Awful weather - typical Brits talk

greenbee

My new garden has had a day of work with a mini-digger and the bulk of the shrubs have been removed - most were too leggy, overgrown and dead inside to be worth keeping (particularly given that they weren't particularly interesting. There are a few decent specimens remaining, plenty of trees, and a VAST pile in the middle of the lawn that needs to be sorted for burnable wood (small logs and kindling), stuff to shred and turn into compost accelerator, and then stuff to burn/put in the council garden waste bins.

Unsurprisingly the soil is in terrible condition - dry, poor and with hardly a worm in sight. So with plenty of grass and plenty of 'brown' material to compost I need to set up a composting system as a priority. I'm also thinking that raised beds for the fruit/veg plot can be quite deep and have un-composted twigs and grass in the bottom layer (kind of hugelcultur, but with compost and topsoil added to the top layer for this year. 

So I'm now on a mission to work out what the best options are (on the basis of performance for spend) for composting the woodchip, bulk composting on an ongoing basis (I did have a look at a mega hotbin as I had a lot of success with my small one in hampshire, and wondered whether it would be a good way of accelerating the process in a 3-bay rotation), and raised beds. Sadly I have no access to old fence panels (my usual option for building large compost bays) so I need to find another solution. And wood has got very expensive, so I need to investigate options for raised beds. I think there will be a fairly significant capital outlay, but hopefully I'll be self-sufficient in compost and a fair amount of food once it's all set up. 

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

That dragon entrance Dusty, does it lead to Westeros? That's a lovely shot of it in the fading sunshine eh.

I had a look on Google, but can't recognise any of the 7 Kingdoms. The most recent aerial photo gives no clues either. However, it is quite close to an ancient obelisk from Saxon times. We have a few of those still kicking around.

Pity about the telegraph pole and I'd better not comment on the cannas!

OT: I see the BBC are giving us thunderstorms tomorrow, a cold weekend, then reasonable weather Monday/Tuesday. Looking beyond, it might be wise to grab those!

LessImpecunious

greenbee said:

So I'm now on a mission to work out what the best options are (on the basis of performance for spend) for composting the woodchip, bulk composting on an ongoing basis (I did have a look at a mega hotbin as I had a lot of success with my small one in hampshire, and wondered whether it would be a good way of accelerating the process in a 3-bay rotation), and raised beds. Sadly I have no access to old fence panels (my usual option for building large compost bays) so I need to find another solution. And wood has got very expensive, so I need to investigate options for raised beds. I think there will be a fairly significant capital outlay, but hopefully I'll be self-sufficient in compost and a fair amount of food once it's all set up. 

You could give the Berkeley 18 day hot composting method a go - could be ideal as you already have a lot of material, and doesn't require any kind of container... https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2010/05/08/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/

goldfinches

Quite a contrast in the weather here too. It rained this morning and this afternoon was dank and grey. Yesterday was lovely and bright though and I spent the afternoon at the Botanic Garden with friends. We all admired this dahlia.

YoungBlueEyes

Sounds like you're in Arb's camp gb, lots of actual big gardening to do that'll cost a bit but then it's done. What sort of things are left? Enough for a bit of interest over the winter..? 

I like your obelisk Dusty. It's a wonder what people could produce with such basic ...technology...? Same as churches imo. I'm agnostic but I'm all on for churches, any fundraiser or book sale or coffee morning or book sale and I'm there. There was a lovely 14thC butter cross where I used to live in Lincs, I passed it every day on my way to work. It made me smile

Out looking for a squirrel baffle yesterday (none to be had anywhere) but B+M were having a plant sale. So I got a tray of 6 pansies and a tray of 6 primroses, 50p each. If they survive the drowning they're currently getting I'll get them planted today. Hopefully.

I looked for that film last night but it's not on the catchups. We ended up watching a fairly decent one though - Mr Jones - a true story about a journalist in the 30's who thinks he's uncovered a story in Russia and risks his life trying to get it exposed. It's on bbc iplayer. About a third of the way through it slows up but I'm pleased we stuck with it. I got to the end and thought 'my god, is that what that is? I never knew that!' I'd recommend not looking it up before you watch it, for that reason. 

It's been raining for hours here and plenty more of it to come too. But it's not windy or cold so it's fine. Proper cold coming in the nights sun/mon/tues, 1 or 2'. They say. Maybe we should be cheering on the cold temps before we're all globally boiled to death  

Edit - I'd have been stood admiring that dahlia too gf, very pleasing colour  

twopenny

Well the beans are down again! Seems we had strong winds last night and the buckets load of rain continued.
Supposed to be dry today but everywhere is sodden.

Imp, I'll see if I can find a photo of the compost heap at Greencombe. Only a gardener could photograph a compost heap   
It was the same as the one my grandmothers gardener made (but bigger) but maybe too simple for your design. Cheap though and worked the best.

