Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

Similar weather to Dusty, dull, still, and bit cold though expected to go mild later, allegedly

Wow, get that bird feeder photo Dusty, that would do for bird food advert. No wonder they are skipping the Cotoneaster, I'd skip a burger for a steak

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81942775#Comment_81942775

I think toms season will go on & on if the conditions are right, assuming blight & whitefly keep away as long as heat & light should do OK. I suppose one of those with trailing bunches, like Cherry Falls or Tumbling Tom, would go on. Last year I had one,outside, label lost of course, that just kept going.

My inside ones, cold conservatory, always get whitefly and become a mess by the end of season. I do try to minimise the whitefly, but, like the vine weevils & lily beetles, it's a continuing battle

Had a snigger at manure smelling new carpet, very evocative.Get a cat wee tree to off set it?

Broad beans & M Toots put out for any sunshine we may get. If it does get milder & sunnier I may plant the broad beans out into final spots, a tub at the front.

Some of my recent tom sowing are No Shows, to fill a few spaces I've sown some Caniles tom seeds, saved from Asda tomatoes this year, they were so nice I'm going to try some, original was F1 and more suited to Spanish weather, so fingers crossed.

Wort said Farway thank you 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I got love in the mist and cosmos, for 2 pound. Just need to get them to grow now!! Can you advise me on my Tom seed smear. Do I need to was the goo off or wipe? Can the get planted in soil or on wet paper towel in a bag first ? Sorry I need step by step 😂

Good for you and glad to help on the cosmos & LIAM. I have some cosmos from them on the way as well.

Seed smear, really easy & foolproof.You will see lots of Tomato seed saving methods, experts ferment in water for about a week, until it pongs, rinse, dry & store

Lazy efficient gardeners, like me, take a cut tomato, like one you're about to eat, seed side down 😁 & gently smear it across kitchen roll to leave, as someone described, a "Skid Mark" containing some seeds and some pulp. You can eat the other bit of the tom, it's job is done

For extra finesse you can slide the smeared seeds to get them a bit separated. Write details on the paper and leave to dry, beware of people "tidying up" or your seeds will be binned, don't ask how I know. 😡

Takes about a week or so to dry, once dry, store or sow. The drying will have removed the pulp for you. To sow, just tear bit off, or pick seed off, either works. I just sow paper and all as it soon rots away & possibly adds a moisture reservoir for the seed

Just refreshed, 2P Wort just smear on a paper towel and allow to dry right out. I then tear off a bit of the towel to bury in a pot. I did all the washing off thing when I started and the results weren't great, the paper towel I get most germinate. Farway may do it differently 🙂

Nope, same as you, it works, why mess about? maybe if I had some rare sorts but for average gardener it works fine

Here's my Asda ones, just sown some this morning and now in airing cupboard. I sow in small pot, usual way, damp compost etc, put in a poly bag, seal & into warm place. I have an airing cupboard so a steady warmth there, takes about a week to show

Best of luck & let us know how it goes

wort

oo, that seems easy enough fingers crossed 🤞🏻 thank you 2 p and Farway .

Dustyevsky

I can confirm I've never arrised-about with tom seeds either. I just squidge them onto kitchen roll, as in Farway's photo above, dry, and store cold. Always seems to work. 😁

Having said that, none of my non-sqidged chilli and dahlia seeds germinated this year. 😪 Everything else appears to be coming up OK, even my Melon Pear (singular.) Three seeds were extracted, but I lost one, so only two were planted. 50% seems reasonable, given the tiny size of them.

Dry mealworms are OK for birds 2p, but not for hedgehogs.😮 I can't recall why, but it's enough to know kitten food is the most appropriate food. We use the cheapo dry stuff. Our cats wouldn't be tempted by that! 🤣

I forgot to mention that Mrs Dusty saw 3 swallows yesterday. That's at least a week earlier than we've spotted them before. 😃 Obviously they hadn't read the MSM nonsense about a massive wall of snow enveloping most of the country from about 10th April.

