Awful weather - typical Brits talk

middlewife

I should explain, the slats at the bottom of the raised beds weren't screwed in properly so started to come undone. We removed all the soil ( about 2 dustbin worth) repaired, relined and then winter hit. So now someone ( not me) just needs to shovel it back in.......I add a trowel full each time I go past but at this rate it will be Spring 2028, I am learning patience.....

Farway

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81928136#Comment_81928136

MM, Chatenay carrots. Do they do well for you? I tried for first time last year and all was well, then slugs cleared the lot one night. Bummer

Now I'm tempted again, having just cleared some space while enjoying the sun. The open packet is still around I'm sure.

While clearing pea space I found an aquilegia struggling in a pot, sown last year & abandoned. Popped into the ground to take it's chances, at least, weak in this one the Norwegian DNA is 😁

middlewife

I did for first time last year in raised beds, fresh compost so not much slug problem. I forget to succession sow though, but they did well and no carrot fly....

twopenny

Reminds me. I've found caterpillars in the garden already!

Not cabbage white ones. Dark green and small.

Dustyevsky

Farway said: Nice siskins Dusty, care to swap with some Gulls? Loads turned up yesterday for unknown reason, too early & cold for Flying Ant day

No gulls here, usually, unless the weather's really rough. I like your Martinettes. 😇 That reminds me, not long till we get our House Martins back now….and Swallows. 🙂

-taff said: Dusty, your friend has bitten off a lot with that garden, but then, do you get to play on a digger?and Is the stream the demarcation point between you?

My friend's the one who had an acre before, half of which I was cutting with the ride-on. I'll not miss that! 😂 She has lots of farming friends with diggers etc. 😉 I'm not skilled or safe with a digger, but I'll drive a dumper (carefully! 😇)

If only the land demarcation thing was that simple! Different rules apply, depending on whether it's a ditch or a natural stream, and old boundary maps aren't always clear. Add to that people believing whatever they want to believe…and doing what they want to do! 😰 We don't worry too much. Take Mr C's caravan standing; it raised the land about 1metre on one side, so required planning permission, but we didn't go running to the council, like he and his pals did over our second entrance for tractors etc. We just put tree and hedge planting on the list for him, but in our own time. 😜

You've got ahead of me with your greenhouse deep beds. I'm still missing a side for number 4. 😏 And you're right about the way things dry out as soon as things warm-up in there. 🤔

middlewife, you weren't here a few years ago when Mrs Dusty had her knee op. She recovered quickly, and was soon walking more than a mile. Then she decided to push the boundaries, and began digging…..resulting in a pulled hamstring that took many months to heal. 😫 She is still banned from digging. 😕

Not much to report about the glorious weather yesterday. I had to fetch chicken food and other items from the farmer's store, but sowed more seed, potted -on and whizzed around on the mower first. That meant I was too late to visit the GC on the way home. 😖

Another lovely day in prospect. I'm clean out of photos, so here is an old one of the stream at this time of year, but before Mr C's barrage etc. The primroses didn't show-up well, so I'll try for another this year.

Farway

It was a real summer day yesterday, and more of the same today. At last!

As mentioned, I was out in the sunshine weeding the tubs ready for when Mange toots are large enough to risk the birds & slugs etc. They are now green shoots and unfurling into real pea like plants

Back to seed snails, I saw a YT video yesterday, by a real old style gardener, not a YT "influencer". He was wondering about seed snails and the rise in popularity, so did a comparison.

Conclusion was they are a gimmick, much more trouble in making and prepping a SS than just adding compost to pots, and he found no advantage in root development or separating roots or plants potting on.

Only plus could be if you do not have pots, and I guess most on here have far too many of those anyway.

The lily beetles are out and about, snuffed three out yesterday, a pair of them had fatal coitus interruptus 😈

Found this morning, Bishop of Oxford dahlia has woken from his snooze. In a large pot in conservatory. last years plan was get cuttings & gradually increase my stock. Time will tell how that goes, I can see at least one good looking possible cutting

Taff, your garden & greenhouse are looking good, you asked Farway, are your tom doing ok?have they popped up yet?

First sowing are growing away, pic below. the recent ones are yet to show, but it's only been a few days

Here are the first ones, larger ones are the very first ones, Bajaja, Divinity is labelled, the other two are Paul Robeson, but as I mentioned one is more Stevie Wonder 😉

MSE_James

On Tuesday it was warm enough to be able to sit in the garden and work from my laptop. I soon realised I was being watched:

twopenny

That's a real smashing photo James 😍

Obviously waiting for you to start digging or disturbing stuff for a free lunch.

Lovely here too. I meant to get some gardening done today but being restricted walking I've been on the moors looking for standing stones. So far I've yet to find them. More research needed.

I woke to the sound of buzzing bumble bee and birdsong 😄 makes all the work done creating a garden from nothing, worthwhile even though I sometimes wondered why I was putting myself through all the aches and pains.

These are my veg plants. Disappointed. I don't reckon buying compost is worth while. May as well just mix it with soil for half the price and staying power.

Taff your garden is really thriving. That's a lot of work you've put in.

Dusty, how pretty the stream is without the barricade 😐

Bluey is your oh still on a liquid diet?

Farway

2P, looking at your seedlings pic, bottom left, looks very much like nutrient deficiency and carp compost. But normally the fist two leaves are the seed leaves and fed by the seed itself.

Are they tomatoes bottom left? Cold can turn them, we've had plenty, so could a chilly wind have got them?

Would it be worthwhile trying a weak feed?

Were they fresh seed or, like me, had them a while?

Time for some very hard stares & tutting

I've heard of sterilising decent garden soil to use, kill weed seeds, bugs etc. Small batches in Microwave. I suppose a plastic pot or seed tray & zapped

Of course, very old gardeners used Jeyes Fluid, but we cut our baby teeth on the lead paint on our cots and sucked toy lead soldiers and played with sheath knives, so were of sterner stuff 😈

middlewife

Thanks for the warning Dusty! I've just put a few trowel full in when I go past. I'd suspected that my pedometer wasn't picking up all my steps, and seems there's research to back this up, on average they under record by 50%,so I'll stick to measuring minutes walked - 20 today. Have also noticed that the compost I've got dries out quickly, having to water every day, still no chillies, but only 3 weeks since sowing, will give them another 3 weeks.…