Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

Late arrival today, had a prescription to collect before the east shenanigans. Took the opportunity to swing by Morries, square tubs for round courgette & plant check.

No luck on tubs, lots of types but not what i wanted. I was very tempted seeing potted patio fruit tree, apricots and peaches, in flower, just add bees. I did think of your missing crop this year 2P. If you are feeling extra rich 2P up to Morries and £20 gets a ready made, blossoming, potted one.

PS, some Easter 4P pack fresh veg as well. I came home no pot, no plants, and some carrots & parsnips for 8p,. We won't mention the on offer Melton Mowbray pie

On dwarf tomatoes, mentioned here the other day, me & Dusty, was Cherry Falls. This one has turned up on the fanciers list of good 'uns, loves Calcium Milk [or crushed egg shells] and BF & bone. Apparently extra calcium improves the taste to super duper, news to me, but willing to try anything once, exceptions are as listed by Sir Thomas Beecham. Now on egg shell saving duties, can't do any harm to try.

Farway, can you find another volunteer border to stick your stuff in? Possibly but age & infirmity are creeping up and finding my own patch is a struggle at times, so I'll continue squeezing plants in wherever I find space. I hadn't thought about culinary Nigella seeds, could've looked while in Morries, next time perhaps

A cracking berberis Dusty,

Must have missed something or person, apologies.

Anyone wanting a good, bare root, fruit trees, Blackmoor have end of season clearance. No connection except as customer and sort of local. Not cheap like a supermarket, but it will be what it says it is. Looking at You Lidl! 😯

Use code: Springsale26 – Offer ends 30 April 2026

twopenny

Wish I had a log or two to drill for insects. Could you lob some over this way Dusty 😉

Having said that I've just thought where I might get something special 😊😊

Good tips Farway but I'm remaining steadfast in dealing with plants I've got that need homing.

Having said that ----- I did come home with a dwarf (not micro) tomato for £1 (Sweet 100) which I went to look for https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/grow-supersweet-100-tomatoes/ reading that I may have to get another 😉

- and a pot of sweet peas for £1 which I didn't mean to get. But mine have sat soaking for nearly 2 weeks and showing no signs of germination. I'm too old to wait for these things. If mine come good that will be twice as nice.

Don't know where to plant them because the usual pot is full of self sown lobelia which I couldn't bear to........ relocate.

Oh!!, just noticed that they are peas 😲 not sweet peas. Freudian slip. Because I keep wanting to plant peas....at what point can you eat the shoots? I'm guessing this is too old?

Turf laying at the cemetery 😲 I found that not only have the primroses I planted there spread but they've suddenly spread all over the area 🙂 and forget-me-not I've been trying for years both plant and seed, have grown on the bank. Bdy cold wind though.

Watered lots of pots.

Supposed to be raining tomorrow which is why I've been on a mission and being kernked plan to take tomorrow off to recover 🙂

LessImpecunious

YBE - Re.Goldcrest- I didn't know we had them here pre-Merlin app, but they pop up all the time now - heard, at least - have only seen one (definite) once…

2P - Pea shoots - think the isea is to let them get a bit bigger, so that you just crop the individual leaves before they properly unfurl, allows repeated harvest til they run out of steam… If you crop them now, I think that would be the whole plant gone in one bite…

Not sure if you should leave sweet pea seeds soaking til they germinate? - just overnight, then plant (? I think- others with more expertise may know better - I sow mine without soaking).

Dusty - have a very overgrown B darwinii - wondering what to do about it, Mrs D has perhaps provided the answer😊 Mine not flowering yet though…

Dustyevsky

I didn't know about providing extra calcium to Cherry Falls, Farway. There's certainly no shortage of eggshells here, and as we've an acid water supply, it'll be worth a trial. I grew them again this year mainly as something to give away to pals/children/sell at the garden club fund-raiser.😉

I noticed the usual plants back on offer at Morries, but on a prepping mission, so didn't succumb.😇 Morries is my go-to for cheese, meat, and a few other things, rather than a full shop. Our nearest is small, rundown, and olfactorily disadvantaged by proximity to the milk product processing plant next door. 😬

Pea shoots….I'm no expert, but I consume the tops in situ when pinching them out, at any stage. Taste OK. No doubt you're supposed to fry them in butter or something, but we've no time for that sort of nonsense. In salads, they'd probably get lost among the land cress, parsley, and wasabi mustard!

I don't think I can lob logs over Exmoor, 2p. There's still 1m3 left to chop up under a tarpaulin, and you're welcome to any of those. They might be 10"-12" long, as specified, but the machine always seems to make roughly one in four too large width ways.🙄

It isn't supposed to rain here today 2p. That's Friday. 😒 Today, I'm expecting to visit my friend on the coast and plonk a few bags of composted bark in the new front bed we've created. Then it might be a trip to the garden centre. Nothing too taxing, anyway. 😄

We've had to move the hedgehog feeding box behind a hedge, thanks to an automatic floodlight on the commercial barn across the road, sometimes creating reflections. Hogs haven't found it yet. The Rescue are going to bring 'our' hogs back in the next week or so. Henry, who was only between 300g - 400g now weighs over a kilo! 😮

Less said: YBE - Re.Goldcrest- I didn't know we had them here pre-Merlin app, but they pop up all the time now - heard, at least - have only seen one (definite) once…

I'm the same. Saw one here last year in our mini wood. 😊 They need coniferous woodland as a habitat. Mr New's wild area, backed by conifers, might be enough. We have large areas of conifers within half a mile too, but I doubt they'd travel that far without good reason.

