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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 24, 2013 21:43:12 GMT
I forgot to mention on Monday that on the allotment I picked the first rhubarb of the year.It is a week or two later than usual but there is plenty now.
Today I have been on the allotment this morning and part of the afternoon and planted all the potatoes. I mainly grow 3 varieties-Winston, Kestrel and Maxine. The potato bed was planted with these varieties, 2 rows of the first two mentioned and 3 of the other. Also planted some winston, kestrel and blue bell in buckets and tubs on the allotment and some Charlotte in bags at home.
Rosemary has done some pricking out this evening. She only wants to do the easy ones though like French marigolds so I save these for her.I have done some nemesia, penstemons and lavatera.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 25, 2013 22:08:09 GMT
This morning I mixed 21 gallons of old compost with Q4 fertiliser to make it into compost for growing carrots. I had previously rubbed it between my hands to break it up and feel for lumps.
After school this afternoon I filled 21 drinking cups with compost and sowed sweet corn in them. Also I sowed some lettuce(4 varieties)in a cell tray.
Rosemary has pricked out some more French marigolds and I did some rudbeckia , trailing lobelia , helichrysum and stocks. I have no compost left (I have used 3 75litre bags this week). I could call at the hut for some tomorrow but there is not a lot of pricking out to do so I may as well wait till Saturday because I will be going then.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 26, 2013 21:57:47 GMT
Been at Blackleach country park all day . I have sown 12 packets of wild flower seeds in the nursery beds , planted 9 Verbena bonariensis in the border alongside the visitor centre and some dwarf buddlieas and some dianthus in the fish shaped bed.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 27, 2013 21:13:42 GMT
We went round the Blackleach this afternoon and we still didn't hear any chiff chaffs-just the same ones we heard last Saturday.
Went to our local garden centre after . Got 5 tomato plants because mine at home are not growing well. Also bought 4 surfinias and 2 million bells. When I got home I took 42 cuttings from the surfinias and 20odd from the million bells.Potted the 5 tomatoes into 5 inch pots.
Sowed 24 runner beans and 20 climbing French beans in 4 inch pots and put them on the warming benches.Had to take other things off to make room.
Pricked out some more stocks, rudbeckias and trailing lobelia.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 28, 2013 21:06:07 GMT
Went on the allotment this afternoon and planted some perennials in the two herbaceous borders --some penstemons and lobelia "Queen Victoria that I had dug up last autums and over wintered and some Shasta daisy"alaska"that I grew from seed last year.
I have been transfering compost from one bay to another and I finished it today.It was a bit showery so I kept being rained off.
Pricked out some more stocks and antirrhinums
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 29, 2013 21:57:26 GMT
The only gardening I have had time to do today was to plant some more overwintered penstemons at Blackleach.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 30, 2013 21:10:01 GMT
You know that I grow parsnips and long carrots in tubes made from builder's damp proof material.The parsnips were done a few weeks ago and I decided to do the carrots today. I made up 28 tubes then seived 26 gallons of old compost . Mixed this in two mixes with Q4 and filled the tubes.There was some left so I filled some buckets with it to grow stump carrots.The old compost I used was what I had used for sowing seeds and taking cuttings-what was left after seeds had been pricked out or cuttings potted up.
My tomato plants haven't grown properly this year and I am not sure why but I suspect the compost. I normally supply 20 odd plants to school to grow in the polytunnel but my plants just aren't good enough.Anyway a friend has come to the rescue and given me 30 nice plants so I got rid of most of my plants that were no good.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 1, 2013 21:59:27 GMT
Went to my sons house this morning mainly because he wanted me to cut back a hebe which was getting too big and spreading too far over the border. I told him that it wouldn't flower this year if I cut it back but he still wanted it doing. I didn't touch the centre of the bush though so this should still flower. I just cut some from round the edges.I forked over the rest of his borders after.
This afternoon I went for some glass for the ends of two of my cold frames so I fixed these frames up after.
Also went to school and took the tomato plants I was given yesterday and a bag of compost ready for tomorrow.
Rosemary has pricked out the rest of the French marigolds and I did the rest of the rudbeckias.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 2, 2013 21:33:55 GMT
Not much gardening time today ,except at school , but I put some boxes of plants in one of the frames I fixed up yesterday to make more room in the greenhouses. This evening I pricked out some ageratum ,nicotiana and love lies bleeding .All pricking out is done now except for excelsior stocks which are not ready. What am I going to do in the evenings now?
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Post by derekbrooks on May 3, 2013 20:49:55 GMT
A full days gardening today. Went on the allotment this morning and planted the onion sets. They had been started off in 3 inch pots. Also planted some perennials that I had grown from seed-achillea and echinacea.
This afternoon I removed all the chrysanths from the frames and put each variety in seperate boxes which will make it easier when planting.Also stopped some more of them.
The large onions haven't grown very well even though they have been on a propagator all the time.I potted the best ones from yoghurt pots into 4 inch pots.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 4, 2013 22:19:06 GMT
This afternoon I took all my dahlias under the car port and sorted them out into varieties then took them back in the greenhouse.Discarded some that weren't up to standard.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 5, 2013 21:38:53 GMT
This afternoon I potted 30 rooted cuttings each of white bacopas and diascias into yoghurt pots.
Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening potting the dahlias into 5 inch pots that were ready. Did 80 odd and there are still 130 odd in three and a half inch pots. Put them all in the frames.This has given me a lot more room in the greenhouses.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 6, 2013 21:14:22 GMT
because it is Bank holiday we have been a ride out with Martyn(our son)today. Before we went I sowed some more runner beans.Most of those sown before were growing so I took them off the warming benches and put the new ones on.
Been on the allotment this evening. When I went last week and planted the onion sets there was a tray I forgot to take so I have planted these today.A few weeks ago there were no weeds in sight but now the annual beds are full of tiny seedlings so I put weedol on but I hadn't enough to do them all
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Post by derekbrooks on May 7, 2013 22:12:32 GMT
Not much gardening time today but I called at the hut for 6 more packets of weedol and mixed them.I mix them in a 5 gal container that I keep for the purpose. 6 packets makes 4 gals.Then went to the allotment and treated the rest of the annual beds with it.Also treated some weeds on the main path between the allotments with Pathclear.Wanted to get it done while the weather is dry because it is supposed to be changing tomorrow.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 8, 2013 22:19:58 GMT
This morning I had to collect my gladioli corms from the supplier.He lives on Merseyside and catches the train to Eccles station , which is about 5 miles from where I live. He arranges a few of us who has ordered them to meet him there which,of course saves postage.I collect them for two other people who I know as well as my own. I had ordered 10 each of 8 varieties. With each 10 he always puts an extra one or two in . Apart from that though, he gave me nearly twice the number I had ordered. He gave me 14 varieties which is more than I have room to grow so I don't know what to do with them all and they are all exhibition varieties. When I got home I stood them in trays,as I always do,and put them on top of some cupboards in the kitchen till I have got the ground ready for planting.
This afternoon I have emptied all the frames except for the dahlias and filled them up with bedding plants.Plants that I took out were the more hardy bedding plants such as alyssum, pansies ,calendulas and godetia and those that I put in were the tender ones like petunias, lobelia ,marigolds and cosmos.
I also sowed some beetroot and kohl rabi in small peat pots in the greenhouse.
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