The gardening thread

[bimble]

Very popular (were rock gardens) , in the 1930's , so I read somewhere.

Yep. See also.. stumperies!

 

[TopCat]

I’m going to weed around the street tree outside later, add some compost and flower seedlings.

 

[bimble]

Moving rocks in the rain and cold feels a bit heroic but just a small sunny spell would be so nice, not a one forecast til wednesday

 

[TopCat]

I haven’t found it too bad this weather. Thankfully I have a solid table to work on and a gazebo and a heated gilet.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Assembling seeds to plant this weekend, and making paper tubes for more windowsill plants (tomatillos and tomato's) to plant today.

 

[gentlegreen]

I spotted a neighbour laying turf yesterday and realised that's what I will need to do to return my back garden to vanilla before I sell the place - not least because I mostly organised it as a "jungle" by dumping a whole pallet of round gravel on it - how long before the gravel starts coming up through the turf ?

Or will I have to cart a tonne of topsoil through the house as well ?

Using turf means I can leave it till the last minute, but annoyingly I am still going to have to buy a lawnmower ....

 

[bimble]

gentlegreen i've been thinking about your plans to turn your garden into a lawn in order to sell your house, it makes me a bit sad that you feel this is necessary. I think that its very likely not necessary to do, you know. Especially if you can choose to sell your house in Spring / Summer when all your flowers are blooming. Do you feel that people won't buy the house unless it looks like all the other houses ? It might sell for a bit less if its eccentric but still.

 

[bimble]

rock garden! (day one but need a rest now ouch)

 

[gentlegreen]

gentlegreen i've been thinking about your plans to turn your garden into a lawn in order to sell your house, it makes me a bit sad that you feel this is necessary. I think that its very likely not necessary to do, you know. Especially if you can choose to sell your house in Spring / Summer when all your flowers are blooming. Do you feel that people won't buy the house unless it looks like all the other houses ? It might sell for a bit less if its eccentric but still.

I've been somewhat creative with my photography over the years !

Not only do I need to dispose of a greenhouse and renew the fences, I have bamboo to remove and an unfinished concrete block building I started in 1995 so I can get the back re-rendered ...
And I will have to lay a patio.

I suspect whoever buys my place may well add-on a kitchen-diner like my neigbour has.

The front garden is going to be a buffer area for rubble and rubbish for the next year at least ...

I may well do something with the front garden - certainly not a lawn - though people are tending to pave them because parking is in short supply..

 

[bimble]

gentlegreen if the gravel is smallish then grass seeds absolutely love it, i have a gravel driveway and its basically lawn now because i dont care about the driveway. Grass & other seeds get in the warm sheltered bits between the gravel and thrive, i dont think you will need to get topsoil.

 

[gentlegreen]

gentlegreen if the gravel is smallish then grass seeds absolutely love it, i have a gravel driveway and its basically lawn now because i dont care about the driveway. Grass & other seeds get in the warm sheltered bits between the gravel and thrive, i dont think you will need to get topsoil.

It's 10-20mm - sitting on top of very free-draining sandy-ish soil.
I will see what it's like when the ground is clear and I start raking it - a lot of it will have sunk over the years...

 

[TopCat]

Compost has come. It can sit on the drive. The wheelbarrow gets out of the side entrance which is fab. The beds are not finished. I am having a rain break.

 

[Little Piranha]

My front window sill is almost at capacity now, and the back one is not far off. Everything is coming up nicely except the chillies. Three varieties and sod all happening as yet, even in the propagator


I have a shitload of seeds, some of which I definitely won't use that I got free with magazines. Maybe everyone's in the same position but if anyone wants some I'd be happy to post, I don't like the thought of them going to waste.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Chillies take a fucking age to show up and not helped by this grey weather

 

[iona]

Chillies take a fucking age to show up and not helped by this grey weather

I stick mine in the oven! Near enough 100% germination within a week

 

[TopCat]

I stick mine in the oven! Near enough 100% germination within a week

Are you funnin?

 

[two sheds]

nah it means they germinate and cook simultaneously, saves all that faffing about

 

[TopCat]

Must go buy some chillis to get seeds from. This drizzle does not encourage hard work. I am spying out the front window daring older folk to come nick my lovely compost.

 

[iona]

Electric oven, just the light on. Stays at a pretty consistent 28°C.

TopCat do you want any chilli seeds stuck in the post? Seeds saved from shop chillies won't necessarily come out the same variety.

