I am pretty certain I could work all day and every day at the allotment, and not run out of stuff which needs doing - the shed alone is shameful (half the felt blew off in storm Ciara(?)) And OMG, the fruit cage (have recently had to dismantle the gigantic timber behemoth )after it collapsed into a precarious parallelogram.
The gardening thread
- Thread starter ringo
- Start date
nogojones
spelling is overrated
If you're felling well enough you might as well whilst the weathers nice. I think I might have managed to get a little sunburnt today
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
this is strictly NOT within the parameters of your nhs orders(me barrowing it down the road)
what i use is a mix of garden compost, grit for them that need it, expended compost from various failed pots, and coir bricks that you get from amazon shrink wrapped that expand in water.
i have a binfull of last year's compost that i've not used yet. it's full of bits of pegs and plastic netting and alllllll the weed seeds, but i could mebbe persuade mr b to deliver in the name of assisting the afflicted if you need it?
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
Might just have to consider bulk buying new / seed compost ... when my search around here proves fruitless (not looking good atm)
I do have garden compost, but no means of sterilizing it.
And it would need grading / cleaning as it has bits of plastic / rubbish in it - which is time-consuming by hand, as some of the bits are quite small.
(one of my housemates is not good at removing plastic from veg waste)
I do have garden compost, but no means of sterilizing it.
And it would need grading / cleaning as it has bits of plastic / rubbish in it - which is time-consuming by hand, as some of the bits are quite small.
(one of my housemates is not good at removing plastic from veg waste)
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wayward bob
i ate all your bees
sterilising? 
grading?! it all looks the same in the bottom of a pot (also aware am talking about cuttings or large plants, no seedlings i guess they're fussier)
forgot to add a bag of john innes is also good in the mix. i'll admit i just use garden soil from the raised beds for that fraction.
grading?! it all looks the same in the bottom of a pot (also aware am talking about cuttings or large plants, no seedlings i guess they're fussier)forgot to add a bag of john innes is also good in the mix. i'll admit i just use garden soil from the raised beds for that fraction.
nogojones
spelling is overrated
Cheers. I'm waiting for them to get back to me at the moment, so not sure if I'm gonna be composted up or not. and I'll keep a good distance from the driver.this is strictly NOT within the parameters of your nhs orders
what i use is a mix of garden compost, grit for them that need it, expended compost from various failed pots, and coir bricks that you get from amazon shrink wrapped that expand in water.
i have a binfull of last year's compost that i've not used yet. it's full of bits of pegs and plastic netting and alllllll the weed seeds, but i could mebbe persuade mr b to deliver in the name of assisting the afflicted if you need it?
I felt a bit guilty for even ordering it, but I'm trying to justify it to myself by thinking all the excess veg will mean less shopping trips.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
sterilising?
forgot to add a bag of john innes is also good in the mix. i'll admit i just use garden soil from the raised beds for that fraction.
I've only ever bothered to sterilise compost for seeds or cuttings ... other stuff takes the chance (don't use weed-killers - a friend had a problem with treated stuff not being properly rotted down one year - his tomato plants were somewhat distorted).
Grading because the compost needs a lot of mixing and I use the opportunity to remove the unsuitable bits, ie stones and bits of tree as well as the aforementioned plastic.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
Caught a nuthatch in my greenhouse a few years ago - beautiful bird, it flew into the glass and stunned itself, I had it grasping (tightly) one finger for several minutes before it felt well enough to fly away. (bit like a chaffinch I saved a few years before that, this cheeky bird used to come into a café I was running and one day someone made it panic a bit and it flew into the window - same thing, but a few weeks later, he brought the family to show them off - as did the local blackbird family)Had a goldcrest fly in the conservatory yesterdaynever seen one before. Lovely little thing so I was chasing it round for five minutes until it flew out the door again.
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
i disturbed a bumble bee under a very recently relocated pot, cheered my cockles
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
i bung what i have in a trug, mix and lift off the largest foreign objects (a la settling cereal, the big bits come to the top) with a hand fork
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
ftr my half-hearted experiments with rooting hardwood cuttings in the autumn into sphagnum moss has been a significant success \o/
willow was apparently a given and all of them have taken in a pan of rainwater
i also have two other random park trimmings - no idea what they are yet, but looking quite impressively alive. i wired the sticks into colanders and packed around with sphagnum and let the weather do the rest
willow was apparently a given and all of them have taken in a pan of rainwater
i also have two other random park trimmings - no idea what they are yet, but looking quite impressively alive. i wired the sticks into colanders and packed around with sphagnum and let the weather do the rest 
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
It’s on the government sanctioned list of approved activities so go for it.
Leafster
.
I think it might be an Exochorda x macrantha also known as a Pearlbush
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Put second lot of seeds in today nasturtiums and sweet peas and other things doing really well. Bloody mice been snipping off sweet pea seedlings though. I think it's bloody mice. I don't think it's bloody slugs or bloody snails I think it's bloody mice They did it last year too as I recall so I've brought the seedlings inside.
