The gardening thread

[gentlegreen]

They say all these things are a spring treat, but for some reason we always want to grow lettuce and watercress instead ...
Chickweed and of course nettles are the other ones they rave about.
And the French deliberately grow and eat dandelions and still insist on calling it "pisenlit" ... I imagine they must use a particular kind of dressing - but they're weird - they rave about "les tripes" ...
All I have is hairy bittercress and that tasted disgusting when I tried it - but then I think rocket tastes like burnt rubber....

 

[gentlegreen]

I've also got wild onions which seem to be spreading madly. I'd eat them but they're quite deep and quite small. I may go and strim them. And the bloody spanish bluebells which I must soon attack with a garden fork to pull them up where possible.

I'm no purist. I've yet to have a spring when I wasn't glad of my Spanish bluebells when I haven't got anything else happening and last year I made sure to chuck forgetmenot seed absolutely everywhere and it's paid-off - those two plants I've had ever since I moved in 38 years ago ...

I watched that little brown oxalis march out of a potted conifer next door and march all the way up the street. It's still around while the tree is long gone ...

 

[two sheds]

I've put some salad burnet in which I'd not heard of but surprisingly enough they say you can put in salads. We shall see.

 

[Calamity1971]

They say all these things are a spring treat, but for some reason we always want to grow lettuce and watercress instead ...
Chickweed and of course nettles are the other ones they rave about.
And the French deliberately grow and eat dandelions and still insist on calling it "pisenlit" ... I imagine they must use a particular kind of dressing - but they're weird - they rave about "les tripes" ...
All I have is hairy bittercress and that tasted disgusting when I tried it - but then I think rocket tastes like burnt rubber....

I hate bittercress, once got an exploding seed lodged in my eye and had to get it cut out at hospital. I squint when I weed them bastards now.

 

[two sheds]

Yep I encourage forgetmenots and they've taken over one patch of the garden, very sweet.

I can't forgive the thuggish spanish bluebells though, they're threatening our pretty english non-foreign ones

 

[Calamity1971]

I've put some salad burnet in which I'd not heard of but surprisingly enough they say you can put in salads. We shall see.

I love salad burnet ( never tasted it) greater burnet is gorgeous .

 

[gentlegreen]

I've put some salad burnet in which I'd not heard of but surprisingly enough they say you can put in salads. We shall see.

It actually does taste a bit like cucumber.
They planted a herb bed at work and I made a point of tasting everything...

 

[Calamity1971]

I must have dug a hundred bulbs up last year, but the Spanish bluebells have appeared again.

 

[two sheds]

I admire your dedication. I must have a couple of hundred - they're in amongst other plants I want though

 

[contadino]

I put a bag of Tassel Grape Hyacinth in a corner of my allotment a few years ago which have established themselves. Last year I got a bowl of them and left the rest. This year it's looking more like a carrier bag. They can be cured and are otherwise known as Lampascioni. They grow better in the UK than Italy.

Also, french sorrel does well in spring. It's perennial, and is a bit like young spinach but has a sort of citrus tang to it.

 

[StoneRoad]

Did you or anyone find it was really bad last year. I've never seen so much before.

Only slightly worse cleaver infestation than usual last year for me, because I've been ripping it out ... but I've got it among my raspberries [also nettles] and access isn't good at the moment in that area. Actually, that's the next area due to be revamped after the current section is finished.
What will be rebuilt was, and will be again, my allotment area / sheds but currently has loads of junk dumped in it, as work has progressed in other areas.

My plant problem is that I've got Bindweed in the rugosas, although the bees like it.
Last year it flourished, despite me yanking out the bits I could reach easily ...

 

[gentlegreen]

We're all missing a trick here :-

 

[The39thStep]

They say all these things are a spring treat, but for some reason we always want to grow lettuce and watercress instead ...
Chickweed and of course nettles are the other ones they rave about.
And the French deliberately grow and eat dandelions and still insist on calling it "pisenlit" ... I imagine they must use a particular kind of dressing - but they're weird - they rave about "les tripes" ...
All I have is hairy bittercress and that tasted disgusting when I tried it - but then I think rocket tastes like burnt rubber....

I used to make nettle, potato, and wild gar;ic soup when I was in the UK in Spring

 

[gentlegreen]

In my hoped-for future garden I will definitely have nettles for several reasons.

