"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it"

Greying_Pilgrim

Morning Karmacat!

YAY! to the rescuing of plantlets! I would seek out the advice of more knowlegeable botanical folk than me, but I'd take a punt on the plants being more comfortable left in the ground rather than being repotted just before your hols. You can always make sure the soil is as moist as you can (bearing in mind you're on metered water) before you go - if they dry out, they dry out, but the potential is increased when they are potted. I do have an old oven tray that I use when going away to stand the pots (well watered) in about an inch or so of water - that has kept several pots going for a week.

Well, the weekend is turning out well for us, despite a ropey start. Tent was returned yesterday and a refund taken. We decided in the end that there was a (small) possibility that if the tent was part of a faulty batch (rather than a rogue), it was likely that the stock in that shop might have more faulty ones. We couldn't bear the thought of another 100 mile round trip to return the tent again, so called it a day. Pity though, a potentially well designed tent that would of been perfect for our needs. We ended up taking a picnic lunch, and calling in at a (different) NT property. We had a picnic outside, mooched around the gardens and watched the bumble bees going mad on the lavender, watched the 'hive' of activity going on at the honey bee hives and watched in fascination at hundreds and hundreds of tiny frogs (and possibly toads - there were 2 distinct sorts, but I don't know how to identify them) - literally the size of a thumbnail - making their way through the grass by the pond.

We've just done 3 hours up at the allotment - 6am is the best time to be there. We have done loads, got to see a sparrowhawk hunting (a female I think), watched the bees (red-tailed bumbles today) going mad on the borage, and most importantly, got a load of broad beans, chard, beetroot, courgettes and gooseberries to bring home. Oh, and mother nature had been at work whilst I was out 'playing' and the white turnips, that I've never grown before and got the seeds for 20p or something at the end of last year - have merrily grown into perfect round spheres! So we've a couple of those too. 3 things, at least, to be grateful for each day of this weekend - so all's well.

Hope your event in the local park this afternoon is good.

Better go, breakfast is ready.

Greying

Karmacat

Wow! You've done a lot! Shame about the tent .... but to be faced with that on an actual holiday would be horrible.

About the plants - I wasn't clear at all, sorry. I have lots that are currently in plantpots - a few that were bought that way, and most that were dug up from my previous house and brought with me in plant pots. I've been *very* slow in planting, but am having a tiny little surge at the moment - I could envisage another two or three being planted out into the ground, from their pots where they've been for about a year. Should I bother? Bearing in mind I'll be away for a week? Or should I just leave them and prepare the ground so that when I *do* plant stuff, its ready?

Have a nice brekkie.

Of course, I may well do nothing at all I feel quite lazy today :rotfl:

Karmacat

My word. I was just in the garden working on a corner I've hardly touched - trying to get rid of annual weeds before they seed, while leaving the nettles for the butterflies - very difficult to unwind convolvulus from nettles :eek:

And you know, I'm green - I try to do all of the right things, I know what we should be doing .... and yet, a part of me never really believed it.

Anyway, I realised I was right by this enormous blackcurrant plant, and I finally *get* the economics of gardening for food. I've always thought, but you have to buy so much, there can't be that much produce to be got, it must be twice as expensive as the shops.

Well, I ended up picking about half of the fruit from that plant - some is too ripe, some is too covered in weeds to get to and I was reaching the end of my tolerance for the sun - and I have a couple of the little punnets that go for £2 in the supermarkets, I'm sure. And thats without any care at all, or even any picking of last year's fruit - no watering, no pruning, no frost or snow protection. If I'd taken care of how I picked it, it would easily have given me £10 of fruit, I'm sure. I'm officially converted

ZTD

More importantly you know what went into it and on it. Everything from that teabag that was slung into that corner rather than walk to the bin, to that hedgehog that was caught short there, to every drop of rain and ray of sunshine that hits it...

Karmacat

Thats lovely, Z! Thank you :kisses3:

gilligansyle

That sounds just like my little pots in the yard. Generally they manage all by themselves, and produce enough salad stuff etc. to keep me going. After all, that's probably how it all was in the stone age. With little or no attention.

Well done on the realisation, that they'll grow anyway, with or without your help. With your help, they'll just do it better!

Karmacat

gilligansyle wrote: »

That sounds just like my little pots in the yard. Generally they manage all by themselves, and produce enough salad stuff etc. to keep me going. After all, that's probably how it all was in the stone age. With little or no attention.

Well done on the realisation, that they'll grow anyway, with or without your help. With your help, they'll just do it better!

I feel such a twit! I've always thought it was A Good Idea, but the proportions have really surprised me, thats what this is about. They're in the freezer now.

I did lots of pottering about yesterday evening preparing for today, so that I wasn't doing stupid stuff all morning. So today is:
- one hour paid work.
- one hour sort of voluntary work, giving a friend some peer supervision.
- more cleaning! Carpets are filthy, blah blah, you know the drill
- erm. Not sure what to do for the rest of the time - can't do too much thats physical - ooh, planting? I wonder if I could? - so it may have to be just scanning articles to declutter.

Cheery_Daff

Good stuff KC! They're the only type of plants that get to stay in my garden - the ones that look after themselves

(oh, and I reckon if you just cut the whole lot of nettles/convulvous down, the nettles will soon grow back again!)

Karmacat

Good point about the nettles and the convolvulus

Absolutely agree that the only ones who stay are the ones that look after themselves but seeing a fruiting bush that I'd treated that way, with that amount of fruit on, was a bit of a revelation :j:j:j

I think another cup of tea is called for, and then I'll get down to something proper at 9...

redsquirrel80

Morning! Well done on the plant rescue, and a lovely gardening moment Got my seeds this morning thank you :kisses3: