted the roof covering, it's watertight already.
Ahhh. But what's annular-nailed?
They used to be called Terrier Nails as they have rings around the shaft that make them harder to pull out. Featheredge is thin so will try to warp and pull nails out, so you need something with good grip.
http://www.toolstation.com/images/library/stock/webbig/83431.jpg
Quote from: Taf on September 18, 2011, 12:50:06 PM
They used to be called Terrier Nails as they have rings around the shaft that make them harder to pull out. Featheredge is thin so will try to warp and pull nails out, so you need something with good grip.
http://www.toolstation.com/images/library/stock/webbig/83431.jpg
Ohhh never seen one of those before
The courgettes have finished in the compost pile, so I just folded up the foliage and bunged compost on top.
Chopped the lavender hedge down to 1ft... it'll either regrow or be replaced.
I noticed the rhubarbs are all dying down for winter so I'll have to get some mulch to top them off and provide a feed for Spring (if we ever get Spring again).
The blackberries are almost over, so what's left will be pruned back hard. The beans are on their last legs too, so what is left will provide seed for next year.
So many raspberries still!
It was so nice to work outside in relative warmth from the sun...
Spring bulbs are showing through!
I can beat that, one of the apple trees is in blossom again!
Quote from: Taf on September 24, 2011, 08:42:05 AM
I can beat that, one of the apple trees is in blossom again!
:o
The world's going to pot!
One of the daisies is in flower for the second time this year too!
Several strawberry hanging baskets relined (I find pond liner protector felt to be the best after many years' failures).
Many strawberry runners repotted, all the other plants were given a total haircut.
I am eating grapes off the vine like sweeties.. they are small, but very numerous!
Bloke over the back from me gave me some Chinese Onions, he said his mate had given him some but that he'd never grown them before. So we've both planted them. Then I googled them, it said that they won't stand frost in one sentence but then in another it said that you can plant them late Autumn for early harvest the following year :-\
Do you mean Japanese onion sets? They are treated so they get sprouting now and will grow slowly over winter to give an earlier crop next year... it's what I use all the time.
Quote from: Taf on October 02, 2011, 11:06:45 AM
Do you mean Japanese onion sets? They are treated so they get sprouting now and will grow slowly over winter to give an earlier crop next year... it's what I use all the time.
Hmmm could be. They're small & white, if that's anything to by
They come as white, yellow and red varieties. My fave is Radar.
http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/radar-onion-sets-pid3394.html
I'm planning to trim back the plants for winter today. The lavender has to have the chop - anyone know if you can compost it?
Climbing plants to prune and tie in; trees to prune; everything that flowers to be dead-headed, as well as clearing out the annuals that are now past their best. :-\
Lawn to mow. Pots to be sorted, watered and the houseplants to be brought in from the coming frosts... A bit odd given it's been over 28c for the past 6 days, but still.... :sigh: Winter's coming.....!
Lavender is best chopped before composting, I use the lawnmower for the smaller pieces. I do keep a bagfull of lavender trimmings for the BBQ fire too....
Quote from: Taf on October 03, 2011, 08:51:54 AM
They come as white, yellow and red varieties. My fave is Radar.
http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/radar-onion-sets-pid3394.html
Hmmm well mine were white, guess I'll wait & see what I get from them :-\
I have emptied the chilliarium for this year. Not a bad haul, close to 1.5kg, but about a fifth were still green and would not ripen any more in this weather.
All washed and the first batch is in the dehydrator:
Cayenne, Tokyo (turned out yellow), Razzamatazz, Thai Hot, Patio Sizzle.
Looks like the toms have had it.... not enough sun to ripen any more. :-\
Quote from: Taf on October 08, 2011, 15:39:49 PM
Looks like the toms have had it.... not enough sun to ripen any more. :-\
Green tomato chutney to make then
I've tried that, but no-one liked it :-\
I even tried frying them to the same effect :-\
Quote from: Taf on October 09, 2011, 11:50:34 AM
I've tried that, but no-one liked it :-\
I even tried frying them to the same effect :-\
Strange how people don't seem to like Chutney these days. I still have jars of the Apple & Date chutney I made last year, good job I like I guess :-\
Raspberries have finished so I chopped most of the stciks down to ground level, leaving some at 3ft to get a head start next year.
Toms out the back have finished now, so they're all atop the very big compost heap.
All the homegrown Kiwi plants in pots have been chopped back to 2ft.
All I need now is for the pumpkins to ripen so I can dry them, then a bit of frost so I can harvest the Jerusalem Artichokes and parsnips.
Munched more grapes from the vine... gawd they're sweet!!
One thing I have noticed over the past week is the huge number of small snails we have this year. Almost every plant is covered in the damned things! Slugs are low in number due to our resident toad and frogs, and the thrushes seem to be keeping the big snails in check.
Planted Garlic
Covering some of my smaller more tender plants with milk/pop bottles
Frosts are due, so I am on tenterhooks that the pumpkins ripen soon.
I cleared the hostas from around the fishpool yesterday, and removed excess oxygenating weed from the water... and I could see the fish again!
I need more empty bottles!!
Ask your neighbours/family?
I ordered a Quince tree yesterday... they say it will fruit next year... mmmm quince jelly :din:
The missus didn't know what a quince is, so I checked it and told her it's a Coing (odd name init? ) and she started salivating...
Quote from: Taf on October 21, 2011, 09:08:00 AM
Ask your neighbours/family?
I got Ann to bring 2 with her today, I've just emptied another so only need 2 more now, I think
Don't see neighbours much, I wonder what him next door thinks of what I'm growing lol
I take the lids off in the morning & replace them late afternoon ;D
(http://i54.tinypic.com/2gtnjth.jpg)
The roots of the Buddlieia out front are no more, all dug out and the ground prepared for the new arrival.
I went into the garden this afternoon and picked an entire vase-full of summer blooms!
Geraniums, snapdragons, love-lies-bleeding, sweet williams, roses, hyacinths....and there are still blue lobelias in full flower in the garden, as well as roses, and a climbing plant I didn't even knew flowered!
Was given a cutting by the in-laws last spring, and it's now clambering merrily over an archway - and I found 2 open trumpet blooms on it! Googled it - it's called Campsis - the orange trumpet vine! :D :D :D
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7356159_flowering-trumpet-vine.html
Things are confused here too... roses and fuschias in flower, kiwi in full leaf, pumkins still growing like mad..... they'll get a shock with the first frost.
Gathered the sunflower heads to collect their seeds... next year I plan to plant LOADS of them, minis and giants!
Quince tree planted and watered-in just before the skies opened! It's a good 6 footer with 6 main branches, so I hope the seller is right that we'll get fruit next season. :D
Daffs are five inches tall :D :o
Quote from: fred on November 20, 2011, 16:06:46 PM
Daffs are five inches tall :D :o
You can't fool me. I know they're bigger than that.
My Garlic is 4'' tall :D
One of our new neighbours came over earlier to show me the engineering plans for his new greenhouse. One of the guys who built our garden wall introduced us, and I think we have a good friendship starting. His missus is "loaded" (lottery win) and both love gardening, so they are turning an empty garden into the garden of their dreams, including a huge 40'x12' greenhouse and loads of 3' high raised beds.
His greenhouse plans are obviously the work of many years of thought, with guttering to collect rainwater into barrels 4ft off the ground so they will gravity feed the greenhouse staging, a thick back wall to collect heat, no ventillation but a solar-powered fan system to draw warm air from the apex to an underground heat store, roller blind shading, mains gas powered heating in one of the end "sheds", electrical supply for underbed heating, and even an intercomm to the house and front door!
The work will start next Spring after they spend the Winter doing-up the house and front garden. They have lived in flats and gardenless homes all their married lives, so this is a work of built-up passion.
I offered him 2 grapevines I raised from cuttings, and 5 Kiwis I raised from seed, plus the offer of any excess plants I have (they are into veggies and fruit not flowers).
He has already built a makeshift compost bin, and set up a concrete mixing area plus a parking shed for his mini-digger.... I think his missus wants him indoors more than out, but he's loving this warmer weather.
I'm so jealous.
Wandering around the garden earlier guess what I saw?
Hundreds of little slugs!
In the wintertime!
I gave them all something to munch on... slug pellets (organic of course).
Lots of spiders too, but the birds will get them.
The Xmas Box is about to flower, so I shall have to go out and enjoy the perfume....
Daffs, bluebells and crocuses all growing well, and I ate the last of the supersweet frosted grapes.
I suppose I had better sow my Kelsae onions soon if they are to get huge this year.
(http://www.johnsons-seeds.com/uploads/images/shared/products/listing/15637.jpg)
I've decided not to plant onion sets this winter, and will probably replace a lot of the usual beans with butternut squash vines grown vertically.
Almost time to prune the grapevines.... damnit, I need a ladder for that and it's at the back of the shed.... DOH!!
Yeah, I noticed lot's of little slugs here the other day so gave them a good feed too
About 600g of chillis picked in the greenhouse... the plants are still in leaf, so they MIGHT make it through the winter. :o
Crocuses in flower! :o
Snowdrops are flowering :D
Planted out a few dozen onion sets. The soil was warm and moist! :o
Quote from: dogsmum on January 19, 2012, 21:59:31 PM
Snowdrops are flowering :D
Wev'e got snowdrops in flower,and the daffodils are coming up well.
Loads of daffs in flower now, and the Xmas Box flowers are filling the garden with a divine scent.
Tulips are up, and the Aqualegia is sprouting.
There are still green plants in the greenhouse and chilliarium! :o
I'll have to drain the water butts are they smell a bit whiffy, that'll be done at night when the neighbours have all their windows shut.
Pricked out the Kelsae show onions and put them in individual modules. The seed pack said 20 seeds, but I have 47 seedlings. ;D
They're out in the partially cleared greenhouse now.
As I was finishing, next door's kitten came to say hello... via the window! He's going to be trouble!!!
The Quince, Clematis and Blueberry buds have burst ;D
And freezing weather is predicted :-\
Sowed the Viola Odorata Queen Charlotte seeds in the greenhouse. I think they need a short cold spell to enable germination.
I nipped out the growing tips of the catmint... and lo and behold... next doors' kitten appeared in the greenhouse window! He's now bombed out of his skull on the catmint tips on our patio.
Planted some seeds into pots today..
Broad Bean, dwarf the sutton
Parsnip, hollow crown
Carrot, early nantes
I might put my mini plastic greenhouse thingy up tomorrow
Oh & it looks like the milk bottles & pop bottles I put over some small plants through the Winter kept the frost off them ;D
The roses out front are PLASTERED with aphids and ants! :o
Double dug the unused 2/3 of the large raised bed, then covered it with netting to keep the cats off.
5 minutes later one of the strays crapped right in the middle. :-\
Quote from: Taf on March 23, 2012, 17:19:42 PM
Double dug the unused 2/3 of the large raised bed, then covered it with netting to keep the cats off.
5 minutes later one of the strays crapped right in the middle. :-\
Pepper?
Quote from: dogsmum on March 23, 2012, 22:20:34 PM
Quote from: Taf on March 23, 2012, 17:19:42 PM
Double dug the unused 2/3 of the large raised bed, then covered it with netting to keep the cats off.
5 minutes later one of the strays crapped right in the middle. :-\
Pepper?
I've tried so many things including pepper and chilli pepper :-\
Quote from: Taf on March 24, 2012, 10:11:59 AM
I've tried so many things including pepper and chilli pepper :-\
(http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/3616/409736-800px_sentry_gun_level_3_b_super.jpg)
:yes:
That's the next option, plus now I have found that the strays are entering the greenhouse by the window.... that has to stop as there will be seedlings in there soon.
Quote from: Taf on March 24, 2012, 11:32:21 AM
That's the next option, plus now I have found that the strays are entering the greenhouse by the window.... that has to stop as there will be seedlings in there soon.
You know, someone once suggested Lion dung for scaring cats away...
I tried it (from Longleat) and it just stunk the whole garden out.... and it was expensive poo!!
spuds showing six inch high leaves
I thought I got all the spuds out of the spud bags in the greenhouse last Xmas.... 4 big sprouts in both now. ???
Dug over and added compost to the small raised bed. Found it was alive with worms... BIG worms!
The Kiwi and Blueberries have burst their buds, but one of the Blueberries loks a little poorly... they always seem to do that to me!
Planted out 88 leeks and 24 shallots I raised from seed, plus 24 garlic bulbs. The garlic didn't have a cold spell so it should produce solid balls and not cloves.
Trimmed the big Bay to allow easier passage around the greenhouse. The cuttings must have produced £10 worth of fresh bayleaves... might make Bay Rum hair dressing again, and shove a few pots to see if they root..
Next doors' ivy got a haircut along the boundary line... I'm going to have to chat with them about it as it is clinging to the garden wall and could damage it.
Hosed the Mum stray as she started to crap on the leeks!
Then I had to chase her baby away for the same thing.
As I was coming in, I found both fast asleep in one of the empty planters....
Everything seems to have burst into life at the same time, so I gave everything a good soaking seeing as rain is days away.
I found loads of dandelions growing where they shouldn't be. :grumpy:
Edged the lawn and trimmed the Kiwi and Grapevines. They needed a bit of tying-in too as I'm hoping for a bumper harvest this year.
The buds have burst on the apples and cherries.... fingers crossed for no frosts now.
The 2 Goji berry bushes I grew from seed are now replanted out the front in big pots. I want Goji berries NOW!
The stems of the Jerusalem Artichokes are now dry enough to burn once it gets dark.
Night-scented Phlox to sow later in the planters near the front door. They didn't do too well last year so I have my fingers crossed this time!
Tied in the rigging for the beanpoles and started to fit netting on the greenhouse window to keep the cats out.
I took some beans to the dentist as he is starting to get into gardening too.
Brought 2 patio chairs out of the shed, so we can sit and enjoy the son out of the shade of the (spit) leylandii (spit).
Sowed some night scented phlox.
my lovely back garden is now ruined cos the pup keeps digging holes..............seven at the last count :-X
Quote from: El on April 03, 2012, 19:17:02 PM
my lovely back garden is now ruined cos the pup keeps digging holes..............seven at the last count :-X
Pups or holes? ;)
I have reglazed the south side of the greenhouse roof with twinwall polybarbonate again... the last lot did well for 10 years!
One last hole to drill and the drill battery went flat. :-\
Next job is to evict the cats from the greenhouse and give it a powerjetting... but I'll wait for warmer weather for that as I'm bound to get soaked.
Mowed and fed the lawn before the deluge, then gave all the garden and pots a feed of Growmore.
Visitors!
A Jay and a Sparrowhawk sorting out their differences on the lawn.
They must have big differences as neither wants to leave.
2 rows and 2 bags of spuds planted (Red Rooster and Maris Piper). I've put the bags up on the staging to give them more light.
Dug out loads of compost from the first bin to plant them in, and that allowed the unrotted stuff on the top to sink down and allow me to shut the lid for the first time in 6 months.
The finished compost in the second bin now has a lid to keep the cats and the moisture out so that I can seive it eventually.
I have an urge to get the powerwasher out now.... the poyts and trays need a good clean before I start sowing.
The flower beds are now mulched, a few more strawberries (runners from last year) potted in homemade wall planters.
The sun vanished behind dark clouds so I ignored the pressure washing, but tidied up the pots, etc, ready for that task.
Dwarf Broad Bean's, Carrot's & Parsnip's all planted out into the garden today :D
Have got Beetroot, Butternut Squash & Dwarf Runner Bean's all potted in the Mini Greenhouse
I'm running out of veggie plot though :o
You need to take over someone else's garden DM ;)
We have Cherry blossom! ;D
you can take over mine
YAY! TT Garden Force invasion!
my only stipulation is leave my heather and lavendar alone.
Box them in!
Many, many years ago, a whole gang of family and friends were invited to a "garden party" in this street.... little did they know they would end up digging, planting, sowing and tidying-up before the BBQ and booze. It made for a great day and a great garden! Even neighbours appeared with plants, etc., so it became a community even that was repeated in other gardens for a few years.
I raised bean and pea plants for a couple of them before toddling off into the RAF.
I've got Aubretia and Lobelia soaked and ready to plant out... and the rain has started! :grumpy:
Quote from: Taf on April 20, 2012, 10:32:05 AM
I've got Aubretia and Lobelia soaked and ready to plant out... and the rain has started! :grumpy:
Rain stopped... planting done! ;D
The sprouting leaves on the new Quince sapling aren't looking very happy. :(
I was given a potted Chrysanthemum back in Jan, since it finished flowering it's been in the mini greenhouse. It looks healthy & new leaves coming on it but all the older leaves have turned a deep reddish colour. Is it ok? Should I take the old leaves off? Will I be able to plant it in the garden?
It'll be happier once the weather warms up. If the old leaves come off easily, take them off, but they could still be feeding the plant at the moment, so don't force/rip them off. A repot would help it as regrowth loves a good feed. Don't let the roots get cold AND wet!
It should be able to go into the garden once the sun returns, and frost has left us.
We've had a wisteria growing on our back wall since the day we moved in and moved it from the end fence (which is only 6ft high).
The wall faces North-West, and HoN said it'd never flower there.
It's just coming into flower now, first year it's done so... the buds are opening just in time for the viewers... :D
I always said it would take 7 years to flower. :dance:
Wisteria is a pain like that, and many people are too impatient to wait for it. It likes a good pruning!!!
Quote from: Taf on April 30, 2012, 09:34:43 AM
It'll be happier once the weather warms up. If the old leaves come off easily, take them off, but they could still be feeding the plant at the moment, so don't force/rip them off. A repot would help it as regrowth loves a good feed. Don't let the roots get cold AND wet!
It should be able to go into the garden once the sun returns, and frost has left us.
Cheers 'Taf', I'll leave the leaves on as they are quite a pretty colour & no don't come off easily.
No, it's not getting cold
& wet, it seems quite happy in the mini greenhouse atm, but I will re pot it...when I get some more compost :-X
The forecasts are getting better, so I had better get sowing in the greenhouse (after evicting the cats).
The spuds are up in the bags and beds... and the ones in the greenhouse are full flower.
The cherry flowers have faded, let's hope they were fertilised, and the apple flowers are about to open. Gooseberry fruits are swelling.
No flowers on the new Kiwi vine again this year. :-\
Never grown it before but the bloke up the back gave me some Fennel today :D
Quote from: dogsmum on May 02, 2012, 21:16:00 PM
Never grown it before but the bloke up the back gave me some Fennel today :D
It depends if you grow it for foliage or the "bulb", I only grew it for the "bulbs" which make a difference to a meal the kids didn't appeciate.
We have fennel in our herb garden. It's right at the back because it grows to about 5ft tall. If you let it set seed, you'll have hundreds next year - either that, or a long hoeing job!
It tastes of aniseed. God knows why I ever grew it - I loathe aniseed.
Quote from: Nanaof3 on May 03, 2012, 14:26:00 PM
We have fennel in our herb garden. It's right at the back because it grows to about 5ft tall. If you let it set seed, you'll have hundreds next year - either that, or a long hoeing job!
It tastes of aniseed. God knows why I ever grew it - I loathe aniseed.
OMG I didn't realise it grew that tall :o
Yeah bloke up the back said he has it growing all over the place, he has a huge garden & just leave's everything to seed & go wild in the bottom part.
Oh I love aniseed, he gave me some leaves & I was munching on them ;D
I steam the split bulbs, and serve with butter-fried fish :din:
Quote from: Taf on May 04, 2012, 10:05:10 AM
I steam the split bulbs, and serve with butter-fried fish :din:
Yum, sounds lush!
It makes for a change in the usual flavours of a meal, the missus calls it "perfumey" ???
172 pots washed and sterilised... my hands were going blue near the end... now they tingle.
I put up the bean sticks and decided how to grow the peas this year... no peasticks, so I'll try string.
