The gardening thread

[two sheds]

I'd say rest a couple of days until your back is better.

Eta: not sure where you are but forecast is rain for tomorrow then a couple of weeks of niceish weather unless bbc is lying to us






again

 

[TopCat]

A day of rest pondering the design of the beds has to be worth it. If I can finalise the design I can make them up in a day. If not I can see my compost getting nicked by crafty older people round here, a handful at a time off of my drive.

 

[two sheds]

landmines

 

[TopCat]

I’m trying to avoid the beds looking too twee. I don’t want to resemble totally a new entrant to vegetable gardening who likes things very tidy.

 

[TopCat]

Design is done. Essentially I will build two sixteen foot long by four and a half feet wide by one and a half foot tall boxes.
I am going to prep the ground. Got a ruined path to bash up and remove. The glyphosate I sprayed about ten days ago on assorted docks and ivy and couch grass appears to have had no effect.

 

[iona]

Someone's been planting lavender and herbs in the hollows of tree stumps all over Hove

I'm going to start doing the ones round my way too

 

[Artaxerxes]

3 rows of beetroot in (honestly didn't realise I had that much seed) and 2 rows of radishes.

I'kl probably do something along the lines of this with the glut of radishes, I didn't make the best use of them last year so most went to seed.

 

[iona]

That looks good Artaxerxes

Cabbage bastard shitcunt root fly did for a load of my allotment radishes last year. Sowed a load last week but I'll keep them in the garden, where root fly doesn't seem to be an issue, later in the year. Already sowed first carrots and beetroot too, chard and allotment tomatoes still need doing and various things waiting to be pricked out. Accidentallied more top fruit as well since buying rootstocks and scionwood separately works out at like a fiver per tree (tape them together then stick them in the ground - flat pack fruit trees!)

Got a couple of potential customers lined up for the little side business I was looking at setting up selling veg as plug plants so shitloads of seed-sowing to do once those are confirmed.

 

[bimble]

when seeds are extremely tiny, how are you supposed to handle them for sowing? (for instance petunia just now, so small it made my fingers impossibly clumsy but can't think what sort of thing to use. Maybe paper folded into a spout shape??

 

[iona]

when seeds are extremely tiny, how are you supposed to handle them for sowing? (for instance petunia, so small it made my fingers impossibly clumsy but cant think what sort of thing to use. Maybe paper folded into a spout shape??

Put a fold in the lip of the seed packet, hold it a good ways above the soil or whatever you're sowing into and horizontal, not tipped facing downwards at all. Gently tap packet with your finger to knock the seed out.
Like this:

You can mix seed with sand too if it's really fine. This makes it easier to see where you've sown it too. I just find this results in sand getting fucking everywhere mind.

 

[TopCat]

Got to smash and remove a path today and then dig over the prospective veg patch. Then strip some turf to create a meadow space.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Well yesterday evening at dusk this was purple broccoli ready to eat. I was going to pick it in the next day or so

Today some fucker ate it.

 

[StoneRoad]

Last couple of sessions outside have been demolishing an old fence, and then thinning out the dead twigs plus pruning the rugerosas, By Gum, those are spiney so-and-sos ! loads of thin, very pointy thorns / spines.

Loads of snowdrops still doing their thing, and a few daffillips may be thinking about showing buds.
Glad the snowdrops have been prolific - there was a bumble bee visiting them this afternoon.

Various areas have had a "spring" clean ...
Another burn-up beckons after dinner.

 

[bimble]

i want to move a jasmine plant.
I think it's a tough bastard, originates from Tescos in brixton circa 2018, it fell from my second floor windowsill there and survived fine,
has been in its place here for almost two years but i'd really like to put something else where its currently sat.
It's about as tall as me, I don't want it to die, I respect it even if i don't love it, will it be alright?

 

[TopCat]

I removed a path yesterday and started to remove grass turfs prior to digging until wine and rain stopped play.

 

[bimble]

Jasmine has moved, which involved untwining it from the trellis very gently and then trying to make it feel comfortable twining in the new one, i think its going to be fine.

I do talk to plants quite a lot, saying encouraging things, or appologising. I assume this is completely fine and normal.

 

[wayward bob]

i apologise to spiders all the time

 

[iona]

I say hello and apologise to birds and insects, apart from pest insects and that fucking pigeon who just get told to fuck off. Suspect I mostly swear at plants but in a fond-but-exasperated way, not nastily

Just picked up two big bags of wool for slug deterrent mulch experiments

 

[TopCat]

Well despite a little hangover I got back out today. I removed all the grass remains from the prospective vegetable beds/patch by using an azeda low to the ground and slicing through the turfs.

Then I double dug this half of the veg patch (I did the other half a week ago).

I have now plotted out where the path will go and gave begun levelling the whole plot. The wood for the raised beds is due tomorrow. The compost is due any time now 2000 litres.

