Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Funny old day. Started with beautiful sunshine then cloud and a feeling of impending doom.

I'm also out of sorts and taking a break from the garden partly because of the freezing cold wind but mostly because in my tiny plot the terminal disease of the plum tree that is bearing fruit and it has the green plum aphids already - the dwarf cherry has already become infested with cherry blackfly. Added to nearly loosing a couple of big plants to the previous drought, the ants trying to invade already and the gales taking the fence down its just too depressing.

However I have looked up remedys for the cherry blackfly so I'll toddle off in the rain tomorrow with retrubition in my heart.

Wonder if Teatree would help the canker? It works for Atheletes foot.

RAS

twopenny
It's really difficult when you've only got a small garden and so have to limit yourself to one or two plants of each genus, as they become much treasured.

At least that was my experience when I could barely afford two apple trees for my  small/tiny garden when I bought with a 15% interest rate on the mortgage. They were tended and cosseted and worried over.  I did have a very naff allotment (one third un-productive and half in shade because of a huge hedge on the south side) with a few fruit bushes but...

Then I learned to graft and made my own trees. I've been threatening to cut down one of the original trees for the last three years as it's susceptible to woolly aphid and seems to attract other nasties, and I've got a self made James Grieve that has canker round more than three quarters of the main trunk, which I thought would fall over given the fruit load. 

This spring the original tree has decided to set masses of flower buds for the first time in ages, so it's got a reprieve. I've allowed a shoot from below the canker on the James Grieve (which seems no longer to be active) to grow into an alternative trunk. In the next year or two as the fruit buds form on the newer growth, I'll take out the old main stem. 

So out of chaos I've slowly got some sort of equilibrium, partly because I wasn't fit enough to deal with the problems at the time and partly because I have other trees with which to balance things out.

If I did it again, I'd grow the trees at home as cordons, because you can get a lot more in any 18 foot length (around nine).  Although I've added two and grafted a couple of other bits onto the originals to improve the fruit set.

You may not get what you want this year, but with time and patience, it will get better.

Davesnave

I felt like you 2p in relation to the fields, which are not looking their best for May. The dry weather seems to have favoured the weeds, with thistles in particular popping up almost overnight in large quantities. Heaven knows, no thistle has bloomed there since 2009, but they come back year on year.

In the wild area below the mini wood I decided to bite the bullet and brushcut the grass. It won't be done again till next March, but it was so thick I was having trouble planting perennials into it! I've a few like Asclepias which will bring the butterflies.

Sorry, no idea about plums. Some of ours had silverleaf so I culled them, and the remainder have canker but still produce. I like the damson, which just does its thing without bother, despite being in a climate not very suited to plummy things. Most of the apples are just coming into flower now, so with the frost behind us (?) may be OK. Again, I just take pot luck. Last autumn with my bad tooth at at that time, I didn't eat one, but the hens and Pete's pigs did OK!

Farway

Lovely long rain at last, ideal for sitting indoors & watching it knowing it's setting in my runners & sunflowers, on the downside it's lubricating the ground for slugs / snails to rush over & eat them

Due to weather, it's very windy as well. I'm leaving my tender plants inside for the day

RAS said:

If I did it again, I'd grow the trees at home as cordons, because you can get a lot more in any 18 foot length (around nine). 

Me too, if I could start over I'd go for cordons or espaliers, probably cordons with lots of varieties, and learn to graft so my espaliers would be multi variety.

I've not peered closely at my single cherry or plum but I bet the greenflies are there, luckily I also have blue tits nesting next door and watch them flitting around for food so I expect they've spotted any bugs I miss

There was a goldfinch the other day up against my conservatory windows feeding off the spiders sheltering under the eaves

Because of the forecast weather I pulled my rhubarb yesterday for the first HG fruit crumble of the year

One of the crowns was given to me last year by nonagenarian [96 next week] who reckons the crowns are at least 30 years old, he acquired them in a similar manner

He continues to garden, I dropped some tomato plants round yesterday morning and he had completed putting up his bean canes the day before. Hope for us all there

Here's my crumble at stage one

twopenny

Wow that's a clean bin! Gorgeous rhubarb.

