Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

It only stopped raining here for a fairly short time yesterday afternoon. I was able to get on in the polytunnel, aided by Mrs Dusty, who has taken down half the tomatoes and promised to process them today. From now until spring I'll be building deep beds in there. It would have been a dam sight easier without all the unscreened soil that was helpfully placed there and compacted, but hey ho.

Only 5c down in the valley this morning , so it definitely feels like autumn. We still have a few straggler swallows flitting-about. I expect they'll go when the weather calms and winds come from the south in a day or two.

Bletting is something one also does to Medlars if intent on making medlar jelly, but I think I'll give that a miss again this year! That's 14 years in a row now, though we used to have a lady who came to pick them years ago and sell her jams etc in the market. 

Speaking of the market, I checked and real Seville marmalade is on the cards for Christmas, so I may invest in some of that rather than old malt whisky. It's marginally healthier and may be harder to come by. The lady who sells it is a climate sceptic, like me, so although there's been reports of global boiling in the region, she says that's nonsense and it was 42c when she was there a few years ago. So there!

YoungBlueEyes

I’m getting annoyed with the Climate Change schtick. There was a thing at the end of the 6 o'clock news the other night on the BBC (I had it on for the weather to see if I wanted the app), about a huge algae bloom in Loch Neagh. They were talking to these about how it affected their livelihood - watersports but they've closed down now - and the fellah was saying it's been happening for years. It grows after there's a lot of rain cos it washes the ...nutrients... off the fields and it's just what the algae thrive on. And without letting the fellah draw breath the bbc man said "well there you are it's Climate Change back to you in the studio". I was shouting at the telly with a lot of bad language. I mean, is no-one actually checking this horseship before it goes on air? Or are they allowed to embarrass themselves saying any old thing as long as it ends in "so there you are it's Climate Change" ?! It's bollix and it's getting insulting. 

Granda's farm had a burn winding through it and it would often run a brown rusty colour and produce a creamy foam where there was drops in it. The only way to stop us swimming in it was to tell us if we touched the water with our bare skin it'd give us warts. That was 40 years ago. 

(And if that's the final straw it was nice knowing you all ) 

twopenny

Well the beans are down again this morning!
Put them back yesterday. May leave them there because the tomatoes under have burst loke ballons and covered in mud.
And there was me thinking I should convert the back to a pottager last night.
Well that's climate change for you!
Sorry, couldn't resist   

I've been watching Monty Don French Gardens again. It always gives me ideas.
There were some interesting suggestions in episode 2

New nuts Bluey. And so many apples to eat I'm going to be very regular.
Suns out till lunch they say. Or drizzle from morning on. But the sun is shining at the mo. Chilly tho.
Too wet to garden. There should be one dry day this weekend but garden may be to wet to walk on.
Everything's gone from too dry and failing to beaten down by wind and rain.

Well that's gardening for you   

YoungBlueEyes

Ooh new nuts 2p! There's nothing like that round here, that I know of I must check that with The Oracle actually in case I'm wrong. I've still got toms coming on my growbag toms, but some of them have split. I expect that's Climate Change. And my gentle kicking of the swish roses produced 3 more critters, also Climate Change prolly  

I've sure I read (in Adam the Gardener..?) that you're to wrap each apple in a sheet of newspaper and put them in a cool dark place if you want to store them. 

I've had to cull the gardening progs cos it's giving me too many options for my brain to choose one. I'm working on mashing something together from the books I got. I've a bit of an idea firming up but still changing and tweaking. Posh friend is coming for lunch today (her with the nice garden) so she'll rip it to shreds straighten out my notions ha haa!

wort

Yesterday I put my faith in the beeb, it was forcast rain morning clearing in the afternoon so washer went on at 11.30 and I got my work stuff dried outside 🤩 Today the forcast is sunny till 1 pm then rain till 4 . So towels are on the line. I’m hoping I’m back from coffee with friends before it happens ! 

Farway

A bit chilly this morning, but the wind has gone & sun's out despite Global Boiling

Good job we can laugh, the Beeb blaming GB for Loch fungus, and same Beeb"Farming Today this morning" saying how GB is helping UK grape growing, vineyards popping up everywhere.

They also said it takes ten to fifteen years t get a vineyard into proper production, sounds like my Lakemont has a few more years to go, not sure if I have though

YoungBlueEyes said:

I've sure I read (in Adam the Gardener..?) that you're to wrap each apple in a sheet of newspaper and put them in a cool dark place if you want to store them. 