Next stage "SOWING!!!!" ;D
peas well up
broad beans a couple of inches, some gaps to fill
A few gaps in the onions and shallots to fill
most of the spuds out a few inches (Wearher prophet say frost but met office say no.)
greenhouse with a full compliment of tom plants.
lettuice sprouting outside
runner beans in small pots in the greenhouse to germinate
all in town.
given up here as too marginal weather wise. Five lots of carrot seeds sown and not a carrot to be seen. Peas not germinated after several sowings. Spuds gone to austraila. Not a strawberry to be seen.
My Dwarf Broad Beans are out & about 4'' now :D
Did some sowing in pots in the greenhouse:
5 types of bean, peas, 4 types of chilli, mini cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet peppers.
More sowing tomorrow, flowers and things.
No-one local seems interested in free plants this year (after last year's poor crop) so I'll have loads of spare seed again. But they're queuing up for chilli plants!
Lettuice seeds have sprouted.
I just hope that this year SIL will pick leaves fronm the pick and come again instead of taking the whole plant :-X
I've got a bag of salad mix (the one that is 99% vermiculite) that I sow in waves so I can nom when bored. The missus takes whole plants too. :(
No way am I growing carrots in the beds again this year (too many slugs) so I'm going for potfulls on the patio. Ditto Spring Onions that I've never had any success with. I may even try the long beetroot in pots too for a laugh (the seed cost me 1p, so it won't be a loss at all).
Had a little chat with a new neighbour, and he is growing EVERYTHING in growbags this year. Both the commercially sold ones, and ones he has made out of bits of tarp. He has 4 cubic metres of finished compost in the garden of his last home, and the new owners have allowed him to take it all away bit by bit.
growbags are a pain in the posterior. Too little volume and not enough nutrients. Dad has decided to have three bags in the greenhouse this year. Bugga for me as I'll have to call down there every two days to water and feed them. Far rather have them in the ground (dug out every year) and fed and watered when needed.
I think he intends to stand them "on edge" as he asked to see the support racks I made for them years ago. That's about the only way to get fairly long carrots.
hopefully summer is coming now so i can put my viola's and lobelias out in pots. They are screaming for sunshine. Need to sort my baskets out too. Plus find out how much it'll cost to patio top level of back garden and front garden too.
Violas and Lobelia don't mind a bit of damp cold.
What sort of patio are you after? Slippy wooden decking or boring slabs?
slab's.
cheaper.
For them, the ground must be 100% stable and packed down, or you'll get "sinkage and wobblage".
it's down the line anyway.
won't be this year
Prepping the ground for a few years will help it to stabilise.
prep it how?
If it's all mud and gunge, you could start adding aggregate (aka hardcore, ballast or subbase) to the surface over a membrane. It'll help with drainage too. But once it's down, you can forget having a lawn without loads of work digging it all out again. And if it's sharp, you'll have to watch E on it in case he tumbles. It needs to be tamped down or simply walked on for a fair while for it to stabilise.
This page gives you the idea
http://blog.lisacoxdesigns.co.uk/tag/mot-type-1-sub-base/
I've been sowing in modules in the greenhouse: Tagetes, Aubretia, Chrysanthemums, and 2 types of giant sunflower (Sunburst and Mongolian Giant).
The cats haven't touched the pots I sowed in the other day... they must have understood the eviction warning.
I shall negotiate with the missus about starting some chillis on the kitchen windowsill... but she's already narked by the Stevia seedlings there. :-\
Transfered the Naga Jolokia and Paper Lantern chillis to the "aquarium" in the living room... they need warmth to get going.
Sowed another dozen pots of beans (Enorma and Moonlight) that are destined to be given away.
Cleared space in the chilliarium so the stray cats can sleep in there as I need the greenhouse space now.
Repotted a very unhappy rhubarb crown from a 10 litre pot to a 50 litre one.
Sowed peas and climbing French beans straight into the raised beds.
Shifted a concrete trough a mate gave me to its final position. Too heavy to lift so I did the old rollers thing.
Repotted blackberry seedlings that appeared in the raised beds.
Despite all the rain, the long trough out the front was bone dry, so I gave it a good soaking.
Received 20 Frau Schindler strawberry plants in the mail and potted them in immediately. They look a little bit scrawny, but they should be OK.
Most of the seeds sown in the greenhouse are up now, the Chillis indoors need a little more time.
Everything is up and growing well in the greenhouse, apart from the cowslips... I may put them outside as it may be too hot in there for them.
Peas are up, potatoes earthed up, kiwis about to flower, strawberries forming. Even last years dahlias are coming back... they are only supposed to be an annual variety. ???
Cut back the tulip and daff leaves as they were very yellow.
The Quince sapling is still producing sickly-looking leaves, so I shall have to carry on watering it for a while longer and hope it picks up as decent roots form.
The chain-hung basket was full of weeds, so I cleaed it and changed some of the compost. No idea what I'll grow in it this year.
Sowed lavender and mixed salad seeds that I found in a drawer... best by 2011, but we'll see.
Last year it was snails, this year it's ants everywhere! I've never seen so many. Blackfly and aphids are building up too, but there are loads of ladybirds to nom them.
I found a 2" cockchafer beetle earlier.... it was eating greenfly as well.
(http://www.wildlifeinsight.com/Insight/wp-content/gallery/gb_beetles/cockchafer.jpg)
Quotecockchafer
Now that just sounds painful!
Their young are really bad pests that stay underground and eat the roots of anything from grass to trees, so it was squish time as they can produce thousands of eggs.
They are also called May Bugs.
OO i've seen them
The missus squirmed, then ran away.
Moved some Physalis (Edible Chinese Lantern) outside. Hopefully I'll get fruits this year.
Quote from: Taf on May 25, 2012, 09:51:17 AM
Their young are really bad pests that stay underground and eat the roots of anything from grass to trees, so it was squish time as they can produce thousands of eggs.
They are also called May Bugs.
Ahhhh those! I was just thinking the other day how I'd not seen any this year :-\
I have lots & lots of flowers on my Dwarf Broad Beans :D
We have a really strong drying wind, so I've just done the tour of the garden watering everything in pots and planters.
I suspect I'll have to do it all again this evening.
Quote from: Taf on May 26, 2012, 10:32:40 AM
We have a really strong drying wind, so I've just done the tour of the garden watering everything in pots and planters.
I suspect I'll have to do it all again this evening.
Yeah, I've given all my planters a good soaking this eve too
Just harvested the Pinkl Fir Apple sopuds from the greenhouse.... I thought I had taken them all out last Autumn!
Blueberry to plant later.
Blueberry planted in a big tub where the previous one died, I dug right to the bottom but could not find any reason why the last one died.
Transplanted about a dozen Viola plants as the missus wants the space for HER flowers.
The second batch of runner bean seeds have gone to Austrailia as well.
Mine are all up in the greenhouse, but no-one locally has got any up in the garden yet... must be something eating them? ???
Quote from: fred on May 28, 2012, 18:33:43 PM
The second batch of runner bean seeds have gone to Austrailia as well.
Mine too :(
nothing eating them. small pots in the greenhouse as usual. A dig around shows intact seeds. No growth.
I have just repotted most of the beans and put a few out to harden off. Ditto all the sunflowers which are romping away this year.
The peas I have sown (Meteor) have an instruction on the packet I have never seen before "does not require staking or support" so the ones I raised in the greenhouse will be tried in a large pot to see if there is any difference in crop size.
Quote from: fred on May 29, 2012, 10:26:53 AM
nothing eating them. small pots in the greenhouse as usual. A dig around shows intact seeds. No growth.
Yep, exactly the same here :-\
Pricked out seedlings: tomato, tagetes, chrysanthemums, butternut squash.
Moved some of the beans into the open chilliarium to harden them off.
I think it's going to be a poor chilli year as they are hardly moving despite the heat. :-\
Mowed the lawn
Edged the lawn
Transplanted beans to their final positon outside (3 varieties)
Ditto courgettes
Ditto violas
Tied back the Kiwi over the shed front
More Chrysanthemums and Aubretia transplanted.
The main Kiwi has started to flower, as has the Jasmine around the front porch.
LOADS of bunches of grape flowers have formed this year. I gave up counting at 50, so we need a sunny summer!!!
Pumpkin (New England) planted out. I'll send them up bunched bamboo to the fencetop and let them run along it. It worked last year, and saves a lot of space!
Beans to pass onto a neighbour later when he gets home. He's only ever grown spuds... in a bucket, so this could be the spark to get him more interested.
A neighbour asked for help in germinating some tomato seeds his kids were given. They've just been repotted, so they can take them off my hands soon.
Tagetes, 'mums and toms repotted, a few pumpkins added to the outside beds, final potting compost mix made up for the chillis and peppers.
Peppers and chillis repotted in the greenhouse... the rain can't get me in there! ;D
Despite the weather, our garden's starting to look good now.
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Quote from: Nanaof3 on June 17, 2012, 10:10:20 AM
.
Hostas with no snail damage... I am jealous.
I just noticed snail damage all over the garden this morning, despite the poison bait and slug pubs. :-\
Same here 'Taf', no matter that I'm putting pellets out they're still munching on what's growing in the garden >:(
Ohh your garden looks lovely 'Nana' :D
Ok my Dwarf Broad Beans got flattened down in yesterdays wind & rain so I've tied them to stakes today. Lot's of little pods on them which is good, but also lots of blackfly. So what's the best/safest way to get rid of them ???
You get stuck there DM:
Spray them with soapy water
or
Leave them and hope the ladybirds/hoverfly larvae get them
You may notice ants carrying them to the tender shoots, then "milking" them, so get rid of the ants and reduce the problem. The trouble is that ant poison also kills ladybirds. :-\
Thanks DM! :D
Taf, we had to start the caring for the garden thing early this year, because of the house sale. The slugs have been (mostly!) annihilated by the slug pellets I put down this year. Organic gardening :pfft:
Most other years we've used beer traps etc, but I wanted the hostas to look good this year, and it's worked!
:woot:
Quote from: Taf on June 18, 2012, 09:46:17 AM
You get stuck there DM:
Spray them with soapy water
or
Leave them and hope the ladybirds/hoverfly larvae get them
You may notice ants carrying them to the tender shoots, then "milking" them, so get rid of the ants and reduce the problem. The trouble is that ant poison also kills ladybirds. :-\
Hmmm guess I'll try the soapy water then. I've not seen any ants at all this year
I have cleared out SEVEN nests in the back garden, TWO in the front garden, and they keep coming back! I opened the compost bin yesterday and found hundreds of ant eggs on top..... so I collected most of them and fed them to the fish (who love them).
:clap:
Planted out the Tagetes and gave the front garden a feed after removing all the dead wood from the lavender and starting to trim the Rosemary. Next door wants the Rosemary clippings for cooking, so I'll trim over a few weeks so that they get a steady supply.
Attacked next doors' horsetails again.... the weedkiller is slow but sure.
The Jasmine is in flower around the front door porch, so the scent in the evenings is stunning.
Have just removed the myriad of seed heads from the Aqualegias too... I don't want a garden full of nothing but them!
More beans and sunflowers planted out, and the first of the Chrysanths... the same ones grown from seed direct into a trough outside are really struggling.
Ate more strawberries....
Anyone heard of a 'Cherry Pie Plant'?
Bloke next door has , what he calls a Cherry Pie Plant, in a pot, similar colour to a Lilac, but smells just like a cherry pie!
I wanted to put my face into it shouting NOM NOM NOM.............I didn't :(
lol. Sounds like my kind of plant.
Quote from: dogsmum on June 25, 2012, 21:36:26 PM
Anyone heard of a 'Cherry Pie Plant'?
Bloke next door has , what he calls a Cherry Pie Plant, in a pot, similar colour to a Lilac, but smells just like a cherry pie!
I wanted to put my face into it shouting NOM NOM NOM.............I didn't :(
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/12797.shtml
I've seen this before - the smell is fantastic and makes you want to rush out and buy a cherry pie! ;D
:din:
That'll go lovely with my heather and lavendar
WANT!
Quote from: Nanaof3 on June 26, 2012, 08:29:41 AM
Quote from: dogsmum on June 25, 2012, 21:36:26 PM
Anyone heard of a 'Cherry Pie Plant'?
Bloke next door has , what he calls a Cherry Pie Plant, in a pot, similar colour to a Lilac, but smells just like a cherry pie!
I wanted to put my face into it shouting NOM NOM NOM.............I didn't :(
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/12797.shtml
I've seen this before - the smell is fantastic and makes you want to rush out and buy a cherry pie! ;D
That's it!! Ohhhh it did smell delish
Oh look at this, slimy little ba*****!!
Looks like he's worked his way up eating the leaves & is now munching on the flower bud! :o
(http://i47.tinypic.com/15g4180.jpg)
I STABBED HIM!! ;D
I have big scissors on standby... they deal with the snails too. This warm and wet weather is going to bring them out in droves. :-\
I'll never understand how people can be so soppy over dogs and cats, and so uncaring for other forms of life just because they're not cuddly and cute.
64 Koralik plants repotted in an eclectic collection of pots as I hope to give them all away.
That leaves another 100+ to find homes for.
Too hot in the greenhouse for the pots of mixed salads so they have been moved outside... into snailandslugland.
The Ghost Chillis (Naga Jolokia) have found their legs and are romping away now.
Baby cucumbers already formed on the greenhouse mini cucumber plants.
Quote from: Ian on June 27, 2012, 11:21:26 AM
I'll never understand how people can be so soppy over dogs and cats, and so uncaring for other forms of life just because they're not cuddly and cute.
I like things that aren't cuddly & cute!
But the damned slugs & snails are trying to eat everything in my garden!! >:(
Did you hear that "poachers" are collecting snails in the wild and selling them to the French to eat? Apparently "Roman Snails" are a protected species and "if you disturb them" you can get the police set on you with hefty fines possible! :o
Quote from: Taf on June 28, 2012, 09:14:15 AM
Did you hear that "poachers" are collecting snails in the wild and selling them to the French to eat? Apparently "Roman Snails" are a protected species and "if you disturb them" you can get the police set on you with hefty fines possible! :o
Hmmm I better google what these Roman Snails look like then....& toss them into nextdoors garden/jungle if I find any ::)
I realised this morning that the aronia, gojis, redcurrants and blackcurrants have not flowered this year... they are normally full of swelling fruit by now ???
The gooseberries are ready to pick already though ???
4 pumpkin (New England) plants set out in the raised bed. I'll train them up strings to the top of the fence and let them run wild up there.
All the Kiwi flowers have now faded, and hundreds of fruits are swelling. Grape flowers about to open. Come on sunny weather!!!
None of the runner bean seeds germinated, even in the greenhouse
Bought compost? I reckon there are still sales going on of that poisoned batch from last year.
Try a few beans in the old Biology class method.... a tube of card/blotting paper in a jamjar/glass?
(http://01.edu-cdn.com/files/static/wiley/9780471586289/NECESSARY_NUTRIENTS_FOR_SEED_GERMINATION_01.GIF)
same bag as last year. They're marginal here anyway and it's been chilly
I always start my beans off with a bit of heat and fairly dry compost. I tried a new "water retentive" seed compost for the first time this year... it stayed claggy and rotted a few beans, so I learned to keep it really on the tip of dry.
Chrysanthemums (Cockade) planted out in the front beds after clearing the finished poppies. I added a good mulch of homemade compost too... the ground was getting a bit dead.
(http://www.garden4less.co.uk/prodimages/johnsons/world-botanics-cockade-chrysanthemum.jpg)
Dug my Garlic up today, pleased with the size of most of them. Got them drying in the Mini Greenhouse
Mine are struggling this year again.
Quote from: Taf on July 02, 2012, 09:40:57 AM
Mine are struggling this year again.
I've never grown them before, so well pleased with what I have. Time will tell as to how strong they are though, will let you know
The time honoured method is to plant them BEFORE frost (November around here) so that the bulb plate splits and you get individual cloves forming. But the ground froze solid too early last winter, so I was late getting them in. That means I may have one-clove bulbs.
Quote from: Taf on July 03, 2012, 08:48:46 AM
The time honoured method is to plant them BEFORE frost (November around here) so that the bulb plate splits and you get individual cloves forming. But the ground froze solid too early last winter, so I was late getting them in. That means I may have one-clove bulbs.
Planted mine in October. It was only a bulb I bought in Asda's ;D
I has a cucumber!
I fact I has 16 cucumbers.... :-\
Quote from: Taf on July 04, 2012, 18:09:38 PM
I has a cucumber!
I fact I has 16 cucumbers.... :-\
stop boasting ;)
Cucumbers make me gassy :-X
I shall not eat one in the greenhouse for fear of blowing the windows out. :taf:
Gok Wan showed how the Chinese eat cucumbers... they dip them in sugar. ???
Quote from: Taf on July 04, 2012, 18:23:43 PM
Gok Wan showed how the Chinese eat cucmbers... they dip them in sugar. ???
Don't know why, but that's the only way Mum could eat tomato's
Tomatoes were always called "the sour fruit" before they got bred to be sweeter. The first really sweet tomato I tasted was from a local Italian's garden in the 60's.
I love tomatoes dipped in sugar!! They taste similar to strawberries. :D
Sweet Peppers (Romano), Chillis (Paper Lantern) and mini Cucumbers (Picolino) moved to their final pots and position in the greenhouse.
Repotted Basil, Parsley and Coriander.
Moved most of the Tomatoes (Koralik) outside to finish hardening off and planted a few in pots and in the upside-down hanger pot. Also moved out the last of the Butternut Squashes (Hercules) and the bigger Physalis outside.
The Yard Long Beans have been put in their final pots too, they have to stay in the greenhouse as they are sub-tropical in nature. I hope they aren't too rampant!!
The Naga chillis are being really slow, they are only 2 inches high now!
The Stevia plants and Catmint had a good haircut, cuttings kept for drying.
It started off quite pleasant in the greenhouse, but I suddenly realised I was sweating... the temperature had shot up from 22c to 38c!! :o
The beans outside have FINALLY decided to start climbing the sticks, I just hope I can kill off as many slugs as possible to give them a chance.
Picked the gooseberries, big, fat and very sweet, and showed the missus how to make jam. Only 2 1lb jars this year, but it is very nice.
Oooohh! I love gooseberries and gooseberry jam! :D
Quote from: Nanaof3 on July 10, 2012, 10:54:10 AM
Oooohh! I love gooseberries and gooseberry jam! :D
Sounds like you got a buyer 'Taf', if you make any more ;D
I'd like to have more Gooseberry bushes, but they are "too spikey" for the missus, so I'm only allowed 3 in large pots tucked away.
My ex grew gooseberries in his allotment. Some :dislike: :rant: :swear: stole the lot....every year for 3 years! Eventually, he dug them up, potted them and brought them home.
More sunflowers and tomatoes planted outside. There is space in the greenhouse!
QUESTION
Why don't slugs & snails eat the weeds that keep appearing in my garden ??? >:(
It is one of the great mysteries of life DM. I once allowed masses of weeds to grow around treasured plants... they only ate the treasured plants. :-\
Quote from: Tâf on July 14, 2012, 10:02:35 AM
It is one of the great mysteries of life DM. I once allowed masses of weeds to grow around treasured plants... they only ate the treasured plants. :-\
Hmmmm thanks 'Taf'
An old man locally used to "bruise" dandelion leaves, and they were then attacked by slugs. I've never tried it though... I don't have dandelions!
I raised some Sweetie Toms for a mate, and he didn't want them all, so I've just planted 4 in tubs in the greenhouse. They MAY be blightproof, so we'll wait and see.
3 people who wanted tomato plants off me have now decided they aren't going to bother this year due to the weather. Therefore I shall grow some outside myself and let them see the results.
Quote from: Tâf on July 15, 2012, 11:00:01 AM
An old man locally used to "bruise" dandelion leaves, and they were then attacked by slugs. I've never tried it though... I don't have dandelions!
No I don't have any either.
Does anyone see Hedgehogs around any more ???
I haven't seen any for years :-\
No hedgehogs here either, and only one fox does the rounds.
Lots of huge big black slugs out there tonight >:(
Haven't seen a single slug this year.
Snails though, now there's another story... :bored:
Quote from: Nanaof3 on July 19, 2012, 19:15:28 PM
Haven't seen a single slug this year.