I do have some wild meadow seeds that I'd like to put into a bit of lawn but there's loads of grass in there that I think will swamp them. Tempted to grow some on before planting them but they're annuals so I doubt any seeds would survive.
nasturtiums and sweet peas and other things doing really well. Bloody mice been snipping off sweet pea seedlings though. I think it's bloody mice. I don't think it's bloody slugs or bloody snails I think it's bloody mice They did it last year too as I recall so I've brought the seedlings inside. I do have some wild meadow seeds that I'd like to put into a bit of lawn but there's loads of grass in there that I think will swamp them. Tempted to grow some on before planting them but they're annuals so I doubt any seeds would survive.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
More " jungle - bashing " today, plus general tidying up.
OH managed to get me some new compost (peat free) so tomorrow will be planting seeds (plus potting on a few house plants ...
The other job tomorrow is to shift a fallen branch off the older shed (which is now kaput).
OH managed to get me some new compost (peat free) so tomorrow will be planting seeds (plus potting on a few house plants ...
The other job tomorrow is to shift a fallen branch off the older shed (which is now kaput).
Spiraea arguta, aka 'bridal wreath'
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
Well the garden remodelling may have ground to a halt due to lockdown, but the bit nearest the house is done and ready to be planted. And thankfully the garden centre is alive and doing deliveries so hopefully I can get on with that.
This is for a bed about 2m x 1m near the back door, south facing (although the sun disappears behind the house after lunchtime) with a white painted wall behind it. I'm thinking a red chaenomeles at the back, trained up the wall, a rosemary and a lavender at the front, and infill with other culinary herbs - chives, sage, thyme, winter savory if I can get some (my favourite herb).
Otherwise, the only significant bit of the remodel that still needs doing is laying the paths at the back. While I'm waiting for normal service to resume I can do a dry run - lay the bits out where I think I want them and see how that works. I'm not sure it's practical to get on with much planting though until the paths are done - I suspect the plants would just get trashed/be in the way. I might be able to get some raspberries in but it needs more prep first.
Gardening mate was doing the fence on the day we went into lockdown and nearly finished it except he ran four boards short
I might also shop for some garden furniture - a table/chairs and a bench.
This is for a bed about 2m x 1m near the back door, south facing (although the sun disappears behind the house after lunchtime) with a white painted wall behind it. I'm thinking a red chaenomeles at the back, trained up the wall, a rosemary and a lavender at the front, and infill with other culinary herbs - chives, sage, thyme, winter savory if I can get some (my favourite herb).
Otherwise, the only significant bit of the remodel that still needs doing is laying the paths at the back. While I'm waiting for normal service to resume I can do a dry run - lay the bits out where I think I want them and see how that works. I'm not sure it's practical to get on with much planting though until the paths are done - I suspect the plants would just get trashed/be in the way. I might be able to get some raspberries in but it needs more prep first.
Gardening mate was doing the fence on the day we went into lockdown and nearly finished it except he ran four boards short
I might also shop for some garden furniture - a table/chairs and a bench.
I have done this, Two Sheds - growing annuals such as cornflowers, cosmos, in small pots or modules, then planting them out in grass. Best to station sow in modules because you can turn the little plants out without disturbing their roots. My best selections include corncockles, iberis, cornflowers, wild carrot, laceflower (didiscus), ammi and orlaya (same family as wild carrots...particularly resent transplanting). If you can, get hold of a hemi-parasite such as yellow rattle which will weaken the grass. I used a native grass and wildflower mix from John Chambers, to trial a little meadow sown from scratch. Remains to be seen how successful it is.Put second lot of seeds in today
I do have some wild meadow seeds that I'd like to put into a bit of lawn but there's loads of grass in there that I think will swamp them. Tempted to grow some on before planting them but they're annuals so I doubt any seeds would survive.
Attachments
Sounds great, RubyToogood . I have chaenomeles x superba 'Crimson 'n'Gold - awful name, great plant. One of the stars of my little garden - in flower for weeks and weeks. Your garden sounds like a haven during these coming weeks.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Yes nice idea, thanks campanula. I will give that a go. I've got lots of little plant pots that will be ideal for it.
I also realized that the grass under my apple tree is a bit patchy I'll do that there. Filling in there would be particularly nice since it's covered in primroses at the moment, then covered with germander speedwell for a month or so, but nothing much in the summer. I did mean to get woodland type seeds but can't see them so will try with the meadow ones - hopefully there's enough light under the tree.
I also realized that the grass under my apple tree is a bit patchy I'll do that there. Filling in there would be particularly nice since it's covered in primroses at the moment, then covered with germander speedwell for a month or so, but nothing much in the summer. I did mean to get woodland type seeds but can't see them so will try with the meadow ones - hopefully there's enough light under the tree.
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
walked the pretty way back from my mum's via the park, was fucking beautiful out there. paused my really-necessary-journey under a magnolia for a bit
also apple blossom
also apple blossom
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