Awful weather - typical Brits talk

LessImpecunious

2P

Less how you doing up there? Has the mist gone? We are supposed to have sun all day so I'll waft you some up.

Thank you, it has been duly wafted; would have preferred you to have not sent the chilly breeze which is accompanying it though😁 Just a bit of damp yesterday rather than the larger amount threatened so can't complain, and it will hopefully stay dry today too.

Hopefully (or maybe not😆) Mr C won't see your trench, Dusty, and think you're creating a new ditch to send water to overwhelm his dam…

Dustyevsky

2p said: That's quite a trench Dusty! Continuing sure is either going to kill or cure that sciatica 😏

The plan to dig out a 20' trench came before the sciatica! 😆 However, the digging hasn't made it worse, nor has riding the mower. This is the first morning, for about a week, I've not reached for the painkillers. The big problem simply remains not knowing what caused it in the first place. 🤔

Anyway, enjoy your picnic. I'm having a morning off too. 😊

Less said Hopefully (or maybe not😆) Mr C won't see your trench, Dusty, and think you're creating a new ditch to send water to overwhelm his dam…

He'll probably assume it's a foundation for a wall, like the one holding up his caravan pad, but we've no time for such shenanigans. However, it seems many of us on the thread are way ahead, I saw Ana, (she of prepping fame) this morning, and she's not even planted her tomatoes yet! 😄

Had some of our kale last night, so now we'll see if they re-sprout. Tasty enough, but not very different from Swiss chard IMO. 🤨

I went into the no-man's-land of our new access yesterday. It's still closed off by security fencing. Discovered we are giving the neighbours a fine show with wallflowers we can't see! 🤣

Farway

Sunny and quite warmish. I may even toddle hobble down the garden this afternoon to check on the cherry blossom [lack of] progress

Dusty said I saw Ana, (she of prepping fame) this morning, and she's not even planted her tomatoes yet! 😄

I saw that, but she is way behind and I think got bogged down last year. Recent events have spurred her on, and rightly sticking to tried & tested give the times we live in.

Had some of our kale last night, so now we'll see if they re-sprout. Tasty enough, but not very different from Swiss chard IMO.

I was watching Huw Richards and noted he had a perennial kale, grown like a standard Lollipop. Now I'm wondering about giving it a try, along with, or in place of the Nine Star perennial broccoli. Needs more research before I jump.

Nice wallflowers Dusty, sod's law, the best is always on the other side of your fence

Went to Morries, grocery run, but topped up with Diesel, gulp, 1.55 a litre 😮Went up 11p overnight! but not profiteering, honestly. Back on course, Morries are starting putting out young plants, not loads of choice yet, but there were raspberries, blackberries, currants and other fruiting bush plants if anyone fancies giving soft fruit a go this year.

Yesterday in the sun, planted out four of the Sutton broad beans, five more still to grow a bit larger. Odd that, all sown sown at same time and same regimes, but four are much more advanced. maybe good in the long run, spread the harvest a bit

You can see the roots in first pic, bottom pic is them in final position, at the front of house, in a large pot

twopenny

Had to go to town and went through the park. Glorious scents wafted out. This is what I saw

Farway

Dull, with a cold wind cutting into old bones.

That flower bed picture is very cheery 2P, and scented as well. Will you be loitering with intent when the council clear beds for summer bedding? 😁

The cold today was a reminder winter is not fully over, I have some self seeded nasturtium just starting to show, but lack of any open fruit blossom makes me think the trees are waiting for real Spring. Just checked and last year blossom was open here on 5 April, seems about right

Big surprise yesterday, the plum tree I thought was dead, it's alive!! 😀Noticed green shoots, appearing, too small to get a proper focus on them for a pic, amazing. I was sure it was a goner, brown dead twigs, a woody corpse. Having a rethink now, it was destined as a clematis & Boysenberry support while I decided on what to replace it with.

I gave it a feed of slow release fertiliser and await developments

No gardening except shuffle through my Tomato spreadsheet & decide on what to sow this weekend, only need about a dozen.

Radio 4 Farming Today this morning was highlighting knock on from the current events. Big one for commercial tom growers, here & Holland, is gas prices zooming up and supermarket tom prices following them, so FWIW, bung an extra plant in if you can find space

Now for the Rude Veg spot, played under That's Life rules 😁

twopenny

Yes, cheery it was. The perfume wafted into the street. I have had winter pansys from them when they're clearing and they lasted 2 years. These will go to the volunteers who do most of the beds. They already have some from last year. I spent a long time chatting to one who turned out to be someone who lives round the corner.