The logs arrived in 2 loads, with 2 hours between them. That's just enough time to stash the majority of load one away, so load two doesn't end up many metres from the shed door. Now, with about 2 cubic metres thrown into the shed, I'll have a rest and a couple of painkillers! This time, the logs are dry, and either ash or oak, so I'm a happy bunny. 😊

LessImpecunious

Farway - Broad beans & M Toots put out for any sunshine we may get. If it does get milder & sunnier I may plant the broad beans out into final spots, a tub at the front.

My broad beans survived last week's hailstorms quite happily, and snap peas/MTs planted out a day or two after and looking fine, don't think either mind the cold (unless that was for yourself, with the planting!😄)

Farway

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81944585#Comment_81944585

The planting out in warm sun is only for my benefit. 😁. It was sunny & so the BBs are now planted out, I'm leaving the M toots until the Easter weekend, no reason except it will be a date that sticks in my mind

Now Mrs D has spotted three swallows all will be well, because as we all know, one does not make summer, but three must be true.

Good work on the logs Dusty, I think it is a wise move and will pay off, every time I hear the news I shake my head and carry on sowing, planting as one form of insurance.

My nice neighbour, who cuts my grass, is busy giving my Judas Tree a very severe haircut. It has grown too large TBH & I did say he was welcome to lop bits off if it encroached on his garden enjoyment. Loads have come off, and it will also be useful for me because it shaded the bottom of my garden later in the day.

We were both very impressed with his new toy, a battery mini chain saw, I looked up River, from about £30 up. Use one handed, like ordinary saw, although I'd be inclined to have eye, hand & arm protection. Looking at him cracking on well worth considering if you have occasional tree work, no good for proper, big, Dusty type trees that need a tractor.

-taff

I've had your 1000 bees tab open since you mentioned it 2p, not yet got round to watching it. Ohs shifts, weather, and Doing Stuff has got in the way but I'm planning on watching tonight, fingers crossed. Oh shifts continue to be all over the place which limits screen time plus I've been lazy on the dom non front, which led to five loads of washing last night. Shame about the apricots…your friend sounds like she'd be good for cast offs too if there are some that take a fancy but that's an awful lot of work…One of our local diy shops has plants, I got some of the trailing lysimachia last year, it's done itself proud and is spouting again, i do like the look of it trailing about the place in a pot on high [ it's future home this year] manure carpet :double snigger:

Farway, can you find another volunteer border to stick your stuff in? too many plants for whatever reason is an occupational hazard, as it not planting things far enough apart [ totally guilty of that, quite often. I've got a Roseanne, bronze fennel, a rose and some white jasmine fighting it out in the front and something has to give…] Id forgotten about the Jeyes, will have to remember when next shopping. I saw a thing about layering rosemary recently so I might give that ago instead of grafting which looks complicated and scientific :) thanks for the fb group heads up, I'll check it out. My broad beans are struggling to come up, and my tomatoes, sown in the 18th have not arrived either…

Dusty, how nice to have what sound like normal [ as far as it goes] neighbours for a change…and I may have been on it as far as the greenhouse beds went but I didn't have to plant a hedge or mow an acre or any of the larger ticket items you do! Lovely peaceful stream, and so pretty. Good to see your hogs are back in action..

GB, you're having a time of it too…

Which reminds me, can't remember if I said or not but I got a pot with a bay bush in it for a fiver, took it all apart, I now have thirteen plants which I will make a hedge with at the lotment, so not bad…

Huzzah for the undead stick too ybe…and how helpful of they/them…honestly though, I do think it's nice that a 'ahem' younger generational can just play around like that and have the freedom to do it. I think I was an odd one growing up, didn't feel male or female, just me….beautiful magnolia too…

Yes to all smearing tomato seeds too, I'm doing it with some from a lower rent tesco or Sainsbury, can't remember which one but they're tiny plum ones. Never heard fo dwarf tomatoes either but I expect they're small enough to take a punt and if they work they work…blummin expensive for seed though! I need to resow mine, they have not appeared and were sown on the 18th so out with the propagator and we'll see what happens…probably double tomatoes I expect. As far as liam goes, why not just buy a jar of nigella seeds from the supermarket? much cheaper and many more of them…no idea if they're heat treated or anything though to prevent sprouting…Caraway is on my list next from there.

wort, I sowed some gaura seeds, something bride, will see if they come up..thanks for the reminder not all of us are rubbish as the erigeron :) very pretty daffs…

I'm on a mission today to 'acquire' some free woodchip I spotted a month ago, it's still there untouched so it's going to be touched today :) [It has been touched into 13 bags in the boot] Off to the allotment to spread the love being as the sun is in the sky longer now…

twopenny

Hope you enjoy it Taff. I've just watched it again and I've got to build some bee places. I started but never really got to finish. It's also showed me I need to think bigger.

