Awful weather - typical Brits talk

ArbitraryRandom

Morning All,

Slightly put out today as one (of my two) female flowers has opened but no males... which is the reverse of last week when I had a solitary male. I've been reading around and, from what I can see, there's nothing I can do to force it. I guess it's the risk of having only one plant. Still, nice to see a few hoverflies getting a late season snack on a fairly cool day and there's still the other one (crosses fingers). 

Re snails. There's something like 80 different species in the UK and I'm no expert, but I think those three are all the same family - White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis). Comes in a fair few colours and sizes, but they all have that solid band at the base of the shell.

Farway

Sun has decided to come out now, should be a pleasant day for a Bank Holiday, if a bit breezy

Blight forecasting, yes there is a formula, Smith Periods and somehow Hutton Criteria, both linked with temperature & humidity. I used to be with Blightwatch and received blight warnings, but that became Blightspy  https://blightspy.huttonltd.com/#/, and I heard no more, but just looked & you can sign up for alerts, however the idea of the alerts was to get spraying, now there are not any suitable sprays I suppose all it would be handy for is keeping your eyes open, or in greenhouses shut the windows

pink_poppy said:

Anyone watch Beechgrove this week?? I only caught a bit, but it was talking about pests and diseases - tomato and tattie blight were both mentioned. Apparently there's a 'system' to work out if you're going to get blight. I can't remember the name of it, but it was to do with how many days rainfall and humidity you get.

Not seen this week's BG yet, on my list, and now adding Country F to list, I don't normally watch that but will be whizzing fast-forward to tomato bit
I'm with you on buying TV licence, still undecided what to do next year when it increases given the little I watch it, being me I'll probably take the easy option & continue "just in case". 

I have principles and if you don't like them I have others [G Marx, I think]

That blog looks interesting, Dusty, I'll have to set some time aside for a good look. On Butterflies / moths, there was a couple on this week's GW who just used the garden as home for them, letting plants come & go to suit the insects not humans

Picked more apples yesterday, they were not fully ripe but the birds have had a peck while checking them, so rather than let the apples start rotting I picked the pecked ones & stewed them, only half a dozen or so but it all helps the Cost of Living Crisis.

I see that ultra processed food has returned to the headlines, at least growing our own helps a bit I guess

Today's pics, for Arbs and others, more of crab apple "Laura" growing in the volunteer patch. Taken this week

YoungBlueEyes

I’m only on my phone now but those apples look like plums to me Farway 😁 

Aye I’d not have renewed the tv licence if it was just me, but himself wasn’t up for watching tv so differently just to keep legal so I did it through gritted teeth. There’s a whole huge thread on here somewhere about it (how to do it, what the parameters are etc), I’ll look for it later when I’ve time. Galls me when I only watch Beechgrove, Only Connect, Gogglebox, and Connor Phillips in the mornings on BBC Radio Ulster. Himself likes Yesterday/Dave/PBS etc, and I’m not even sure they come under the licence *sigh*

And I love that Marx quote  

Have you any heat coming in the forecast Arb? Will that make them open simultaneously? 

YoungBlueEyes

MSE article here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/tv-licence/

Heres the huge (old) thread I was talking about https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/805699/tv-licence-article-discussion/p1


This is the board. There are so many articles, it’s a day’s reading on its own !  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/tv-moneysaving

Cornucopia is the person to listen to on all this. 

twopenny

Sun came out for a moment but very cool morning and evening.
I tested the soil for a neighbour and the rain has got right down thank goodness. 

Hoping to have a good go at the garden while the bathroom fitters are here. Pruning,wedding all the fun things.
Letting everything stay and see what happens.

I've been wanting to dirch the bbc because it's all sport and rubbish.  But I'm finding stuff from the archives that makes my brain work so with winter coming...........due in September is what's kept me paying.

Thanks for the links Bluey. I know the basics and am running on watching on the puter mostly now so it's a matter of adjusting.
Gardeners world has become meah. Montys heart isn't in it, they've dropped the peoples gardens that was so popular, love the other guy but they seem to be trying to please everyone and aren't pleasing anyone.
Countryfile and beechgrove on the list.

2people I've never met are turning up to rip my house to bits tomorrow. Wish me luck 

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Maybe they’re right. Ignorance is bliss. 

Maybe..but if context and background might be useful in the future, there's an excellent discussion between Dr John Campbell and Russell Brand on YT. They look back, and also towards what's coming, with reference to potential conflicts of interest. Normally, I can't cope with the presentational style of Brand, however thought-provoking his content, but on this occasion he's forced to adopt a slower, more serious approach. 

OT: a dull, uninspiring start here, with a gradual slide into light rain, which promises to linger until dusk. We had better get down to that river early.....but no one's awake, apart from the DD who works, and she's down there with the drunkards by now!

Dustyevsky

Loving 'Laura' Farway, but I suspect she is too upright to be classed as a “proper tree shape.”

Hope the bathroom fitting is under way 2p. In my experience, the ripping out goes quickly and well. After that, it's down to whether all the bits are in the boxes and whether emergency call out happens. 

Not much gardening news. I'm still wondering why I built a polytunnel in a hole so as not to upset neighbours who got upset anyway. I will be making two giant soak-aways when the digger arrives.

A foliage photo today, courtesy of MiL, who's a pretty good gardener.Unlike most, that Bergenia disappears in winter, but I love the large leaves.

ArbitraryRandom

I think the things doing best in my garden right now are the maple seedlings  

I need to spend a day ripping them out and tidying everything else up, but it's too wet and cold for me to want to when there's other (indoor) things that need doing. I guess I'm a fair weather gardener at heart...

Question re strawberries - Not the alpine strawberries I grew from seed, the dozen or so plants from the car boot. They're currently in pots (9L ish). Do I leave them in there over winter, do they go in a cold frame, or should I plant them out somewhere in the edges of the garden and designate that my strawberry plot next year? 

Farway

Dull start, a bit cool as well, but only gardening planned is dahlia dead heading which should take all of five minutes

Garden waste wheelie is due for collection today, exciting times because it's been a lottery of will they won't they collect, if it gets emptied I will then top it up with more buddleia pruning, one I planted on a spare patch of ground near my garage, it has done well and loved by bees etc, unfortunately a bit too well 'cos it now hits my car when using my garage, just waiting for the flowers to fade & insects to leave, and then I'll attack it

YoungBlueEyes said:

I’m only on my phone now but those apples look like plums to me Farway 😁 

You know how to wound Blue!

Dustyevsky said:

Loving 'Laura' Farway, but I suspect she is too upright to be classed as a “proper tree shape.”

Think you're right, one of the volunteers remarked how it wasn't growing much, had to remind them that was what was in their design spec when I was tasked to source a commemorative tree, low maintenance, will not spread or obscure area, grow into a monster etc.

Listening to R4 farming this morning, as well as Blue wounding with plums , they were saying what a cracking grape harvest it is this year in UK while visiting a vineyard in Devon. They had to admit through clenched Beeb Teeth that Global Boiling is good for UK grape growers, except me of course

Today's pic, the climbing flat yellow French beans, saving for seed and only sown this year as emergency just in case runners failed.

Dustyevsky

Global boiling has somehow missed me too, but it's early days for our dessert grapes. They've had babies, though, so we just need a stable garden situation for those in the cold frame to find homes. How I wish we could the digger work over and one with!

I don't know about your strawbs, Arb. Mine grew in the big container I put them in, produced minimally, then threw out loads of runners, which are rooting everywhere. I didn't want fruit, as it was their first season, but those I let develop weren't very tasty. The jury's still out. Again, nowhere to plant them that isn't digger territory ATM.