Good news about the plum Farway. I've taken all the winter plums off mine and it's full of blossom that seems to be fertilising so fingers crossed for fresh plums all round 🙂

And the potato ? Hope your plums are the same size 😲 I'll say no more.

My seedlings are just sat not doing anything. Sun yesterday. I got the lawns mowed, the sitoorie put back together and more bed dug out, some weeding and have survived to tell the tale. Even sat with a cup of tea and my book for a while.

Today is wet and chill wind that Less has sent back down so probably for the best as I was planning all sorts.

I'll try and get a photo later while it looks like a garden.

Meanwhile here are the tulips that are out already. The little blossom tree behind is a Tesco special which was under notice for the compost heap. Bloomed better than ever. The bumblebee loves it so it's had a reprieve.

Dustyevsky

Today is indeed a strong reminder not to count one's tomatoes until they're beyond seed leaves…..and even then, they hate sudden temperature drops. 😟 I've had a bit of damping off, though none with the important crops so far. 😗

Those are some high-maintenance beds, 2p, and I bet the hyacinths smelled lovely! 😍I'm glad you removed your winter plums, as they'd surely have affected this year's potential crop. Maybe the 'management' will remove Farway's transspecies potato!😮

Hurrah for your sleeping beauty plum tree, Farway. We have one in a pot to plant, but not in the wind we're experiencing currently. 😬 It's a type reputed to cope with non-ideal growing conditions, like ours.

Temperatures here are still not too bad, and most of the rain is due after dark, but it's Friday into Saturday morning when temperatures are supposed to plummet for a while. After that, maybe some improvement, but no balmy scenes to rival 2p's photo.

Above, another plant in our second access border, but we can see it. This is Vinca 'Jenny Pym,' sold to me as a 'better behaved' example of the type, but sadly, still putting herself about rather too freely! 😏Cheerful early flowers though. 😉Her continued presence hangs in the balance! 🤕

twopenny

I thought of you Dusty. Drove past a field where a long ditch was dug and full of rain water. Not sure if it was intentional or if it was to build a bank.

Couldn't grab a photo because it's been chucking it down all day with high winds, the fields are flooded worse than ever and there's ducks and egrets on them. The gulls are padding on the grass verges.

Just realised my seedlings are getting a hammering out there. If they survive I'll bring them in again.

The tulips are in pots to make them higher to show behind the hedge and there should be daffs in front. All the daffs flowers are just rotting in the rain ☹️

Dustyevsky

2p said:I thought of you Dusty. Drove past a field where a long ditch was dug and full of rain water. Not sure if it was intentional or if it was to build a bank. Couldn't grab a photo because it's been chucking it down all day with high winds, the fields are flooded worse than ever and there's ducks and egrets on them.

We didn't have much rain until dusk, but the wind was very wearing My 'ditch' has only a few metres to go now, but because the land falls away steeply, photos don't show it properly. There will be far too much wet mud down there to work on it for a day or two.🙁

I see the inebriates say winds will be from the east by the middle of next week, bringing warmth and sunshine. Maybe it will revive your daffs. At least yours are very visible.😉 Ours by the stream aren't. They're only Tetes, and they seem tiny, not just small.

Farway said: Radio 4 Farming Today this morning was highlighting knock on from the current events. Big one for commercial tom growers, here & Holland, is gas prices zooming up and supermarket tom prices following them, so FWIW, bung an extra plant in if you can find space.

Indeed. Suddenly, our somewhat bloated stock of seeds looks quite sensible, and the chatter about lower energy prices etc, somewhat irrelevant. Things are not turning out the way some thought they would, although they're bang on regarding 'broad predictions' for 2030.🤥

Meanwhile, here is my latest pile of stuff for turning into firewood; the larger bits being the tree we took down last week. Ready by 2028….and let's hope were not also cooking with them! 😯

twopenny

Well that was a wild night! Hardly any blossom left on the tree outside my window.

No chance of more daffs Dusty because the flowers just rotted. My neighbours huge pots of them don't seem to be affected but they were a bit later.

It's 5c out there but no wind, just everything soaked so no gardening again it seems. I don't look ahead with the forecast, just take every day as it comes at the moment.

Got a right talking to by the hospital about future arrangements so I didn't tell them about the long handled trowel and chair I have visions of using outside 😉

Did you see the article about rare pink daffodils? I'm sure I've seen them around here but who knows

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2140pnx46o