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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 12, 2011 21:10:48 GMT
Not much gardening time today because I was at Blackleach this morning and shopping this afternoon and I had an important reason for going to the post office as I told you yesterday.The Blackcaps have arrived at Blackleach by the way.I heard one singing as soon as I got out of the car. When I got home I went in the greenhouse and did some potting.15 begonias had come from T&M. Potted these into 3 inch pots. Also potted some rooted coleus cuttings and some celery plants from cell trays both into 3 inch pots. Then potted the sprouts which were in 3 inch pots into 5 inch and put them in a frame.I pot all brassicas into 5 inch pots before planting because it helps to combat clubroot. This is because the roots have more compost to work into before coming into contact with the soil. This evening I have pricked out the rest of the stocks and some cosmos.I am now going to do the rest of the cosmos and some pansies. I can have a full day and evenings gardening tomorrow because I am not going anywhere.
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Post by Lou78W on Apr 13, 2011 10:07:43 GMT
Parcel just arrived...Thank you Derek ;D ;D
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 13, 2011 20:53:49 GMT
Been potting chrysanths for much of the day from 3 inch into 5 inch pots and putting them in the frames.There are about 130 done up to now and I have just 2 more varieties to do.These are all dis-bud varieties.I still have the sprays to do but because these cuttings were taken later ,not as many will be ready for potting up. Rosemary has been doing some pricking out this afternoon.She has done the dwarf delphiniums ,statice and some brachyscome. I have done some antirrhinums this evening and am going to do some more now. Last Saturday I got 4 80 litre bags of potting compost and they have all gone so I have had to go for 2 more this afternoon and one of those is nearly gone already!
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 14, 2011 21:48:14 GMT
Finished potting the chrysanths into 5 inch pots today including the sprays but only 30 sprays needed doing.They are all in the frames now which has given me a lot more room in the greenhouses so I have been moving boxes of plants around to give them more light. 5 coleus came from Woolmans so I potted these up. Also been pricking out antirrhinums,love lies bleeding and brachyscome. I have had 2 full days gardening but I am at Blackleach all day tomorrow .Some children yesterday were supposed to be weeding the nursery beds where I grow wild flowers so I will see tomorrow what sort of job they have done.If they have weeded them properly I may sow some seeds.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 15, 2011 20:32:04 GMT
The children who went to Blackleach on Wednesday had only partly weeded one of the nursery beds and not touched the others.They were only small children so I couldn,t expect them to do any better.I finished off the one they were doing and weeded and forked over another bed.I then sowed 13 packets of wild flower seeds
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 16, 2011 20:56:54 GMT
This morning I bought 13 basket plants from a friend and this afternoon I have taken over 100 cuttings from them.There were 4 surfinias,6 diascias and 3 bacopa.I had not managed to over winter any diascias and they are excellent plants for baskets so I really needed these.I have plenty of white bacopas but those I got today were blue so I thought they would be a nice change. Pricked out some more rudbeckias and some salvia"Victoria" this evening.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 17, 2011 21:08:49 GMT
Went on the allotment this afternoon .First of all I treated some couch grass that was among the roses with glyphosate.I did it one day last week but it rained soon after so it got washed off before it had done its job.It stayed dry today so I hope it works. I then planted the shallots.They were in 5 inch pots and I planted them along the front of the onion bed 15 inches apart as I always do. I took the potatoes hoping to plant them as well but I didn,t get time.As well as growing them in the ground I grow some in large buckets.I did have time to plant these becase the compost was already in so the spuds only needed pushing in . This evening I have potted 40 rooted bacopa cuttings into yoghurt pots and also potted up some more dahlias. These are nearly all done now. Pricked out some ageratum "blue horizon" and some mimulus.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 18, 2011 22:13:17 GMT
This morning I mixed a batch of compost for growing carrots with sieved peat and sand and Q4 base.As you probably know I grow some of the long carrots in tubes made from builders damp proof material.I made up about 12 of these tubes and filled them.They are stood in a large bucket. This afternoon I have potted the onions which were grown from seed from yoghurt pots into 4 inch pots and also some cucumbers.Potted some rooted surfinia cuttings into yoghurt pots. This evening I have been to the A.G.M. of Salford and Bolton fuchsia society.We always get 2 free plants ,a single and a double to grow on for a mini show in August.The single was "Mini Rose" and the double"Mood Indigo".Also bought 2 other plants because I am rather short of fuchsias .Chose some plants with plenty of cuttings on.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 19, 2011 21:43:13 GMT
