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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 16, 2019 21:55:27 GMT
This morning I weeded the front garden again but there were only small weeds. Went in the greenhouse after and took some more geranium cuttings and also some regal and angel pelargoniums. Went to church this afternoon to treat the weeds on the paths and round the car park with roundup. There is also a small bed containing a camellia in memory of a lady from the church who died but it was rather weedy including marestail. I decided to hand weed the other weeds but leave the marestail. This weed is so difficult to dig out but I have told you before that lawn weedkiller at double strength will kill it so when I had removed the other weeds I watered the marestail with this. Did some hand weeding on the border in front of the church after but there weren't a lot of weeds. Went to the allotment this evening and just did some tidying up. Cut down the gladioli that had finished and removed yellow leaves from the sprouts.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 17, 2019 21:00:04 GMT
After shopping this afternoon I went to church and finished weeding the border along the front of the church. Went to school this evening and fed the tomatoes. Then carried on weeding the main veg beds. I had done two before and I almost finished the third one before it was too dark to see.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 18, 2019 21:09:46 GMT
First of all I gave my baskets, tubs and larger pot plants another feed. About 270 plug plants came from Suttons for my winter and spring baskets and tubs. I transferred them all into cell trays . It took me till about 3.00 in the afternoon. I have another show to go to on Saturday, at Edenfield. Whitefield have one in November but Edenfield on Saturday will be the last till then. When I had finished doing my plugs I went to the allotment and started collecting veg for the show. I got some runner and French beans, marrows and a squash and a cabbage for the show and also more courgettes and climbing French beans which I will take to Blackleach tomorrow. I have been to a meeting at Blackleach at 7.00 which we have three times a year but it didn't last long and I was home at 7.30.I then did some sorting of veg for the show.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 19, 2019 21:07:14 GMT
On my way home from Blackleach this afternoon I went to the allotment for the rest of the veg for Edenfield show. Got some carrots out of the drums, some beetroot and a cauliflower. When I got home I got some parsnips from the tubes made from builders damp proof material. Went back to Blackleach this evening for some perennial flowers .This is the only place I grow perennials now. When I got home again I washed the root crops and sorted all the veg into sets for showing. Tomorrow I will be cutting flowers all day.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 20, 2019 21:41:59 GMT
As I said yesterday I have been cutting flowers most of the day for Edenfield show from the allotment this morning and my garden this afternoon and the car is loaded up for an early start in the morning.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 21, 2019 22:05:06 GMT
Had a good day at Edenfield show, I put in 65 entries and got 19 firsts, 15 seconds and 11 thirds . Won five trophies -two were for most points in selected flower classes , one for most points in all the flower classes , one for most points in chrysanths and one for the best exhibit in roses. The individual prize I was most pleased about was a vase of dahlias for effect. There were eight entries in the class and I thought they were all good but I came first.I forgot to take my camera to the show so I couldn't take a picture of it. Sandra, the wife of my friend, Alan,accross the road , is in hospital and had an operation but she is probably coming home on Monday. I decided to take the vase home, as it was, and give it to her. I put the vase on the lawn and took a picture of it.There were two blooms of" Garden friends" in the vase but when I got it home they had lost their petals so I took them out.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 22, 2019 20:53:29 GMT
Tomorrow, Martyn is taking us to Northumberland where we are staying till Friday .We are staying at Seahouses but there are other places he wants to go to while we are there. I am not taking my computer so you will not hear from me till I get home on Friday . This afternoon I have just been doing some tidying up,dead heading the roses and cut down more chrysanths that had finished. Alan will do any watering that needs doing while we are away but we are back to showery weather today after a week of nice weather .Hope it dries up when we are away.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 27, 2019 20:26:36 GMT
Arrived back from our holiday this evening. I understand the weather has been wet here every day. It hasn't been so bad where we have been,just a bit drizzly sometimes but it rained hard this afternoon on the way home. I will be able to go to the hut tomorrow for the first time for three weeks, so back to normal now.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 28, 2019 21:29:18 GMT
We had heavy showers this morning while we were at the hut. It dried up in the afternoon but because we were away till last night we had to go shopping first. Went to school after and gave the tomatoes their last feed . It was only half strength because we had no more maxicrop and it's not worth buying any more this year.Tied some up that needed it and removed some dead leaves . Brought some tomatoes home. Went to the allotment after , mainly to pick courgettes and runner beans but the sweet peas are finished so I started removing them . It takes a long time to take all the rings and twistits off them so I only had time to do half of them.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 29, 2019 19:19:50 GMT
A wet day so I've not done any gardening at all and I have nothing particular to do in the greenhouses at present. I have a lot of writing to do for the National Vegetable Society so I have been carrying on with that. I am going to start typing some of it up now. What I am writing are seasonal jobs for each month to put in the magazine.I have to finish writing Jan, Feb and March before the end of October.
