Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Beautiful Winter Garden there Dusty. I wouldn't mind that here. I wonder how many people predominantly think of how to create a nice summer garden full of flowers rather than a whole year round garden. /me puts her hand up Must try harder.

Some of Rosemoor, like the Hot Garden, isn't wonderful in winter. It wasn't worth a photo when we visited last week. Getting a bit of all round colour and interest is something many of us learn eventually, and the RHS get let off in that case because it's specialised. The Rose Garden was similar.

All action here this morning. The digger has broken through, and we'll be setting out the new access and hedge banks by lunchtime. Photos tonight, probably.

Farway

Weather unable to make its mind up, started sunny but cool, nice sunrise, photo below, red sky in morning etc?

My climbing beans seem to have recovered from being planted out, they're looking much perkier this morning and some have even started the upwards climb on the poles.

The toms I potted on must have settled in now. They are starting to grow again and won't be too long before I need to seriously sort out their final homes. I need more compost first though, and my poorly back is the main problem there.

Which brings me round to the peat free debate. 

I buy it because these days it is the only option round here, but I do agree there should be some nationally recognised grading / nutrient system, like the John Innes numbers for instance.

Then we could choose cheapo carp for filling large tubs, or dear good stuff for say houseplants

The best winter gardens I've seen are at the Hillier gardens near Romsey, they have made a real effort there, and it's handily near the cafe. https://www.hillier.co.uk/garden-and-home-ideas/guide-to-the-winter-garden-with-sir-harold-hillier-gardens/

YoungBlueEyes said:

So if your Muscat keeps deciding to live Farway will you be making vino?   

No, too much faffing for me these days.

I did make Château Farway way back forty or so years ago, then I lived on the south-facing slopes of a hill overlooking Portsmouth Harbour and my grape was on the house wall facing south.

Required a ladder to go up and pick them, but TBH the resulting wine owed more to Sarsens than Sauvignon, but like scratching an itch, it was one of those things, had to be done.

This morning's red sky

ArbitraryRandom

Thanks all. I think I'll just stick with manure and bark for now, plus the odd cheap grow bag that I come across. I'm sure not all of the stuff I've been buying is 100% free, but as you say it can be hard to tell what's mixed in sometimes and it's just to get the level up for now. I'm also considering popping into the bait shop in town and buying a cup of worms to give the beds a bit of a head start/to help with the soil structure given I'm just randomly dumping stuff on there and not mixing it in too well... 

Cooler today, but no rain as yet. I wouldn't actually mind it at this point as the beds could do with a decent soaking. On that note, no bags today it looks like, but that's okay as I've just been pottering during my tea break.

Thinned out my tomatoes now they've got their first proper leaves and ended up with I think 5 balcony red and three tumbling tom yellow (plus the veranda red that I bought). I've space in the bed for maybe 5 in total, so the rest can take their chances in some larger tubs in a few weeks. They're not quite big enough to join the squashes I potted up yesterday, but I'm getting quite a collection that's filling the windowsills, so they might have to risk it sooner rather than later. At least during the day. 

This afternoon I want to try and split my shallots as well. I was waiting to plant them directly out, but they're growing a bit big to stay crowded and I can't really put them out until I've got more soil in the bed. It's going to be a bit catch as can this year, but hopefully next year will be easier if I can just get a load of manure on there a the end of season and cover them till spring. 

twopenny

Ah yes, somethings have to be done when you're younger and thinking you may have the magic touch.
For me it was rhubarb jam......I tried all sorts of additives like ginger and apple but essentially it was just soild and didn't seem to go with anything.

Quince jelly, which I love, was another. Sheesh that's hard work. Now I haunt the open garden days and just buy some someone else has made  . 

Drying mint took a few misfortunes before I got it right - but had so much I went right off mint tea!

Double digging and mulching runner beans only lasted until the 'no dig' thing came along.

One success was a boss who told me to walk on the beds with brassicas in as the firm soil made them head well. 

Looking forward to hearing the successes of those creating new gardens now, for some new ideas   

Cool, cloudy and rain predicted. So far it's dry so the washing has gone out again.
Love the sunrise Farway. 
Bluey, the apricot, like the cheap apple, has a pompom of healthy leaves but no blossom.
I'm thinking it was last years as the label promises 100% fruit..........

Farway

twopenny said:

Ah yes, somethings have to be done when you're younger and thinking you may have the magic touch.
For me it was rhubarb jam......I tried all sorts of additives like ginger and apple but essentially it was just soild and didn't seem to go with anything.

Quince jelly, which I love, was another. Sheesh that's hard work. Now I haunt the open garden days and just buy some someone else has made  . 

Drying mint took a few misfortunes before I got it right - but had so much I went right off mint tea!

Double digging and mulching runner beans only lasted until the 'no dig' thing came along.

One success was a boss who told me to walk on the beds with brassicas in as the firm soil made them head well. 

Looking forward to hearing the successes of those creating new gardens now, for some new ideas   

Cool, cloudy and rain predicted. So far it's dry so the washing has gone out again.
Love the sunrise Farway. 
Bluey, the apricot, like the cheap apple, has a pompom of healthy leaves but no blossom.
I'm thinking it was last years as the label promises 100% fruit..........

One "new" idea I like, but will never try because the raised beds have passed me, and my poorly back, by, is adding old wood, branches etc into the bottom of the raised bed before chucking carefully placing compost on top

I still like the using wee on compost & lawns, very eco & green, perhaps that's what's' missing from the peat free? Needs a good tinkling on before use

pink_poppy

Buying a cup of worms, AR - you never cease to amaze me   That's one thing I don't seem to have in this garden. Plenty of ants, but no worms...

Beautiful sunrise, Farway

I'm 99% sure my Calamondin is an ex-Calamondin, YBE   The few leaves that were still alive are now shrivelling up and falling off, despite watering and feeding. I think I just left it outside too long last year when we had that prolonged cold spell/frost. So my own fault.

No gardening for me today because I have a burst blister on my hand the size of a small country. Very sore and in an awkward place, so I keep catching it. I've snipped the skin off (TMI??) and am slathering it in germolene.

Dusty, I'm looking forward to the pics - you and the digger must have started early. Are the neighbour's curtains twitching??

It's dry, but cloudy today. Yesterday was lovely and we had a nice sunset. We also had a Sun Dog in the sky (I'll see if anyone knows what one of them is). Tomorrow's forecast is looking good - wall to wall sunshine, according to the BBC.

pink_poppy

Now that was definitely TMI, Farway  

-taff

Raining more heavily now so  going through all the gardening mags to put them in the recycling is on the cards until my appointment today, I get them free as a perk but of course, when you get something free, sometimes you I don't value it the same [ except practical gardening stuff - I picked up an old wheelbarrow yesterday, I will foist a couple fo pots on her later in exchange, it's another little bed or if it's sound enough, another water holder. ]

Arb, I wouldn't bother with the worms, if there's uncomposted stuff in there, the red worms will find it wherever it is, even on concrete, the earth ones will migrate eventually. Thanks for the manure reminder, i forget about that all the time. My mother and father used to take a buvket and shovel with them on walks sometimes, to collect it for their roses.

2p, i did lagh at that, I've made so many horrible things trying out my own magic touch, hedgerow jam is one of them, yuk.

Farway, I'm looking at those magazines today and I can honestly say, outside of a garden that's deicated to showing off, I've never seen any of these gardens in real life. Where do all these designer gardens hang out?

Dusty, good luck today!

Sorry, i know I'm rambling today, a lot, it's just that I'm in the house and easily distracted.

twopenny

Farway, it needs something to bind it together.
I'm not even going to dignify that with an explanation    

Greenbee, indeed to goodness it's a distraction!
.I had to put the computer on this morning. Disasterous!

Poppy, sorry about your blister. The cloth slipped when taking a tray out the oven yesterday and I had a sore finger all night but nothing like that.
I keep some Acriflex in the drawer by the cooker and use that.
Brilliant stuff. Burns and bites. Two things you can be sure to get.

Interesting that you can still get Germolene. I was wondering the other day. I'm going to have a look later.

greenbee

Overcast here again - we've had a bit of rain but not much, so I've given the newly divided and planted geraniums a splash from the watering can (and ordered more watering cans when I came in as I never seem to have one where I need it!). 

Yellow rattle plugs are planted.

Raspberry bed is finished and the raspberries are in. I was hoping for some decent rain so I don't have to water them in, but although there was a shower just as I finished planting, it didn't last ... if it hasn't materialised by this evening after work I'll have to go and give them a drink.

Seedlings all survived the cold temperatures last night in the greenhouse (which was quite warm still this morning). I just need to keep most of them in for another week or so until the risk of frost has gone. I also need to work out exactly what will go where, and the best way to organise and support the climbing beans, dwarf beans, peas, mange tout, climbing courgettes, cucumbers, and squash. I have masses of bamboos, something that claims to be a bean frame which has pea netting over it, some metal mesh panels, some wrought iron fencing, and vast amounts of plastic mesh too. I'm sure between them I can create something!