Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

LessImpecunious said:

I grow watercress on "dry" land - it self-seeds happily...but I am in Wales

I've heard that, so it's good to have the fact confirmed by a trusted source.  Perhaps I'll give it a try now. 

twopenny

Well I've lost the plot of what everyone said. Probably lack of sleep and the lurgy.
Oh yes Bluey, the coughing! ☹️ Especially when you lay down at night. I've got to the drained and exhausted stage. Got out to camera club, first outing in 5weeks.
Hope you coughed around at work so they feel mmm sorry for you mmm scared of catching it and tell you to go home 😉

Watercress in Wales. Well I'll be darned. That and the seaweed you must be so healthy 🙂

Tough luck on the logs Dusty. Do you know when they will turn up?

Needless to say no gardening on the horizon. It's 3c but doesn't feel cold cold. A couple of showers.
Somewhere I heard a tale about the start of the met office and even then the comments were scathing. Beginning to feel sorry for them 😉

WM, love that you are enjoying preparing for retirement 🙂 a lot to be said for it. Just don't expect the paperwork to get less or the chores you can no longer ignore. It all expands to fit the time available.

Good luck with the compost Farway. That's very optimistic. I think your just carried away with being so organised on the tomato front.
Have you got labels written up as well? 😈

Watched Monty in Europe. My favourite garden had bug hotels and a twiggy hedge Taff. Not a patch on yours. No brassica stalks in it though 😄

LessImpecunious

twopenny said:

Watercress in Wales. Well I'll be darned. That and the seaweed you must be so healthy 🙂

Unfortunately about as far from the sea as it's possible to be in Wales...just ordinary landweeds here 

Dustyevsky

-taff said:

But I did like the look of this persicaria so I may see if I can get some, it's the name too...

https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/persicaria-amplexicaulis-orange-field/

I forgot about this. You had me off on a trip into one particular website with about a dozen cultivars. There are some I want. One, Persicaria alpina, or polymorpha, (now known as Koenegia alpina  ) is the largest. It's huuuge! The smallest I don't know the name of. I saw it in someone's garden and praised it to the skies, but I didn't get an offer of a cutting!  (imported crying emoji  ) I have 'Darjeeling Red' but I swear it was smaller than that, and had very little red about it. Investigating online, it doesn't appear to exist.   

Farway said:

Gardening, I nerdily catalogued my tomato seeds into a spreadsheet yesterday, at least I can now sort into bush/cordon. red/yellow etc. 

Some packets are probably not worth keeping, Minibel, 2017 from Wilkinson's any one?

However, this year I'm going to try & start them in decent compost, may even splash out on "proper" seed compost instead of the general carp I get

Same for potting on, but these days the brand is meaningless, even Levingtons went south on me

Impressed with the spreadsheet. After many years, we know what we'll grow, but we've room for 2 guests. I'll buy these randomly as small plants from various sources. Last year, it was 'Orange Paruche' and 'Maja.' Orange P was OK, and Maja had interesting foliage, but neither made it to be our regulars. 

I think you're right about going the extra mile with compost, especially for seeds, and I'm grateful to have a source of the peaty stuff from Eire. I'll concoct various versions of it with grit, perlite etc.   Previously, I've bought slow release fertiliser by the sack and it's lasted years. Now, at around £150, I may need to re-think that!    

twopenny said:
Tough luck on the logs Dusty. Do you know when they will turn up?

Nope. No email from the supplier, but they'll get one from me!  It doesn't matter greatly, as it's a sunny day and I'll be at home, still not visiting Rosemoor.  Mrs Dusty's too busy, and although my friend wants to see the sculpture trail, she isn't well enough. Like many, she's had the lurgy for a month and can't shift it. As Confucius may have said, “When the elephant in the room blocks the doorway, there's no easy way out.” 

OT: A slight frost this morning, as skies cleared in the wee hours, and now we're promised a dry, reasonably sunny day, and 9c. I may get a third coat on the hedgehog boxes, and then some photos,or the logs may turn up and I'll have a splitting work-out instead!  

