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

greenbee

The biggest issue with IBCs is transporting them - which is why I have 4 that need work to get the plumbing right as they were in the village and he delivered! You also need a flat, solid base for them (ideally slabs) and then something to raise them up a bit on (europallets are good). I’m still working on getting mine set up, but have managed to fit three behind the shed.

kazwookie

TY Greenbee, there is a mixed of slabs / concrete all level where I am thinking of siting it.  I can get pallets, local business about 2 miles away has loads, just have to work out how to get them here.  

I can see a chat with the bloke who is doing some fencing in June coming up, he is in the 'know' of all sorts of random things, which is normal for Norfolk as the saying goes.

greenbee

I've filled the second garden waste bin. There's still a bit of space in both, so if I do a bit more weeding it can fit in. So far I've failed to dig out the stump of the euonymus I've cut back though... I might need to go and get a bigger fork and try again! Although I could also do with clearing the goose grass from the ditch at the front before it invades and swamps the new hedge!

Cherryfudge

I've spent an hour in the garden, three quarters of which was the Battle of the Ground Elder. There were a few new leaves but I think the dry conditions are slowing it down. Most of the effort was about a square meter by the back door which isn't finished yet. It's very poor soil but I'm trying to rescue it: pot sherds in one heap, stones in another, microplastics in the bin, ground elder roots on the tarp to dry out before going in the green wheelie bin.

Once the soil was as free of contaminants as I could get it, it went 50/50 with compost in a potato bag which is now sown and watered. My thought is that cleaned soil is now separate and in use, and should any sprouts of GE grow there, they are contained and can be got out at the end pf the season. I threw in some poor little curled up worms that were trying to survive and will, I hope, be glad of the watering and start improving the mixture. I'm ignoring the fact the potato bag is plastic and will eventually be around to contaminate the planet, or have to go for incineration.

I did find a carrier bag from a children's toy shop. My children have children of their own, but I'm pretty sure it came from one of them. I also found a rectangle of dressed stone and a very old gate latch! Those had been buried before we got here so I suggested DH takes the metal detector over the patch, and I've put the stone aside for a bit of edging sometime. This was under a little brick wall I['d made, which is my excuse for why the roots are so dense there. Oh, and there was also a small tree stump. The new fork is paying for itself with loosening the soil but I will have to be careful as I saw a tiny frog nearby. I've put him in a sheltered spot with water and plant shade.

EssexHebridean

Hey all - sounding industrious in here!

We got back from the first trip away and tried to salvage what we could, then got back from the second trip and had to do it again. Peppers have survived happily enough - 4 are already potted on with the potential for another 4 once they have got a bit sturdier. Bishops Crown Chillis are looking like the next candidates for potting on. 

Masses of stuff sown over the weekend - I'm hoping those who reckon it's too late for squashes, tomatoes and cucumbers are wrong! The mini greenhouse is packed full, and the space in front of it is full of hardier stuff as well, plus oddments  in the (currently open) cold frame. Runner beans are direct-sown around the obelisk, and also some in pots as spares for when the slugs eat the direct sown ones! More beans - Borlotto and bush - sown in pots. Sweetcorn in peat-pots (the last of some we bought exceptionally cheaply years ago), and salad leaves and some herbs also all sown into  various troughs.

Various flowers sown too - mainly calendula but also some sweet peas and more nasturtiums for use elsewhere. 

We have a flourishing row of peas with some first early tatties in there too - and I've direct sown some nasturtiums to help with pest control around that area and hopefully climb up around the arches and make a nice display once other stuff that climbs has been added! 

Attacked the grass with shears and have filled a compost bag with what was cut - deliberately avoiding the area with all the daisies. It had to be a compromise between "no mow may" and not getting completely overgrown!

We also managed a decent clear-up (including tracking down some more big pots ready for tomatoes etc) and made time to get the wood preservative we bought out to see how the colour looked - good is the answer, so one (small!) panel of shed done - that will be a Forth Bridge style effort as between the shed and the office there is a lot to cover - it was all done with the wrong stuff by our predecessors so needs rubbing down  before it can be painted. I did do a couple of wooden wine boxes that I rescued from next to a bin outside the office ages ago though - I'm thinking those might work well for herbs... I have still got to preserve the bases though, and drill some holes through... 

Aiming to squeeze in a bit of time out there this evening to see what else we can get on the go plus give everything a good soaking.

Cherryfudge

I managed to find about three hours to work in the garden today, with the path replacement looming tomorrow.

The first job was to mow, so the grass is at least all a similar length, even if some is brown and some is weeds. There are now lots of pots and a few tubs on it, clustered together in the hope that they all get watered and some of the grass will get watered too.