Snails though, now there's another story... :bored:
Hmmm all your slugs must have come to Wales!
Now here's an idea I read yesterday...Buy cheap oats, as in Porridge oats, & sprinkle around your garden, apparently slugs love them but dry them up from the inside out :-X & they die. If the birds get them it won't hurt them :D I'm deffo going to try it!
Oats is how they clean up the innards of snails for eating.
Quote from: Tâf on July 20, 2012, 09:27:01 AM
Oats is how they clean up the innards of snails for eating.
Eh!! ???
"Roman" snails are collected, then fed a diet of oats so that their innards are swept clean of gunge before they are cooked and eaten. They don't just ask them to poo and wipe their bottoms..... so French people are actually eating snails containing oat poo. :puke:
Quote from: Tâf on July 21, 2012, 09:17:51 AM
"Roman" snails are collected, then fed a diet of oats so that their innards are swept clean of gunge before they are cooked and eaten. They don't just ask them to poo and wipe their bottoms..... so French people are actually eating snails containing oat poo. :puke:
Yeah, like cockles, mussels and oysters.
Potato blight has hit the neighbourhood. Mine lasted an extra day or two, but now the haulms are cut off and binned... no way can you compost them. :-\
Blackberries tied in, leeks that are going to seed composted, pumpkins and butternut squash helped up their strings, strawberries nom'd. Mock orange hacked back after flowering.
I fitted some solar light strings around the place to make it a bit less gloomy in the early nights.
The lawn needs a trim next, but I've come inside to cool off from the humidity out there.
Quote from: Tâf on July 21, 2012, 09:17:51 AM
"Roman" snails are collected, then fed a diet of oats so that their innards are swept clean of gunge before they are cooked and eaten. They don't just ask them to poo and wipe their bottoms..... so French people are actually eating snails containing oat poo. :puke:
:o :-X
Over the past 2 days I have given away:
82 Koralik tomato plants in flower
12 Butternut squash plants also in flower
2 mint plants
12 pots of Physalis plantlets.
All the seed came from plants from last year, all the compost was homemade, all the pots were donated from neighbours.
So overall cost zero... but it made me feel so nice to give them away. ;D
So now there is space in the garden and greenhouse!!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:
20 clumps of Physalis seedlings planted out, as well as 8 Koralik toms that I had left over. I said I would not do it, but I have planted out 12 Sweetie tomato plants in the garden.
Parlsy, Coriander and Basil repotted.
Harvested the spuds. 4 Red Roosters yielded 22 good sized spuds, the white spuds made a little less at 20. The Roosters in the bags were the best: 3 tubers in each managed 32 and 38 spuds grown in my own compost.
The Naga chillies got a spurt going, so I have replanted them to their final trough to move into the chilliarium.
Tied-in the sunflowers before thet snapped in this damed wind. They're over 8ft tall now.
Repotted the Lavender seedlings too.
This is a very drying wind, so I'll have to water everything again this evening.
Reattached the birdbath top with super adhesive as Oscar knocked it off again.... only a little damage.
My lavendar is doing really well.
Gorgeous flowers on it.
I'll take a pic later.
My heather is doing well too, but apparently my can likes sleeping on one of them and has turned it into a bowl.
Can's are like that ;)
my cat is too
Let's hope they don't meet one day
(http://www.scottishspca.org/assets/0002/1475/cat_with_can_stuck_on_head.JPG)
that won't happen she doesn't like whiskers
:lol: :laugh:
Well I don't know if it's killing them or not but the slugs are certainly enjoying the oats I'm putting out every evening :-\
First beans picked and eaten!
I has a tomato too!
The first flush of Blackberries picked and frozen... amost 2lb!
It'll be almost daily picking now until I have enough for a jam session.
Tomato plants tied-in, and the last of the beans planted out (in a big bundle as they had twirled together). That means the chiliarium is now free for the Nagas!
Quote from: Tâf on August 03, 2012, 10:49:52 AM
First beans picked and eaten!
I has a tomato too!
Been eating ripe tomatoes for ten days
peas and broad beans frozen
spuds in store
I've been eating & freezing my Broad Beans too :D
spuds planted in pots.
pots to be taken in to the ggreenhouse when it gets cold
With any luck home grown new spuds for xmas :din:
Chilliarium washed-out and Nagas and lavender seedlings moved in. That gives more room for the rampant sweet pepper plants in the greenhouse.
Blueberries, blackberries and blackcurrants picked from the garden... not a bad haul today! The missus picked climbing French beans, and I also picked the last of the peas.
All the roses hacked back almost to the ground. Blackspot is prevalent here, so treating them hard gets better results.
Did some fine tuning with the Rosemary bush pruning and the Clematis got a haircut too.
Removed the pea plants, I'll have to find an outlet that sells Alderman peas for next year. They easily climb to 6 feet and are very heavy croppers. Meteor, on the other hand, only got to about a foot high and had very few pods.
The third flush of blackberries to harvest and freeze this evening. Thye should be super sweet after a day in the sun.
The Koralik toms outside have babies!!
Quote from: Tâf on August 10, 2012, 11:17:47 AM
All the roses hacked back almost to the ground. Blackspot is prevalent here, so treating them hard gets better results.
My, one rose has had Blackspot this year too. I bought some stuff to spray on, seems to work
I filled our largest saucepan with blackberries from our main bush last evening, and have simmered them down to half the original liquid level. I ran out of room to freeze them whole!
In just a couple of days the climbing French beans have gone to sparse to glut! Have to pick some for tomorrow. String(less) beans also ready to pick too... I still have some in the freezer from last year!
Pumpkins have pollinated so we'll have a few of them for the Autumn too.
More blackberries ready to pick. Some of the Kiwis are 3 times the size of the usual, so quality is better than quantity, so I may be removing excess fruits next year to let the others really swell.
I have just picked 150gm of Stevia leaves for drying, and I spotted that the Basil needs a trim, so may freeze a lot of that.
The grapevines have decided it's Autumn already... the leaves are drying and falling already. That will screw the grape harvest. :-\
11 Elsanta strawberry runners had grown big enough to leave their parent plants, so I detached them and will repot later.
Tied in a sunflower that has had a late spurt of growth and was getting bashed by the wind.
A glut of mini cucumbers need to be harvested, perhaps I'll pickle them in big chunks?
I'm picking 4 portions of beans every day now... the family will turn green at this rate.
Nice ;D
Lawn mowed... it was covered in Dandelion seedlings so they got a zap of Weedol.
Planted my 50p Companula in the garden, it was reduced from £3.99 :D
Quote from: dogsmum on August 28, 2012, 21:35:10 PM
Planted my 50p Campanula in the garden, it was reduced from £3.99 :D
I got 5 from Wilko the other day.. down to 20p each! All they needed was a haircut and a soak.
Another 2.5Kg of stringless beans picked, but the French beans are not so prolific.
And I have 2 red tomatoes at last!! Plus 4 pumpkins are swelling rapidly.
Quote from: dogsmum on August 28, 2012, 21:35:10 PM
Planted my 50p Companula in the garden, it was reduced from £3.99 :D
Slugs have eaten it >:(
Mine are OK, but they are in their pots on the patio and not out in the wild of the main garden.
Yours should regrow DM!
Quote from: dogsmum on September 11, 2012, 21:04:01 PM
Quote from: dogsmum on August 28, 2012, 21:35:10 PM
Planted my 50p Companula in the garden, it was reduced from £3.99 :D
Slugs have eaten it >:(
At least they had a cheap meal. :laugh:
:lol:
Well I'll keep my fingers crossed 'Taf'
I trimmed the ones I got almost down to the ground, and they came back OK.
Finally decided the young couple are right and the garden WAS dark. HoN and I have pruned back all the photinia, thinned out the crab apple and whitebeam, cleared an area in the sunniest spot to place a bench to sit on and cleared off the raised beds to make way for winter veg and seed beds for next spring. It's looking much better! :D
Picked a handful of strawberries that appear to be making a late showing, got about 3lbs potatoes that grew from a stray one that got left when we uprooted last years plants :)
Top dressed the pots ready for winter with a layer of extra mulch
3lb of stringless beans and a half pound of French beans picked. Things are really slowing down now.
The Gardeners Delight toms I put outside for a laugh all went from healthy, covered in fruit, to stone dead with blight in one day. Ripped out and binned. :-\
The sweet peppers from the greenhouse are simmering in Fajita sauce.
Quote from: Tâf on September 27, 2012, 15:30:05 PM
The Gardeners Delight toms I put outside for a laugh all went from healthy, covered in fruit, to stone dead with blight in one day. Ripped out and binned. :-\
The sweet peppers from the greenhouse are simmering in Fajita sauce.
The good & bad of gardening huh?
It's been mostly bad this year nationwide.
The apple tree is in blossom, as is the rosemary bush! ???
That really can't be good :-\
Well that's the end of the beans, so I chopped them off for compost.
Cleared all the blighted tomatoes and binned them, harvested about 30 decent-sized onions to finish drying, chopped the basil, parsley and mint and donated the good leaves to a neighbour.
In the greenhouse, 4 sweet pepper plants never even flowered, though 2 did... and made nice fat peppers.
The Paper Lantern chillis are still ripening, so the loss of the pepper plants will give them more room as they are large plants.
Cucumbers finished, tomatoes STILL ripening.
The Stevia plants all snuffed it when the temperature dropped, but I got a lot of good leaves for drying and grinding into powder.
The Sunflowers are all full of seeds, all nodding due to the weight.
I planted out 2 Asters out front in the gravel, along with the Campanula plants I got as "near dead" from Wilkos. TLC did the trick.
The patio Dahlias have done their thing, so it's compost time for them. Out front they're still flowering!
The Physalis are covered in fruit lanterns, many ripe already!
Frost forecast for tomorrow night, finally.
So today I brought in the tender perennials to overwinter. Spider plant, orchids, etc.
The semi-hardy ones are now on the patio under the passion flower leaves so they should be protected from the frost there. The fig and the olive are on the patio.
Finished planting out the bulbs. Even if, by some miracle, we sell the house, the new owners will expect a Spring showing, since the estate agent tells them our garden is landscaped. ::)
Pruned back the last of the hardy perennials; hostas, ferns, fuchsias (apart from genii which is still in full flower) and gladioli (which always remain in the ground over winter here).
Final mowing with blades set high.
Patio furniture put away.
:pooped:
Quote from: Nanaof3 on October 25, 2012, 22:31:06 PM
Frost forecast for tomorrow night, finally.
So today I brought in the tender perennials to overwinter. Spider plant, orchids, etc.
The semi-hardy ones are now on the patio under the passion flower leaves so they should be protected from the frost there. The fig and the olive are on the patio.
Finished planting out the bulbs. Even if, by some miracle, we sell the house, the new owners will expect a Spring showing, since the estate agent tells them our garden is landscaped. ::)
Pruned back the last of the hardy perennials; hostas, ferns, fuchsias (apart from genii which is still in full flower) and gladioli (which always remain in the ground over winter here).
Final mowing with blades set high.
Patio furniture put away.
:pooped:
Wow you have been busy!
Not really. It took about 2 hours in total. ;D
Pumpkins ready to harvest and sunbathe, courgettes harvested and cooked. I'm going to decimate the Jerusalem Artichokes and dig up (hopefully) all the roots as I want to use the space for rhubarb. I need to get that done before frost solidifies the soil.
Despite the frost the other night, it didn't kill our tender plants after all!
I've brought the chilli pepper plant I forgot in the rush, and it's now sitting on the kitchen windowsill in a large pot, where, hopefully, it will catch some winter sun.
The nasturtiums are still growing - and they are usually the first to go. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll clear away the last of the summer bedding (begonias that are still flowering prolifically!) and plant some primroses and pansies.
So I've been wondering what's been making 2'' holes in my planters. Some of the holes are just an inch or so into the soil, some of them have tunnels about 4'' long under the soil. I've just been out the back with Nell & she was chasing a small frog around. Now I believe frogs dig down in the ground to hibernate :o
Toads usually, and some snails do it too.
Quote from: Tâf on November 02, 2012, 10:21:39 AM
Toads usually, and some snails do it too.
Well whatever it is it's not eating the bulbs, which was what I first thought when I found the holes
Autumn hit the garden today. Woke this morning to find yellow leaves on the whitebeam and wistaria - they were green only yesterday!
Still no frost.... the nasturtiums are growing steadily, there are blue lobelias in flower in one of the pots, the snapdragons are in full flower, and the begonias are still doing well. I don't have the heart to clear them away until the frost gets them. They are pink and red and look lovely.
Planted about 100 Tete-a-tete and Minnow mini daffs in the planter out front. I had to then give it a cover of gravel to keep the cats off.
Trimmed the Jasmine around the front porch, and the Crocosmia out back. Lopped the sunflowers as the heads are too wet to feed the birds. I managed to save some seed from Himalayan Giant though... they will be planted next year.
Harvested the last of the Paper Lantern chillis in the greenhouse.
Moved the wall-mounted catnip plants into the greenhouse for the winter.
Snipped the strawberry runners from their Mummy plants.
The street tree leaves on the front bed have blown away....
...exposing loads of daffodil's sticking their noses up already! Some as much as 3". :o
I have lots of Spring bulbs coming up too. Sadly I also have a lot just laying on top of the soil in my planters from whatever has been digging in them >:(
Crocuses are up. So are a load of daffodils and bluebells, and a few tulips. The Goji bushes have popped leaf buds too!
And I just squished 7 baby slugs and a coupe of snails! :o
Time to harvest the last of the Kiwis too. I reckon 50+.
The lawn is still too sodden to walk on so that I can clear the fallen leaves and cut back the raspberry canes. The Kiwi and grapevines need a trim too.
my tulips aren't up yet :(
Quote from: Lisa on January 04, 2013, 15:02:57 PM
my tulips aren't up yet :(
They shouldn't be... this daft weather is causing too many plants to think it's Spring already.
Slug pellets have zapped DOZENS of tiny black slugs all over the garden. YAY!
Chillis don't like the cold, so when the season finished I just ignored the Naga Jolokia chilli plants in the chilliarium, not expecting any results this past season.
But yesterday I looked in there and saw what I though were yellow leaves on the dried stems. But they were 8 decent-sized chillis that have a fiery bite to them. YAY!
The first Crocus has flowered despite the rain.
I have tulip buds coming through. I'm amazed they survived.
Bulbs will sprout on damp paper... they're self-contained living pods that just need water at the right time.
Then fed after flowering and allowed to build up stores for next year.
first daffs open.
yet another batch of snowdrops gone to Aussie.
home grown spuds just finished off
And off we go....
Anenomes, some daffs and the crocuses in bloom... as is the Rosemary... 2 months early.
Rhurbarb is up, and 'cos the raspberries have sprouted I've pruned them down to the ground.
Next is the big job: pruning the Kiwi and grape vines.
The lawn looks terible, it'll need a lot of TLC this coming Spring.
Lots of signs that cats have been using the raised beds as a toilet. :grumpy:
Our garden hasn't woken up yet.
Crocuses not in flower, let alone daffs, which are about 3" tall round here and no sign of the buds :-\
Only flowers so far this year are cyclamen (last stages now) and snowdrops. And Mahonia Japonica and a few yellow winter jasmine blooms.
Come on Spring....wake up!! :grumpy:
Transplanted 3 Hellebores that self-seeded from next door. Put weedkiller on the Violets and Herb Robert before they go ballistic all over the garden. Trimmed the Lavender.
crocuses open, daffs in full bloom, tulips showing big leaves.
lawns growing like crazy and need a cut already, daisies in full flower.
sum timg wong
Garden woke up today. Crocuses now flowering. Daffs growing and some buds peeping through. Antirrhinums in bud. Roses shooting - gave them a final prune. Raked the lawn and chucked down the last of last year's mosskiller (well, we're moving; I'm not going to go mad out there!).
Potted up the last of the plants I want to take with us (a clematis and some phormiums... need to try to get a yellow phormium out of the front garden but will wait until Weds when HoN can help - it's huge and I can't dig it up by myself - it needs separating out).
Kiwis and grapevines given a severe haircut. Raspberries and Tayberries too. Then a sweep up and the first haircut of the season for the lawn.
A minor repair needed for the compost bins before I jump up and down on them to compres it all so that the lids can close (after it all gets soggy with much-needed rain that's coming later today).
Tidied the garden....swept up excess dead leaves, pruned late-Summer flowering shrubs, potted up some bluebells to take to the new place (it's a tradition - my late ex-mother-in-law gave me some from her garden 30 years ago, and every time I've moved I've potted up some to plant in the new garden). There are now 6, about to be 7, gardens with English Bluebells in them (provided the owners haven't dug them up! But I planted them in the shade, under trees, so hopefully not). :)
Haven't mowed the lawn yet - the temperature only rose above 7c last weekend! Mower ready to go, though! ;)
ooo I'd quite like some bluebells to go with my lavender and heather.
Try to get English Bluebells (flowers down one side of the stem only).
need to work out where to stick them first
I've got English Bluebells.
Lots of crocus & snowdrops flowering.
My first daff of the year just opened today
Quote from: Lisa on March 06, 2013, 18:56:04 PM
need to work out where to stick them first
Beside your steps would be nice. They multiply quickly and become quite big clumps.
Finished tidying the garden prior to our move. All we'll need to do now is mow the lawn (if it ever gets warm enough to grow!!).
Rubbish tip run yesterday - took all the garden waste down there, as well as some waste metal (stuff from the garden shed and the broken rotary washing line). It was quiet - they are currently rebuilding our local tip and most residents have no idea where the temporary one is!
::)
Nagas and Lobelia sown and put into the heated propagator.
Nagas and Lobelia have sprouted a few days now, so they now get 12 hour stints with the grolight until they are big enough to transplant. Too cold on the window ledges and in the greenhouse to start anything else. :-\
Some daffs are nearly finished flowering, but loads of others are only now starting to bud... it'll be a long season this year.
The Quince has popped it's leaves open. Fruit next please!!!
6 varieties of spud are chitting nicely. They'll be my main root crop this year as I expect slugs and snails to be rampant again.
I only have 2 daffs in flower, lots still tight buds
The first day of reasonable gardening weather. All the potted plants have been given a soak, and now the digging is about to begin so the chitted spuds can be put out at last.
The missus is overjoyed that the garden hose has been reconnected now that hard frosts should be rare.
Both long raised beds double-dug and 7 varieties of potatos planted out. I had to move some garlic and leeks, but they won't mind.
It was lovely out there with the first real warmth of the year under blue sky.
Quote from: Tâf on April 06, 2013, 11:23:13 AM
The missus is overjoyed that the garden hose has been reconnected now that hard frosts should be rare.
Why is she excited about the hose being reconnected ???
She loves playing with water. I think she gets more pleasure out of water than food sometimes. ???
Trimmed all the old grow off the strawberries. A few didn't make it throught he winter but I have loads of runners that took root.
Quote from: Tâf on April 07, 2013, 10:24:26 AM
She loves playing with water. I think she gets more pleasure out of water than food sometimes. ???
Ahhhh :-\
A big tidy up and sorted out the compost bins. Then 14 Strawberry runners repotted, and a few Aubretia planted out.
I still have some more stuff to bin (prunings mostly) as they don't compost well.
The Cherry And Apple are both popping buds, and there are loads of fruiting spurs this year.
I shall attack the greenhouse cleaning tomorrow, and if it gets too warm in there I may get the pressure washer out and have a play.
Several slugs and snails sent to their maker with a stern message to F Off this year!
Woooo I actually have 4, yes 4 Daff's in flower at last!
Got a few minature Tulips in bud
my tulips are up, no buds yet, but my anemone are flowering well
The first load of daffs have gone over, but the mini ones are doing great. A few tulips too.
Edged the lawn, patched some bare spots with what I cut off.
The Kiwis are sprouting!
The daffs in the ground are nearly over, but those in the planters are in full flower.
The Cherry is in bloom already and the Aubretia looks stunning this year, like purple cushions. The Gooseberry and Currants are forming loads of flower clumps.
Now that the greenhouse is cleaned and tidied, I can start planning what I shall sow this year.