As people liked the birds the other day, I'll post a couple more pictures:

Sadly, light levels were poor, and shutter speeds slow, otherwise this one would have been a winner:

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on Tulip Day. Eh?!

Taff is your ankle better from the rest yesterday? Or were you up at t'lotment stripping shoyt outta your hedge? 

Ah look at your sky wm, that's a fab way to start the day. I'd be sat ages watching it change  

Your birds are a sight for sore eyes Dusty. I hardly ever see any of the ones my phone hears but your pics rebalance that Sorry to hear your friend has lurgy too, it sure is doing the rounds. I don't know what I was expecting from your link but that was the least gardeninging house I've ever seen! I wonder if it's improved or devalued that house... I wouldn't thank you for it.  I'll have to see what my news site has in the way of a Rottery Acres cos I haven't looked in a while...

I was thinking proper compost is the way to go this year as well Farway, as long as I can lay my hands on some. I'd give the old Wilkos toms a go tbh - reminds me of something I read on here ages ago about seeds or plants or cuttings or whatever - just get me in the ground and I'll do my very best to grow for you  

Good to hear you got out 2p, was camera club good fun? Is it lessons on how to use your camera or going out taking pics of stuff? Nodding vigorously to the lying down coughing exhaustion, I'm for sleeping on the sofa tonight.  I haven't been to work this week at all, not even just once to prove how poorly am. We do have to ring in every day though, so at least OMM has heard the state of me. 

Less IIRR watercress or landcress is chock full of VitC, possibly? Posh Friend makes scones with it. She also does lavender ones but they're disgusting. 

OT it's 6' apparently and damp and miserable. Raining on and off. No wind to speak of. Dreich.

Where's wort btw? @wort Every time a newbie appears we lose a proper one!

YoungBlueEyes

Less you're photo of the week on the home page :clapping: 
Quite right too, it's a belter

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

 I don't know what I was expecting from your link but that was the least gardeninging house I've ever seen! I wonder if it's improved or devalued that house... I wouldn't thank you for it.

I think the eventual aim is an underground garage, but I popped Colin in because he's a great example of English eccentricity, and fun, so long as you're not his next door neighbour! 

There are houses in the Midlands which have secret doors into natural caves in the rock strata behind them. Also, I've seen caves made into houses, though no one lives there now, and they're preserved for posterity.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/shropshire-staffordshire/kinver-edge-and-the-rock-houses&ved=2ahUKEwicssCQupKSAxVmUUEAHeNBLO4QFnoECE4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1zoxwEoc_HibeKpAB4MK33

Farway

I can't believe it's still raining! 

According to V'sky this area is the only suvern place wiv rain, very unfair!

Still not squelching down the garden time

I used to grow watercress in my pond, but it sprang a leak so I had to stop

I have just gone down AI rabbit hole, and it is easy & safe to grow watercress at home, keep pets etc out, and no bird poo allowed. Normal hygiene rules apply, not stagnant water, wash it etc

If you ask AI it will tell you how, basically just a sloped gravel tray, with clean gravel, solar water pump, optional wire mesh to keep birds etc off, some starter water cress, [from green grocer / SM with roots]

Not sure if financially worthwhile if need to buy pump, tray etc, OK for bragging rights, but unless you love watercress maybe stick to the bought stuff?

AI says it will grow in pots in damp but open compost, sponge not mud, I may try that after a bit more research

Heat & drying out are the enemy

Love you bird set up Dusty, puts my half coconuts to shame

Dustyevsky said:

Farway said:

Gardening, I nerdily catalogued my tomato seeds into a spreadsheet yesterday, at least I can now sort into bush/cordon. red/yellow etc. 

Some packets are probably not worth keeping, Minibel, 2017 from Wilkinson's any one?

