Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Farway said: Love the snow pic Dusty, caught the shadows just right.

It's a long time ago, but I recall thinking only about the low sun, the mist gathering and no exact knowledge of the way home! 😶

What a lovely morning you had for your towpath walk, wort! 😊 Equally lovely blossom too. I prefer the single blooms like those. 😇

It was another almost sunless day here, yesterday, and today threatens to be similar, with a cold northerly dragging temperatures down to single figures. 😪 Sounds like a shopping day! 😒

We're out of pelleted slow release fertilizer for pots, so in view of the 'world situation' I bit the bullet and bought 25kg……£165 delivered! 😮 I can't see it becoming cheaper now. It sounds expensive, but we only use about 4kg a year, if that, so it's probably the last bag we'll buy. BFB and the usual manure/chicken poo is preferable, longer term, in the beds etc.

Opened a message this morning saying our 50 hornbeams are also due for despatch, but I doubt they'll send them over the weekend. That gives me a few days to overcome the sciatica before digging their trench and planting them. Yesterday, I marked it out and sprayed the couch grass, so they won't have to compete with that.

Can you reach the swimming pool on crutches,2p? If I recall correctly driving is out for quite a while, but should the pool be near, you could fit it into your daily walk routine. 😉 Here, Mrs Dusty's safe circuit only provided birds and wild flowers for an incentive, the nearest accessible pool being 13 miles away.

Did someone mention rhubarb?

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on the day Madrid football club was founded :)

It's a Hurry Up & Wait day today. Sky man is coming between 0800-1300 so I'll have a quick go cos I still need to get dressed and hump furniture about so he can get his work done. Or her… I did read the warnings about Sky Less, but my package included No Mid Contract Price Hikes. Quite bluddy right and it's only 'til next Summer. WhiteTelephoneBoxLand company are sending the most effusive, crawling emails, so after I'd deleted about 9 of them… I wrote back… :grimace:

Cool out there this morning, 6'c but half that if you've no coat on. Dry though which is nice, it was a proper pea souper when I got up yesterday and hung about for hours. People can't drive in the fog - there were at least 2 crashes yesterday, one of them only serious and the other a road closed + 2 fire engines + 3 ambulances jobber :(

Right I'll go get my wash out, then start DomNon'ing back to ship shape and Bristol fashion. See how much I can get done before work stops play.

Also, welcome to @middlewife :)

twopenny

Good morning Middle wife who's probably to busy to read right now. Hope things go well for you today if you're still reading.

And everyone else with aches and pains. I was going to write a long post but things are posting weirdly this morning so I'll have to do that later because either the site or me are doing strange things and it's coming out with interesting results 😄

Cool, wet and gloomy out there. A good day for planning rather than doing. See you later

Farway

Dull but bright, bit cooler as well, but it was forecast so no surprise. Rain due from France around lunchtime

I've started hardening off my broad beans, they are doing a tad too well in the unheated conservatory & nice weather, don't want them soft and leggy before they are planted out.

The fertiliser sounds expensive when said out loud Dusty, but, like a tank full of heating oil or a stack of logs, better to have them now than kick yourself later. Not so long back I remember on Clarkson's farm when they found out the barn full of [older] fertiliser was worth more than all their crops

My on offer Tomorite & Phostrogen arrived yesterday from Up River, do me for this season I reckon. I have BF & B but want to get a tub of chicken poo if I spot a reasonable one. I was lucky the other year when I found clearance price poo stock in Morries, no such luck this year.

I mentioned rhubarb, used the last of my poo pellets on them earlier this week. Must be something in the air, I was thinking about crumble yesterday. The rain should help water the pellets in, and get those sticks growing

2P said Dropped into dance group and tried one but am b*******d now which I won't forget 😉 said I'll never be able to kneel which can't be right. I need to kneel to get my veg in ☹️ but got an offer of a loo helper and better crutches. It's a weird world!

I can't kneel, or if I did I'd never get up again 🤨. My in ground planting is not perfect but I make a hole with spade, hoe etc and shove a plant in, then tamp down & it does or doesn't live. For veg I use knee high large pots, I can bend stoop to get to them. Not ideal, needs watering etc, but at least fine for taster of veg, like my broad beans & tomatoes

I don't have much room really, but was thinking about maybe purple sprouting broccoli or similar long, late, cropping, pick & come again and grows tall enough to be picked with out too much bending or stooping. Thinking on, Calvo Nero seems all the rage, I've never tasted or grown it but seems Kale like, and OK for large pots. Could this be the one to replace my broad beans in the summer? More thought & investigation needed. Anyone grown it?

Wisley trip is being planned, electric buggy needs booking first. Hoping to get in before all the blossom has gone, but always plenty of "other stuff" to see

The Mange Tout are on their damp kitchen paper, no sign yet of the toms & castor Oil sown earlier in the week

Here's the toms sown 7 Feb, first true leaves now showing

twopenny

I wonder if perennial broccoli would suit you (if you can find some seed) because that grows tall and you really only need one plant.