Many large snails have gone to snail heaven.
The lawn was really looking tatty, but a feed seems to have boosted it a lot. I may send the lad out to scarify it as he wants "a bit more exercise".
All the seed-tray seed sown:
4 types of Spring Onion... I hope to succeed this year (Eiffel, Laser, Ishikura and a red one called Toga)
Basil
Oregano
2 types of Stocks (Giant Perfect and Heaven Scent)
Chocolate Daisies
Perpetual Spinach
Leek Snowstar
Spinach Lazio
White Alpine Strawberry
And Carrot Flyaway and Autumn King in large pots.
Once the trays and pots are clean I'll start on the seeds that need more individual space.
3 types of bean sown (French climber Cobra, Stringless Jupiter, and an American heirloom called Wax).
Chillis sown (Patio Sizzle, Jamican Mix, and).
Also outdoor cucumber (Marketmore) and the mini Picolino again this year (it's fruits are lush).
And a few Courgettes (Green Bush) and some Earlybird Maize I had left over.
The seeds I planted are already mostly showing (Basil, Stocks and Oregano).
Sowed loads of Gardeners Delight Toms in my greenhouse for a neighbour who can't seem to get them to germinate.
Our Bay Tree is now a Bay Bush again.
Loads of Apple blossom!
Leeks are up too.
Everything but the Choccy Daisies, chillis and tomatoes have sprouted in the greenhouse. At only 14c in there, they are going to struggle.... need warmth and sunshine!
My neighbour gave me 3 "Homegrow" packs that his shop threw out: garlic, shallots, onions, beetroot, cucumbers and carrots.
So I have planted the garlic in pots, and the beetroot and cucumbers in modules for plantinmg out later (and to make them more slugproof). 330 onion sets and no space for them yet!
I also planted 4 huge Jumbo garlic cloves that I was given by a neighbour.
Tomatoes are up!
Picked over 2lbs of good Bay leaves from the prunings from the other day. They take a while to get dry and develop that special flavour. All the rest got binned as it won't compost for years.
Sowed Alpine strawbs and Cayenne chillis that my neighbour gave me. He also gave me more onions... so 550 sets have to find a home or turn into mini-pickled onions...
I gave away the onion sets at the local garden allotments.
Pricked out 2 trays of Spinach seedlings, then planted out the rest of the garlic and shallots.
Sowed 3 pots of herbs for the kitchen windowsill.
I bought 12 Snapdragon Carnival Mix, 12 Verbena Starry Eyes Mix & 12 Begonia Chilli Chocolate Mix for £12 today
A lot of outlets selling plants have taken a knock this yeat DM. They produced them far too early for the weather we've been having. Hence loads of bargains online and in the garden centres.
I started earthing up the spuds above ground level now, using bags of spent compost.
Quote from: Tâf on May 16, 2013, 11:44:21 AM
Picked over 2lbs of good Bay leaves from the prunings from the other day. They take a while to get dry and develop that special flavour. All the rest got binned as it won't compost for years.
Worth remembering - our new garden has a large bay tree! Thanks Taf! :thumbsup:
Make sure, absolutely sure, that it is a Bay and not a Laurel. Laurel is poisonous.
If you hang a Bay branch in the pantry, it keeps bugs "at bay" whilst it dries and develops full flavour... hence the name.
I dried a load of leaves to make Bay Rum hair dressing / aftershave... it smells divine...
Bought another 3 tray's each with 12 plant's today as I was running out of plants for the amount of planters I have
I got Upright Lobelia Moonlight Mix, Marigold Safari Mix & Petunia Summer Romance Mix today
Spuds earthed-up a bit more and radishes sown between the rows as a catch-crop.
Thyme sown. I plan on dotting it all around the garden.
Stocks pricked-out, basil repotted, more carrots sown outside in a bit of spare space in a trough. Beetroot in modules are all up, as are most of the chilis and toms. The beans are really romping away. They may need to go out earlier than planned.
Cherries are swelling! ;D
Sowed loads of Coriander in a large pot on the patio. It makes a nice show of flowers that bees and hoverflies love.... then loads more seed for next year!
Loads of bean planted out, loads of beans given away.
Toms and Cucumbers repotted.
Picolino mini cucumbers put in their final pots in the greenhouse.
Greenhouse tidied, lots of plants moved to the chilliarium which acts as a cold frame with it's doors slightly ajar.
First Rose on 1st June!
Quote from: Tâf on June 01, 2013, 18:07:16 PM
First Rose on 1st June!
Mine are still tight buds
Quote from: dogsmum on June 01, 2013, 21:39:50 PM
Quote from: Tâf on June 01, 2013, 18:07:16 PM
First Rose on 1st June!
Mine are still tight buds
Never mind, you'll be out of your training bra before you know it DM. :laugh:
Quote from: Tâf on June 02, 2013, 09:55:56 AM
Quote from: dogsmum on June 01, 2013, 21:39:50 PM
Quote from: Tâf on June 01, 2013, 18:07:16 PM
First Rose on 1st June!
Mine are still tight buds
Never mind, you'll be out of your training bra before you know it DM. :laugh:
Shurrup!! :laugh:
The "Mile A Minute" Clematis had finished flowering so I cleared it off the arch into the main garden. I chopped it up with the lawnmower as otherwise is is really slow to compost. There was so much it filled the lawnmower hopper FIVE times!
Toms are ready to put into their final big pots, but evrything else is still being slow about growing. Perhaps the ASDA seed compost is far too weak in nutrients?
The mini-cucumbers are rampant though. Fruit should appear in only a few weeks.
I spent a few hours pricking-out and repotting as the seed compost had run out of nurtrients and everything had stopped growing. A bit more to do today.
The spuds are in flower, even the "lates". ???
Carrot germination low so more seeds put in the pots.
Marginal weather here.
Some years loads of large carrots, others little finger sized ones
My Rose is now in flower & getting battered by the wind & rain :(
The last of the beans have been planted out, and I've been a busy bloke tidying et al.
Koralik toms put into 2 upside-down planters.
More Marketer Cucumbers planted out.
Started tying-in the mini cucmbers in the greenhose. I have baby cuc's already! :o
Peonie staked as the flowers are huge again. Loads of Stocks planted out.
It got too hot in the greenhouse, but I shall have to go back in to do the final potting of some tomatoes et al. But there is no room for all of them again. :-\
Toms and sweet peppers in their final pots now, and a bit more space appeared like magic to accomodate them in the greenhouse. I put Basil in with each tomato plant as they are supposed to egg each other on a bit.
White strawberry plants repotted, plus oregano. I gave the thyme a haircut to encourage side shoots, ditto the oregano from the first sowing.
I have lost 2 more spud plants to what I suspect is Cockchafer grubs that can live up top 5 years in the soil. The only way to kill them off nowadays is by very expensive nematodes, as the EU banned the only pesticide that affected them (and was always considered safe).
Quote from: Tâf on June 25, 2013, 13:13:50 PM
Peonie staked as the flowers are huge again. Loads of Stocks planted out.
Wow, the Peonies in Paul's garden finished weeks ago!
The Bee's are loving my Snapdragons ;D
The Kiwis are flowering, and the grapes will be in flower within days if it stays warm.
The carrots are really struggling. :-\
first new spuds up for tomorrow lunch
I bought 6 shrubs for £6 a good few months back. Couldn't remember what they were so had to google the flower I found in the garden the other day. It's a Hardy Gloxinia, lovely :D
We're eating cucumbers from the greenhouse now.... I reckon 1 a day for the rest of the summer.
3 more spud plants destroyed by what I suspect is Cockchafer grub damage.
Kiwi fruits are swelling as the rest of the vine goes bonkers in this heat.
I need to tidy up the grenhouse and get more chillis in their final pots, but it's so darned hot in there even with the door and window open.
It's a regular thing to soak the garden every evening in this heat.
Strawberries galore!!!
Courgettes planted in the finished compost container. Chillis planted up and put into the chilliarium.
I've moved the excess toms outsdie so they can get used to the nasty weather ( ;) ) then I can give them away.
It was 42c in the greenhouse! I was soaked in sweat.
The Frau Schindler strawberries are/were ripe... now nom nom nommed! Exquisite!
(http://www.gardencentrekoeman.co.uk/db/products/135999245593004_fragaria_Frau_Mieze_Schindler.jpg)
Woo lots of Poppies this year.
Also does anyone know what the pink flowers are? Got seeds from flowers in Paul's (Mum's) garden last year but we don't know what they are
(http://i40.tinypic.com/14a8rjo.jpg)
Thye look like Red Campion, but the stems are too fat. Have you been over-feeding them? :laugh:
The Chilliarium is now full, the patio even more so. All I have left to plant of give away are oregano and cucumber plants.
Still no sign of Lisa's cousin to collect the plants he said he'd gladly take. :(
Quote from: Tâf on July 13, 2013, 09:42:42 AM
Thye look like Red Campion, but the stems are too fat. Have you been over-feeding them? :laugh:
No not Red Campion, different leaves. The stems & leaves on these are a very light green & sort of velvety
I just melted as I trimmed back the Kiwi, climbing roses and grapevine... too hot to stay out there any longer.
All the Gooseberies picked and the first batch of French Beans.! :P
Anyone know what this is?
The flower is paper thin, very delicate
(http://i42.tinypic.com/1zwgr2u.jpg)
Periwinkle?
I just dug out the oversized Crocosmia Lucifer and replaced it with Stocks and Oregano.
Quote from: Tâf on July 26, 2013, 19:05:39 PM
Periwinkle?
Ohhh it might well be. There's a few of them flowering at the side of the Canal, never seen them there before so am wondering if some one sprinkled their butterfly & bee seeds there
About a third of the blackberry fruits are fully ripe already! Glut ahead!
Quote from: Tâf on July 27, 2013, 09:18:37 AM
About a third of the blackberry fruits are fully ripe already! Glut ahead!
Nowhere near ready in the hedgerows around here
I gave the apple and cherry trees their summer prune yesterday... they were starting to outgrow the garden.
Strawberry season has ended for us... I really need to find some late season varieties.
Oh, I don't think it's a Periwinkle, 'Taf'. Different leaves
1.11Kg of blackcurrants from 5 small bushes. Quite a haul.
But it would have been much more of the Feral Five hadn't been in my garden stealing them. :grumpy:
I've left a few fat ones near the front wall.... but I have sprayed them with alum.... he he he...
Quote from: Tâf on August 03, 2013, 17:56:30 PM
1.11Kg of blackcurrants from 5 small bushes. Quite a haul.
But it would have been much more of the Feral Five hadn't been in my garden stealing them. :grumpy:
I've left a few fat ones near the front wall.... but I have sprayed them with alum.... he he he...
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Brilliant!!
Anyone know what this is?
I believe it's a house plant.
(http://i43.tinypic.com/2hhls82.jpg)
Picked the first of the stringless Enorma beans yesterday.
Hmmm...I'll have to look that one up DM....
Quote from: Tâf on August 07, 2013, 09:10:44 AM
Hmmm...I'll have to look that one up DM....
Cheers 'Taf'.
Nextdoors gave it to me as, she said, the flowers were dying on it. She said it was a house plant but could be put in the garden, so I had it in the garden as the weather was good. It was getting watered along with the other pot plants, lots of flower buds, but they kept dropping off :-\ Brought it indoors & only watered it from below & it seems to be doing well, though I do think it needs re-potting now
I trimmed back all the strawberry leaves and found a few plants just about to bear fruit AGAIN!
9 more strawberry planters put up filled with the delicious Frau Schindler plants I got from runners.
7.2kg of lovely big Red Rooster spuds from 4 seed potatoes in just 1 metre row! WOOHOO!!!
Quote from: dogsmum on August 06, 2013, 21:44:35 PM
Anyone know what this is?
I believe it's a house plant.
I'm almost sure it's a single chrysanthemum. No idea what variety though. Does it have that telltale perfume from the leaves (smells like flowershops near cemeteries AFAIC)?
3.4kg of rhubarb picked. I had to do it as it was flopping over the beetroot. The 6 other crowns are HUGE!!!
Quote from: Tâf on August 10, 2013, 13:29:02 PM
Quote from: dogsmum on August 06, 2013, 21:44:35 PM
Anyone know what this is?
I believe it's a house plant.
I'm almost sure it's a single chrysanthemum. No idea what variety though. Does it have that telltale perfume from the leaves (smells like flowershops near cemeteries AFAIC)?
Ohhh I was just telling Ann today that it bloody stinks!! Got a horrible fousty smell, if I touch it I can smell it in here for ages >:(
So it's an outdoor plant?
It's getting very bushy indoors, twice as big now as it was when I took that pic
I think you should treat it as "tender" and bring it in when it gets cooler.
Blackberries to pick today... I'm running out of freezer space so I should make jam.
Quote from: Tâf on August 11, 2013, 11:02:14 AM
I think you should treat it as "tender" and bring it in when it gets cooler.
Blackberries to pick today... I'm running out of freezer space so I should make jam.
I hope it stops growing then, or it'll take over my house :o
Blackberries still not ready around here
They're being odd here, a third are fully ripe, a third still red, a third tiny... all on the same bush!
I'm still picking blackberries, they are ripening in large batches this year. The raspberries are very sparse so far, but they are an autumn variety.
The grapes and kiwis are swelling nicely.
Potato llight has appeared in a local allotments, so be be safe I ripped up all my potato haulms for quick composting. Several HUGE spuds were dragged to the surface, but buried again so I can harvest as required.
Chillis are swelling in the greenhouse, and I'm about to harvest the last of the greenhouse toms.
Thyme and strawberry plants are ready to plant out, as are the leeks. I just need space for them!
QuoteSeveral HUGE spuds were dragged to the surface, but buried again so I can harvest as required.
no slugs or eelworms there then?
Over here we dig up all the earlies in early June and don't bother with lates. Harvesting the lot then gives a far bigger undamaged crop.
I've never seen eelworm damage around here. The few spuds that lifted all seemed clear of slug damage too. Fingers crossed that the organic slug pellets keep on doing their work.
More French and String beans picked... the missus was dribbling when I brought them indoors.
100+ leeks planted out where the first lot of spuds were.
The Spring Onions are not happy in pots, so I've transplanted the lot into the big raised bed. I never have any luck with them.
I can normally get away with emptying the mower catchbox once per trim. The lawn has shot up so much I had to empty the catchbox three times today.
Mowed the lawn, it's been growing like mad.
Picked some grapes from the vine (nom nom nom) and some raspberries.
I need to dig up some more spuds later.
The last of the greenhouse peppers and toms picked, and the plants composted.
That gives more room for the chillies to ripen.
Well, that's the bean season over, plants cut and composted, beans simmering for later.
First row of Red Duke of York spuds in the large raised bed lifted... just under 8kg from 5 seed spuds, and most are HUGE bakers. NO sign of damage or disease, but I forked a couple. :-\
About 65 red and yellow onion sets planted in their place. I lost quite a few to drying-out, but they were freebies from my nice neighbour anyway.
Lavender hedge trimmed... the Rosemary needs a chop too. :-\
Another row of spuds dug up, and only minor slug damage. 5 seed spuds made 4.2Kg of lovely Maris Peers.
Planted out 75 Dwarf Narcissi (£1 from Tesco) and dozens of Aliums and Mini Bulbs (name unknown).
As I was planting them I noticed loads of last year's narcissi already have leaves 5" high on average!
Well I'll deffoe buy Snapdragons again, planted them in May/June & most of them still flowering
My minature rose is covered in flowers & the big rose has buds on it!
Primroses flowering in the garden! :D
Snapdragons are now done for. Been flippin' good though, flowering since June!
The last of the spuds lifted. Bloomin' huge Duke Of Yorks (biggest over 9"). 11.2Kg is excellent for under a square metre of ground.
The 2 bags yielded loads of salad size Charlottes, almost 2 Kg from 2 seed spuds.
Crocus are flowering
Ours are up but haven't opened yet.
Spuds have to be dug up early here. Eelworm. No point planting anything other than first earlies. When dad had the allotment ( Council barstewards sold off his and others for housing. The substitute was on very poor ground with a 200m walk to get there. No chance of delivery of a lorry load of manure. Practice was to have a load delivered, let it sit for a year and then use it. )
Far more
My supplier of seaweed for fertiliser has passed away. He didn't mind a stinking truck if he made a profit. R.I.P. old man. :(
Our first daffodil is now fully open, many more should be open tomorrow.
YAY SPRING! :D
Daffodils open here too..... not in our garden, as we planted them too late, but in the gardens up this road.
We seem to have a little microclimate of warmth here. Gardens in our road (in the river valley and sheltered by the steep valley sides and the M2 bridge) have plants like palms, tropicals, canna and they overwinter outdoors! :D
daftodills opend here just in time to be beheaded by the gales
I nipped into the greenhouse during a break in the showers and found the strawberries, thyme, oregano, catmint and chilies all back in growth.
A bagfull of onion sets were sprouting too, so I planted them.
I've got quiet a few snowdrops and the daffs are in bud, planted some perennial summer bulbs today so hopefully it will be more colourful this summer
Snowdrops & crocus are all I have, only a couple of daff's have tiny buds yet
Tete a tete were out but the gales decapitated them
Leaf buds opening on the goji, quince and another shrub I will have to find the name of one day.
Pruned the kiwi off the shed, and also pruned the raspberries, then shredded the lot... 3 binbags full!
3lbs of kiwis from on top of the shed roof donated to a kiwi fan as I'm sick of them now (and there are still more to pick!)
Pruned the Bay and other bits and bobs. Noticed the apple and cherry have both popped their buds. The fish are getting active too.
Only one of the chilli plants appears to have overwintered and come back to life, but that's one more than I usually get.
Tomato seeds sprouted ;D
I haven't even sown mine yet. :-\
Had a dig around the house yesterday to find where the missus had "tidied" the heated propagator away. Even she had forgot where she put it.
Shredded most of the prunings.The rest have been left to dry and rot where the beneficial insects live.
Cherry blossom is looking lovely... I need bee visits!
Land mown and fed, need to spike a few areas that have a little moss growth.
Honeyberries sown. A night in the chilly greenhouse then they can come in to the heated propagator.
Big sowing day yesterday:
Little Gem Lettuce
Chinese cabbage
Pak choi
Stringless beans Galaxy, Enorma and Armstrong
Climbing French bean Kentucky Wax
Chillies Hungarian Black, Jersey Devil and Devil's Brew
Cucumber Marketer
Tomatoes Koralik and Minibel
Pumpkin New England
Sweet Pepper Romano
Sweetcorn Mexican White Giant
Pepino fruit
Oregano and Basil
Plus a tidy-up of the plants that overwintered in the greenhouse:
Red and White Alpine Strawberries, Thyme, Chillies Patio Sizzle and Prairie Fire, Garlic
All the seeds are from last year, the only ones I will have to buy are French Climbing Beans Cobra
Dad's replacement greenhouse was getting the glass fitted today. Plan A is to get him some tomato plants tomorrow.
I saw Tomtato plants on sale today (potato root with tomato greenery). £10 a plant! :o
Sowed a few hundred tubular beetroot and turnips in modules, the rest will go straight into the ground as slug bait.......... mwahahaha!!!!
not doing 'cut and come again lettuice at dad's as SIL only sees the 'cut' bit. :-X
I bought "Living Salad" for a few pence, split the contents and potted them. I now have 12 large pots of lettuce ready for harvest.
Moved the young White Alpine strawberry plants to the strawberry wall.
Dug, fertilized and top-dressed the long raised bed, then transplanted spring onions, garlic and spinach.
Seedlings appearing in the greenhouse. ;D
Transplanted more alpine white strawbs.
Dispatched a few slugs I found in the greenhouse. Pellets put down for the others that are hiding.
Yayyy my Bluebells are flowering! :D
Quote from: dogsmum on May 01, 2014, 21:26:42 PM
Yayyy my Bluebells are flowering! :D
Ours are almost finished. CTR loved them when she came over :)
Lawn mown, fed and watered.
Mucho potteringo....