Good old Adam, but I think ideas may have moved on, nothing wrong with paper method but hard to achieve in modern houses, no cellars, larder, brick privy etc. Another method is outside racking, open to the elements, roof on top but bird proof, sort of outside 'fridge

My method is stew them & bung in the freezer

Just looked up Red Windsor apples, and now I want one, looks like just the type for poisoning tempting Snow White

Dustyevsky said:

Speaking of the market, I checked and real Seville marmalade is on the cards for Christmas, so I may invest in some of that rather than old malt whisky. It's marginally healthier and may be harder to come by.

I bet that's nice, CBA to try & make it myself but buying a HM jar or two I could manage. I had some HM Clementine marmalade from DD, lovely stuff, best I can manage is open a tin of Mamade and do it that way

Checking parcel tracker, My T & M pansies having completed their tour of the West Country, Bristol 0736 yesterday morning, and, duly crushed, they were handed to Royal Mail this morning at 0608, now waiting to be slung into the back of a van and possibly left on the wrong doorstep later today

Not expecting to do any gardening, too soggy out, but just may toddle down to check for any storm damage

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

 There was a thing at the end of the 6 o'clock news the other night on the BBC (I had it on for the weather to see if I wanted the app), about a huge algae bloom in Loch Neagh. They were talking to these about how it affected their livelihood - watersports but they've closed down now - and the fellah was saying it's been happening for years. It grows after there's a lot of rain cos it washes the ...nutrients... off the fields and it's just what the algae thrive on. And without letting the fellah draw breath the bbc man said "well there you are it's Climate Change back to you in the studio".

That old chap had better watch out or BBC Vilify will be after him!  He's right; the spreading of too much nitrogenous fertiliser leads to it going into the streams and down to the lakes, where the still water algae just love it.

Around me, they're harvesting the maize at present, all grown with liberal quantities of fertiliser spread by the contractors who 'farm' for the business entities renting the land. There's no 'farmer.' It's too early if anybody/animal was actually going to eat the stuff, but it's all been chopped-up finely because it's going to a digester to make lovely, climate-friendly, bio-gas etc.

Meanwhile....I, with my entirely natural, sheep-poo powered ecosystem, can't even get a new access track across my own land without jumping through ridiculous official hoops. I've just had a reply from the council, who are demanding I submit more plans to them + ££, so they can 'pre-approve' what's actually permitted development. In other words, they seem to be at odds with national government and I'm piggy-in-the-middle. Were it not for the fact that we'll need planning on the barn, I'd cheerfully tell them to do one.

On topic: It's sunny and it's not going to last!

YoungBlueEyes

While I’m on a roll I might as well just keep going  Dusty what would happen if you just cracked on with the gig, could you get retro planning? You’d pi$$ people off but they already are so what’s the difference? It’d save you a few quid. Or is it too late for that now you’re on their radar? 

Yep it was nitrogen and other stuff. The water sport man had just finished saying it always happens after a lot of rain and that he’d only closed because people didn’t have the spare pennies for luxuries now, but mr beeb rode over that. I’ll shurrup on that now cos I don’t want banning. 

Good luck with your plugs Farway 🤞🏻 I’m sure if anyone can revive them it’ll be you

And if anyone finds themself looking at too many jars of good marmalade I’ll have ‘em! And if a mug of whiskey got slung in while it’s boiling away I’ll pay extra   

OT sun’s out, washing’s out. They all say nice all day but the drunkards reckon it’ll rain at 3 ish so I’ve another load on. 

ArbitraryRandom

I foolishly put the laundry on this morning because it was bright and sunny, but I've just checked and we're expected to have rain from 1... so I can't really be bothered to put it out just for an hour and a half. If I light the fire this afternoon then I'll open one of the windows and spread it out in the lounge - not as good as a blow but better than just staying in the machine. 

It's going to be one of those days  

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Yep it was nitrogen and other stuff. The water sport man had just finished saying it always happens after a lot of rain and that he’d only closed because people didn’t have the spare pennies for luxuries now, but mr beeb rode over that. I’ll shurrup on that now cos I don’t want banning.

I don't think you'll be banned on a weather thread for reporting what a local with local knowledge said about the effects of very wet weather in their locality. 

However, if someone deems you're over the target far too much, they might look into your previous history and see what dirt they can dig....

Raining now, but without the fierce NW wind to blow it in Farway's direction this time.

On the other matter, it might be easy to win that battle, but I'm more interested in winning the war. Strangely, I had a certain business enquiring this morning if I might need their help. 'Wheels within wheels.....'  Oh look, a butterfly!ly