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

greenbee

I use either resolva for lawns or weedol for lawns. Whichever is cheapest at the time  

greenbee

As it wasn't raining today, I spent some time in the garden.

• Picked up windfall apples and dumped them in the compost bin
• Cut down borage from the long raspberry bed and dumped it in the compost bin
• Mowed the 'lawn' and put the clipping in the compost bin
• Turned the other compost bin - looks like it's almost ready to use
• Slapped a coat of paint on the bit of the shed I've already started and on the door. You can now see the difference between the old colour and the new, so I'll keep going.
• Picked tomatoes and removed billions of side shoots

Not as much done as I've have liked, but steady progress.

kazwookie

Wild flower garden that I cut back about 3 weeks ago, dried flowers stems raked over and given a good shake so the seeds drop out, so of the dried stuff in green bin, rest to go in the next time there is room. New poppy and other wild seeds bought for next year.

All spuds dug up some weeks ago, the earth is turned over, and left for now

Strawberry runners sorted out

1st red tom picked!! I have loads of green one, but I doubt they are going to turn red, so it is likely to be a load of green chutney made!

ajmoney

Weeding in a section of the back today. The photos don't show the 15 minutes that turned into an hour and a half but I have tried to clear the roots as I go and they stretch a long way under the stones!

Before and then current situation 




Work has really got in the way this year

Cherryfudge

Almost nothing done in the garden recently and the grass is too wet to mow. Our former neighbour (super-keen gardener) popped round so we had a chat about 'her' plants growing next door. They are thriving: clematis, euonymus and a creeper are growing through our fence and looking very pretty and high above them, through our greengage tree, there's a very healthy-looking grape vine!

It did make me aware there's a lot of tidying up to do on our side of the fence - not so much what's grown through as what's already here.

We are harvesting cherry tomatoes though, and they are delicious.

redofromstart

Looking good @ajmoney
mad growth for our grape vine this year @Cherryfudge, must be the right growing weather.

ajmoney

I thought I would ask for suggestions of what you would do with this section of garden on a slope. The previous owner had put plastic matting and wood chippings down. Wild strawberries have grown through it (they don't taste nice) and it is disintegrating so I want to replace it. I potentially need to put a terrace in partway down as it is dangerous to walk across to prune what is on the fence. 

Whatever I do, I want it to be quite easy to maintain. I have a pretty big garden and at the moment, a job that doesn't give me much time to dedicate to it.

When the sun dips behind the house I will try and take a photo looking up the slope to give a better idea.

SuzeQStan

Absolute cheapest would be to sow grass but then you would have to mow it. Or take leaf out previous gardeners and put fresh membrane with chipping or bark overtop.

if it was me I would defo be interested in putting in a terrace and I love gardening so would be excited at the potential of new garden beds! 

Or if you prefer the perennials or maybe a small tree of your choice surrounded by bark covered membrane 

edit poor grammar

ajmoney

Thank you @SuzeQStan I had also wondered about wild meadow turf, then I only need to worry about cutting it a couple of times a year and it will bring in more wildlife.

I might take a photo of the whole back garden to show what I am working with. To look at it seems low maintenance, it is anything but!!!!

EssexHebridean

Yellow hawkweed is so pretty when in flower but it certainly does get everywhere doesn't it! We've accepted ours in the lawn, although I did draw the line at letting it seed - in fact I will be taking the shears to a bit more this weekend I think!

Garden waste bin was emptied yesterday so MrEH will bring that back around tonight and we can get started on it again - there will be more died-back potato foliage to go in and of course the tomato plants as they finish too. Saw a good suggestion on Foxgloves diary for re-using old grow-bags with winter-friendly [planting so we will be putting that into action as we remove things from the ones we have I think - although the cucumbers look like they may be going for a while yet as I spotted a couple more fruits forming when I looked last night. The one climbing up the trellis is also putting out fruit, including one right at the very top!

Toms are still producing although the little bush ones have slowed right down now. I have decided that next year those will all be going in grow bags as well - as I reckon I can get 4 per bag as they are such small plants, then all my other toms will go into pots so they are easier to manage. We will also definitely be growing more of them next year as they have been such a pleasure - and I will happily cook with more of them too. They are still ripening on the plants at the moment so I will leave them be, but we are on standby ready to take off the green ones as soon as the weather drops to cold - those will either get ripened indoors then of get turned into chutney or added to piccalilli. 

Our little wood mouse has reappeared which is lovely - except that he has developed a taste for courgette. I have no issue with him setting up residence out there so long as he limits his food choices to the seed and nuts the birds drop - he can keep his thieving mitts off my courgettes though!  We've left the one he started chomping on out there in the hope he will just stick to eating that and not decide to turn the courgette plants into a sort of mousey buffet. 

I think jobs for the weekend probably need to include strimming the lawn - maybe the last time this year as growth has certainly slowed down. We also want to have an exploratory dig of our tatties as well to see if we actually have any under there - fingers crossed! Then I think it will be various general upkeep tasks - get some finished pots and troughs emptied out and the crocks separated off, general weeding, and decide whether the seed box now gets returned to the shed.