Most of the effort has been in extending yesterday's square meter so it's about doubled. Some of the stuff had been just dumped there so rather than make decisions, I've simply moved it. All the weeds were cut back and there's a new pile of ground elder roots drying on the tarpaulin. Lots of woody bits and some brambles are in the green bin. More rocks are added to the pile! The biggest difference was getting the apple tree out! It was self sown in a pot and a lot of root is still in the pot, which made it easier. Unfortunately I had to cut through the tap root about a foot below the pot, as it had tunnelled under the concrete slab. I doubt the lost bit of root was providing a lot of nourishment but it could have been keeping the tree alive if it got into the land drain that's under there somewhere. However, there wasn't really a choice about it. The tree and its pot are in a plastic bag now in a shady bit of the garden, and it's watered, so for now that's all I can do. If it survives, that's a bonus.

The 'path guy' rang and has suggested we use sandstone instead of block paving. I can see why - solid blocks of stone would work better as steps on the gradient. I'm pretty sure it would be expensive but the funds are there and it's not a big area. However, I just don't feel sandstone is the right look for this area or this property. DH just wants the job done so the final decision is mine and I will quiz the man when he comes tomorrow to take out the old path, as to what the pros and cons are.

I worked till it was nearly dark but I managed to get all the things done that I wanted to. I've cut back a lot of the plants that were leaning over the path one the other side of the house: a shame when they are full of the spirit of May, but they need to beat a retreat because the path needs to be where they've been sprawling. I gathered handfuls of marguerites, but there are still lots further into the border and I hastily shoved some rooted pieces in a couple of pots. Like the apple tree, it will be luck of the draw if they survive but if they do, they will look quite jolly.

EssexHebridean

Managed to snatch an hour outside last night for a bit more catching up.
- winter squash seeds sown
- Bishop's Crown chillies planted out into their growbag - I'm chancing 4 in the one bag which might be pushing my luck but we'll see! 
- some stuff shifted about to start creating room for lots of tomatoes - the small bush ones will all be going in growbags and the taller ones in pots.
- second sowing of sunflowers are now all poking through which is a result as we thought we'd lost those to holiday-based neglect - a lot of the first batch got eaten while we were away so another few will be handy.
- soap spray applied to the currant that seems to be having aphid problems, and the big fennel plant which is suffering from the same, plus both roses. 
- picked some oregano and savoury for use in tea last night, and used some self-seeded fennel in there as well. 

One lesson learned is to be a lot more careful with labelling this year - and we have replaced the pen we were using at the start of the year after discovering (yes - the hard way) that it was water based and washed off the labels! A black sharpie has now been allocated, and we will find out in due course whether the four questionable plants are peppers or chillies!

debtfreewannabe321

Anyone else water their lawn? I didn't think it made much of a difference until I looked out my window this morning and compared mine to the neighbours garden 😆 

Can you tell which is which!
They set their sprinkler out every night to water theirs. 

I'm not really keeping up with the weeding at all if I'm honest. I pull out bindweed as I see it but ground elder is popping up absolutely everywhere in one patch. I don't want to resort to harsh chemicals but unsure how to battle it. 
I've got some seedlings popping through in the greenhouse and the ones that aren't growing I will give a bit more time before discarding to make space for something else. 
My wildflower patch is sprouting through lots of things, I can't distinguish whether they're weed or what I planted though 😆 as long as they're not invasive I've let them come through and will wait and see what we have. 
I'm not mowing in May but I have done one path all the way through and left the rest, it's not growing very well though as it's so dry so it looks okay and not too wild anyway. 
My cheap hanging baskets are still doing really well and I've tonnes of bushy flowers in them now. That was a great investment to brighten up the side of the garage. 😁

EssexHebridean

We are on a water meter so the lawn takes it's chances!! 

Copper tape just ordered after TMV mentioned it on her diary - and MrEH has been sent an instruction to not stick any more plastic bottles in the recycling!  Turned out I still had some Amazon credit as well so that covered the cost making it a properly MSE purchase.

redofromstart

The standard advice is not to water your lawn unless it is newly seeded or planted.  It always recovers once there is some rain.  Added bonus is that leaving it dry reduces the growth rate and therefore mowing.  Works for us anyway.

Lots of weeding done here yesterday, the green waste bins got emptied in the morning and we have already re-filled one.  Lots of bramble, ivy and creeping buttercup but I do seem to be winning the war against nettles for once.  The soil is very poor in the 'stone circle' area, and I don't want to dig too much as it is full of snowdrop bulbs.  Top dressing may be the answer.