Bean seedlings transplanted. Failure rate in germination is quite high this year probably due to the drop in nighttime temperatures. Second batch to be sown soon.
I also transplanted the sweetcorn and a few others that were outgrowing their starter pots (cucumber and pumpkin).
Transplanted the Little Gem lettuce and sowed some French climbing beans.
Here's my Bluebells, taken today. I bought 12 bulbs year before last & planted them around my Rowan tree :D
(http://i60.tinypic.com/wkgx9w.jpg)
I think that may require more compost DM. ;)
Quote from: Tâf on May 07, 2014, 09:49:44 AM
I think that may require more compost DM. ;)
Yeah I know, almost afraid to touch anything out there atm incase Bertie see's me & decides to eat whatever I've touched :(
Dad's planted the green bean seeds far too early and now the second batch has rotted. I normally plant them towards the end of May. Not warm enough, even in the greenhouse, until then.
Three year old seeds did not help either.
I've been given the job of obtaining new seed and planting them. Seldom do better than 50 to 60% success even in the greenhouse.
The Armstrong and Kentucky Wax beans are up a foot already. Can't put them out in this wind though.
Minibel and Koralik toms to prick out soon.
The overwintered chilli plants have flower buds already! :o
The garlic I transplanted has had it's bulbs eaten by something :grumpy:
Quote from: Tâf on May 11, 2014, 15:19:31 PM
The garlic I transplanted has had it's bulbs eaten by something :grumpy:
You need to look for someone harbouring French people. :laugh:
Went mad and bought some trees for the garden.
By 'trees', I actually mean 'seedlings' about a foot tall.
Acer - snake bark maple
Dipteronia Sinensis
Sitka Spruce
Fuchsia Magellanica Versicolour (yes, I know this one's not a tree - had one a few years back 2 homes ago and it got to about 8ft tall and was spectacular.... been promising myself another one ever since).
Also found a walnut seedling in the garden - potted it up - that one probably won't go into the soil for a few years - I know they poison the surrounding soil for other plants...
Meanwhile one of the acers in the back garden set seed last year and there are a load of seedlings in the garden - I've carefully removed them, potted them up, and will keep them a year before selling them on ebay. Fiver a time, if I'm lucky! :D
I have 2 seedling trees (Hawthorn and a baby of the street tree outside) that I will transplant on the riverbank near us.
For the second year running, my Quince tree made hundreds of flower buds, but they've all fallen off before opening :-\
Hardly any cherries or apples either, despite loads of insects around.
Well, the greenhouse has done it's job, and is now stuffed full of seedlings almost ready to go out and enjoy the fresh air.
Slugs got at some of the turnips I planted out, so I shall be doing a torchlight hunt for a few evenings to catch the buggers.
The Honeyberry seeds were very poor for germination. Only 3 out of 20 came up, the company will send another 2 packs for free this autumn as they are getting loads of complaints.
Beetroot and Maize planted out. Kiwi tied to new wall wires.
The grapevines are covered in flower buds!! I gave up trying to count them.
Harvested the spinach and cooked it for freezing. Now I have space for the climbing French beans, Pak Choi and Chinese Cabbages.
Replacement bean seeds sprouting.
All the peas have gone to Aussie. replanted.
Dad's lost two tomato plants. Been tasked with finding replacements. I suspect I'll have more luck finding hen's teeth these days.
Pak Choi, Chinese cabbage and Little Gem lettuces planted out. "Slug Guard... attention!"
A neighbour brought me 100 red onion sets, so leeks out and blanched for the freezer, and onion sets in.
Fed all the pot and trough plants out back. All looking really lush. Loads of Stawbs forming.... one nom'd already.
Got me a Bhut Jolokia plant for a quid. Now to see if I can raise it properly and get it to fruit.
Quote from: Ian on June 08, 2014, 20:19:43 PM
Got me a Bhut Jolokia plant for a quid. Now to see if I can raise it properly and get it to fruit.
Latest wisdom is to take out the centre shoot to force it to branch. It appears to have worked for me as my overwintered chillies are covered in flowers and fruits already!
Three failed attempts to germinate runner beans.
Quick trip to the garden centre solved it. They had plants...
Quote from: fred on June 11, 2014, 16:04:57 PM
Three failed attempts to germinate runner beans.
I noticed that a lot of places selling bean plants have them in coir that keeps them nice and soggy when growing, but too soggy for germination.
compost in the pots as per normal.
pots in greenhouse as per normal.
I suspect lower than normal temperatures.
Loads of strawberry runners to pin down. A few strawbs to nom too ;D
Kiwi flowers are all open now, and to my surprise the Quince has produced more flowers and one is open!
Just fed the front garden. Loads of Aronia berries and blackcurrants forming. Lavender in partial bloom.
Several beans have reached the top of the bamboos.
Sowed alpine strawbs, sunflowers and cosmos that our nice neighbour gave us.
The first beans are swelling well, and the turnips have gone turbo!
The garden really needs the incoming rain.
All three sowings of peas have gone to Aussie.
Quote from: fred on June 25, 2014, 17:22:24 PM
All three sowings of peas have gone to Aussie.
Put them in upside down again? ;)
Try starting them in an open jar with a wodge of wet newspaper?
dad's given up on them
My best ever results with peas was with a sowing of bog-standard Leo peas, minus the white packages of course. ;)
Our nice neighbour gave us 3 kiddie Sunflower starter kits.
Pol planted them up... 20 seeds to each 11/2" pot.
I think they all came up!
But 20 Sunflower seedlings in a 11/2" pot was never going to work, so I just transplanted one lot into 20 4" pots.
Pol can do the rest tomorrow.
Where are we going to put 60 Sunflowers? ???
Ate the spuds that i planted in April, didn't expect much but they were gorgeous
Ate the raspberries that are threatening to take over the garden and my tomatoes ate all in bloom but next doors tree is shading my greehouse too much so the branches are gonna have to go
I was outside picking a raspberry or two earlier. The second one wasn't ripe enough.
The Blackcurrants in the front garden are so large that the bushes are bent right over!
I have already pinned about 25 strawberry runners into pots, now I have to do the hanging ones...
Lots & lots of tiny yellow & black caterpillars about today, they seem to be being blown off the trees
Loads of things seem to get blown around your house DM. ;)
I told a mate yesterday that I had not yet seen a single Cabbage White Butterfly.... then I saw 2 earlier today! And they were egg-laying on my turnips! :grumpy:
Quote from: Tâf on July 06, 2014, 11:41:28 AM
Loads of things seem to get blown around your house DM. ;)
I told a mate yesterday that I had not yet seen a single Cabbage White Butterfly.... then I saw 2 earlier today! And they were egg-laying on my turnips! :grumpy:
:P
No come to think of it I haven't seen any either :-\
Cleared a lot of space out front for a new planting soon. Also moved some plants about as they needed more sun.
With the top dressing of compost it looks quite bare now.
Potted up the last of the chillies and Pepino "melons"
(http://www.thompson-morgan.com/medias/sys_tandm/8796423520286.jpg)
Took some cuttings to the compost heap and found it full of Sempervivums... Pol had decided they were "dead" and so ripped out over 100 of them. :o
:grumpy:
Pruned the Rosemary, Deutzia and an unknown plant the bees love when it's in flower.
Fed the garden with Growmore, as using pelleted chicken manure in these conditions would not be nice to the neighbours. :-X
Bean picking soon.
first ripe tomato :din:
Quote from: Tâf on July 19, 2014, 15:38:04 PM
Fed the garden with Growmore, as using pelleted chicken manure in these conditions would not be nice to the neighbours. :-X
I'd use it! ::)
Planted out Marigolds.... and put slug pellets out as slugs like Marigolds more than they like Hostas.
Mint cuttings formed roots so I repotted them.
Found a really pretty caterpillar on the willow tree today. Googled it - Vapourer Moth:
(http://rxwildlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/vapourer.jpg)
Such a pretty baby that produces such a dull male and poor female.
Our garden is still full of Mint Moths.
I have a large pot near the compost heap that I grow early rhubarb and horseradish in. I vaguely remember putting a spud in it last year, so just had a look and found 2kg of good-sized King Edwards hiding in the soil.
It seems we are in for a glut of toms, went to pick the 4 I saw had ripened and found 20+ that are now almost ready too. And 3 cucumbers.
50 Freesia and 35 Acidanthera planted out front. A bit late, but total cost was only 75p.
Loads of Sweet Williams, Sunflowers and Oriental Poppies planted out.
Picked the first cucumber that was hiding and trying to become a vertical marrow.
[attachment deleted by admin]
We have 2 tomato plants in the garden, self-seeded from last year's crop.
One plant is growing in the flower border and I had just let it grow naturally. Last month I decided that was enough growth and pinched out the tips. It helped the tomatoes on it no end, and they are now just starting to turn red. They are cherry toms and so far there are 178 on it (unless I missed any)!! :D
The other is in a more sheltered spot in a growbag, as I found it next to the other one and moved it to make space. So far it has 66 toms, all green, but I'm growing it normally, up a cane, so there are new ones forming at the top.
Mowed and reseeded the lawn. It's looking OK after the scalping.
Switching to tomato feed has done the trick in forcing the 2 Goji bushes to flower en masse.
Quote from: Tâf on August 16, 2014, 17:50:19 PM
Loads of Sweet Williams, Sunflowers and Oriental Poppies planted out.
Picked the first cucumber that was hiding and trying to become a vertical marrow.
Does it weigh half a pound? :giggle:
A touch more than that
[attachment deleted by admin]
120 onion sets that had been growing nicely have been decimated by slugs. :grumpy:
I was given loads of Freesia corms and shallot bulbs by a neighbour who had forgotten to plant them. To stop them drying-out I have potted them in well-drained compost in the greenhouse.
He also gave me some Lily of the Valley rhizomes, so they are soaking before planting in a big pot together in the greenhouse as they hate being cold and wet at the same time.
Quote from: Tâf on August 26, 2014, 15:22:37 PM
120 onion sets that had been growing nicely have been decimated by slugs. :grumpy:
There's a lot of the damned things about >:(
Quote from: dogsmum on August 26, 2014, 21:27:26 PM
Quote from: Tâf on August 26, 2014, 15:22:37 PM
120 onion sets that had been growing nicely have been decimated by slugs. :grumpy:
There's a lot of the damned things about >:(
Either the weather is favouring them or someone is breeding them. It's not the usual Keel slugs either, loads of Leopards and white ones.
Mowed and weeded the lawn, picked cucumbers and tomatoes.
Removed all the 3 year old strawberry plants and am about to change most of the soil in the their containers and add fresh runners.
I've left the last of the runner beans to run to seed so that I have fat beans to eat.
The grapevines are losing leaves before the grapes have ripened :grumpy:
A mate of a allotment-holder came over to look at my twin cherry and twin apple trees as they have been "poorly" since I planted them a few years ago.
He knew where I had bought them as he has seen the problem several times in his career as a tree surgeon. Diseased rootstocks from China eventually kill the whole tree off. He cut a branch after telling me what he expected to see, and he was right.... dark brown staining.
The whole lot has to be cut down and burned.... "great for BBQ fires" he told me.
:-\
20 strawberry runners potted-on and installed on the wall.
Almost a Kg of Aronia berries picked. Some for freezing, some as a gift to a FB mate who wants to taste then perhaps grow his own from seed.
The New England Pumpkin plant gave me 3 decent sized fruits that are now maturing.
11 strawberry runners potted-on, still have a dozen left to do but no space!
Tied the sunflowers onto bamboo to keep the seed heads up for the birds.
Grease-banded the Quince.
Nom'd the last of the strawberries and blackberries.
Picked the first Mexican White Giant corn for lunch.
[attachment deleted by admin]
Goji berries at last after 4 years.
[attachment deleted by admin]
Harvested most of the chillies and cut back the plants to see if they survive the winter. Picked the last of the tomatoes too, then chopped them right down.
The compost bins are looking a bit fragile, will have to rebuild next year I think.
The Rosemary bush is in flower again, and was covered in flies, bees and hoverflies. :o
Chopped the Jasmine either side of the front door.
Had our first frost yesterday morning. The nasturtiums finally keeled over and expired.
Quote from: Nanaof4 on December 15, 2014, 22:29:21 PM
Had our first frost yesterday morning. The nasturtiums finally keeled over and expired.
Had a couple of frosts here but mine are still fighting on ;D
First Crocus of the year is showing :D
Crocus, daffs and bluebells are all up, no sign of flower buds yet though. The rosemary, campanula and some lobelia are still in flower. ???
Quote from: Tâf on January 12, 2015, 11:53:30 AM
Crocus, daffs and bluebells are all up, no sign of flower buds yet though. The rosemary, campanula and some lobelia are still in flower. ???
Wow my garden's ahead of someone's for a change then!
Just checked, and yellow crocuses are about to open in the front garden. ;D
Yellow crocuses are opening enjoying the sunshine. :D
Quote from: Tâf on January 19, 2015, 12:12:30 PM
Yellow crocuses are opening enjoying the sunshine. :D
I only have the one, Bertie dug up & ate just about all my bulbs when I first had him. And it is said that they are poisonous to dogs, not to this dog!
Mini Irises are open!
spotted the first open daftodill
The frost killed my first crocus but there is another one in bud, also got 2 snowdrops in bud
Not seen any flowers round here yet. Primroses are in bud already (well, they are in our garden!) but no crocuses or daffs yet. The irises and grape hyacinths have gone mad with a green leaf growth spurt, but no flowers as yet.
On the positive side, the echiums i planted last spring are now looking healthy in the summerhouse, and I'll plant them in the garden in May in the hope they flower this year. My mother gave me some for our last house and they grow huge - about 8' tall with fantastic purple flower spikes, so I'm glad these have survived.
snowdrops open
I bought 3 types of seed spud yesterday. Half price because HQ thinks they were sent out too early. Set them to chit for planting next month.
Home Bargains has coir compost blocks at stupidly low prices (10ltr 69p, 50ltr £1.79) so I'm off to get some.
First sowing of the year:
Chupetinha
Habaneros
Cayenne
Piment d'Espelette
Anaheim
Jalapeno
+
Honeyberry (Edible Blue Honeysuckle)
Half of each soaked in tea as a trial, all in 50:50 coir:perlite.
Quote from: Tâf on January 29, 2015, 10:33:27 AMHome Bargains has coir compost blocks at stupidly low prices (10ltr 69p, 50ltr £1.79) so I'm off to get some.
I came home the first day with 300 litres worth, the next day I came home with 600 litres worth.
Pocket money all gone :'(
The Goji bush has sprouted leaves!! :o
Chopped off the Kiwi branches against the wall. The side on the shed will fruit this year, the wall side will grow back to fruit next year.
Leaf buds opened on my Aronia bush, Quince tree, Jasmine, Blueberries, Roses, Deutzias, Blackcurrants, Blackberries, Gooseberries, Redcurrants, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Gojis and Clematis!
Pruned the Grapevine, Raspberries, Roses and one half of the Kiwi vine.
Next job is to turn the soil ready for the first of the spuds.
The weather was warm enough to feed the koi yesterday.
The crocuses are dying down, the daffodils are out and the bluebells are sprouting very healthy green leaves.
The fig buds are swelling, the roses are shooting and our selection of saplings are at various stages of growth. All survived! :D
Quote from: Nanaof4 on March 08, 2015, 15:21:22 PM
The weather was warm enough to feed the koi yesterday.
Do you start them on wheatgerm Nana?
Quote from: Tâf on March 08, 2015, 16:23:15 PM
Quote from: Nanaof4 on March 08, 2015, 15:21:22 PM
The weather was warm enough to feed the koi yesterday.
Do you start them on wheatgerm Nana?
No idea what you are supposed to do - I chuck koi food in and they eat it... still alive after 2 years so must be ok...
Put in posts and wires to hold back the blackcurrants. Tied-in the clematis as it's too early for pruning.
Yayyyy I have 2 daffodils in flower & 6 in bud :D I did have dozens of them, but Bertie dug up & ate the rest of the bulbs >:(
First lawn cut and edge of the year.
Cleared a trough for the missus to plant her bulbs and corms. Started tidying a bit more, but it's a long job. I've made plans for a temporary (1 of 2 year) compost bin pair. I'll replace them with a concrete one one day if I get the spare cash.
Cleaned the fishpond filter and got the pump running. The fish are active, but the water is still well below 10c, so no feeding just yet. Next I have to change a third of the water. Luckily both waterbutts are full.
The Honeyberry seeds failed for the second time. I'm getting a full refund and the vendor sent me a lovely email apologising for the poor seed. So that means 2 beds that will just be flowers this year.
Dwarf and giant sunflowers sown, also some seeds from a fat chilli I found on the floor of the greenhouse (Prairie Fire). Cosmos seeds that I was given to start off are sown too. All the chillies pricked-out and transplanted. Replanted mint, alpine strawberries. Tidied-up the sprouting overwintered chillies.
Spuds ready to go in once I've dug the raised beds. Next job will be climbing French beans and Alderman peas (that climb to 6ft).
Last Wed. I was tasked with getting 5 tomato plants. I told dad that the usual source would not have any of the type he wanted for two weeks. He said he'd get some on Fri (today) Yesterday I went to a more distant source and got the plants he wanted. I took them to him only to find that he'd bought ten plants. :D
His plan A was buying in batches to spread out the production. Never wroks as in an unheated greenhouse the early lot just exists until the temp is high enough to grow.
Went into the greenhouse to check on the overwintered chillies.... somehow ended-up sowing 80 Cobra climbing French beans, 80 Blue Lake climbing French beans and 80 Alderman climbing peas. Then as I was in the mood, I sowed 2 beds full of wild flowers, and also planted out the Oriental poppies I grew from seed overwinter and several Frau Schindler strawberry plants.
Raised-beds dug and 80 spud tubers planted: Charlotte, King Edward, Maris Piper and Red Duke of York.
Wildflower seeds chucked all over the place in any bare spot I could get a hoe into.
Strawbs, gooseberries and currants all flowering, so I just gave them all a feed.
Soaked where the spuds are about to emerge as this wind is so drying.
Had to soak the beds where the wildflowers were sown as they are starting to emerge too.
The first bean is awake in the greenhouse.
Repotted a mini rose for the missus.
The Pepito melon has survived the winter in the greenhouse, so I gave that a little drink too, as well as the chillies that have resprouted.
As I was out I gave the Kiwi a feed too as it is almost about to open its flowers. Bloody hundreds again!
The flowers on the quince and aronia are about to open.
Quote from: Tâf on April 17, 2015, 16:12:24 PM
Had to soak the beds where the wildflowers were sown as they are starting to emerge too.
That was quick!! :o That little bit of heat this week must have given them a boost!
Planted out a couple of climbers into the pots by the front door - honeysuckle and clematis.
Potted up a third - Virginia creeper - to plant out later in the spring once we decide where to put it!
Loads of tulips in flower now - a really cheery mix of yellow and red :D
Virginia creeper will turn into a monster. ;)
The last daff is about to be dead-headed. The Tulips and Dicentra are flowering now.
The Aronia and Quince are about to open their flowers... hundreds of them. :D
The first beans and sunflowers have popped-up in the greenhouse, plus the Cosmos in a bucket.
The chilli seedlings I moved into the greenhouse are not very happy. I think I've lost most of them, but they were spares anyway.
I may pick the forced rhubarb today.
All the Spring flowers are in bloom - bluebells, tulips, clematis, etc.
The Virginia Creeper is going NOWHERE near the house... we'll let it scramble over the garage instead! ;D
I saw a 2m fence that was snapped off at the base by Virginia Creeper. They can get heavy.
The spuds still haven't popped-up, except for one or two that I missed in a pot.
The quince is saturated in flower.
Bluebells have been great for a week already. They are popping up in bunches where I didn't plant them.
Gooseberries are swelling.
Peas and beans are growing well, nearly time to snip off their growing tips.
No sign of my Bluebells flowering yet
Quote from: dogsmum on May 02, 2015, 21:57:28 PM
No sign of my Bluebells flowering yet
Are they British or Spanish? The home-grown ones have been flowering for about 2 weeks here. The Spanish one in our back garden (inherited from the previous owners) only started to flower this last weekend.
