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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 2, 2020 19:35:07 GMT
Thanks, Roofie . I don't think I will have much spare the rest of the year so it will probably be next year when I go again. Went on the allotment this morning and carried on with weeding. I have been going to school on Saturday mornings recently but the weather is supposed to be wet the rest of the weekend so I decided to go this afternoon after we had been for a walk. I fed the tomatoes which may be the last time this year. I picked those that were ready and also dwarf and climbing French beans. The climbing French bean frame had blown over again so I tried to prop it up but I hadn't any long enough canes so I don't know if it will survive storm Alex which is coming tomorrow. My eldest grandson is called Alex and I pulled his leg about it on the phone yesterday.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 3, 2020 18:06:13 GMT
Another wet day but storm Alex hasn't come yet. This morning I went in the larger greenhouse and went through all the plants, tidying them up and cutting them back if I thought they needed it like I had done in the other greenhouse. Took some cuttings off the fuchsia,Hawkshead because I hadn't taken any before when I took the other varieties.We went to our local garden centre this afternoon because Rosemary wanted some new gardening gloves but I got some too.I also got a few more bulbs. I will be boxing up my chrysanth stools soon so when we got home I found the boxes (mushroom boxes) and washed them in the wheelbarrow under the car port.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 5, 2020 19:01:25 GMT
My computer wouldn't let me go on the forum yesterday but I spent most of the time boxing up the chrysanths but didn't finish them. This morning I went to the allotment .Picked a lot of sprouts the cut down all the spray chrysanths. This afternoon it rained till about 4.00. Last week I got a new wheelbarrow so I took my old one to the recycling centre along with most of the chrysanths that I had cut down.When I got home it had stopped raining so I finished boxing up the chrysants.So next time I go to the allotment I will bring those chrysanths home ready to box up.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 6, 2020 17:50:52 GMT
A day of heavy showers. It rained till mid morning but when it stopped I took a chance and went to the allotment. I untied the labels from the canes on the spray chrysanths and tied them onto the plants. This takes a long time to do.I then started gigging up the plants and putting them in big boxes to bring home. It started raining again before I finished but I carried on and got them all done.We went shopping this afternoon so Rosemary's walk was round Tesco. It rained most of the afternoon but I worked under the car port and got the chrysanths all boxed up into four mushroom boxes.Those I did yesterday are in seven boxes.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 7, 2020 18:27:56 GMT
This morning was a bit showery but it was dry this afternoon. I didn't think the tomatoes in the greenhouse would ripen so I picked them green and put them in a drawer in the spare bedroom and next time we have any banana skins I will put one or two in to help them to ripen. I then got rid of the tomato plants. To grow tomatoes in the greenhouse I had removed the shelf from one side so now they have gone I put the shelf back and put the chrysanth stools on it. Had about an hour on the allotment this afternoon. Called at school first to bring the seeds home that were left then I could check them and make a list to decide what we need ordering for next year. I grow runner beans for a man called Bill on the allotment for him to plant .He rarely picks the beans though and I haven't seen him for a long time and the beans have gone past their best with large seeds in them. So I picked a lot of them to keep for seed.I also picked some climbing French beans.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 9, 2020 18:23:28 GMT
My computer isn't behaving itself and I couldn't get on again yesterday but it is working at present. Yesterday on the allotment I picked some runner beans, French beans, and lettuce. Then weeded the chrysanth bed. It is too wet for digging but the bed is only three and a half feet wide so I could weed it from both sides without walking on the soil.I put the hose pipe away because I won't need it again this year .It rolls up and goes on a hook on the side of the shed.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 9, 2020 18:26:02 GMT
Went on the allotment again this morning. I weeded the path behind the chrysanth bed. then dead headed the dahlias ang cut a bucketful to take home to put in a vase
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 10, 2020 18:35:21 GMT
Recently I have been going to school on Saturday mornings but it was raining this morning so I didn't go out except for going an errand. It dried up this afternoon so we went a walk and I then went to school. There were no decent ripe tomatoes and I didn't think the green ones would ripen now so I decided to pick them and cut down the plants. I brought the green tomatoes home and put them in a drawer with a banana skin to ripen like I had done with the tomatoes from my greenhouse. I harvested some swedes and a few French beans beetroot and turnips and did a bit of weeding. I will go some other time and empty the tomato pots and bring the plants home.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 12, 2020 15:58:30 GMT