The bird song slowed down was fascinating.

My huge bumble came into the kitchen to eye it up but wasn't to its taste. Saw me and thought 'that wasn't there before ' panicked and flew off at speed.

Well I got the japonica out of the pot. No bugs, damp enough and the branches still alive. Just no leaves.

One thing that struck me was what lovely compost it was. Original John innes 3. Mixed it with some from the compost heap replaced and watered. Fed it. I don't have great hopes.

Compost heap turned out. Worms returned to the undecomosed, garotta and water. 🤞

My raspberries suffered badly last years heat and I moved some off shoots to fill the gaps.

Ache from top to toe! Looks like mostly grey and rain for the holiday 🙄

YoungBlueEyes

Very quick morning all, on International Dawn Chorus day 🙂

I was sat outside with a coffee and Merlin listening hard, and it got 14 birds 😊

Well I don’t know where they’re all hiding cos I’ve never even seen some of them! No matter, they were all out there singing their wee hearts out and it was heaven 😍

Wort I do the same for tom seeds. Slice one in half, squidge the seeds+goo onto kitchen roll, shuggle the seeds about while they’re wet so you can get to them one at a time for planting, do the other half tom, write on the paper what they are while eating the tom shells bits, leave the whole mess to dry somewhere, rip seeds off one by one to plant 👍🏻

2p your startled bumble made me smile ☺️

Mild and lovely here, 7’ my phone says. Not a breath of wind and the whole place feels very Spring-like. If I wasn’t off to bladdy work, again, I’d be perfectly happy 😊

Oh and a pinch and a punch for the first of the month, white rabbits 🐇🐇🐇

twopenny

That's a very good haul Bluey!

Goldcrest fascinating.

Unfortunately still with grey skies here and not a peep from any bird 😐

Dustyevsky

Farway said: Good work on the logs Dusty, I think it is a wise move and will pay off, every time I hear the news I shake my head and carry on sowing, planting as one form of insurance.

As most people know, I don't believe the MSM news, so when they say “Ooh, maybe as much as 7 or 8% inflation!” I double it and add 3! 🤣 However, like all good tin-hat preppers, Mrs D and I think having contingency measures in place actually saves money.😉 OK there were the overbought oatcakes…but I've learned about them! 😟

-taff said: Dusty, how nice to have what sound like normal [ as far as it goes] neighbours for a change… Lovely peaceful stream, and so pretty. Good to see your hogs are back in action..

We've always had a few good neighbours here, and we hope that continues. Despite Mr King being somewhat 'difficult' we're speaking again; a vast improvement. 🤩 Mr New and his OH seem decent sorts, so there's another win.😃 We're yet to meet the couple who've bought our friends' farmhouse, but we have a village welcome pack, waiting for when they arrive. ☺️

This smallholding was full of surprises. We didn't realise there could be views, and no one mentioned a stream. Everything was totally overgrown.

2p said: Ache from top to toe! Looks like mostly grey and rain for the holiday 🙄

I thought I'd ache after getting 3/4 of the logs thrown into the shed. All that bending! 😲 However, by tea time, I felt better than for quite a while. Physios have said, my arthritis needs targeted exercises. Apparently, certain muscles begin to 'sleep' as we age, so require 'waking-up' regularly. Otherwise, they get lazy and don't support the joints properly. While I know that, exercising x3 every day is deadly boring, but if it works……😕

The holiday (for some!) outlook isn't great. My fear is the hordes descending and putting extra pressure on local pumps, coupled with locals filling up to do similarly in the opposite direction! 😄 I think I'll shop today, and then stay home until next Tuesday or Wednesday. For the first time in many years, we have no Easter visitors. 🙃

We do have this Berberis darwinii, which the bees adore. Mrs Dusty has raised the crown on it. The next step is to place some more interesting plants under and around it. That border hasn't been touched in ten years!