GreenFly - A 'flylady style' gardening thread with weekly tasks to tame your garden

greenbee

I'm glad I read this @redofromstart - looked out of the window to see rain starting, so got the washing in!

Cherryfudge

I've managed some more tidying today, particularly cutting back some unproductive new growth on the brambles. I think they are supposed to fruit on last year's growth, but not if it's growing out over the lawn six feet up. I also found a big sheet of plastic that I'd squirreled away in a corner at some point and which is disintegrating. I spent some time binning minute fragments: that will teach me not to hang on to plastics. I've gathered more plant pots to wash and sort but I'm not sure that's going to happen this evening.

EssexHebridean

Shhh...I *think* we are perhaps beginning to weaken the hold of the bindweed...I don't want to speak too soon, but when I checked the usual areas on Monday, there was no sign of ANY of it coming through! Of course it might be because of the hot, dry weather...we'll see! 

Tomatoes are beginning to produce a steady flow now. Note for next year is to increase the number of regular toms I grow if I can find the space/pots I think - but then we also want to think through exactly where we put them too. Growbags work really well for the bush ones, but I won't be using those for the taller ones again as they are just too difficult to stake. Courgettes are clearly miles happier since I cleared space round them as well - I came back to three ready to pick on Sunday night after a weekend away, and there will be another one tonight. As for the one in the pot, I think that's an experiment not to repeat as so far it's not produced anything, not even that much leaf growth! Cucumbers have slowed a bit at the moment but I think that might be because they got a bit dry over the weekend. There should be at least one of them ready in the next few days though. Oh - and beans - runners and bush beans are now producing although I think I probably need to let the bush ones turn yellow before they are picked. 

We had a hatching of large white butterfly caterpillars and our nasturtiums are no more...they have now moved on to the bolted pak choi plants (the two that actually survived the slugs) which is fine, they can have those. If they stray on to the beans they will be relocated to the lawn where they can take their chances with the birds, though! On the plus side though, the sweet peas are flourishing and I even picked a few for my small vase the other day!

I'm still getting odds and ends from the various herbs too - and will be using some of the flat leaf parsley tonight with our couscous. The coriander bolted before it came to anything, irritatingly. I'm going to try another sowing if the very hot weather passes by, though, probably no sense in doing it right now. 

KajiKita

< bows down before the Guru of Bindweed Bashing @EssexHebridean > 🤩

KK

Cherryfudge

Well done about the bindweed, @EssexHebridean! My ground elder is certainly less vigorous but I think it's all still there. Mind you I've not been culling it as I did, just too many other things to do. If I can get it back as far as possible in the next month or so, possibly frost might destroy root tips of the further reaches and help me out a bit next spring? Of course digging and fingertip searches will help too, but the mammoth male fern is covering some of it. Said male fern was reduced by a quarter and offcuts given to friends but it looks about 10 feet across - which I suppose at least inhibits growth of ground elder under its shade.

I can't remember if I mentioned I've potted on the tomatoes and moved them so they get more light - but they aren't half thirsty. 

EssexHebridean

I fear that the bindweed might be lulling me into a false sense of security - but who knows?!  Cherry my approach has been just to keep on pulling out every scrap I've found in the hope that weakens the roots - same with the creeping cinquefoil - and that too definitely seems to be less vigorous than it was.

Thirsty tomatoes here too - and don't get me started on how much the cucumbers seem to be drinking! I've taken to basically watering the growbag they are in until it starts seeping out through the drainage holes, and STILL it's bone dry by the time I get back to it the following day! Anyway all the pots and growbags got done again last night, with a bit of a deluge for the beans too - although I'm trying to to water stuff actually in the ground every day. 

Weekend jobs:
- a small exploration of a bit of extra ground we think we might be able to grow stuff on -  needs a massive amount of clearing though, and will  need to be done a bit at a time so we can establish whether anyone notices!  
- weeding out the front - it's a disgrace! 
- Maybe clearing another small section in the front for some more planting, but that might wait until the autumn now.
- A thorough check over of the bush beans for any ready-to-pick ones - they hide! 
- The rogue Ragwort is about to meet its end - MrEH liked it, I loathed it and it only got to stay because the bees and hoverflies loved it. Now though it's threatening to seed ALL over the garden, and so it has to go! It'll be heading straight for the garden waste bin! I'll dig as much root out as I can as well, although won't bother re-seeding the patch of grass it's been growing in for a while. 
- Consider what else I can sow - I have a spare trough, and now have a piece of wire mesh I can use to cover it and protect from the pesky squirrel as well!

maggiem

Hugely impressed that you might be getting on top of the bindweed. It’s the bane of my existence here and no sign of slowing down. Must instigate daily bindweed bashing sessions methinks! 

redofromstart

I remain grateful that I don't have bindweed, but the key to these things does seem to be 'little and often' on the weeding front. Not easy if you work full time.

Cherryfudge

I've re potted some houseplants today (ending up with more than I started with) and remembered my resolution to reclaim the plant pots and saucers that have been stacked in odd corners of the garden. The idea was to average two a day from the end of July and I was up to date till tomorrow. I've just done another 36 small ones! Tomorrow I'll add damaged ones to the recycling bag for when we go to the garden centre, and the better ones go into a grand collection of which I intend to hang onto a proportionate amount. I don't need so many and someone else might.

I was quite pleased to find a terracotta pot with a broken rim and be able to use it for a lop-sided Christmas cactus - the plant leans over from one side to the other and hangs over the broken rim without overbalancing the pot. My MS version of one of those pretend buried urns.  

I've noticed a lot of leaves falling outside but I don't think it's autumn, just lack of rain.

Cherryfudge

Copied over from the Make do, mend, minimise thread:

I've spent around four hours this afternoon finding and cleaning plant pots! There were lots stacked in a corner but also some blown under shrubbery or where plants have died off. All the clean ones are in three big bags (174 done today!) but by the time the sun set, there were still some to do and I didn't want to leave them on the lawn overnight in case they blow all over the neighbourhood. It was nice to find about eight good terracotta pots amongst all the plastic, I will hang on to those and a few of each size of the others. It's tempting to keep all the large ones, but until I make more progress, I won't really know what can go.

I disturbed three frogs and have apologised to them but it's made me think. I'd love a pond but not till the grandchildren are older. A couple of years ago I put a very large plant saucer under a tree for a bird bath and now there are plants growing round it and a couple of small potted plants in it and I'm wondering about putting one under the bushes at the other side of the house for the birds and frogs there. I'd have to keep an eye on it to keep it from drying out but would it be much benefit to frogs? They must breed in nearby ponds but come to us on their days off. I've seen birds use the one I already have.