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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 12, 2020 20:02:31 GMT
I have some tubes made from builders damp proof material in which I grow long carrots (like those I use for parsnips.)I sowed these today I also grow short carrots in two large buckets full of compost and with bore holes filled with compost I made.I sowed these as well. I have also pricked out two boxes of lavatera and one of stocks.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 13, 2020 20:55:56 GMT
I forgot to mention yesterday that my large home made propagator in the greenhouse where I start off most of my seeds isn't needed any more. It is stood on sheets of asbestos so I pulled them out from underneath and put them on top. This gives me more room because I can stand boxes of plants on top of it. It was not an easy job getting it in position and levelling it but I managed it. Today I have spent much of the time potting chrysanths on into 5 inch pots which I started doing last Saturday. I have room to grow 90 plants of disbud varieties and I have potted 93 and put them in a frame so I have enough potted . I still have about 40 plant beside these which I have put in a different frame but because I have no chance of selling them I don't think I need them so I will probably dispose of them. I still have the spray varieties to do which I will carry on with tomorrow but because these cuttings were taken later, not as many will be ready for potting on.I need to put all the rest of the chrysanths in frames because I need the room in the greenhouse. There isn't room for them in the two frames that are in use so I fixed up another aluminium one. I have 6 aluminium frames and some wooden ones and they are all kept behind my shed and greenhouses until I need them. I have also pricked out another box of lavatera and one of stocks.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 14, 2020 19:53:55 GMT
Today I potted up all the plants of spray chrysanths into 5 inch pots that were ready for doing and put them and all the rest of the chrysanths into the frame that I put up yesterday. The 24 surfinias that I ordered through Garden News arrived today and I potted them into 4 inch pots.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 15, 2020 20:40:10 GMT
The only gardening job I have done today is pricking out.I have done 3 boxes of alyssum and 2 of Marigold "tall Scotch prize"
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 16, 2020 20:47:42 GMT
When I prick out boxes of plants,to save room I put them under the greenhouse staging.They can't stay there long, though, because they need more light. Now that all the chrysanths are in the frames I have more room so today I got all the boxes from under the staging and put them on the floor in the other greenhouse. There is no staging in this greenhouse.I sowed a lot of sunflowers in cell trays a few weeks ago but only three have grown so I potted these up.I will have to sow some more. I then pricked out a box of antirrhinum "mme butterfly",two of nicotiana "domino" and two of rudbeckia "marmalade". Also potted up three gloxinias that were growing.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 17, 2020 22:07:34 GMT
Went to the hut first for some more potting compost and some other things I needed. Yesterday Rosemary fed the roses in the back garden but she hadn't enough fertiliser for those at the front. So I got some from the hut and she has done them now. I sowed the last few packets of annual flower seeds,another packet each of antirrhinums and stocks .The ageratum "timeless" didn't germinate well so I sowed some more and also some more sunflowers. Sowed these in pots .Also sowed my zinnias. I sow these in inverted drinking cups with the bottoms removed and stood in trays.This is because they don't like root disturbance. When they are growing and ready for planting , the pots are just lifted off. I think I showed you a picture of them last year. As you know, Rosemary and me walk round Blackleach Country Park every two weeks , usually at weekend and record all the birds and wild flowers that we see. I send the record of birds on the reservoir to the British Trust for Ornithology ( B.T.O.)for their webs (wetland birds) survey and I send all the bird figures to the Salford bird recorder. However,because we have had a mild dose of the virus and have been isolating ourselves,we have not been to Blackleach since March 15th( Nearly 5 weeks).We are feeling better now so we decided to go this evening but keep our distance from other people.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 18, 2020 21:04:40 GMT
Went to school this morning. There are ten pipes about 8 inches diameter fixed to a fence in which we grow long carrots. They are filled with old compost . I made bore holes in this with a stick , sieved some potting compost and filled the holes with it and sowed the seeds 2 or 3 in each tube. I grow 8 tomatoes in the school polytunnel for my own use in 4 growbags with 2 bottomless pots on each wit circles cut in the bags to fit them. I put these in position and filled the pots with compost.It took a full bag of potting compost to fill the 8 pots. I have about 30 tomato plants at home which were for the children to plant but because the school is closed I will plant them myself. I put all the pots in position but there is no compost to fill them. So I went to the hut again this afternoon for two more bags, one for school and another for myself. When I got home I sowed my sweet peas and my" Show perfection" peas.I sow all these in individual drinking cups one seed in each.I filled most of the cups yesterday.I have 6 varieties of sweet peas and I sowed 15 of each and 30 peas. A standard seed tray holds 15 of these cups. I also pricked out 2 trays of mimulus and one of salvia "Victoria"
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 19, 2020 20:33:35 GMT
Today I potted all the rooted cuttings of bacopa and diascia that I took a few weeks ago .Not sure whether I wanted them in cell trays or small yoghurt pots so I put some in each. I had lost some because I let them dry out. Potted about 40 brassica plants (sprouts, cauliflowers and 2 varieties of cabbage) from 3 inch pots into 5 inch. I think I have told you before,I do this to help combat clubroot. They will be bigger plants when I plant them out and the roots have a larger volume of compost to occupy before they reach the soil. I have six cold frames that came from Elite Greenhouses. If ever I need replacement glass for them I can get it from there. However, I have another frame that I had given to me which is a different shape which has one of the ends missing.I don't know where I can get glass for it so this afternoon I made one with wood.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 20, 2020 20:52:38 GMT
Every afternoon for a week or so we have been going for a walk because Rosemary is not getting any exercise because we are still isolating ourselves.I have been working in the garden and greenhouses the rest of the time. Today I pricked out the "Love lies bleeding" and some stocks and a few Rudbeckia. Most of the pricking out is done. There are just a few things that are not ready yet. I took some cuttings from the surfinias that came last week. I then started sowing the tender veg that can't be planted out till there is no risk of frost. These include runner beans, climbing French beans,marrows, courgettes, squashes and sweet corn. I sow sweet corn in drinking cups but all the rest in 4 inch pots, one seed per pot. They all go on propagators in the greenhouse and in the kitchen. I sowed 45 runner beans, 16 climbing French beans and 10 marrows. I can't sow any more till I have made room on my propagators but am hoping to do the rest in the next few days.