The one I grew best was a root that wouldn't grow and I tossed it onto a pile of stone in the corner of the garden. It flourished there for years with no care.

Thanks for the moral support everyone. I've been and bought some bug spray as recommended by the RHS site. I tried a variety or mild organic last year with no effect, was going to start there again then thought while the bees and bugs aren't around I'll go for the heavy mob. My little cherry isn't big enought to deal with these bugs. And I'll do a winter wash this year. Stuff I've never had to consider with a big garden and old established trees.

I was going to make them espaliers then saw the garden had a 'fringe' and was uninteresting so decided to have some bulk.

The Tree Heather (Exeter) is showing signs of green emerging so there's hope. I was so impressed with seeing it grown as a tree at Greencombe and the amount of scent from it that it may make a smaller version of that.

I had thought of the back garden being a mini orchard but I may be using the Badger run for a few more apples if I can get a fork into it. Plants put there seems to be doing ok. More shade than the over hot back one.

The fruit trees are growing more 'pom poms' in the way of leaves despite pruning. Do you think they will throw out some more branches once the sun comes? Wishing I'd spent more money on the ready pruned ones at the garden centre now but it is what it is. I'm impatient never having to start from scratch before.

pink_poppy

My puny, mostly green offerings, topped and tailed. I have no idea if they were all ready to be pulled, but the deed is done. I don’t mind ‘tart’ fruit if that’s the only problem with pulling them out too early. I’ve got a Bramley apple (bought) that’s going spare so I thought I’d bung that in with the rhubarb when I make my crumble.
What do you do with the leaves, Farway?? Can they go in the compost??

You sound a bit more positive today, twopenny. I liked the sound of the tree heather when you mentioned it before, but I think it would grow too slowly for where I would want to plant it. Shame as it sounds lovely.

RAS, I’m glad the gooseberry babies/thinnings can be made use of, so it wasn’t such a daft question after all 😂

Cold, wet and windy here today. May is supposed to be our best month weather wise as well... 🙄

twopenny

They'll be fine pullings you have there PP.

Peal the green ones. it helps.

If you find they are still too tart when cooked with sugar add some Golden Syrup. It's perfect with rhubarb or gooseberry crumble. And yes, I used to use up all the nearly over and early windfalls to make pies. Allways good and always a surprise.

The leaves, don't know about compost but take care, They are used to make Oxalic Acid which is great for getting ink stains out of wood but really not good for the stomach.

Yes, a bit more relaxed. Weird times and sometimes all the crummy stuff comes in shed loads at once. Onwards and upwards

wort

Blimey, that clematis is stunning, Wort!!! Wish I had one as good!  

6 May at 12:24PM

Beautiful clematis, Wort.

Thank Phoebe and Pink Poppy,  It was part of a pack of three and I don’t know the variety, but always does well. There used to be a pagoda there but it rotted and I bought the obelisk instead and it romps through the forsythia ! 

Yesterday I went and got some half price bedding plants and hanging basket, got way more than I went for couldn’t resist at £1 /£2 a tray and a hanging basket for 3 pounds!
Only problem was it was hissing down and what with my hood up pushing a trolley, and glasses steaming up with my mask on, I was soon drowned.
Cue the weather picking up after I had lunch so went and did 2 hours putting them in. It was really warm by then a big improvement from the morning.
Im still looking at the lilac standard and trying to figure the best way to get it in it’s new pot without doing any damage to it or me!!

Apodemus

pink_poppy said:

What do you do with the leaves, Farway?? Can they go in the compost??

I tend just to lay the leaves flat on the ground beside the crowns as a mulch/weed suppressant. I don't know if it is a good or bad thing to do, but it doesn't seem to have caused any problems!

wort

I have rhubarb envy! I once bought a crown but it disappeared 😭 my ex father-in-law  has rhubarb by the bucket full, and my daughter said he gave her some last week. I might have to be cheeky and request some next time my grandson goes to see him! Hmmm wonder if he has a cutting I can borrow!! He is 89 and more energy than most 30 year olds😉