|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 1, 2020 21:28:45 GMT
When my gladioli came from Parkers yesterday there were also eight free Lavender"Munstead".This afternoon I potted them into 4 inch pots .A friend came to our house a few days ago and brought me 3 dahlia tubers so I planted them in a box .I had no compost for them or the Lavenders until I got some from the hut this morning. David Valentine, who used to be on this forum ,came to the hut this morning so I was able to thank him for the dahlias he left at the hut for me last year. I wanted to thank him then but I had neither his phone number or his email address but he has given them to me now.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 2, 2020 19:16:48 GMT
Went on the allotment this afternoon .I marked out all my beds then put 3 kilos of limestone on what will be the brassica bed which will raise the pH to about 7.5. Then did a bit of weeding on what was the brassica bed last year but there aren't many weeds now. Rain stopped play, though, about 4.00.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 4, 2020 22:51:44 GMT
Six begonias that I had ordered from Blackmore and Langdon came this morning. It was raining most of the morning, not hard but it was too wet to do anything outside. So I decided to carry on washing my pots because I have a lot to do yet. It stopped raining and brightened up this afternoon so I went to the allotment. Picked the last sprouts and got rid of the plants. They were small but still usable. I forked over the ground where they had been then finished weeding the rest of the bed but there weren't many weeds.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 5, 2020 21:44:20 GMT
This morning I planted the begonias that came from Blackmore and Langdon and the begonias and gloxinias that I kept from last year into boxes and put them all in my large propagator. I also planted the achimenes tubercles that came from Dibleys. There were six varieties but only three tubercles of each so I planted these in 3inch pots. These have gone on the propagator in the house. Spent most of the afternoon cutting ore ivy off the apple tree but I haven't got it all off yet. It is a difficult job because I can't get near enough to it for all the branches .
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 6, 2020 20:47:57 GMT
When I got home from Blackleach about 3.30 I had an hour carrying on with removing the ivy from the apple tree but I still haven't finished it.Had another session washing pots this evening.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 7, 2020 22:51:14 GMT
This morning I took the first 44 dahlia cuttings. They were all from five varieties .I have a warming mat and a propagator in a room in the house next to the kitchen. This is where the boxes containing these varieties had been. Cuttings grow quicker here than on the warming benches in the greenhouse. I keep swapping the boxes round so these boxes have now been put in the greenhouse and two boxes from the greenhouse containing different varieties have been put on the warming mat and propagator in the house so that next time I take some cuttings , more varieties will be available. This afternoon I went to the recycling centre with a car full of ivy from the apple tree. When I got home I spent the rest of the afternoon cutting the rest of the ivy off. It is still not all off but I think I have got off all I can reach.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 8, 2020 22:38:04 GMT
All I've done today apart from what I have done for school was to wash some more pots this evening.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 9, 2020 20:52:36 GMT
This afternoon I sowed aubergines and 4 varieties of tomatoes in margarine tubs, about 10 seeds in each. They have all gone in my large home made propagator. Also 10 cucumbers sown individualy in small yoghurt pots These have gone on two of my other propagators .I then took 10 chrysanth cuttings, 5 each of 2 varieties I had not taken before. My load of manure is coming on the allotment tomorrow afternoon so I hope the weather is better than it has been today.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 10, 2020 22:04:19 GMT
This morning I started re-potting all my plants that were in 5 inch pots and over, which I do every year at this time. I knock each plant out of its pot , remove some of the old compost and repot with fresh compost. Most plants go back into the same pot but some I pot down into a smaller pot depending in the size of the root system. I don't usually pot any up into larger pots at this time if year. I discarded several plants that were no longer any good. The old compost that I remove doesn't get thrown away. I usually mix some more fertiliser into it and grow potatoes in it. My manure arrived this afternoon. Because I now only have half an allotment ,it is only half a load. It gets tipped on the main path alongside the allotment and I barrow it into my beds that need it. We are going to Wales on Saturday for a few days .I probably won't have time to dig any in before we go but I want to get as much shifted as I can. I managed to shift 17 barrows before it started blowing a gale and hail stoning about 10 past 4 so I gave up then and went home. Barrowing manure
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 11, 2020 20:32:57 GMT
Not much time today after Blackleach this morning and shopping this afternoon but I carried on with re-potting the pot plants after.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 12, 2020 21:47:26 GMT
Rosemary needed the car this morning as she usually does on Wednesdays so I had a morning in the greenhouse and finished re-potting my pot plants. I told you that we were going to Wales on Saturday for a few days but there has been a change of plans. Because this is going to be a stormy weekend we have decided to go the following Saturday instead. It gives me more time to shift my manure and perhaps dig some of it in,if the weather will let me. I went this afternoon and shifted another 16 barrows. It was still very windy but no showers. A greenhouse on one of the other allotments has been very badly damaged and a lot of the glass broke. I washed some more pots this evening.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 13, 2020 20:38:26 GMT
When I got home from Blackleach about 3.30 I put the 5 bags of manure that I brought home yesterday on the chrysanth bed. I then took another 44 dahlia cuttings.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 14, 2020 21:06:31 GMT
This morning I went to the allotment and finished barrowing manure onto the beds. I filled another 5 bags and brought them home and put them on the chrysanth and dahlia beds. There is still some left but I need another 4 bags on one of my dahlia beds and some to take to school. As you know, Rosemary and me go round Blackleach Country Park every two weeks at weekends to count the birds. Because of the stormy weekend that was forecast we decided to go this afternoon. However, when we were all ready to go it started raining so I went in the greenhouse and took another 73 chrysanth cuttings. I am at Blackleach all day next Monday so if we can't go this weekend I will have to go round counting the birds then.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 15, 2020 20:16:36 GMT
It rained most of the day , as forecast.It has been windy but not the severe gales as forecast yet. Got my potatoes from the hut this morning, 3 varieties,3 kilos each of Casablanca and Kestrel and 2 kilos of Charlotte, also 3 kilos of Casablanca for school. Stood them in trays and put them on the top greenhouse shelf to chit. Potted the first 69 rooted chrysanth cuttings into 3 inch pots. These cuttings were taken on Jan 13th. I also potted the exhibition onion seedlings into small yoghurt pots. I then started sieving the compost from last years potato bags .I will mix in some more fertiliser and use it for growing carrots.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 15, 2020 20:22:54 GMT
The first rooted chrysanth cuttings potted up
|
|