Love the dark red of the flower. I've had to stop myself buying winter flowers that colour because they disappear in the low light.

My lovely yellow chrysanths that i bought from Tesco are rotting. Probably a mix of reasons but disappointing because they were a ray of sunshine on dark days.

Off for a bit of fun then stripping windows ready for new seals and maybe the rest of mist coat on the bathroom. It's never ending!

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

I like your obelisk Dusty. It's a wonder what people could produce with such basic ...technology...?

I looked for that film last night but it's not on the catchups. We ended up watching a fairly decent one though - Mr Jones - a true story about a journalist in the 30's who thinks he's uncovered a story in Russia and risks his life trying to get it exposed. It's on bbc iplayer. About a third of the way through it slows up but I'm pleased we stuck with it. I got to the end and thought 'my god, is that what that is? I never knew that!' I'd recommend not looking it up before you watch it, for that reason. 

Edit - I'd have been stood admiring that dahlia too gf, very pleasing colour  

I ought to find out more about the obelisks near here. I've read about them, but it's lost in the mists of time, a bit like pieces of more recent history, to which you're alluding.   Think I might watch the film first, though!

I thought gf's dahlia was one we've had called 'Karma Choc,' but my memory's faulty again, judging by pictures of that. I've reappraised my mystery dahlia and decided it's a very good red, but the weak stems which cause every flower to droop are its undoing. No good having bright flowers that can't be seen properly. I propped it up for this photo! .....errr, what photo? Seems not to be there, so here is our potted display in the utility area out front instead....

A fairly calm and even quite bright morning here, but we all know what's coming! Chimney's swept and the log basket is ready.

Farway

Pouring down here, but very welcome TBH because it has been very dry, nothing like a good drenching to perk things up a bit, and get my pansies, Cloth of Gold + passion flower well watered in. Results will show come Spring

The top-up Morries pansies were planted at volunteer place yesterday, and fellow volunteer has added some potted cyclamen, should look nice, at least better than the weedy pots we had

Clematis still unplanted, I will have to get a move on this weekend if it gets dry enough

Garden waste bin still not emptied , nearly as surprising news as finding out rich racing tycoon hid zillions away from taxman or bears do awful things in woods

Dusty, nice obelisk, and at last some cannas I can sneer at . 

You'll tell me now that since that picture they have grown to the top of the obelisk with huge flowering spikes, causing crowds to block the roads as they flock to the area to admire them.

Mine are still nil flowers and now getting to the stage where growth is over and death is the next stage in their short but unproductive life

Plan this weekend was moving my daff bulbs from their packets into pots near my front door now the toms & cuc that were in the pots have died back, but too wet for now

Nice dusky dahlia GF, and display Dusty. My dahlias were nice, but this weather had made them bedraggled this morning. The couple I hand pollinated seem to have set seeds, need to be collected for next year's super show. 

The red Bishops' child from seed looks OK, with flowers well above foliage and not droopy, but it looks like may others

If the volunteer border was as fertile as some of the RHS ones, it would be worthwhile planting them there, but it's not.

YoungBlueEyes

Gawd 2p you have no luck with your beans! Least they’re (still?) producing a nice dinner though 

Thats a good collection of pots Dusty, bright and cheerful eh? 

Yep the film is about more recent events, well the same countries anyway. It was the ‘twist’? near the end that surprised me. If anyone’s not seen the film I’d def look it out. 

Think I’d be getting cross about the bin situation by now Farway. Is it just your one not collected or is it the whole street? 

Possibly helpful rambling alert - when I moved into my last wee house I left the bin out at the right time in the right area on the right day and they ignored it. I rang the council who loosely promised the van may return for it before/after 4pm today/tomorrow or not. After a few times I ran out and asked the guy why they were leaving it, it was because the handle side wasn’t at the front! They’re too busy/elf’n’safety/mental health/brexit something or other to turn them round. If you don’t place it just right they don’t lift them. If that’s a help? 

Drunkards were bang on here, again. Rain stopped a couple of hours ago and it’s quite sunny and nice. We’re still under thick clouds and pouring rain according to the others… 

twopenny

Aw the bin thing  ours are so kind they go right up to my elderly disabled house, collect her bin and return it up the slope to near her door. 
No idea how they know she has problems but they do. I try to put the bins and stuff back but not always there.

Love the pots Dusty. That's one classy utility area you have there.

I'm busy trying to make a contraption to make sure my bg bay tree pot stays up in winter winds. You can't buy the pots now and if you find one you need a mortgage on it.

Was browsing the BBC in pictures site and saw this. As we're all into photos I thought there maybe some ideas here.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-66935232

Dull, drippy and blowy here. Mild though.