I have not checked yet to see if the wheelbarrow will fit through the sidegate. I hope so. It will be hard enough barrowing it all
even if the wheelbarrow can get out to the driveway where the compost will be dropped off.

Lidl have some cheap fruit bushes at the moment. I got red currants and black currants and am going back to look for loads of gooseberries. Decent strawberries too.

I got a cold frame from Lidl but beware it’s beyond fragile and overpriced.

Finally I am really pleased to pay for a brown garden waste wheelie bin. I can get so much in and the well tipped dust crews don’t mind.

 

[TopCat]

i water everything with a can because i can't make the hose-fit thing fit

Take and post a pic of the hose fitting and the tap.

 

[iona]

My fruit order that kept being delayed has been cancelled because they're not allowed to take payment and leave it this long without delivering goods or something apparently

 

[TopCat]

I only got a shovel today. I love it already. When you are forced to use a spade as a shovel, well I get upset with every inefficient back aching scrape. A good shovel though is a really good tool.

 

[TopCat]

My fruit order that kept being delayed has been cancelled because they're not allowed to take payment and leave it this long without delivering goods or something apparently

Have you got much coming?

 

[iona]

Phwoar TopCat I love a good shovel Wheelbarrows too There's a massive wheelbarrow on one of the farms I work at, that I always get to use coz everyone hates how big and heavy it is. Really want one of those.

Have you got much coming?

Two redcurrants and two gooseberries. Gonna get a tayberry and an ugni molinae ("chilean guava") too if the nursery I'm trying to do a replacement order with now still has them in stock.

Already planted blackcurrants x2 and about 6m of raspberry canes. Got strawberries coming as well but from a different supplier so not expecting issues with those.

 

[TopCat]

Phwoar TopCat I love a good shovel Wheelbarrows too There's a massive wheelbarrow on one of the farms I work at, that I always get to use coz everyone hates how big and heavy it is. Really want one of those.

Two redcurrants and two gooseberries. Gonna get a tayberry and an ugni molinae ("chilean guava") too if the nursery I'm trying to do a replacement order with now still has them in stock.

Already planted blackcurrants x2 and about 6m of raspberry canes. Got strawberries coming as well but from a different supplier so not expecting issues with those.

Where are you growing all this btw? Can we have pics?

 

[TopCat]

Phwoar TopCat I love a good shovel Wheelbarrows too There's a massive wheelbarrow on one of the farms I work at, that I always get to use coz everyone hates how big and heavy it is. Really want one of those.

Two redcurrants and two gooseberries. Gonna get a tayberry and an ugni molinae ("chilean guava") too if the nursery I'm trying to do a replacement order with now still has them in stock.

Already planted blackcurrants x2 and about 6m of raspberry canes. Got strawberries coming as well but from a different supplier so not expecting issues with those.

I got a full size wheelbarrow from Draper. It was the biggest I could find as I can handle that but forgot about the narrow side enterence it needs to traverse. Its great though. Nice to have one that does not have three kilos of cement stuck to it.

 

[TopCat]

What do people think about those long handled spade come shovels that are popular in the US? You see them in the movies digging graves and Lidl have them in stock. Five foot shaft. Spade edge with shovel curves.

 

[two sheds]

My fruit order that kept being delayed has been cancelled because they're not allowed to take payment and leave it this long without delivering goods or something apparently

And not allowed to tell you about it while there's still time?

 

[two sheds]

Phwoar TopCat I love a good shovel Wheelbarrows too There's a massive wheelbarrow on one of the farms I work at, that I always get to use coz everyone hates how big and heavy it is. Really want one of those.

Two redcurrants and two gooseberries. Gonna get a tayberry and an ugni molinae ("chilean guava") too if the nursery I'm trying to do a replacement order with now still has them in stock.

Already planted blackcurrants x2 and about 6m of raspberry canes. Got strawberries coming as well but from a different supplier so not expecting issues with those.

I got a Walsall wheebarrow to replace the one I had which died RIP . I'm impressed - it's much lighter and I paid a bit extra for the non-puncturable wheel. Loads easier for barrowing things around

 

[iona]

Where are you growing all this btw? Can we have pics?

My mum's allotment that she got last year and agreed I could have a little strip of for my own in exchange for weeding etc (whole plot was overgrown after previous tenant died and it sat empty for a while). Since then it's somehow become mostly my allotment There's pics earlier in the thread but this was yesterday:

Our bit goes up as far as that second piece of membrane in the second pic.

Also got a paved garden shared between the 30-odd flats in the supported accommodation block where I live. Grew stuff in pots out there last year. This year I've accidentally agreed to run a gardening club here but waiting for housing association to order a load of compost before I can get much growing here. No pics of that till it's less of a shit tip probably some from past year if you search the thread though.

Then there's the indoor plants, the fruit trees I'm hoping to "donate" to someone in exchange for the space for growing them, the thing I'm trying to get started of selling veg plug plants to gardening clients and to/through other farmy foody places I know...