All the trees are in leaf now. And a spruce I planted last year and thought had died has grown again! :D
Ferns are unfurling, hostas opening up, lupins and roses well into bud. Another week or so and I'll be planting out the summer bedding.
I have ferns popping-up all over the place... where I didn't put them.
Spuds have started to rise... it must be all this rain's fault.
All this rain?? Last night we had our first rain worth noticing for over a month! And I had to go out this morning and water the pots because the wind was blowing them over.
About a month dry here too, then a bit of drizzle, but today is stormy on-and-off, tomorrow is going to be worse.
British one's 'Nana', & the first on I noticed is in flower today :D
Yayyyyyyy my Bluebells, & Bertie
(http://i62.tinypic.com/jg46l1.jpg)
My Bluebells are going over now, but some aliums are open to open.
Overwintered Chillies and Pepino melon moved into the chiliarium. Space in the greenhouse again!
15 minutes later, filled with newly sown seeds: Coriander, Edible Chrysanthemums, Asparagus Peas, Goji Berries, Salsify and the much-awaited Electric Daisies.
Planted out 3 black grape vines I grew from cuttings. The white grape vine died after the wet winter.
Loads of plants outside enjoying the sun and hardening-off.
The Edible chrysanths and electric daisies have popped up :D
My blueblls are just going over
My clematis is flowering
Potted-on several chilli plants into their final pots. Flowers on the chilies in the chilliarium. Spuds almost ready to be buried. Blueberries swelling, as are the gooseberries, black and red currants. Rhubarb in flower. Flowers forming on the grapevines.
Planted out 12 dwarf sunflowers, 12 giant sunflowers and 20 lobelia plugs.
replaced two tomato plants as they were turning yellow.
planted carrot seeds in the pots.
Harvested the last of last year's carrots.
Mowed the other lawn
HoN and I went shopping for summer plants and shrubs yesterday. So, of course, it lashed down today.
We put up the gazebo and worked under that, potting up the summer bedders and hanging baskets.
I also planted a hazel tree, potted on a fuchsia and some home-raised echiums, and HoN decided we need to paint the summerhouse when it's dry. :sigh:
Oriental poppies that I got seed for last autumn
[attachment deleted by admin]
A slug got all my Electric Daisies, but more have come up, as have the edible chrysanths, asparagus peas and salsifi.
Repotted more chillies into their final pots and just sowed Peruvian Inca Berries (Physalis) and English Mustard (Tilney).
Planted out the last of the Alderman peas. Moved the final little chilli plants out to the greenhouse.
Gave almost all the plants out the back and in the greenhouse a seaweed feed to give them a boost.
Reduced the Bay tree from 12' to 6'.... and found half the waste material was next doors' ivy and honeysuckle.
Moved strawberry plants that popped up in the wrong places. Pinned down some runners and cut quite a few off. I want more strawberry fruits not just extra plants.
I have cuttings to take from the Aronia to keep it in shape, but also for plants for friends.
Almost the last of the chillies are now in their final pots. It got too hot in the greenhouse so I gave up until later.
Frau Schindler strawbs... the best in the world :P
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Blueberry and Gooseberry overload this year
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Pinned down another dozen Frau Schindler strawberry runners.
Planted out Lobelia that I grew from seed. Dropped some chili plants down a level on the staging, some grew 2" in the last 2 days! Potted-on some Electric Daisies. Picked the first peas... the missus is freezing them until there are enough for a big meal. The First French Climbing Beans are ready, but they are being very slow this year.
eated two ripe tomatoes from the greenhouse
Only 2 Chilli plants left to flower: Malagueta, and a slightly blotchy Sugar Rush Cream. :D
Trimmed the grapevine, carefully slid past the bees and dumped them waste in the compost bin that has not been invaded.
Planted out Edible Chrysanthemums, moved some Purple Toadflax.
Picked the first French beans and yet more peas.
3 Picota Cherry plants potted-on.
Picked two toms off the plants yesterday. Oooooh they were zingy :o
Can't remember the variety. Hope others are sweeter
Repotted Electric Daisies and Inca Berries (Physalis). The Inca Berries have a brick in each pot 'cos they can get quite tall and top heavy.
5 Asparagus Peas into one big pot outside. Pods already. :D
Removed excess oxygenating plants from the pond and saw toads jump in to join 2 others at the other end of the pond.
Chilli pods all around the greenhouse, spuds have gone ballistic, peas and beans are not liking this cooler weather.
2.2Kg of blackcurrants picked and made into Ribena, blackberries nearly ready.
Loads of strawberry runners ready to distribute to friends and neighbours, plus a few Electric Daisies.
Rhubarb ready to pick, I could feed a regiment on rhubarb crumble this year.
Next doors' crop of dandelion and marestails are appearing all over my garden. >:(
Some of this year's ripening chillies.
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Pricked-out loads of Passionflower seedlings. 38c in the greenhouse with the door and window open!
Good old Prairie Fire. When bugger all else will fruit, those will.
Quote from: Ian on August 09, 2015, 16:33:49 PM
Good old Prairie Fire. When bugger all else will fruit, those will.
My chilliarium is chock full of them. My go-to for small hits of hotness. :)
Picked more French beans, they are slowing down already.
Binned the blighted haulms of the King Edward spuds, the others look OK for the moment.
Peas to pick after lunch. Big pods with them at least.
Binned all the spud haulms as blight was really taking hold.
Tied-in the pumpkins to the fence.
Repotted a Pepino Melon. It was one of 3 in a trough that all showed signs of stress. One had defoliated but is recovering, another is quite happy throwing out bright yellow leaves that have some sort of mutation. ???
Pruned the redcurrant and gooseberries.
Chillies are ripening, Electric Daisies about to open flowers. :D
Pinned down 36 strawberry runners into pots. They are going daft this year.
Tried an Electric Daisy... oddest sensation.
The last of the peas are being left to make seed for next year.
Flowers on the Physalis... will I get fruits this year?
I counted the number of figs on our 4 yr old tree yesterday (we only had one on it last year and I pulled that one off to let it grow)...18! Should be a good crop next Summer! :D
Repotted 15 Passion Flower plants. That makes 25 I'll have for next year. But where to put them?
Some of my chillies are fully ripe now... time to harvest and blow my (still ill) guts to smithereens.
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First pick of Piments d'Espelette, from 3 plants, almost 750g. The 3 runts came from a 12" plant in a 3" pot.
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Cut back the Kiwi so that I can (almost) get into the shed. Only about 100 fruits this year, but that's plenty. Plucked the rhubarb. Mowed the lawn. Compost bin now full to overflowing.
Been a bad year. Hardly any carrots germinated
Begining of last month I found a Strawberry plant growing amongst my flowers in the garden. It's 2 maybe 3 years since I grew Strawberries & they were in a tub.
Anyway I put it into a pot not thinking it would do anything really.
Here it is, poor thing desperately trying to turn red :laugh:
(http://i61.tinypic.com/120gnd1.jpg)
A couple of mine are trying to ripen fruits too. And soooo many runners this year.
Chillies and other stuff were ripe to pick
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Pruned the blackberries, one is going to be killed off to make space for a Passion Flower or several. I'll have to replace the training wires, but that can wait until Spring.
Rosemary and Campanula in flower already, and some rhubarb has sprouted! Hellebores in flower too, but that's only a a few weeks early for them.
I still have loads of chillies to harvest, despite the plants still producing flowers and pods. To cut them back now would seriously reduce their chances of surviving the winter. :-\
Garden hose drained and put away, outside tap isolated and insulated, both water butts drained and their taps left open.
Picked the last of the bigger ripe chilies for drying or freezing, the little ones can be left for ages yet.
Grape Hyacinth are in flower
Quote from: dogsmum on December 28, 2015, 23:04:30 PM
Grape Hyacinth are in flower
Bonkers isn't it? A yellow Cosmos and chrysanthemum are still flowering here too.
Crocuses and Bluebells are up.... and loads of daffs and tulips have their noses up wondering where winter went.
Picked the last of the chillies in the greenhouse, I lost count at around 240 on the one plant.... Prairie Fire.
Just the ones in the chilliarium to pick now.
Walking home with the dogs earlier today & saw lots of Daff's in full bud, crickey we hardly ever have any open on St Davids day :o
Daftodills in full flower in the garden in town.
1 crocus and 1 mini lily here. The rest aren't daft.....
Quote from: fred on January 16, 2016, 18:00:24 PM
Daftodills in full flower in the garden in town.
I yhink the one's around here have now been frozen in time :laugh:
Not seen any round here. Not likely to for a while either!
Pruned the Jasmines and Mock Orange near the front door, and removed the Kiwi vine off the front of the shed (new growth there this year whilst the new growth of last year will fruit along the wall).
Quote from: dogsmum on January 16, 2016, 22:48:55 PM
Quote from: fred on January 16, 2016, 18:00:24 PM
Daftodills in full flower in the garden in town.
I yhink the one's around here have now been frozen in time :laugh:
Lots of them all over the place in full bloom now
2 here. Lilies have finished. Crocus everywhere too.
I was pruning yesterday and found loads of small slugs and snails. Pellets down....
Sterilised the heated propagator and cut new mats for it. Grow Cubes soaking now, and I've made little metal flags to identify each one.
Chillie sowing later.
I have an overabundance of tomatoes. I guess I need to make some relish this weekend.
Quote from: Izzy on February 12, 2016, 22:46:42 PM
I have an overabundance of tomatoes. I guess I need to make some relish this weekend.
How is the rest of the garden looking Izzy?
Spring is trying its best to appear round here... daffs and grape hyacinths out, the crocuses have already gone over, and buds are fattening ready to burst.
Just hope the frosts don't kill them all :-\
frost has forced a few of mine back to almost nothing
daffs are still going strong though, tulips are sprouting too
daftodills in the verge (all of six in wide) of the road oposite me are in bud.
Shame some barsteward will pick them and see them die in a jar of water in a couple of days rather than letting all passers by see them over a far longer time.
i don't pick mine, but the ones that grow in the street will be cut down by the grass cutters before they even reach full bloom
The first chillies have sprouted (Pimenta Puma and Chiltepin).
Have to rig the lights up now.....
Quote from: Lisa on February 17, 2016, 19:41:28 PM
i don't pick mine, but the ones that grow in the street will be cut down by the grass cutters before they even reach full bloom
Bad council then... round here they leave cutting the verges until the daff leaves start to turn yellow, usually about May. And amazingly enough, no-one picks the flowers either.
Almost all the chillies are up and under lights. Only one type is producing "helmet heads" though (seed case sticks on).
Quote from: Nanaof5 on February 27, 2016, 00:58:52 AM
Quote from: Lisa on February 17, 2016, 19:41:28 PM
i don't pick mine, but the ones that grow in the street will be cut down by the grass cutters before they even reach full bloom
Bad council then... round here they leave cutting the verges until the daff leaves start to turn yellow, usually about May. And amazingly enough, no-one picks the flowers either.
Thats the same here, all left 'till fnished flowering, we've also got some of the roundabouts being used for wild flowers to encourage wildlife not mown at all.
Got quite a lot of celendine flowering down the canal & a few primroses in flower
If you look at the gardens round here, you'd be forgiven for thinking April is here.
There are hyacinths, tulips, daffs, grape hyacinths, celandines, primroses, crocuses (most of which have gone over now).... The grass is greening up and nettles are sprouting. Hawthorn buds are sprouting. Now watch Winter kill them all off. :sigh:
I was looking at the tatty, overgrown lawn, and almost got the mower out...
Mowed the lawn, I think I'll have to pay my mate to scarify and dethatch it soon.
Neighbour cut his too this weekend... We don't cut ours.... I've told HoN the astroturf goes this year for definite... I'm sick of it, horrible stuff.
Time to harvest the Pyramid and Prairie Fire pods dried on the plants in the chilliarium....
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After a 3 month sojourn in the bottom of the fridge, 112 garlic bulbs planted after I dug up a row of gorgeous Charlotte potatoes to make more space. 7 healthy Salsifi plants planted too.
I only went out for a smoke, but ended up lifting 4 rows of spuds (it appears slugs like Maris Pipers but not Charlottes), transplanted nearly 200 red shallots, trimmed the jasmine and clematis, ditto the standard Kiwi that was getting out of control (I can now see the Naked Kiwi). Then I cut back the Ivy that is invading from next door, pruned the Blueberries, and cut a climbing rose right back as I want to see the flowers and not have them 12ft off the ground again.
30 chillies repotted.
All the strawberry plants that have had their 3rd season composted and replaced with new Frau Schindler runners. 23 so far, and more to do later if the rain holds off.
24 more done, and all pots, hangers and troughs cleaned of debris and redressed.
48 cells of catmint. 1000 seeds goes a long way.
Fed all the garden except the lawn. I don't want it all lush just yet.
The chillies are all doing well. I may soon run out of space.
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Sowed 80 modules of Tagetes.
Feeling overjoyed... HoN has finally started removing the vile astroturf in the garden! Taking it all to the tip tomorrow. Then laying brick boundaries before replacing it with slate chips an a cottage garden! :D
2 trays of Tagetes (Marigolds) have nearly all sprouted in the greenhouse. 6 pots of chillies have sent out leaves after being dormant all winter. It's still to cold to repot the chillies from the living room, and they have already run out of space. :-\
I trimmed the old leaves off the Passionflower plants in the greenhouse.
Outside, the garlic and onions are doing well, and he kiwis are almost ready to flower. The Quince already is, fingers crossed for fruits this year.
2 of the 3 Picota cherries repotted in the garden. They should shoot up now.
Half the chilli seedlings have been hardened off a bit, so they are now in the greenhouse unless a deep frost appears.
Quote from: Tâf on April 30, 2016, 14:04:35 PM
2 of the 3 Picota cherries repotted in the garden. They should shoot up now.
Where did you get picota cherry trees? I love those! :D
Quote from: Nanaof5 on May 08, 2016, 23:54:24 PM
Quote from: Tâf on April 30, 2016, 14:04:35 PM
2 of the 3 Picota cherries repotted in the garden. They should shoot up now.
Where did you get picota cherry trees? I love those! :D
I just planted the pips from ones I bought in Tesco. They sprouted within a month.
Ooh! Will give that a go this year then! Ta!
Planted out some Campanula, filled a mini-trough that Pol built for me, applied weedkiller to the first Dandelions and Horsetails coming from next door, picked off flower buds from the chilli plants (they are too young and small to raise babies) and gave the cistern another coat of paint.
Anyone know how to get rid of fungus gnats? I lost two chili plants to them last year, and I'm keen not to repeat the experience.
Quote from: Ian on May 12, 2016, 15:47:09 PM
Anyone know how to get rid of fungus gnats? I lost two chili plants to them last year, and I'm keen not to repeat the experience.
Yellow sticky traps for the flies, and diatomaceous earth (it shreds the larvae). Plus never top-water apart from the one time when you repot them to get the compost bedded-in around the roots. Loads of my chilli-mates have had problems this year as many commercial composts come loaded with them. I nuke small bags of compost in the microwave to kill them off. You just have to get it above 80c (lightly steaming).
I made and fitted mylar covers for my Morrisons pots last evening. They keep the sciarid flies out, but also scare away aphids.
Around the Spring garden
https://www.photobox.co.uk/my/album?album_id=4195187151
Quote from: Tâf on May 13, 2016, 09:19:23 AM
Yellow sticky traps for the flies, and diatomaceous earth (it shreds the larvae). Plus never top-water apart from the one time when you repot them to get the compost bedded-in around the roots. Loads of my chilli-mates have had problems this year as many commercial composts come loaded with them. I nuke small bags of compost in the microwave to kill them off. You just have to get it above 80c (lightly steaming).
I made and fitted mylar covers for my Morrisons pots last evening. They keep the sciarid flies out, but also scare away aphids.
Cheers, mate. I tend to get compost from the local pound shop, (It's close to me, and thus more convenient) so nuking it sounds a good option. The bloody things love Bhut Jolokias.
The larvae are not that damaging to semi mature plants, but they can decimate seedlings. Plus the bloody flies get on my tits in the greenhouse.
This trap was only up for a day.... I cut them in half and use one side at a time.
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This is why diatomaceous earth is good, it's tiny skeletons that shred them...
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Potted-on chillies for both my brothers.
The catmint seeds have sprouted at last (3 weeks!) as have the bush type chillies in the living room. The other chillies are now out in the greenhouse full time, so I'll save on indoor lighting a for a while.
Stripped and topped more chillies for bushier growth, cleared and dug the sun beds, then planted out 80 bunches of Marigolds, then sprayed everything not slug and snail proof with chilli and garlic. I hope that will stop the local cats chewing on my Kiwi vine too.
Mowed, edged and weeded the lawn.
Killed 21 Horsetail sprouts coming from next door.
The Aronia is full of baby fruit, the Kiwi is in flower, the grapevine is covered in flowerbuds, and the black grapevine has returned to life. ;D
Potted on the last of the slow chillies. No real room for them but they needed to be moved up.
The 2 8ft gojis didn't really like being in big pots, so I bit the bullet and dragged the pots out the back and planted them in a raised bed. It's going to ages to tie them all in now.
Surprisingly, for all the years they've been in the pots, they weren't pot bound at all.
Gojis tied in and pruned, cut back the Salsify otherwise their seeds would be everywhere.
The chillies are all looking good. :D
Mowed the lawn, watered some plants. The grapes have already flowered...I didn't even notice!
Just picked some raspberries from the bushes outside ;D
Raspberry muffins for tea
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I must have missed a few tiddler spuds when I dug the last lot up, cost a few haulms appeared.
I didn't earth them up as usual, but laid the haulms down and covered them up. When the tips got tall again, I laid them down and covered them up. Etcetera. They were eventually about 6ft to the side of where they started.
Blight struck, so I chopped them down. I just dug the harvest up... Red Duke of York, with only 2 slug-damaged.
:o :o :o
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First pick of the year. Piment d'Espelette from an overwintered plant. All going to be made into powder. 451 gm
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Chilli harvest before the frost hits them. They are all looking good, especially a new cross that appeared out of nowhere that has chili heads screaming for seed. It's a very hot cross between a Bhut Jolokia and Piment d'Espelette that someone named Butt Splatt.
Final big pick from the greenhouse. 1.85 kg making a total for the year of 2.8 kg, only the numerous tiny chiltepins to pick in the there now. And the lingering rocotos.
Then I have to harvest in the chilliarium.....
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Loads of things waking up when they should be dormant!
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daftodills in full bloom
Same here, mini irises going over as are the crocuses.
And the Rosemary has been in flower for weeks! Daft plant...
First chilli has popped-up after 6 days.
Lots of pruning: Kiwi, Blackberries, Redcurrants, Blackcurrants, Bay.
Lopped-off the rhubarb flower stalks too.
Cleared the south facing beds under the garden wall, the missus is going to fill them with flowers. Her first times growing totally from seed.
Cleared all but the Rocoto chilli plants from the greenhouse and chilliarium.
30+ chilli seedlings repotted and put under lights in the living room.
Lawn mown and edged, 20 strawberry runners transplanted, another kiwi vine planted.
All in beautiful sunshine. ;D
Exotic beans sown:
Helig Boontje
Sangre de Toro
Montezuma Red
Ying Yang /Orca
plus the usual Cobra climbing bean the missus insists on.
Also some chillies:
Vampire
Cayenne
Hot Stuff Mix
Barak
Ring O Fire
Pyramid
And a mini sweet type that makes finger pods... Sweet Sunshine.
No Cheyenne as the pack was empty! SUTTONS!!!!
A tray of Pak Choi too... I'll make space between the garlic for it all, as the garlic NORMALLY keeps the slugs and snails away.
Fed all the back garden (a mix of Miracle Grow, Growmore, Seaweed feed, Calcium Nitrate and homemade compost).
The lawn will be fed after it has been dethatched.
I have given the raised beds full of garlic their final feed, as feeding later than this can cause small bulbs.
Loads of Horsetails coming in from next door again. :grumpy:
Quince in full flower.