 

[TopCat]

Electric oven, just the light on. Stays at a pretty consistent 28°C.

TopCat do you want any chilli seeds stuck in the post? Seeds saved from shop chillies won't necessarily come out the same variety.

Yeah lovely. Will pm you the address.

 

[iona]

Yeah lovely. Will pm you the address.

Cool, will send you a list of what varieties I have when I'm home in a bit.

Anyone else wanting any seeds - there's a seed swap thread here I unsuccessfully tried bumping a while ago and I literally have a box of spare seeds I carry around to give away to anyone who'll take them so please ask if you want anything

 

[Idaho]

Got stuck into the allotment on my lunch break. Sowed peas (Kelvedon Wonder) and sugarsnap peas (Sugar Bon). Dug 2 potato trenches, filled with compost and did 1 row of Desiree and another of Charlotte. Twatted some fecking couch grass with an azada - felt good.

If you're going to start planting then I suppose I should, on the principle of not being the first or the last.

Will get the peas and spuds in and maybe the carrots.

 

[TopCat]

If you're going to start planting then I suppose I should, on the principle of not being the first or the last.

Will get the peas and spuds in and maybe the carrots.

How is your allotment these days?

 

[Idaho]

All good thanks. I use horticultural paper on the beds over winter, so getting it planted up in spring is a breeze. One job I really need to do is sure up the crappy fruit cage. I spent £300 on it and mother nature pissed herself laughing at it and smashed it to fuck over the last couple of winters.

 

[Little Piranha]

I just bought these sweetpeas 2 for 1. Should I plant them straight in the ground or into bigger pots? And should I separate each plant?

 

[iona]

Gardening group is go First session on Monday 12/4 (subject to lockdown rules). Housing association have ordered a load of compost and I think I've convinced them to buy a water butt as well as a new shed. Just got a load of freecycle airwrap packaging to make covers for the freecycle growhouse frames and I'm hoping local houseplant shop will give me a load of little pots for starting seeds in (they often left a box out for people to help themselves, back when you could just walk into shops for a browse). Need to clear all my crap out of the old shed and sketch out a rough sowing & planting plan now.

 

[bimble]

View attachment 259230

I just bought these sweetpeas 2 for 1. Should I plant them straight in the ground or into bigger pots? And should I separate each plant?

I want to know the answer to this too!
That's pretty much exactly what mine look like, though i separated them, which i still don't know if it was the right thing to do or not.
And want to know do they need support at that young age already?
can they go in the ground yet?
And exactly where do you pinch out the tops?

 

[Artaxerxes]

Electric oven, just the light on. Stays at a pretty consistent 28°C.

TopCat do you want any chilli seeds stuck in the post? Seeds saved from shop chillies won't necessarily come out the same variety.

Maybe I could put them in the dehydrator

 

[campanula]

Grief, I have missed pages and pages of this thread - no idea where to join in. Spades, I guess, since I have strong feelings about these. Topcat, I have recently fallen back in love with Bulldog tools. They have a very good range of digging tools (I have quite a few, including some decent fencing spades and at least 2 with quite oddly shaped blades). My (tall) digging partners like a long handle, but I was taught how to use a spade by a very old school horticultural tutor... involves leverage and hand-placing and fulcrums and stuff like that, and I really like having a proper D-shaped handle.

So, starting with the tomatoes, I have had an orgy of seed sowing. From PlantWorld, Special Plants, ViridisHortus and even a smattering of T&M's 99p packets, I have sown about 30ish varieties of flowers and a dozen lots of tomatoes. Sitting alongside all the autumn sowings, my benches are full. I have a couple of weeks before the annual pricking out panic and watering mania. Raising my own plants is a huge part of being a gardener (for me).
Sweet peas - I have some in root-trainers which I will plant separately because they were sown in single modules, but the ones in 5 inch pots will get put in one hole ( have 5-6 in each pot. They do not like root disturbance and will sulk for 3 weeks or so but will recover.
If I was wanting chillies (or bell peppers), I think I would be looking to buy a plant or 2. They need a long growing season i used to start them off the same time as onions back when I grew them).

 

[TopCat]

I built my beds. They are too heavy to move for my partner. Got a mate coming tomorrow to get them in position. Filled all my containers with compost. Window boxes, pots, tubs, all sorts.

I must be unfit as I am very drained.