They are good for at least 3yrs.

I used to run a new one along side the previous years plants because in the first year they produce spears in the autumn, following years in spring like they are supposed to. So a long season.

They vanished because of a problem. Quickly solved but I'm guessing are surpressed by the market because you are only buying every 3yrs 😉

Been off to a camera group meeting about different types of camera and about AI. Farway could have taught them a thing or two.

Missed the canal walk post. I must search it out tonight.

No Dusty, it's all no at the moment but think it's ok by the time I can drive. Ditto kneeling is ok in 3 mts. Ways and means 😉 hopefully if I can get fit enough I can make faster headway. Most of the people I know who've had hips and knees done have other problems. Mine was the lack of treatment for one muscle. Speaking of which I now have more doctors apps than I need!

I wonder if I can plant with a long handled mini hoe and the grabber? I'll practise 😃

middlewife

It's amazing how you can adapt. When I had my shoulder done my dominant arm was out of action for about 3 months, so I learned to do everything with one arm. Likewise with the hip, small rucksack is my friend for carrying stuff from room to room. I also have a knee on borrowed time but have also heard you may never be able to kneel again. However two physio told me I'd never be able to swim backstroke, but I eventually did, took a year but I managed.

I like cavolo Nero, but unfortunately so do the caterpillars, but it's easy to grow. Right, physio calls, then time to check my seedlings

Farway

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81912068#Comment_81912068

Second the small rucksack, so handy, especially if stair climbing.

Thanks for caterpillar info, I was concerned because I host the World collection of Cabbage Whites so will kiss bye bye to CN, but set the AI hounds on perennial broccoli, and hope I can keep caterpillars off it

Real name is Nine Star perennial broccoli, £2.80 at Kings Seeds, no doubt available elsewhere. Once I get to Wisley I'll check the seeds there, save postage at least

BTW, it's a heritage variety, so have to save own seeds, or find someone who has

twopenny

Yes, nine star was the one I grew. Brilliant. Never had any trouble with caterpillars but there's always a first time 😉

Thanks for the seed info. I'll get some ready for next year. I think I have enough challenges for this.

My seedlings, not as big as yours, got battered by the rain last night where I'd put them out and forgot 🤨

Middlewife good on you. I got a ruptured disc sorted by swimming. Still swim face down even now. Then 20mins was the norm but it took me 2 hrs to do the same for a while. Exercises in the jacuzzi, wrapped up and walked the dog while I could still move. The kneeling is not right. It's after 3mts not forever. Knees a whole different ball game 😃

You seem to be well looked after at the mo. Be careful.

New programme on tonight. Wildlife Gardening. Photographer builds a wildlife garden. Think it may have been on before. I'll check iPlayer. If it has then Farway can see it.

Dustyevsky

With hip replacement, kneeling may well be possible, but Mrs Dusty was told not to kneel after her knee job. They didn't tell her not to dig and pull a hamstring, so she did that instead! 🙄

I had a day off from gardening etc today. Mrs D and I headed over to the coast to buy a pushchair for carting the latest GC about. The one we purchased for earlier GCs cost £10 via bartering at the tip, so I wasn't impressed until Mrs D showed me it was only 1/5 of John Lewis's price for new. 😦 Anyway, we picked it up, had our lunch overlooking the beach, where there was actual blue sky, shopped for vittals, and returned to the perpetual grey of home. The car insisted it was 7c there and 5c here. It's a pessimist, but at both locations it was brass monkeys, with folks wrapped in many layers. So, a reminder we're not quite done with winter yet, but speaking of layers, we did at least come home to an egg!😁

Nine Star 2p? Given your location I'd have thought an interest in Taunton Deane Kale….unfortunately not available in Somerset, but selling well in Wales, apparently. Just look at the number sold!😧 I hope Ms Reeves doesn't find out, or we'll get a veggie levy next!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325359259975

Other sellers are available.

Me? I've been growing these in the poly and they're now harvestable.

https://www.thompson-morgan.com/p/kale-midnight-sun-seeds/tm60213TM

I'll whip them out when I need the space. 😋

twopenny

Ok, so it's the wild gardener colin stafford johnson

Indeed I watched the creating of the garden series 1 2021 and currently there's a new series on BBC.

But doing a search there's loads on Facebook. So that's me sorted for my enforced rest 🙂 Very relaxing. Interesting bit about robins. I used to put the dog hair out for nesting too. After brushing, not shaved 😊

Oh and a dead hedge!

I love his garden so a few more acres in Rottery Acres please.

Dusty, I've tried local Thyme and it was rubbish. Too delicate. I like my kale short and delicate. Sweet and tender so it's dwarf for my little space 🙂