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Post by derekbrooks on Sept 30, 2019 21:11:14 GMT
I think I have told you before that a man called Phil and myself man the visitor centre at Blackleach Country Park in turn on Mondays and Tuesdays .It is my turn for Tuesday this week but I went this morning to do my walk round recording the birds and wild flowers. Rosemary and me normally do this at weekend but the weather has been too wet and it has been nice today. Went on the allotment this afternoon . Finished removing the sweet peas then removed the peas and broad beans as they had all finished .Many of the spray chrysanths had finished as well or been spoiled by the rain so I cut these down. Dead headed the roses and did more disbudding of the dahlias. Brought home some French beans. There was a large cabbage in my shed that I showed at Edenfield .I cut it into four and gave three pieces to three of our neighbours. Some of our hanging baskets are looking tired. I took one down from the front and replaced it with my fuchsia basket which had been round the back and is still nice.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 1, 2019 21:24:10 GMT
Not much gardening time today. After Blackleach and shopping I had to go to the doctors to see a nurse for my annual review. She couldn't find anything wrong with me so I will live a bit longer When I got home I went in the greenhouse and potted another twentyodd rooted fuchsia cuttings into yoghurt pots.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 2, 2019 21:34:03 GMT
I always stay at home on Wednesday mornings because Rosemary needs the car. I weeded the front garden again and also the rose and chrysanth beds but there weren't many weeds. Planted some impatiens in the front garden where there were gaps. It is our harvest at church on Sunday. It is almost another flower show for me. I intend doing another basket of veg in the same basket that I did at Whitefield a few weeks ago , which I showed you a picture of. I also intend doing a vase of mixed flowers in the same vase I used for dahlias at Edenfield which I brought home and gave to Sandra. I have still plenty of chrysanths and dahlias to take. It has been a decent day today but the wet weather is supposed to be coming back soon so I decided to go to the allotment for the veg this afternoon. Got some runner beans, climbing French beans, courgettes, sprouts, a leek, a squash 2 marrows and 2 sweet corn. These are the first sweet corn we have had. Also went to school for some tomatoes and a cucumber. Before I went to the allotment I mowed the lawn. Thought I had better do them before the wet weather come again. They hadn't been done since before we went away.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 3, 2019 20:32:40 GMT
After coming home from Blackleach today all I had time to do was to clean up the veg I brought home yesterday. I have done pretty well at shows with Calendula" Princess orange black" which I got from Fothergills. The plants are in the garden at Blackleach.I won first and second with them at Edenfield and got a prize at Southport with them. So , naturally I ordered some more from Fothergills but when my order came they said that this variety was sold out. So this afternoon I got some seeds from the plants at Blackleach. I just hope they grow.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 4, 2019 20:54:00 GMT
It was showery this morning.I made up a basket of veg for the harvest. Between showers I cut all the chrysanths that were ready. The weather dried up in the afternoon so I went to the allotment for some dahlias, spray chrysanths and other flowers . When I got home I cut some dahlias and other flowers from the garden. I then made a vase of mixed flowers in the same vase that I showed you with dahlias in the week before last. I then took some pictures of the flowers and the veg basket to show you and I have taken them all to church this evening. You can see the vase of mixed flowers on the left hand side
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