This morning I was weeding the border alonside the visitor centre at Blackleach.One of the volunteers helped me.We have a team of volunteers on Tuesday mornings doing jobs in the park. This afternoon I potted the fuchsias I got last night into 4 inch pots(they were only in 2 inch)and took some cuttings from them. 6 sunpatiens came that I had ordered from Dobies and I potted them into 3 inch pots. Pricked out some Nicotiana domino,rudbeckia marmalade and Lavatera parade.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 20, 2011 21:27:36 GMT
Been on the allotment most of the day.Planted all the potatoes.They are in 7 rows with 10 in each row.The rows are 18 inches apart but the potatoes in each row are about 12 inches apart.There are 3 varieties-Winston,Kestrel and Maxine.I put a layer of lawn mowings at the bottom of the trenches which helps to combat clubroot. I have 2 , 80 gallon drums on the allotment in which I grow long carrots .They are full of old compost in which I make bore holes which I fill with special compost.I made these bore holes today and filled them with the compost I made on Monday.To make the holes I have a piece of wood like a broom handle with a point at the bottom which I drive into the compost and move it about to make the shape of a carrot.The compost has to be wet or else it will keep falling into the hole. Somebody on the allotments asked me if it was too early to plant out courgetes and sweet corn.I told him that it was not safe to plant them till the end of May.The plants though are getting too big and the courgetes have already got flowers on.I told him to plan his sowing dates better next year.I haven,t even sown my tender veg yet but will be doing soon.It takes about a month from sowing for the plants to be the right size for planting at the end of May so sowing late April is about right. 40 Kelsae onions came today from Fothergills that I ordered through the Garden News.They wer advertised as "plants"so I thought they would be ready for planting out but they were only seedlings.I planted them in 3 inch pots to grow on a bit before planting. 16 plugs of Verbena bonariensis came from Dobies I potted these into 3 inch pots.This is a good wildlife plant so I a, going to plant some of them at Blackleach as well as some on the allotment. Pricked out some more Nicotiana domino and Rudbeckia marmalade and some nemesia.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 21, 2011 21:40:50 GMT
This afternoon I have mixed some old compost with some Q4 base to re-juvenate it for growing potatoes.I have 3 bags of potatoes in the greenhouse which needed topping up so I used this compost for this.I will take the rest to the allotment to top up the buckets I have there. For the next 10 days I am watering on the allotment for somebody who is away as well as my carnations in the polytunnel and I will need to call every day if the weather stays warm like it is now.When I went today I sowed long carrot seed in the boreholes I made yesterday and when I got home I sowed some in the tubes that I made. Took 20odd more diascia cuttings and pricked out some more nemesia and giant excelsior stocks.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 22, 2011 21:27:18 GMT
Not had time to do much today.Put the bags of potatoes and the parsnips outside to make more room in the greenhouse.Potted up a few more dahlias and fuchsias. Finished pricking out except for some recently sown stocks that are not ready yet.Did the rest of the antirrhinums today. Can,t go to the hut in the morning as I usually do because I am leading a bird walk at the Blackleach country park.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 23, 2011 21:23:53 GMT
Today I have bought 2 geraniums,a fuchsia and a maranta from a garden centre.Potted them all into bigger pots and took 5 cuttings off the fuchsia.Apart from this all I have had time to do was to sow 30 runner beans in 4 inch square pots.They are my own saved seed of the Stenner strain.I have plenty left so if any of you want any please let me know.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 24, 2011 20:48:48 GMT
This afternoon I went to the allotment and planted my Brussel sprouts so that,s something else sorted out for our Christmas dinner.They were in 5 inch pots.Had to break the soil up and rake it first.There are 15 and I planted them in 2 staggered rows. This evening I have sown some more runner beans and also climbing French beans"Rob Roy",marrow"Badger cross"and courgetes "orelia"all in pots in the greenhouse.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 25, 2011 21:55:30 GMT
Heather,our daughter from Wales has been here since Friday and we have been going to different places with her,mainly bird watching which meant that I have been getting behind with my gardening jobs.We went somewhere with her this morning but she went back home after.I must now try and catch up with my jobs and I have had all afternoon and evening to myself. Went on the allotment this afternoon .Planted the onion sets from 3 inch pots.My eldest grandson planted them in the pots a month or so ago.There were 70 altogether. Also planted 20 odd lettuces from cell trays.There were about 4 varieties so I hope they don,t all mature at the same time. This evening I have sown 40 "show perfection" peas and 20 sweet corn "sundance"in drinking cups. Took about 50 more surfinia cuttings and 30 odd off the blue bacopas Put the first blanching collars on the leeks and also potted the last few dahlias.I have potted 226 altogether.
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