However, this year I'm going to try & start them in decent compost, may even splash out on "proper" seed compost instead of the general carp I get

Same for potting on, but these days the brand is meaningless, even Levingtons went south on me

Impressed with the spreadsheet. After many years, we know what we'll grow, but we've room for 2 guests. I'll buy these randomly as small plants from various sources. Last year, it was 'Orange Paruche' and 'Maja.' Orange P was OK, and Maja had interesting foliage, but neither made it to be our regulars. 

I think you're right about going the extra mile with compost, especially for seeds, and I'm grateful to have a source of the peaty stuff from Eire. I'll concoct various versions of it with grit, perlite etc.   Previously, I've bought slow release fertiliser by the sack and it's lasted years. Now, at around £150, I may need to re-think that!     

I sort of know what I want to grow, but suffer from grass is greener syndrome, so have to keep trying something else, "Just in case" it's the absolute dog's whatsnames. 

I will sow the 2017 Wilko Minibel, be awful if they turn out to be the Dog's Whatsnames and I've missed out for seven years  :'( :smile: 

If I breed a super tom I think I'll name it Dog's Whatsnames 

The Man has clocked my interest in tomatoes, deluged with ads on FB from tomato seeds now

No gardening again, too wet, again. I d have Parker's catalogue arrived, so can flip through that & dream, and may venture on YT for growing watercress in pots

Just refreshed

Dustyevsky said:

There are houses in the Midlands which have secret doors into natural caves in the rock strata behind them. Also, I've seen caves made into houses, though no one lives there now, and they're preserved for posterity.

I always liked the idea of a house in cave, want more room? Just dig one out.

Think I'd draw the line at Petra though. One place I would love to visit but very unlikely

https://www.britannica.com/place/Petra-ancient-city-Jordan

twopenny

Hmm caves and Blueys underground tree house. All I keep thinking is it would be quiet in there and I could sleep uninterrupted 😬

Are you thinking of the settee because you can sleep almost upright and stop the cough? That's what we did back in covid times and what I did last night. Slept right through 🙂
Steaming your face too. Lots of chocolate.
Glad you didn't go in to work. This isn't to be triffled with.

Photo group is a friendly one but I was chuffed as one of the professionals said he thought they were the best photos 😊 and one from last time got on the website front page. Glad I didn't have the competition from you lot on here 🙂 oh and there were AI ones included. Spotted each one. Not up to Farways standard.
We get a project each 3weeks and show them. It's good to see what ideas others have. Summer we go out together, photo and coffee, then see what others found in the same setting. Opens your eyes.

Your poor friend Dusty. But once better there is something to look forward to.
Love the birds 😍 mine have deserted me today. Probably staying warm.

WM, hope you're enjoying a nice walk. Good sunrises.

Congratulations Less 🏆 and you say not your best. Someone thought otherwise 🙂

Woke to water streaming down inside and out of the windows. Sun is shining but it's freezing and damp after a frost and I'm not inclined to go out and do anything, certainly the garden.
Maybe I could distract myself with episodes of summer gardening programs, watch others doing things.

YoungBlueEyes

There was a ...quirky.... woman on A Place In The Sun years ago who bought a house cave thing. It was in Spain and looked absolutely fine to me. It was £12k iirr. I always fancied a good go round Petra but Jordan was still closed last time I looked (admittedly a few years ago now mind). 

My news site has given me this - 

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/house-newport-house-main-street-newport-county-mayo/5810107

Not ideal but sure it'd do for now  

Edit - until we can afford this one - https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/house-kenah-hill-st-georges-avenue-killiney-co-dublin/5602896
It's not that I need a tennis court, never mind a spare, but I'd struggle on for the views from it  

Yep sleeping upright to hopefully breathe easier and actually sleep 2p. It's the lack of proper sleep that's as much a bu99er as the rest of it. I like the setup of your camera club, bit individual and a bit group

Edit2 - This Is It. The search is over. I want this one!  - https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/house-mount-mapas-house-victoria-road-killiney-co-dublin/6140825