These guys are dominating the evening chorus here. This was about a week ago.

twopenny

Sun shining here all day apparently. So the predicted rain starts tomorrow then pretty much nice for Easter darn it 😬

That means roads chocka but hey ho. That means a working weekend. Once I've tackled the garden, the garage I may start decorating. The warmer weather seems to have given my bits a rest 🤞 hospital off for the mo. Seems the arranger is off till the middle of next month 🙄

Sweet peas are germinating. Tomatoes I bought are heading skywards so all systems go.

Off today though to get to town and back before the schools kick out. If I have enough time there's a new plant nursery open and I'd like to investigate. Cramming it in.

Dusty there was a talk on hedgehogs in a village that I missed last night. I forgot 😐 I can live vicariously through yours 😉

greenbee

Stinky insisted on taking me to meet the hedgehog last night when I let him out before bed. I hope he didn’t pick up any fleas from it! Good to see it though - it’s a big adult, probably the same one that was around last year.

twopenny

Hedgehog fleas are all their own Greenbee.

I wonder if the hog was thinking the same 🤣

wort

Dusty I like the lollipop bereberis, my sister does a lot of that, it clears space underneath for other plants. I have done it with a few of mine a good space saving tip.

My arch came that I want to replace the rotten post with, my cunning plan is feed up SIL on Easter Tea then drop in the request 😂

It’s sunny today, so I’ve done a wash, and cleaned a couple of windows that are shaded, they were full of dirt and stuck on blossom from the high winds we had. I’m desperate to do something , but my back has been really painful since last Sat in a different spot to usual, so trying to not do too much. Especially as I’m working tomorrow and there’s no way I can not be doing something to aggravate it.

I planted a few Tom seed and will see how they go. I’m not sure my airing cupboard is warm but it’s dry, and I’ve taken them out today and put on sunny windowsill. Still no sign of my one dahlia tuber waking up 🙄

Farway

Maybe sunny later, it's trying to brighten up a bit but feels cold & chilly so far.

Pea shoot eating, as said, need to be larger, , once tendrils appear. I'm told you can eat the tendrils but not tried, would the be vegetarian calamari? 😂 Good for you getting them germinating, my second lot, purple mange toot, are stuck and I suspect looking North

Should sun come out & it gets warmer, I may pop a few of the growing mange toots into final position. Rain sometime over the weekend so hope to get them in for a good watering

No sign yet of my dahlia tubers ordered, message from Yodel that they have them, probably need to get really dried out before passing on. My seeds are no show as well, supposedly they were posted at the weekend, that's Royal Mail.

Dusty said I noticed the usual plants back on offer at Morries, but on a prepping mission, so didn't succumb.😇 Morries is my go-to for cheese, meat, and a few other things, rather than a full shop. Our nearest is small, rundown, and olfactorily disadvantaged by proximity to the milk product processing plant next door. 😬

I use Morries likewise, cheese counter is varied, meat, even has a butcher, and a fishmonger but that's eye watering territory these days. Ours has large, free, car park, use to have olfactory advantage before local Brewery sold out to big boys

My round courgettes are racing away, roots just poking out the pot bottom, hope they retain their oomph once in final spot

My early toms are doing well Bajaja need potting on if the sun comes out enough to keep me warm while I do it. Even Paul R is bulking up, quite pleased with this early sowing, on my bathroom window sill instead of living room, so wonder if the bit of extra moisture helps?

Still organically dealing with lily beetles, must have stomped on five yesterday, as I looked for them I heard some singing of "Eight day a week", which seems how many time I look

twopenny

Love your tricks with AI Farway, they always make me smile. You're darn clever with it.

While picking up old plant pots at the garden centre I did find a packet of what's it Falls tomatoes that was recommended but they were £4.99😲 and it's too late to get earlies. I'll search for cheaper ones for next year.

What I decided to try with planting out my first toms is putting them in pots with the bottom cut off so I can water more directly to the roots when we get these long dry spells. Remember my garden is very hot. These were pre bought but have doubled in size in 10 days so needed to go out.

I found sinking pots or water bottles tended to let the heat and dry near the roots so we'll see. Gardeners Delight.

Dug this new bed, compost put in. Yes close together but needs must. Watching Hairy Bikers in organic garden this evening they grow really tight.

Dealt with some of neighbours (she of annoying son) ivy and brambles coming through the fence. There's a rat run from her garden too so temporarily blocked.

Same corner my huge Ceanothus is dying at that end to so will have to be dealt with. Doing that I see she's let a whole fence panel collapse into other neighbours garden.🙄

The joys were to find the Cox apple is blooming 😊 I was beginning to despair.

And if only all these became cherries 😏 a Morrisons one I believe when they were good. It's 3ft high

Behind are the goosegogs that I'm training up the fence. Not as good as Farway ones but they were badly treated in early years so growing is a plus.

Supposed to rain tomorrow. Just as well because I have loads of filing to do and other stuff that's easily put off 😛