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Post by Cat on Apr 21, 2020 20:44:30 GMT
Today I potted all the rooted cuttings of bacopa and diascia that I took a few weeks ago .Not sure whether I wanted them in cell trays or small yoghurt pots so I put some in each. I had lost some because I let them dry out. Potted about 40 brassica plants (sprouts, cauliflowers and 2 varieties of cabbage) from 3 inch pots into 5 inch. I think I have told you before,I do this to help combat clubroot. They will be bigger plants when I plant them out and the roots have a larger volume of compost to occupy before they reach the soil. I have six cold frames that came from Elite Greenhouses. If ever I need replacement glass for them I can get it from there. However, I have another frame that I had given to me which is a different shape which has one of the ends missing.I don't know where I can get glass for it so this afternoon I made one with wood. I am going to try potting brassicas into 5 inch pots this year having seen this re clubroot. Thanks for the tip.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 21, 2020 21:03:34 GMT
This morning I went on the allotment for the first time for a month. I took 6 bags of old compost which I will spread on some of the beds. Picked some rhubarb for four of our neighbours .My next job on the allotment is planting the onion sets so I hoed and raked the bed. I wanted to rake in some growmore but I forgot to take it. I will do it next time I go before I start planting. After our walk this afternoon I went in the greenhouse again. I will soon be planting the tomatoes at school so I took them off the warming bench to make room for the other tender veg that I wanted to sow. I sowed 20 courgettes,15 sweet corn and 10 squashes. after, I took some more cuttings of the basket plants, calibracoa and bacopa.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 22, 2020 20:32:20 GMT
Went on the allotment again this morning. If the weather stays like this I will probably go on every morning and do jobs at home in the afternoon. I remembered to take the growmore so I raked some in the onion bed and planted all the onion sets. They were in 3 inch pots. There were 62 altogether. I am hoping to plant the potatoes tomorrow so I put growmore on this bed. I also sowed long carrots in the bore holes in the drums. I had made the bore holes and filled them with compost before. When we got home from our walk this afternoon , a friend off the allotments, Steve,(Paws57's husband) had left me a message asking if I was going to the hut because he wanted some compost.I had to go sometime this week because I needed another bag for the tomatoes at school and another for myself so I went this afternoon and I will take him his compost tomorrow. I mowed the lawns when I got home . I have 9 potato bags containing compost that I made and I planted 3 potatoes in each bag, 5 bags with Charlotte and 4 with Red Duke of York. I also took a few more cuttings from the basket plants and began putting the first blanching collars on the leeks.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 23, 2020 21:03:41 GMT
Went on the allotment this morning to plant my potatoes but didn't have time to finish them. We didn't go a walk this afternoon because we wanted to watch the funeral of a friend on the computer. We were given the link and the password but we couldn't find it. The same thing happened last Wednesday with another friend. So I went back to the allotment and finished planting the potatoes. There are 6 rows of 12.They are about 12 inches apart and the rows about 18 inches apart. There are two and a half rows each of Casablanca and Kestrel and half a row each of Red Duke of York and Charlotte. I put lawn mowings in the trenches and put the potatoes on top.This helps to stop scab disease (This is another tip for you, Cat ). When I got home I sowed 5 varieties of lettuce and 2 varieties of beetroot in cell trays and also some calabrese in 3 inch pots. Went in the greenhouse a bit this evening and finished putting the first collars on the leeks. I will need to fix the rest of my frames up soon but the area in front of the shed where they go is a dumping ground when I don't need it. So I began tidying it up . There were a lot of discarded plants that needed removing from their pots and empty trays and buckets that needed shifting.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 23, 2020 21:27:34 GMT
Potatoes planted with lawn mowings in the trenches.
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Post by Cat on Apr 24, 2020 18:08:50 GMT
Went on the allotment this morning to plant my potatoes but didn't have time to finish them. We didn't go a walk this afternoon because we wanted to watch the funeral of a friend on the computer. We were given the link and the password but we couldn't find it. The same thing happened last Wednesday with another friend. So I went back to the allotment and finished planting the potatoes. There are 6 rows of 12.They are about 12 inches apart and the rows about 18 inches apart. There are two and a half rows each of Casablanca and Kestrel and half a row each of Red Duke of York and Charlotte. I put lawn mowings in the trenches and put the potatoes on top.This helps to stop scab disease (This is another tip for you, Cat ). When I got home I sowed 5 varieties of lettuce and 2 varieties of beetroot in cell trays and also some calabrese in 3 inch pots. Went in the greenhouse a bit this evening and finished putting the first collars on the leeks. I will need to fix the rest of my frames up soon but the area in front of the shed where they go is a dumping ground when I don't need it. So I began tidying it up . There were a lot of discarded plants that needed removing from their pots and empty trays and buckets that needed shifting. That's great thank you derekbrooks
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