Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Thanks for the info on dormice Less. We have them, but I'm not sure how many. The top hedge is the only place they've been seen, and the same with lizards.

-taff said:

..your gang is cute, is it the jets and the other ones? 

Made a start yesterday, laid down some weed fabric, started moving stones which involved riddling for the dirt at the bottom...

 You lost me there, with the jets. I'm never sure if they're house sparrows or the hedge variety. I could find out, but life's a bit short now! 

I'm also riddling dirt as I go, in the poly-wolly:

Deep bed 3 is under way.... Muddle courtesy of keeping stuff alive under fleeces. 

Overnight wasn't as bad as predicted. The hens' water hadn't frozen, which is how I define a cold night.  Missed a cracking moon photo this morning through not carrying my camera.  :'(  

Aren't Roma pretty late to ripen, Farway? I seem to recall growing an Italian plum tom once, and that was my experience. Haven't done it again. 

Teasels came up like weeds for me....well, they are weeds, I suppose!    I'm introducing then in the stream area this year, just in case the gubmint decides we oldies should be carding wool and knitting eco-dungarees for the troops.  

Farway

Dustyevsky sai

Aren't Roma pretty late to ripen, Farway? I seem to recall growing an Italian plum tom once, and that was my experience. Haven't done it again. 

Teasels came up like weeds for me....well, they are weeds, I suppose!    I'm introducing then in the stream area this year, just in case the gubmint decides we oldies should be carding wool and knitting eco-dungarees for the troops.  

I think you are right on Roma, which maybe why I've not grown them, I'm not much interested in growing toms for cooking / sauces so they would not tempt me, unless free of course 

Teasels, mentioning carding wool reminded me why I started growing them. 

In my volunteer days at Family History one of the clients had an ancestor who was a Teasel Man, which prompted a "what is that"? query

I knew what a teasel was and it's uses, and that there are some growing wild near our Morries, 

Later that day some heads stuck to me as I lurched by them, and I was able to show client how it looked & worked, and the rest is history

Here's one of the offspring, from 2023

LessImpecunious

I won't be attempting to prise any parsnips today - I dug up lots for us and others just before Xmas, but that was almost impossible even without any frozen ground (tho' it will only be the surface that's frozen so far...). No dig parsnips in soil that had not been cultivated for at least 10 years - grew very well, some roots must be nearly 18" long, but really could have done with an excavator to get them out of the ground! (And there are still some in bottom of fridge - couldn't face more parsnips at the mo! )

I also wondered about the height of dormice boxes off the ground, but the bushes they were attached to were all quite small...

Didn't know we were due another supermoon, but it certainly was last night

and even better this morning as it set...

You can just see it if you zoom in Plus, sprinkle of snow from last night, more on its way apparently...

greenbee

I think it's the Wolf Moon @LessImpecunious

My carrots are frozen into the planters... I'm hoping to prize them out at some point and hoping they'll be edible by either people or the dog...

twopenny

Just wondered if anyone else knew about the old ways of storing veg.

Carrots (can't see why it wouldn't apply to parsnips) in a dustbin layering with sand so they don't touch.
You can get small dustbins now.

Potatoes in bins of dry compost.
A good way of using the new product that's always too dry for plants 😉

My friend used to salt the surplus of runner beans. They stay crisper than freezing.

Bramley apples or any that will store I would stack in plastic fish/veg trays that I would find washed up on the beach. As long as they are picked and not touching they last till March.

I guess they should be in a dry shed or garage.

Should start a new thread on this really. See what others have got.

twopenny

Really unusual photo Less. I don't think I've ever seen that. Quite beautiful 🤩 

Please keep your snow up there. 

Farway

Very hard frost this morning, certainly not a prising parsnips, crow barring carrots or levering leeks morning

A sunny but cold day ahead

Ditto to Less, keep your snow there

twopenny said:

Just wondered if anyone else knew about the old ways of storing veg.

Carrots (can't see why it wouldn't apply to parsnips) in a dustbin layering with sand so they don't touch.
You can get small dustbins now.

Potatoes in bins of dry compost.
A good way of using the new product that's always too dry for plants 😉

My friend used to salt the surplus of runner beans. They stay crisper than freezing.

Bramley apples or any that will store I would stack in plastic fish/veg trays that I would find washed up on the beach. As long as they are picked and not touching they last till March.

I guess they should be in a dry shed or garage.

Should start a new thread on this really. See what others have got.

Good idea 2P

I had a neighbour who salted runners and said they were as good as fresh once rinsed off. 

I've tried the onions in nylon tights method, failed, maybe I should have taken them off first?   

My attempt at storing squashes was also a fail FWIW

No gardening today, not even poking nose outside

Moon, well I tried, both last night & this morning. I think the morning is better for atmosphere but something seems to have happened last night

Looks like I was photo bombed

YoungBlueEyes

Well I'm a bit late but Happy New Year all on World Braille Day. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and saw the new year in to their liking? 

That was too big of a catchup to comment properly, but I remember the Christmas toms (hooray!) and the beautiful skies and a primrose and the sooper dooper moon. And I'd never have guessed dormice for that box... 

I must have spent too much time looking up Polish things (that lad's alright now, thank god) because I was getting ads for Christmas breaks over there. So I booked one and off we went! The land ov Krak was properly bluddy cold mind, the FL hit -26' one day! I'm no lover of heat but that was actually painful. Really low humidity too so even just walking about the place and breathing was a trial. I kept thinking 'gawd it'll practically be bikini weather by comparison when we get home' but it seems like we brought it back with us Sorry folks I've also brought back chilblains, gout, and himself has a dirty cough that might be the remnants of his flu but might be some new breed of foreign muck. I told him he needn't bother whining and moaning for he's going to work on Monday regardless  

Who's made any resolutions then? Anything more exciting than the I'm gonna eat down my freezer/stop swearing/give up the fags standard ones? I remember one I read on my news site - it was from a woman who never got a minute's peace between her husband and her kids. So her resolution to take a few minutes for herself every day no matter what. She liked sitting inside watching the rain, so she was gonna find a few minutes every day to sit with her forehead against the window and just watch the rain. No interruptions allowed. Isn't that beautifully simple?  

OT sunny with a crystal blue sky out there, and -3 but FL is -9. Could well be true I'd say.

twopenny

Welcome back Bluey. 

Farway thanks for the laugh as I'm in a grumpy mood it's so darn cold inside as well as out. Been below zero again overnight so it's seeping into floors and walls and I've all curtains drawn over. It's grey and gloomy too.

Only venturing out for a swim and sauna but may take a book and just stay there in the warm for as long as possible.

Yesterday was sunny and the lying puffy clouds went a beautiful salmon pink and to my surprise a huge moon was coming up the other side. 

Definitely no gardening!

YoungBlueEyes

I'll rifle through my phone and find you some cheering pics 2p

And welcome to Camelot, feel free to chip in whenever you like