12 of the chillies planted into their final pots. Many more to be potted on for friends and family, but I've run out of space until the flower plugs are moved outside.
A large variety of beans have had their first session outside to harden off, and they took it well. The peas need to go outside too, but the wind is their enemy when they are so small.
There's a bit of rust on the garlic after the dry spell, but it looks like it's fighting back.
Kiwi flowers are yet to open, but the Aronia has already set fruit, the Quince is showing yet more flowers, let's hope they set.
Gooseberries are swelling, lots of Sawfly larvae picked off last week, and no sign of them returning.
The missus wants me to strip the flower bed out front, so that's another job on the list.....
Potted-on 30 Chrysanthemums....
The extra green bin has arrived, so first job is to crop the clematis and bin the lot.
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All the chillies are out there now
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All the flower and pak choi plants moved outside to harden off.
All the late sowings of chillies potted on, and some moved to their final pots.
Quite pleasant at 21c in the greenhouse with the odd shower thumping on the glazing.
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Front bed cleared and dug, plus loads of homemade compost added. Bluebells spread about, then in went the perennials (Verbena Bonariensis and Birdsfoot Trefoil) for the bees, and Chrysanthemum Cockade and Amberboa Muricata (Sweet Sultan) for the missus' eyes.
A couple of dozen Pak Choi in the long planters with Ferramol slug bait to help protect them.
All the pretty flower plants planted out for the missus. I wonder how long it takes her to spot the Pak Choi that are mixed in with them? :laugh:
Dug over the large raised bed and fitted the anti-cat netting over it.
Collected the dried rusty garlic foliage to burn.
Planted 2 French Lavenders that the missus got for 10p each.
Poisoned the horsetails that are still coming in from next door.
Next some semi-dried garlic from the small raised bed to trim, and then laid to cure in the chilliarium.
43 more strawberry runners pinned and potted. And that that is about a quarter of what have to be done.
A greengrocer gave me loads of "soft" shallots for free, ideal for planting out... so I just did. :)
Loads more strawberry runners need pinning into pots but I just can't get the enthusiasm up. :-\
Grapes are almost ready for harvest too, that'll need a stepladder. So I can't do it until the lawn is drier.
The Bay needs a big trim too, got my green bin back from next door as there are only 3 more collections before they stop for the winter.
7m Bay reduced to a bald 2m Bay.
I filled the wheelie before the binmen arrived, then refilled it after they'd been.
Only a few twigs left.
And all the thick branches will be chipped by hand for smoking my chillies.
Started the big chilli harvest.
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The almost final pick from the garden and greenhouse. Just the chiliarium and a few stragglers left.
Reaper x Bhut; Bad Brains; Cayenne; Pink Tiger; Bhutspelette; Barak; Scorpion; Pyramid; Butch T x 7 Pot Jonah
Chillies sown, only 5 types this year as I am trying to bulk up my stock of Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture Scotch Bonnets.
Strawbs to sow next once I find some seed compost.
Most of the chillies were up within 6 days, they are now in an unheated propagator under a daylight lamp.
Strawberries sown a couple of days ago, they take ages to sprout.
Saw my first full flower daftodills yesterday
31 chilli seedlings potted on into sterilised seed compost and put under lamps. 1 loss due to helmet head.
The bulk are now under two 20W (100W equiv) CFL daylight lamps, the weedier latecomers are under a 9W (100W equiv) LED daylight lamp with the propagator cover still on.
One of several Giant Peruvian Rocoto chillies still not fully ripe in the greenhouse... but at least they survived the winter... so far..
Daffodils are now out. Saw a dandelion on the fields.
Got a problem.....greenhouse and most of back garden now gone and so my dog bow only has access to a circular planted area in front garden. Nearly all paved cos of wheelchair access.
Our Mill is now constantly peeing on the last bit of garden we have and she is destroying it :'(. It used to have fuscia. . Rosemary. .sage and mother's rose that I transplanted from her garden and grew really happily. Now only have a sprig of rosemary and a bit of mother's rose.
Dog will have to pee here so any suggestions for tubs?
With tubs it's always "bigger is better". Good drainage with some crocks (I now use packing peanut foam).
Multi-season pots are nice (snowdrops or crocus, then daffs, then tulips, followed by summer bulbs). They just need the occasional feed, so are good for a few years. And you don't have to protect them in winter. The trouble is they are best potted in the autumn.
Hopefully the garden waste bin will be emptied tomorrow so that I have bin space for all the prunings I am going to have. I'll be emptying most of the strawberry pots into the bin too as they are over 3 years old.
Sown last Thursday, and the Alyssum is already up. The Verve (B&Q) seed compost set like concrete in the hot sunshine, but I've got it moist and soft now. The other seedlings should appear soon (Trailing Lobelia, Mini Nasturtium, Violas, Mesembryanthemum, Lavender and Sweetcorn).
No tomatoes again this year. The local allotments had ZERO ripe fruits last year due to Blight. :-(
Transplanted 2 ferns that appeared last year in strawberry pots last year to the front garden, plus a Campanula the missus bought and was dying on the kitchen window.
The nights are still too cool for the chillies to go out into the greenhouse. 2 overwintered Giant Peruvian Rocoto chilli plants have come back to life, but all the others seem to have snuffed it. I just gave them a final soak, if they don't sprout they are binned.
In the garden , the Daffodils and Crocuses have gone, but the Tulips and Bluebells are in flower. Loads of flower too on the Rosemary, and buds forming on the Aronia and Quince. The Quince is going to be (hopefully) fertilised by an electric toothbrush this year.
The Lavender hedge is sprouting but it looks a bit weak, so I've sown seed I collected from it last year as replacements. I collected the original seed from plants I found near La Gorge du Verdun in the south of France.
Gooseberries, Redcurrants and Blackcurrants are doing well, but I dropped the 2 biggest Blackberries down to a foot as they were getting unruly. I may get fruit from this year, but it's debatable.
The Kiwi and Grape vines are still waiting for a bit of heat, but the Rhubarbs are already flower.
All my strawberries are being replaced this year, except for the runners that appeared in gravel near the compost bins. I've loads of Frau Schindler runners, plus another variety is ready to repot after growing from seed in the living room.
The hacked Bay Laurel is starting to show leaf buds too, they are as tough as old boots.
The first plant in full leaf was the Goji. It's getting massive!
Because of Rust, I thought I had dug up all the Garlic, but dozens have appeared and need to be transplanted to make way for this year's crop of Sweetcorn. I wanted a couple of Courgettes, but the only packs I've found have 40 seeds!
Most of the overwintered chillies snuffed it, so their pots are now being emptied ready for this year's crop.
138 volunteer garlic plants transplanted, and more that treble that composted.
If rust gets them it's no great loss.
Some of the bulbs were over a foot deep!
The greenhouse minmax thermometer hasn't shown a drop below 12c this past week, so out went the chillies. All but a few spares in case of a disaster.
All the seeds are up apart from the Lavender which always needs a bit of heat.
Sowed Catmint and Coriander, covered the compost of the chillies with Perlite.
I've moved the Winter Box to the front garden, just need to dig a big hole and plant it now.
More Frau Schindler strawberry runners transplanted.
Edged the lawn along the path, saving the bits in seed trays for transplanting into bare patches later after scarifying.
19 strawberry planters emptied, 13 cleaned and sterilised, then 26 plants planted.
A mix of Frau Schindler and 4 from my mate for pollination.
Did a bit of tidying and pruning to fill the green bin.
A third of my Rosemary bush was stone dead, more on that elsewhere. >:(
Sweetcorn in the raised bed now, and loads of flowers transplanted for the missus.
More strawberries planted to, including one called Jumbo that I got for £2 in Morrisons.
All that is left is the cucumbers and courgettes, but they'll need another fortnight before they are ready to go out.
Bugger-all snails or slugs this year. HOORAY!
The snails have arrived, and many have met their maker.
I have planted the last of the strawberry runners. All those that wanted some have decided not to this year. ???
Moving the chilli plants about as they grow and get too close to the glazing.
Hardening off the cucumbers and courgette plants.
The sweetcorn is romping away.
I had to remove the 15 year old Kiwi vine as it died. I'm hoping it was the cold winter and not pests or disease.
All mesembryanthemums look like they are having a hard time, but they might still romp away.
Hopeless gooseberry crop this year, but the redcurrants are amassed with fruits.
Only a few quince fruits again this year, all the other flowers fell off.
The small area of land left after the extension was a bloody mess compared to how my garden was .
It's only about 30ft by 8ft and up some steps. It's not been looked at since last August and was driving me insane.
A massive Elder tree is there and although beautiful now, it's going to shed right into the shower and sink drains in Autumn. There is a dead conifer and the empty house my garden backs onto has gone wild with twiny branches overtaking.
My grandson had took down a lot of the elder but had left me with the branches all over.
Anyhow just organised a total clear of it next week. Tree felled. Bushes cut and membrane laid.
My choice now is......slate. ...gravel or artificial grass. I want it as easy care for as possible. I'll put pots for colour on the walls
Which would you have?
Slate can be sharp, and slippery. Artificial grass is a PITA especially with a dog about. I opted for pea gravel as it forms a compact surface, and you can plant through the membrane. I've got clumps of Campanula and Aubretia that look nice in ours. Near the top of the steps, set some pea gravel in mortar about a foot wide. That should reduce pebbles getting kicked onto the steps and making a slipping hazard.
Wall pots seem to have almost vanished (Health and Safety I think), but only titchy ones can be found now. And they need a constant watering regime in the summer. So long deep planters would be a better idea IMHO, with spring bulbs, summer bulbs and then perennials in them.
Thanks. The dog won't go in that area cos she is not allowed up the steps. The long planters will be a good idea because we have this stainless barricade thing now (health and safety ) so they can butt onto those.
Not thought of pea gravel so that a good option and there is room to set some in concrete.
At first I thought I would only use it for pegging washing out. But actually I could get a fair bit grown in pots :D
Hold me back......a lean to greenhouse :D
It won't let me post the pics on here
Quote from: El on June 06, 2018, 17:02:08 PM
It won't let me post the pics on here
Me neither, it's been like that for ages, and Lisa knows about it.
A lean-to is a great idea. ;D
I planted out the courgettes yesterday, 3 hours later Monty Don said it was time to do so. ;)
The cucumbers are being planted today, I got the sticks in place just before sunset yesterday.
Cucumbers planted.
No sign of molluscs on the courgettes. ;D
Remove all the dead and overgrown bits of the gojis.
Moved the chilli pots downwards as they were touching the glazing.
Potted a Spiderplant for the bathroom.
Potted a dead mint that ASDA gave me for free "We can't sell that!"
Sowed Campanula. I've never had any luck starting them in soil, so it's grodan cubes in a propagator indoors.
The Campanula have sprouted! Such tiny seedlings... less than 2mm high with 1mm leaves and stems thinner than hair.
I cleared the front troughs and sowed a mix of seed I got from Poundworld today for 80p. And Summer Bluebell bulbs planted under the Jasmine either side of the front door.
The Deutzia has finished flowering so it's had it's summer prune, allowing more light onto the trough I planted seeds in yesterday.
Both Blueberry plants are showing signs of ripening their berries. The local Blackbirds have noticed too, so I have covered the plants with horti fleece.
And the high UV levels are causing havoc with my chilllies in the greenhouse, so the rest of the horti fleece is now in use as shading.
Trimmed the grapevines and Kiwi vines.
Picked the first courgettes, well 3 were courgettes, the others were courges.... a tad too big...
Cucumbers almost ready to pick too.
2 butterflies evicted from the greenhouse. I hope they weren't laying eggs.
Brown aphids have appeared in the greenhouse. No Ladybirds anywhere, so I've been squishing the aphids hoping Ladybirds do appear.
But still no sign, so I've just used a bio sticky spray to stop them moving about.
Trimmed the grapevine again to allow the grapes to ripen faster. Quite a few good bunches again this year.
Trimmed the lavender hedge and got the waste into the green bin about a minute before the binmen arrived.
I also planted-out the most difficult plant I have ever grown from seed, a type of Campanula. Very slow to germinate from dust-like seeds that took forever to increase in size.
The cucumbers and courgettes have finished now, so I ripped them out for composting.
The chillies are on the last keg to ripeness, apart from the Giant Peruvian Rocotos that are outside and still swelling loads of pods.
Next job is to stake down all the strawberry runners (hundreds) into individual pots for next year.
Oh, and pick more grapes. :din:
Started tidying the garden for the winter. Pots emptied, a bit of pruning, and removed annual plants to the compost.
There are still a few bunches of grapes, but some are mouldy now, so are being left for the Blackbirds.
Pruned the Jasmine, Rosemary and Catmint. The Blackcurrants need a good prune, but my hands were too cold to be using secateurs.
Potted-on all the chilli seedlings apart from 3 which still haven't sprouted. They can take weeks!
Back under the lights in the living room...
It's been quite pleasant in the sun and out of the wind in the garden.
The strawberry plants and catmint are waking up and making new leaves.
Both red and black currants have swollen leaf buds.
Cherries are opening their leaves, as are the blackberries, quince, aronia and clematis.
Goji is in full leaf.
Rhubarb has sprouted.
And all but one Giant Peruvian Rocoto chilli pods have ripened in the greenhouse.
No sign of the over-wintered chilli plants sprouting though, but I gave them each a splash of water in case.
Sowed a blight-proof (we shall see) tomato called Crimson Crush. Also some Aubretias for the front garden.
The lawn could do with a mow, but I'll hold off a bit later.
Fed the flowering plants with seaweed.
Pruning later.
The tomato seeds have sprouted in the living room.
Pruned the strawberries, blackberries, gojis, kiwis, redcurrants and ivys.
Emptied a trough on the patio and refilled it.
The chillies are outside sunbathing, but into the greenhouse this evening where they will stay until repotted..
The outdoor tomatoes are out there too, and will also go into the greenhouse at night until the night temperatures rise above 10c.
12 Crimson Crush tomato plants are now in their final position in the larger raised bed. Fingers crossed that they are as blight resistant as they say. 12 Strawberry plants also planted, mainly as pollinators for the Frau Schindler strawberries. Time to sow a few beans and maybe peas.
I also transplanted loads of baby onions that appeared out of nowhere.
Greenhouse cleaned, then I did some sowing:
Dwarf French bean Saxa
Climbing French bean Cobra
Cucumber Marketmore
Leek Elefant
Filled the 12 Morrisons' pots with my compost mix (2 parts compost, 1 part perlite, 1 part coir). I'll let them warm up before repotting into them.
Potted-on all 12 chillie plants. Top dressed with washed sharp sand this year to keep he sciarid (fungus) gnats from laying eggs in the compost.
Sowed Cape Daisies and Annual Phlox.
The leeks are up, as are the cucumbers. But the Dwarf French beans and climbing beans are being a bit tardy.
The toms outside are still getting their feet down, and I don't think they are enjoying this cool period.
Lawn edged and a strawberry transplanted. The cold nights are holding back the outdoor tomatoes and greenhouse chillies, but they don't seem stressed.
Only a few beans have sprouted due to the cold, but there is still plenty of time yet.
Bees of all sorts on the strawberry flowers, and the Quince lost all it's petals in the storm, but it looks like loads of fruit has set. Fingers crossed that they don't all drop as they usually do.
Flower buds already on the grapevines!
One Kiwi lost a long part of its vine. Cats are attracted to it like Catmint, so I reckon it was a moggie's fault.
This year's first harvest of catmint leaves for drying. The cut stems are now in a shady spot in pots of water to develop roots for more plants.
Swapped over the 2 catmints from out front with the 2 out the back. The ones that were out front need some TLC as they are going purple (lack of phosphorous).
I had 3 cats following me around hoping I would let them have a whole bush to themselves.
I think the Saxa beans are dead, so I've sown Tendergreen dwaf French beans to replace them.
Also found a lovely orange-flowered Aster on display in Wilko. I don't think they'll mind that I gathered seed from it. ;)
Cleared the Bluebell foliage from the front planter, the ladies have seed they want to sow in it.
Fed the back garden. The number of grape fower bunches this year is incredible, but all the flowers dropped off the quince again.
Planted the new cherry (Merton Premier) that I bought a s a pollinator for the picota cherries.
The cucumbers had their first day hardeing-off outside in the sun.
Half the cucumbers planted-out to see how the wing affects them.
The Crimson Crush tomatoes outside are romping away, full of flowers and fruits. And the stems are VERY thick. I just tied them in again at about a metre in height.
The Crimson Crush tomatoes are now at 2 metres with 19 trusses on 5 plants. Not a sign of blight despite locals saying it started 2 weeks ago.
The chilli plants are loaded!
The first outdoor tomatoes are almost ripe, and no sign of blight. ;D
Chillies ready for picking too.
Picked a few of the Crimson Crush tomatoes. No blight, but lots of twins and triplets.
*I can't attach photos for some reason*
I tried the other day and couldn't. Meant to look into it, but forgot
The chilli plants in the greenhouse have gone to sleep. So I have them a hard prune, dusted the cuts with cinnamon and covered that in Blue Tack. I also tipped the pots on their sides and scraped off the top layer of packed sharp sand. Hopefully that'll get rid of most of any aphid eggs. A dusting with diatomaceous earth should shred any that hatch. The best JMOA Scotch Bonnet plant is in a fleece bag in the downstairs loo to see if it'll over-winter that way. After a light clean of the greenhouse, I moved the Giant Peruvian Rocoto inside with only 3 undersized pods falling off.
Planted 60 mixed tulips, 10 hyacinth and 20 crocus that a kind neighbour found for me. Very late, but the ground still thinks it's autumn.
Lobelia and Campanula are still in flower out there! :o
Potted an Aronia and Quince that I had air-layered. The roots formed were abundant.
Also shoved Blackcurrant prunings into pots to form new plants for several neighbours.
snowdrops seen
Crocuses up, bluebells and tulips have showed their noses.
Flowers on the Rosemary....
The flat downstairs has daffodils in the front garden. They are out, not only the tete a tete which are early, but larger ones too. My tulips are half-grown and my mid-season daffs will be in flower in a week. Pussy willow is flowering, the catkins on the hazel have dropped off a month early, and there are celandines in flower by the river banks. Everything is about a month early.
Pruned the blackcurrants and jasmine between downpours.
Pruned the blackberries, goji, redcurrants and grapevine. Very late but the weather has been holding me back.
All the chillies and tomatoes have sprouted, so they are now out of the heated propagator and under lights in the living room.
Potatoes into trays to chit in the greenhouse.
Cut up all the prunings for a burn this evening.
That meant I could mow the lawn for the first time this year. I had to empty the mower SEVEN times instead of the usual TWO. :o
All 4 cherries are losing their blooms, so fingers crossed for good pollination.
The Quince is starting to flower, but the new maiden won't this year so no cross pollination possible.
The remaining Blueberry is flowering, I need to buy another.
Rhubarb all sent up flower spikes so I chopped them off.
The Kiwis and Grapevine are sprouting leaves.
The Redcurrant and Blackcurrant cuttings are all in leaf AND flower :o
The chillies and tomatoes are relaxing under lamps in the living room, with the toms being well ahead. I really need to source rebar to grow them up this year as they get so heavy.
Dug up loads of leeks for this evening.
killed a couple of trees
The tomatoes grew too big to stay indoors so I moved them into the greenhouse a couple of days ago. And now I have repotted them.
I also found some peat pots that have been hiding for years, so I sowed Alderman peas then Lady Di and Isabel climbing French beans.
The catmint has sprouted in the kitchen, so I'd better shift it before the cats find it.
I have flower buds on the Kiwi I grew from seed. Now to hope it's a female plant and not a male.
Some leeks have shown rust, and a bit of bolting, so they need to be harvested ASAP.
The bluebells are already going over as it's been so dry.
The Aronia bush is now about 12ft wide and covered in flower bunches.
must kill off the regrowth on the trees I killed
Planted out 7 mini roses that our nice neighbour brought me from Sainsburys.
3 rows of mini spuds planted.
Half the leeks harvested, but about half have bolted so they went onto the compost heap.