 

[gentlegreen]

The fencing materials came today and my neighbour wasn't there, but most of it's for me anyway so I've hauled it through my house and I'm knackered - 11 feather-edge fence panels, posts gravel boards arris rail and a stack of bags of concrete in what I laughingly call my "hall" that I will haul through the house tomorrow.
I'm proper knackered.

 

[two sheds]

My fence came the other day, I'm standing the posts in wood preserver at the moment

 

[gentlegreen]

My fence came the other day, I'm standing the posts in wood preserver at the moment

I live 1 1/2 miles from where Brunel set up a tar factory to creosote his railway sleepers

 

[gentlegreen]

The first five giant sunflower seeds are on the move as are the purslane and I now have to figure out how I'm actually going to use my French Marigolds
They're luxuriating under a 5 watt Screwfix warm white COB MR16 lamp...



Now that my back garden plans are firming up, I have a chance to allow some of the sunflowers to max-out in the sunshine - maybe I should grow beans up them

 

[two sheds]

I live quite close to one of the first factories for making safe dynamite fuses - before that they used to go off pretty well randomly, not good in an underground tin mine.

 

[gentlegreen]

I live quite close to one of the first factories for making safe dynamite fuses - before that they used to go off pretty well randomly, not good in an underground tin mine.

I went down the 18th century mine at Geevor and they explained all about the pig fat for candles and the quill fuses - and the shed to get into when they lit the damn things ...

 

[two sheds]

Enjoyed walking round Geevor.

They generally used to build weak roof structures on places housing dynamite so that any explosion went up rather than across (which you probably already knew)

Also liked Blue Hills mine. It's got a reconstruction of a buddle (PHOTO 2004 BLUE HILLS TIN STREAMING WORKS ST AGNES CORNWALL THIS A BUDDLE THAT | eBay is only picture I can see of it). Brush type arrangements swept round to separate out the heavier tin from soil.

 

[TopCat]

Emptied the big compost bin today. It’s been years. Rats have got in and brought lots of shredded plastic. This annoys me hugely.

 

[mrsfran]

3 hours down the plot this afternoon - pulled up and re-laid a couple of woodchip paths and mulched the gooseberry & currant bed. I'm working v slowly because of a recent operation, but it's getting there.

 

[StoneRoad]

Was rather too wet yesterday / overnight for much outside work today.

I did manage a few short sessions, but there's a cold wind and my TN is very easily stirred up atm.

 

[gentlegreen]

Was rather too wet yesterday / overnight for much outside work today.

I did manage a few short sessions, but there's a cold wind and my TN is very easily stirred up atm.

tuit nullification ?

 

[gentlegreen]

I managed to haul all the fencing materials through the house to the back garden - 11 panels, posts, 21 bags of post mix stacked on a pallet in the middle of the garden.
The new neighbour on the right has planted an impressive collection of shade-tolerant perennials.
I'm hoping none of them will need lifting, but they're in safe hands if they do.

 

[gentlegreen]

I really should have sawn that tree fern stump down - it's a bit of fakery in any case - then I could plonk it in the front garden.
I'm not sure about the cordyline.
It was almost a tree once, but it looks a bit sad now and I've not plucked up the courage to remove the freebie sycamore that's taken root in there.
I rather think the freebie peach tree in the front garden will be coming out. it's in the wrong place, flowering was patchy and it's playing host to fungus now ...
I may do some measuring up to see if I could dig a really big hole and bury enough of the tree fern trunk to make it work...

 

[StoneRoad]

tuit nullification ?

Sorry, to explain TN = Trigeminal Neuralgia. A pain in the facial nerves, that is exceptionally unpleasant when in an acute phase. Often "set off" by exposure to a cold / damp wind.

 

[gentlegreen]

Just the usual start of gardening year moderate back ache here - but I made all my lifting mistakes when I was young.
And I'm hoping the hint of gout in my big toe isn't going to go full-on just because I'm still a bit overweight and drinking a little too much wine ...

 

[TopCat]

I have planted out some tender stuff. Chillis and peppers. They were started indoors under a light then a sunny window. Hope for the best with the weather.
Sowed peas. Broad beans are coming through. Wonder if my campaign against the aphid farming ants will allow them to grow. Got pak Choi and chard to go in somewhere. Plus thirty tomato plants, most of which I will give away.
Thirty pots of basil too.