The Potting Shed - come on in, the kettle's on!

Optimisticpair

Dustykitten wrote: »

Morning all

We've had much needed rain overnight so hopefully the butts are replenishing. Hoping it stops in a bit as I have some planting out to do.

Has anybody planted their dahlias yet? I usually start mine in buckets to get them going and give them a chance against the slugs. A couple which have stayed in large pots all winter are starting to shoot but I have the rest to do.

I planted some garlic last year (just cloves from a supermarket bulb). They now have long green shoots - how do I know when they are ready or will they acutally grow into new garlic?

WestonDave hope the paint has turned white. DH has been doing outside maintenance and replaced the coldframe glazing and the broken playhouse window yesterday plus chopped up a large pile of wood which was just dumped blocking the woodstore and garden wheelie bin. I too have a sandpit which is nolonger used to sort out. It is sunken and made of sleepers and I'm not sure what to turn it into.

Garlic - each clove grows into a bulb with several cloves and you harvest after the leaves have gone yellow and brown. Could be at the end of June.

A sandpit? Sounds like a new raised bed, um sunken raised bed, to me :rotfl:

savemoney

My water butt is about 95% empty and has been for 10 days or more

slight bit of rain went in it last night, surprised given the flat large flat roof that feeds the water butt it didnt get much fuller

I am going to order another water butt soon and link the two from local water company as they £10 cheaper than evergreen

Did my daily watering of plants in plastic greenhouse, sown on some radish's from greenhouse into raised beds and also put some more red onions in which I put in some seed trays to bring on.

I put some peas in last week but not come up yet got them free from a lady who knows someone who works for shops taking off old seeds off the shelves. Hope they germinate soon

Money_maker

Talking of slow worms, we had a very short, fat one slither across the path yesterday (warm day, must've been sunbathing). I picked it up to show DD (2) then put it back. Very plump and rather grey in colour (usually quite pinky).

I have quite a few around the compost bins at the bottom of the garden but they have to be careful as the hens are partial to them. Reminds me of the time I rescued one from my hens, left the run then heard them getting excited again. So I rushed back in and extracted the wriggling slow worm from my hens beak - when I got out, I realised it was a wriggling half a slow worm (tail end). I did scream!

ginnyknit

Is it me or is everything coming up slowly this year? my pea shoots seem to be doing the best and they were from a pack of marrowfats leftover from soup. Courgettes have done well on windowsill but everything else is quite small in the greenhouse. I was given some black sweetcorn and they are about 3 inches high so far so my 3 sisters bed will have to wait a couple of weeks I think. Yay rain in Manchester, never thought I would be waiting for wet weather here! So its radishes all round soon and thats all except salad leaves

savemoney

Yes I noticed is seems slower this year, I think its just been as little colder than normal despite dry weather.

ginnyknit wrote: »

Is it me or is everything coming up slowly this year? my pea shoots seem to be doing the best and they were from a pack of marrowfats leftover from soup. Courgettes have done well on windowsill but everything else is quite small in the greenhouse. I was given some black sweetcorn and they are about 3 inches high so far so my 3 sisters bed will have to wait a couple of weeks I think. Yay rain in Manchester, never thought I would be waiting for wet weather here! So its radishes all round soon and thats all except salad leaves

boultdj

Afternoon All,mine's a tea please, got back from work today and all the tulip's in the front garden where open,came in to the house with a big grin on my face, checked my seed's I planted last sunday and found 4 of the courget's,3 tumbling tom's,1 dwarf runner bean and the new pot of lettice had come up so the grin's even bigger now, especialy as the courget's last year said stuff it and I had to buy them.we're just having a heavy shower at the moment but it's starting to brighten up which is a shame cause like a lot of other's the water butt's need filling.

heynonnynonny

Can't believe the size of my courgette seedlings they are beastly, never grown any veg before let alone from seed so - woohoo!!:D

boultdj

OK I'v stuck the kettle on, just finished potting on the courgett's,chillie's and some cutting's from a geranium plant. The big bumble bee's are back this year in my garden,every time I go near a blackcurrent bush I get bumpted in to by them[bush's are in pot's] but I'm so glad to see them I might get more than 1 pear + 3 apple's off my tree's this year with more pollinator's around.

Primrose

I planted my two biggest courgette seedlings out on the plot today, covered with individual cloches. We're going away for 4 days over the week-end and I was worried about them drying out and getting potbound, so hope they'll be OK.
All my celeriac seedlings now planted out, and a dozen lettuce seedings.
Peas seedings, only a couple of inches high, have so far managed to avoid the attention of the slugs.
Because I've worked hard today in the garden AND been to a Keep Fit Class, I think I'll have a Gin and tonic please .

Orange_King

I think I have gone overboard with the seedlings now - at least 12 courgettes and about 40 tomato plants, not to mention cucumber and chillis and the peppers now in the propagator. Hope the plugs get a shift on and can be moved outdoors soon or I'll be invading the conservatory again.