As I prepared the soil for the spuds, I found a few dozen baby onions, so they will be replanted.
The leeks were hiding loads of volunteer strawberry plants in flower. I may space them out, but at the moment I shall leave them where they are.
Harvested the last of the leeks and dug the raised bed over, made a trench where the peas, beans and tomatoes will go and filled it with home-made compost.
Transplanted loads of volunteer onions, and the errant Verbenas.
Set the posts and wire for the peas, beans and tomatoes.
Mowed the lawn.
Stuffed the green bin.
It's getting tidy out there at last. :)
Start hardening-off the tomatoes.
Transplanted more catmint into the wall planters. A few days in the greenhouse and then they should be OK to go out where the cats can't reach them. The smell as I transplanted them attracted Solver, Charbon and 2 of next doors' cats. With no aggro until I closed the greenhhouse!
Peas and 2 types of bean planted out, plus 1 tomato to see how it fares.
Chillies out to the greenhouse for the day later.
The cherry toms in the greenhouse are already flowering.
The last 4 Crimson Crush tomatoes planted out and soaked.
Kindergarten and primary school for chillies in the living room now closed, and they are now in junior school in the greenhouse.
Repotting to final pots later once it cools down.
Sowed African Marigolds in modules, and pricked-out Coriander into modules and pots.
The toms outside have fruits swelling on them, but they aren't growing upwards very quickly.
The beans and peas are growing slowly too, and there are signs of flower buds forming.
The Kiwi that I grew from seed has flowered after about 8 years, now I'll know if it's a female (yay!) or male (boo) plant.
The Kiwi I grew from seed 8 years ago is female!!! So my self-pollinating Kiwi Jenny should pollinate it (when it decides to flower).
Sowed carrot and beetroot in clumps, and scorzonera in a nursery patch so that I can thin it later.
Planted-out the dwarf French beans, then gave them all a good drink.
The spuds are almost ready for the first earthing-up.
The mixed flower seed in the front planter are germinated and growing fast under cat-nets.
And I have ONE quince fruit swelling! That too will be OK once the new one makes flowers to pollinate it.
I have one courgette flower...
I believe this maybe an issue...
Quote from: Lisa on June 29, 2020, 17:37:27 PM
I have one courgette flower...
I believe this maybe an issue...
Male or female?
No idea
.
I'll double check. But I think its male
Yes it is
The males normally sprout first to reduce self-pollination.
OK. I've only got one surviving courgette plant. It's this going to be a problem
Not usually, like cucumber you can get all-female plants, and they manage to fruit. Just remember to use tomato feed when the first fruit starts to swell..... and be read to water a lot and often.
Are you growing it upwards or on the ground?
On the ground
Mark where the plant is in the ground with a stick. That is where you have to water and feed it. They can grow so quickly that you can lose sight of that place.
It's the only thing there?
You'll be surprised at how big they can get and you lose orientation.
It's not too late to start more from seed.
Trimmed the grapevines and blackberries. Hacked back next door's ivy that is coming over the wall.
Planted out some African Marigolds, spuds to earth up later.
The new neighbours opposite had a huge, tangled tree that flowered but that was it.
I identified it as a damson, and gave it a really hard prune last autumn. 4 green bins full!
Now they have a massive glut of fruits, and I emailed them a recipe for jam.
Pinned and potted 25 strawberry runners. Loads more to do today.
The grapes are swelling, the blackberries are being harvested almost daily, as are the stringless and French climbing beans.
Chillies are setting and swelling quickly now.
The greenhouse and outdoor toms are fruiting faster than we can eat them.
I pulled out the mini-morning glories and exposed loads of shallots and bluebells sprouting. Clearing the long planters out front will require secateurs as the plants have huge root systems.
I did a lot of pruning of blackcurrants and jasmine. About 50 blackcurrant cuttings have been potted to get more plants for neighbours.
The first day of Spring, so I shall be sowing tomatoes and chillies to start their lives in the living room.
A mate gave me tomato seed to start off for him as he is hopeless at it.
Day 4 and all but one tomato seed have sprouted. Moved into the unheated propagator under a daylight lamp.
All the tomatoes and chillies are now under a lamp. I sowed a few extras for the neighbour, so they are waiting to pop.
Mowed the lawn for the first time this year.
Transplanted 2 fuchsias whose wall planter disintegrated, I have not seen a single decent wall planter on sale in shops or online for a couple of years. That means making my own I suppose.
Potted-on the mini tomatoes seedlings.
The other tomatoes are getting too big for the living room shelf, but the chillies are staying squat.
I need to wander over to the riverbank to cut some bamboo.
The toms in the greenhouse are over a foot tall now, so I just staked them. It's still not warm enough to get them outside.
Oregano and Mesembryanthemums have sprouted in the living room, and the chillies and cucumbers are snug and squat.
Flowers on most of the strawberries, but I have lost a lot of plants.
Can't remember a May this cold, ever. Really hope it warms up soon - only 4 weeks until the days start getting shorter again!
Quote from: Nana of 8 on May 24, 2021, 22:31:09 PMCan't remember a May this cold, ever.
The nights are forecast to warm up by the weekend, but that damned wind is still going to be with us. The jetstream is still south of the UK.
I've been out pottering about under the warm sun (21c).
Next doors' Marestails have resprouted and quite a few just inside our garden, so they had a spray of Glyphosate (if it ever gets banned we'll all be buggered).
Most of the surviving strawberries are in flower, as are the currants and blackberries.
The lawn is covered in "flower" heads (inflorescences?).
The toms in the greenhouse are doing well, I'll be hardening them off outside in a few days, then passing on some to friends and neighbours.
The oregano and mesembryanthemums in the living room are being really slow, but they are warm climate plants.
The missus has pelargoniums and French Marigolds to plant out today.
Sowed 54 Isabel French climbing beans in bog roll tubes in the greenhouse.
Transplanted the banana shallot root plates that have formed around 4 babies each.
Repotted the 4 cucumber plants and moved them to the greenhouse.
Repotted the 2 Mini Piment d'Espelette chillies that our neighbour is having.
Spuds I missed have broached the surface, so they'll get earthed-up soon.
Next, eat, and then mow the lawn.
Mowed the lawn. Patched the lawn. Over-seeded the lawn. Watered the lawn and all the pots and planters in the back garden. Put down organic slug pellets as the missus' French Marigolds were attacked last night.
Planted 2 Halliana Honeysuckles after digging out the clematis stump that was infected with Honey Fungus. Honeysuckle is rarely troubled by it.
Edged the lawn, cleared the bluebell leaves, sowed a whole bunch of flower seed in the front planters, fed the front garden.
Still no sign of germination of the climbing French beans in the greenhouse.
Quote from: Tâf on June 05, 2021, 17:55:19 PMStill no sign of germination of the climbing French beans in the greenhouse.
Be fair, you only planted them a week ago! You have been a busy bee recently.
Can't wait until my greenhouse arrives! However, I can wait until the paving is down where it's going to stand!
The first 3 tomato plants are in the garden now (Candy Crush).
The other tomato plants (Mountain Merit and Mountain Magic) are going out today, as are the cucumbers.
Only one bean has sprouted so far.
The oregano is almost ready for repotting, whilst the mesembryanthemum is not liking the heat in the greenhouse.
The Kiwi I grew from seed has flowered at last, and it's a female! ;D
Toms and cucumbers forming already.
Quote from: Tâf on May 29, 2021, 14:28:05 PMSowed 54 Isabel French climbing beans in bog roll tubes in the greenhouse
Only ONE came up, so I have just sowed Blue Lake to replace them.
I also sowed Alderman peas and potted the Scotch Bonnet chillies into their final pots.
The oregano is now hardening-off outside, along with the terrible mesambryanthemum seedlings.
There are tomatoes on the plants!
Tied-in the greenhouse mini toms as they are flowering like mad.
The peas in the living room are coming up, so I've put a daylight LED lamp over them.
The climbing French beans in the greenhouse has lifted their heads too.
The aronia and blackberries are plastered with baby fruits. But nothing on the Quince again.
Tomatoes and cucumbers are swelling, and we're picking strawberries and cherries before the birds get to them. The cherries that are far from ripe are protected in garden fleece bags.
I have chopped the Bay down to a manageable height, but need to wait another month until the green bin is emptied, then I can fill it to the brim again.
Pruned the grapevines, and found loads of new fruits forming.
The peas are now too tall for the living room, so they are going out to harden off before planting.
Planted out the mesembryanthemums and oregano.
I have a hanging basket for the rest of the oregano.
Peas and beans to do next.
The last of 3 green bins are now full with the last of the Bay. Apart from 4 logs that I will let dry and then burn on the BBQ next year.
Pruned the vines again, they had gone bonkers this past week.
I watered the chillies and greenhouse tomatoes early before the sun hit them. It was already 32c in there at 10:30!
Next doors' ivy got cut back to the top of the wall as it was strangling one of the kiwis.
Beans are peas are almost ready to plant out.
I am watering the chillies 3 times a day at the moment. In-and-out of the greenhouse before I melt.
Planted-out the Blue Lake climbing French beans and Alderman peas after digging-in some home-made compost and erecting climbing frames.
The lawn could do with a trim, but that'll be an evening job.
The first chillies have set, and so have loads of mini tomatoes in the greenhouse.
Cucumbers are swelling fast, and the blackberries are ripening en masse.
6 manky shallots from Sainsburys for 10p last year, so I popped them into the garden out front.
I have just dug the lot up. The big ones (about 30) are hung to dry, whilst the smaller ones (about 20) have been replanted for next year.
3 volunteer spud plants dug up.
Picked the last of the cucumbers and stripped the leaves from the tomatoes.
My garden is just a bomb site.
An evergreen clematis has claimed it as its own.. Including all items😂
Picked the last of the Scotch Bonnet chillies. A total of 1.9kg this year, which is very reasonable for 10 plants. They have had no water for at least 6 weeks, so are fully ripe.
There are still perfect mini toms in there, so I had a nibble.
Toady is seed sowing day: chillies, tomatoes, cucumbers and gherkins.
Sowed the chillies and tomatoes. They are in a heated propagator in the living room.
Once I've cleaned the greenhouse, I'll be sowing cucumbers, gherkins and French beans.
I finally managed to find Primrose seed, so I've sown it in a plastic takeaway container, as it needs light and humidity to germinate.
One sprouted, it has to be lightly covered in compost and grown until it can be planted outside in the autumn.
Gawd knows how it still exists as a plant with all that faff.
I've nuked compost and cleaned pots to repot the tomatoes and chillies later today.
Transplanted the last of the chillies and tomatoes into 2" pots. Now under the lights in the living room.
I also sowed pansies, Livingston daises and French marigolds into takeaway containers as they are ideal for the job..
Mowed the lawn and fed the back garden.
The 4 cherry trees are loaded with swelling fruits. I'd better get a fruit cage built.
I sowed cucumbers, gherkins, 2 types of beans and a few more tomatoes.
All the tomatoes repotted and moved to the greenhouse. That gives more room for the chillies in the living room. 2 mild ones for my Turkish neighbour are already in flower!
I transplanted the Pansy seedlings and sowed loads of French Marigolds in hanging pots on the wall.
3 Tomato plants just snuffed it, and I have no idea why. ???
Sowed Greek (small leaf) Basil and potted-on an Oregano cutting.
Climbing French beans planted-put. 9 Lady Di and 9 Blue Lake. Also a new thing for me, cornichons (gherkins). I was told they do well in the garden in a sunny but sheltered spot, so I am trying them in a few locations.
Preschool is now closed (the seedling shelf with lights in the living room).
The chillies and flower plants are now outside ready for repotting or pricking-out.
The greenhouse mini-tomato is now in its final pot, as are the Scotch Bonnet chillies. The chillies are not very good for the time of year, but they should catch up once they get their feet down.
Next will be moving the tomatoes, cucumbers and gherkins outside.
I've started hardening-off plants to go outdoors soon.
And I ate the first Picota cherry of the year. And strawberries. :din:
Our (poor) neighbour gave me planting kits that were thrown out at work: Alpine strawberry and bush tomato. The compost won't absorb water! No wonder they were sent to the bin.
I repotted the Livingstone Daisies yesterday. They are a royal PITA because they stems are hair thin then suddenly bulge further up.
Catmint seed sowed, French marigolds repotted. The bush Losetto tomato in the greenhouse has started its first fruit.
The chillies are having a hard time of it this year.
I pruned the Deutzia and other things, tidied up the oregano, sowed some annual seeds. A bit late, but the weather should be ideal from now on.
Tied-in the cucumbers, gherkins and tomatoes. They are having a hard time with the weather up to now.
A Blackbird is upset with me for having netted the cherries and blueberries.
I finally got the Maris Piper and Red Rooster seed spuds planted. The volunteer plants I had to dig out produced a good haul too.
I wish they sold the seed spuds in smaller packs. I could have filled the entire garden with them.
French beans are swelling, potatoes have pushed their noses up, rhubarb ready to harvest as are a few cucumbers, but the tomatoes have stopped dead in their tracks. The chillies are starting to recover at last.
Planted out Pansies, Marigolds and Livingston Daisies that I raised from seed.
I've just picked the first beans of the year. :)
Tied-in the cucumbers, gherkins and tomatoes and gave them a haircut. They are only now starting to romp away strongly.
I picked the first 2 tomatoes from the garden. I showed them to the missus, and she ate them immediately!
I've been browsing on blackberries and watching the grapes swell.
Green bin tomorrow, and rumours say that the collections will end even earlier this year.
So I filed the bin with prunings from the grapevine, kiwi and blackberries. I also hacked the blackcurrants to ground level. They will either sprout or be binned next year.
Repotted the seedling catmint in the greenhouse. I felt something at my feet.... it was all 3 of next doors' cats salivating. They normally won't come within 6ft of me.
Gave the tomatoes a haircut and destroyed snails on the plant. Repotted the Aronia cutting from a few years back.
I sowed the chillies and tomatoes in the living room on April 1st. The toms were all up 5 days later, and the chillies show signs of stirring.
I've just pruned the grapevines, blackberries and kiwis. A full green binful I reckon.
Almost all the chillies are up, so I have sterilised some compost, pots and the second propagator.
I just sowed the cucumbers (mini munch, marketmore and an unnamed small variety) plus the climbing French beans (Isabel and blue lake). All snug in the greenhouse.
It's still too cold at night to move the chillies and tomatoes out, and they are taking over the growspace in the living room!
Fed the back garden and then sprayed the marestails, bindweed and brambles coming from next door.
The first of the cucumbers has sprouted.
Catmint and Livingston daisies will be sown after teatime.
The Jack's Magic compost I used last year stunted all growth of any plant that was put into it. I found several gardening forums that say the same thing. Peat had been replaced with wood fibres that help some sort of contaminant.
I resowed the climbing French beans as none of them came up.
A big bag of oregano harvested. The proper wild stuff with plenty of aroma and taste.
Cleared the bluebell leaves and soaked the ground ready for transplanting Impatiens later. The ground was dust dry down to a foot at least.
I also fed with front garden and watered the plants that were in shade. Rain is possible on the weekend, but they needed water now.
5 Crimson Crush tomato plants in their final positions, whilst 3 stragglers start their hardening-off process.
Mint plants potted on yesterday.
I have cleared out the pots the Scotch Bonnet chillies will be going into.
The last of the tomatoes are now planted, and the last of the mint potted.
The chillies are at last in their final pots. Flowers already!
I gave the grapevines their fruiting prune, and I found dozens of bunches of grapes!
I also gave the lawn its second trim of the year, it's been too dry or too hot to do it earlier.
The beans and cucumbers are now in their final spots.
I just tied-in and trimmed the tomatoes and cucumbers. Beans are starting to form. The kiwis are swelling and the grapes too!
The rhubarb plants are huge again, and the blackberries are ripening in droves.
All the spuds have finished flowering, so it's time to water like crazy!
I picked the second lot of tomatoes and cucumbers yesterday. It's been a very slow season due to the odd weather.
I stripped the bean plants of loads of pods so that they continue producing.
I harvested the spuds from the small pots. 4.6kg of red Duke of York from 6 seed spuds.
Emptied the last bag of spuds I grew this year. Not bad, but not fantastic. It's the ones in the ground that I expect to be numerous.
I also picked a couple of cucumbers to allow the others to swell. A week with the missus in hospital means there are loads of ripe tomatoes ready for her to pick and eat.
The grape bunches are so numerous and heavy that they broke the arch they grow on!
The Crimson Crush tomatoes are still producing whilst all other types in the local area were destroyed by Blight.
I trimmed the oregano out front, then pruned the aronia and jasmine. The lavender will have to wait until it sprouts.
12 JMOA Scotch Bonnets sown at last. They are behind the mylar screen on the shelf in the living room inside a covered heated propagator.
my garden is an uncontrollable nightmare these days.
i work far too many hours
Mine is waiting for reasonable weather. In the meantime I have to resow some chillies and get the toms and cucs sown as well.
If it's not dead in my garden. It's over grown
Quote from: Lisa on April 06, 2024, 10:07:26 AMIf it's not dead in my garden. It's over grown
My lawn hosts wild animals I suspect, but it's still too wet to mow. The raised beds need to be cleared of spuds and dug over.
And the collapsed arch over the sun patio needs to be cleared of vines and remade. Luckily, I cut the grape and kiwi back hard, so it won't be sprouting amongst the wreckage.
Both compost bins have burst and I can't get new crates from the Uni as they are now all subject to "reuse" under a deposit system.
Only half the Mini Munch cucumber seeds sprouted, par for the course, so I sowed another pack of 4.
The toms are up, and are now in the unheated prop with the sprouted cucumbers and what chillies have come up.
I shall nuke some compost to repot the cucumbers. All the rest is being rather sluggish. The same lack of growth is being seen all over Europe in the growing groups. But it can't be temperature or light, as most are growing indoors under lights. ???
Loads of bean sowed in the greenhouse, and catmint, marigolds and more tomatoes in the living room.
The beans are coming up very erratically this year. :-\
I put the indoor mini cucumbers into their final pots in the greenhouse. Then I repotted the chillies and tomatoes to go back indoors until the overnight temperatures settle.
Outdoor cucumbers will be sown in the greenhouse soon.
The outdoor cucumbers have been sown in the greenhouse, and the plants in the living room shuffled around under the LED lamps.
The Bluebell foliage is almost died back, so I'll be able to get the Marigolds planted in their place. I can't leave bare ground for long or the whole place will become a cat toilet.
All the growers I know locally have been moaning that, like mine, the cherries produced no fruits this year. Ditto their apples and pears. No quince forming either, and the currants are really poor.
Once the breeze drops to nothing I'll use a rake to bend over and bruise the invading marestails and spray them to kill the roots.
I have emptied loads of pots and hanging baskets, cut back stuff that is going over, and attacked next doors' ivy and a tall bush that are trying to fill our garden. Once it is all hacked-up and binned, I will have space to put some of the climbing beans out.
Glyphosate has not touched the Marestails, so I have sheared it down. All the waste has to go into the black bin or burned.
Started kicking down some rotten fence. Might take a few years to get it done..
I'm already picking Mini Munch cucumbers in the greenhouse.
The 2 surviving JMOA Scotch Bonnets are now potted in the greenhouse. The 3 Crimson Crush tomatoes are in there too in larger pots before they move into the (Marestail infested) raised bed.
I prepped the smaller raised bed for the garlic. It was a slog, but now it's done.
In the greenhouse the Chili plants look gorgeous, but no flowers of fruits this year.
I pruned the Aronia so that the little Quince gets more light. I then cut back the Kiwi whips. Some were over 20ft long!
I then planted the last of the garlic I had.
When I looked into the greenhouse, the 2 chilli plants are still alive and in leaf! :o
I finally saw decent overnight temperatures, so have sown tomatoes, chillies, and later I have beans and catmint to sow.
More beans sowed, tomatoes repotted.
The last of the tomato and French beans planted in the large raised bed, now that the Horsetails look totally dead.
The garlic got lifted and is now drying.
I gave the Oregano and Jasmine a good prune back.