Preparing for Winter V

Cherryfudge

@sammy_kaye18, there's an app called 'Picture this' that identifies plants for you. I think it's American as some of the common names don't sound 'right' to my British ears, but it's very helpful for playing 'flower or weed'.  

Laura_Elsewhere

Cherryfudge said:

@sammy_kaye18, there's an app called 'Picture this' that identifies plants for you. I think it's American as some of the common names don't sound 'right' to my British ears, but it's very helpful for playing 'flower or weed'.  

But essential always to double-check from a better source before eating any plant because those apps are notorious for getting it spectacularly wrong at times… useful to find a possible-ID that you can then identify in other ways, but always do double-check!!

Primrose

For anybody with chilli plants, they will over winter indoors after cropping but you need to prune them hard back to the lowest main stems and change as much compost as possible as all the nutrients will have been exhausted.   If they don't yield  to whitefly over winter they will flower much earlier than newly sown seeds next spring and you'll get an earlier crop.  Important as these seeds are slow to germinate, even when sown in Jan or Feb indoors.

Laura_Elsewhere

Primrose said:

For anybody with chilli plants, they will over winter indoors after cropping but you need to prune them hard back to the lowest main stems and change as much compost as possible as all the nutrients will have been exhausted.   If they don't yield  to whitefly over winter they will flower much earlier than newly sown seeds next spring and you'll get an earlier crop.  Important as these seeds are slow to germinate, even when sown in Jan or Feb indoors.

Primrose, do you know if that would work with sweet pepper plants too? I was given three, but we really don't have indoor room for large plants so I planted them out and assumed the worst - but I do have one pepper forming! I could dig them up, cut them back and pot them up in fresh compost and they could live indoors on the communal stair windowsill til spring... for that matter, does anyone know if tomato plants can overwinter the same?

Cherryfudge

@Laura_Elsewhere, I've never had any luck with overwintering tomatoes but it would be wonderful if someone can make it work.  

Agree that the plant-identifying apps aren't always right: sometimes it nudges you to look at two or three alternatives so an alternative good source of reference is helpful - essential if you want to eat some of the plant! I've used it successfully but I have a bit of plant knowledge so perhaps my radar tells me if something doesn't ring true. I think one of the other things to be aware of is that common names of plants vary across the country and the same common name could even apply to a different plant, depending on where you are. Latin names are therefore very useful if it's important to get it right.

Wednesday2000

After doing some winter prep I wasn't expecting to feel this warm. It is very hot today. I really notice the difference in the south facing living room compared to the north facing one. I measured them and the south facing one got up to 26 yesterday! I have just moved my elderly cat's bed into the north facing room with her water bowl so she can be more comfortable.

boultdj

@Laura_Elsewhere, I've kept peppers over winter when I lived in the flat years ago, the following year the peppers were bigger than the first lot they gave me, and like @Primrose said they flower a lot earlier.

Living_proof

newlywed said:

After getting caught in thunderstorms on Thursday, my winter prep includes losing some weight so my walking coat will zip up…. Thankfully it has some poppers too so I could popper it up over my slightly smaller areas!

I have bought 2 mini jigsaw puzzles from charity shops (worlds smallest brand) and some dvds for winter days when you want to hibernate. Mostly I still go walking in different weathers (if my coat fits of course).

I have washed the autumn quilt and when we swap over I will wash the summer weight one ready to pop together for winter.

I need to wash hats gloves scarves…. I have a lot of those…. Thankfully they always seem to fit 

I need to wash the blankets and throws too - sofa cushions are done already.

the car needs some work from the main dealer (£180 just for a diagnostic to find out why the engine light is on ) it’s booked in for end October and OH needs new glasses too so I need to concentrate on the budget.

I am also interested what veg might grow over winter. We have a small raised bed with mostly sage and tomatoes in just now, as well as a sprouted onion I split and planted (2 sprouts seem to have survived).  I seem to have more success with rocket and rainbow chard planted in autumn than in spring as whatever eats the young shoots must be sleeping in autumn! 

Currently trying to beat the snails to the ripening tomatoes and have trimmed some leaves to let more light into the toms.

Regarding the fault and the cost of sorting it, it may be worth considering a fault code reader. I don’t personally know much about them but my friend has used one to good effect and they are very inexpensive. Amazon sell them and I am sure if you ask YouTube for fault code reader for the make and model of your car then plenty of good advice will be forthcoming. 

sammy_kaye18

@Cherryfudge and @Laura_Elsewhere
The plants I have in the front garden are not edible. I put down wildflower seeds so if they are anything they will be some sort of flower. My grandmother is a keen flower arranger and had been for over 60 years so I have sent her some pictures and will see what she comes back with but they are not for eating so I wont be making myself ill or anything but thanks for the worry. 

It is so hot here in south wales - was 22 when I woke up and now its 24 but has been raining. I cant cope with heat at all - I dont know if thats the perimenopause or the diabetes but it absolutely kicks my butt. 

Roll on Autumn weather when its wet and windy. Then Ill be a happy sammy. 

Prep for today is mainly going to be looking into a few bits for our van conversion - I have some macrame cord so Im thinking of making some bags for storage, husband has been working on the beds / seats etc and I will see if I can find some material for curtains to keep nosey people out and sun/moon light when we are camping

mumtoomany

hI, @Laura_Elsewhere. I overwintered some tomatoes last year, in the spare bedroom. My toms are all in the polytunnel and prone to blight! So i buy blight resistant seeds, but there are much dearer. So last year, before the frosts came I took some side shoots from the plants, stuck them in compost in pots and moved them inside. Around half took and survived, and gave me a head start this year. Try it, whats the worst that can happen? Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx