Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

LessImpecunious said:

Bargain seeds alert (before Farway gets there!) Premier Seeds Direct are selling all their "pictorial packets" for 59p. I think they're all Franchi seeds; and with a short "expiration" date, but worth a punt?

Ta, I'll have a peek right after this.

Just looked, nothing for me, I've ignored radishes, ggrrr.

twopenny said:

Watering is needed, going to need some more plant food as mines gone wet from earlier. I'll use it up and see if I can get more. Farway makes me feel lazy about this watering and feeding thing  

Dipping down to the garden center. It's been for sale for ages and the rescue section has been banned so no bargains to be had. It's a sad thing.........

Collected more pot marigold seeds and more to come. Once you get one plant started it procreates well. Doesn't fit in with the colours but just bright and cheerful.

If you like it, Tomorite on offer, £4 1l or £9 2.5l Amazon, the 2.5l is also at Morries, for extra temptation.

I've just ordered the 2.5 from the river, save me lugging it home

Pot marigolds are so cheerful, and one of the "doers" if not fussed about colour shades. Mine have set seed but not yet ripe enough to collect.

Some I'll let fall among the nasturtiums, and hopefully I can have self sown patch

Latest update, I have flower buds on my runners and my carroty carrots are at the ferny leaf stage now

twopenny

I've been out cutting that climbing rose and clearing the mess that went in my neighb ours.

She kindly said that I could put the detritus in her green bin. Very kind and as my car is unreliable to take out really helps.

I mowed the lawn too but it's so humid I'm sat in the shade dripping!

I had to refil the pot pond too. It had evapourated all in one day  

I did see two buds on my tomato plants    

But they are still small plants. Healthy just not going upwards. I've watered, got to wait for it to cool off before I do it again with some feed.

Farway, I've got Phostogen as recommended to me half a centurary ago. The only new box I could get was £6 but it's a bigun. I should be fine for years if I can stop it absorbing moisture.

twopenny

Morning all wherever you are  

Hanging around here at the moment because after exhausting heat it's supposed to rain all day starting around 10am.

Doesn't look like it atm. Not a breeze to be had either.

So my open top bus trip and the village fete are unlikely as planned. Clearing and pruning, doing the paths are also unlikely so not sure where to go until outside proves right or wrong.

I may potter and deadhead but the feeding and watering are moot also because it would be better after rain.

Perhaps move some pots that are in the alley to shade from the expected hot summer weather that never happened

Farway

Very warm, and what seemed a sleepless night, so much so I got up before six and was up watering the volunteer pots by eight

At least they are fine now I'm watering regularly. But talking of fertilisers, I reckon a good fed would help some pots, just a case of me getting my roundtoit working.

Some of my toms, while fruiting, seems like I maybe messed up. I chose Rubylicous due to its blight resistance & blurb about taste. 

Both of which may well be true, but unless some super sized magic beam arrives the toms l are still pea sized right now, supposed to be cherry ones. 

Plants are healthy and green, and tom fruit is going pale as it ripens.

Oh well, at least one advantage of buying on offer cheap seeds is trying different varieties out

More flowers opened on my climbing French beans, but I did notice slug nibble on some leaves yesterday so will have to keep a check on that

twopenny said:

Morning all wherever you are  

Hanging around here at the moment because after exhausting heat it's supposed to rain all day starting around 10am.

Doesn't look like it atm. Not a breeze to be had either.

So my open top bus trip and the village fete are unlikely as planned. Clearing and pruning, doing the paths are also unlikely so not sure where to go until outside proves right or wrong.

I may potter and deadhead but the feeding and watering are moot also because it would be better after rain.

Perhaps move some pots that are in the alley to shade from the expected hot summer weather that never happened

Hope it brightens 2P, and you can get out to the fête, is it one that has plant stalls?

Pic for the day, my front steps, now starting to look as intended, still needs more geraniums to open, but someone mentioned pots up steps, and that's what I have

Nice, but the steps are a bu66er with my crackly knees these days

Toms at the back, some secured to the handrails

twopenny

Lovely Farway

Like the idea of tying the plants to the handrails  

I'm still sitting here doing odd jobs and a wind has got up from being incredibly still - and yes, warm night so I was up early.

That wind makes me think I should stake the Brocolli if I can get a cane in the ground. Sky's a bit cloudier and it's cooler.

Maybe it's a day for tidying after all. I tend to aim for the big obvious jobs and don't 'tend' to stuff.

Have you tried walking poles Farway? I was advised and it gets a few odd looks but they are amazing and keep you upright and stable on both sides.

I'm creaking all over at the moment. I don't know if its' something problematical or because I'm doing more and my body isn't used to it so just unexpected movement.

Everywhere has plants for sale around here   Rock solid soil atm and determination makes me avoid them.

The one that stands out is at the local diy store where I have to walk past their staging and the plants are locally sourced so good but random. Was very tempted by some dark beautiful Daliahs in pots for £3.50 each. I have to go there today. I'll try and resist.

I did buy some healthy Sprout plants from the garden centre. Nowhere to plant them yet.

pink_poppy

Your step display looks lovely, Farway. The Canna (??) in the middle gives it a slightly tropical vibe   

I was awake early too, just too warm. Our rain started about 8pm last night and I don't think it's stopped since, although it's only light. Anyway, that means zero gardening today. My DH did finish the anthill mob, so now that's just a big 'hole' in the lawn, but at least it's fairly flat. He bagged up all the stones and has piled them up into the hole which still has the plastic sheeting at the bottom. He filled 20 bags!! It wasn't intended as a rockery by the previous owners, Dusty, the stones are too small (but perfect for painting as per AR's stone art ). When DH was moving the bags he spotted a frog or toad (it was a bit warty) so he safely relocated that to the pond...



Are you able to recommend walking poles, twopenny?? I'd forgotten that when I saw the physio about my ankles, she suggested them. Where did you get them from and how do you know what height to get (if there are different heights - I'm assuming there are)??

twopenny

The walking poles I got from Lidl middle asile £15 - pretty pale green. They arrive spasmodically, this was spring. I'm guessing once the toys are done when the children go back to school they may have them again. I've seen them there a couple of years.

They are adjustable to your comfort. It's really easy. I've changed mine to slighly lower to suit and sometimes find just one will do it - but then my injury is lopsided  

I was amazed what a difference it made.

Trespass and such have them slightly more expensive and just black. A friend has metalic red ones!

Did I say, my physio and hubby are both marathon runners and young, they use them. I've also seen a lot of youngsters using them for hiking.

Now that looks like a real pond! You know frogs and toads like to find a damp or cool area. Not just ponds. I had some that liked the kitchen drain. And my toad lived in the corner of the compost heap

LessImpecunious

Farway said:

Some of my toms, while fruiting, seems like I maybe messed up. I chose Rubylicous due to its blight resistance & blurb about taste. 

Both of which may well be true, but unless some super sized magic beam arrives the toms l are still pea sized right now, supposed to be cherry ones. 

Warning bells should have rung at the mention of cherries... Hope they grow, to at least cherry size, and perhaps survive better!

Farway

My Tomorite has arrived, bigger bottle than I thought, it'll see me through to next year anyway without any worries, and probably be ten times the price by 2025.

twopenny said:

Lovely Farway

Like the idea of tying the plants to the handrails  

Have you tried walking poles Farway? I was advised and it gets a few odd looks but they are amazing and keep you upright and stable on both sides.

I'm creaking all over at the moment. I don't know if its' something problematical or because I'm doing more and my body isn't used to it so just unexpected movement.

Not tried walking poles, TBH I thought they were for fit folk striding over hills, not wonky old duffers. 

I use a walking stick for stability ATM, and it helps push me back on course when I veer a bit

The handrail is curly pretend wrought iron, my plan for next year, if I can find the right stuff at the right price, is securing some type of wall baskets to them and having plants in them, no idea what.

Don't fancy the longer ones, window box type, with a coir [sp?] lining, look ugly to my mind and I think would be forever drying out.

Something for me to ponder over winter

If I could rely on weather, trailing geraniums would be good, actually trailing tomatoes would be better. 

But first things first, find the basket things at sensible price

Actually, it's the sort of thing that hacked about 4 pint milk containers are for, but these days the plastic is so flimsy they'd never last

-taff

I have borage popping up all over the place, all self seeded since the first couple went in about 8 years ago. I just pull up the seedlings where I don't want it. Some of it is in the gravel now at the back so i let it do it's thing. I do have some white one somewhere too, but I'll have to remember which is which and save some seeds.

Not as warm today now as it was this morning, looks like a thinderstorm might happen, fingers crossed for yes. Watered my toms and jigged the trays a bit so they are more even

Doing quite well...Wish the same could be said for the beans but at least the parsley is looking good. If you open in a new window you can see all the lovely blckfly... ::sigh:: at least they'll feed the ladybirds...

But I am impressed with the giant african marigolds, they are big and a lovely creamy yellow colour not an acid one. I'll definitelysave those seeds..

Thats a proper lovely looking pond PP...