It was a dry day yesterday for a change. I started rubbing the shading off the greenhouses. I have been waiting for a dry day to do this because it rubs off easily when it is dry. I did all the sides but couldn't do the tops because they were full of leaves. I did brush the leaves off but the glass was wet after so I will have to let it dry. I sprayed the chrysanth stools with fungicide.I had trouble with white rust on the chrysanths this year because I didn't spray them enough so I am starting spraying them early. In the afternoon I went to school and put all the tomato plants in sacks and took them to the allotment and put them on the compost. They didn't have blight . I wouldn't have put them on the compost if they had. Today it rained early on but then dried up so I went to the allotment . Picked some more sprouts and sweet corn and the first swedes then did some more weeding. I also went to the post office and posted several seed orders to Dobies from people in our horticultural society and allotments. It has been raining again this afternoon so I have been on my computer all afternoon. I have been sorting all my pictures out on the computer to decide which to sent to the National Vegetable Society for Seasonal jobs in the magazine for next January February and March and I have sent them five for each month. I keep a list of what they have printed in previous years to make sure I don't send the same ones again.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 13, 2020 19:39:39 GMT
A bit showery but I have been to school this morning and part of the afternoon . I have emptied the compost from all the tomato pots into 8 sacks and took them round to the allotment in four journeys. I put the compost from four growbags onto the bed at school where the potatoes had been. I have not measured the distance from the school polytunnel to where I can park the car but it is at least 100 yards and I have to wheel the bags up on the wheelbarrow two at a time. The bags are heavy to lift into the car as well. On the first journey I did this and drove round to the allotments. Then I realised that the distance from the car park to the allotment was only about 50 yards so for the next three journeys I didn't put the bags in the car, I just wheeled them round to the allotment.I just put the compost on my empty beds. I,m glad I got it all done in a day .
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 14, 2020 17:57:49 GMT
This morning I washed all the tomato pots from school. This afternoon I got the rest of the shading from the greenhouses.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 15, 2020 18:02:20 GMT
Been on the allotment this morning and part of the afternoon. I picked a lot of sprouts for two friends. I got rid of the sweet corn plants because there were no more decent cobs on . We have had some nice ones though and we have had some for our meal this evening. I then forked over the ground where they had been. I then weeded the onion bed again.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 16, 2020 21:08:53 GMT
Been on the allotment this morning. We went for our walk round Blackleach this afternoon then I went to the allotment again. I think I have told you before that I have three compost bays. One contains material that is almost ready for using. One contains new material which is filling up and the other is empty .Today I transferred the material that is almost ready into the empty bay. By doing this it aerates it and speeds the decomposition. This is why I keep one bay empty. When the other bay is full I will transfer that as well. I then tidied the area in front of the compost bays. I have been having a lot of trouble with my computer recently. It keeps shutting itself off when I am using it and some days it won't come on at all. This is why some days I have not been able to get on the forum. Anyway, Martyn has ordered me a new one and tomorrow he is taking this one home to transfer all my pictures and some documents onto a disc.So you won't hear from me tomorrow. We were supposed to be going to Tenby tomorrow for coach tour holiday till Friday but today the coach firm phoned to say that it is cancelled due to new restrictions about the coronavirus.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 18, 2020 19:15:23 GMT
Martyn has brought my computer back so, hopefully, I can tell you what I have done yesterday and today .I had to switch my computer on 75 times before it would stay on. Yesterday I took the tomato pots back to school. They stand on trays in the polytunnel and I took them all outside and washed them with the hosepipe and a brush and took them back and stacked them in a corner till next year. The runner beans, dwarf and climbing French beans have finished so I removed the plants and put the canes away . I put the plants in sacks and brought them home to take to the compost bins on the allotment next time I go. I then weeded part of the area where they had been. This afternoon I finished weeding this area and weeded 4 of the other small beds. Thank goodness my computer stayed on long enough while I typed this out
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 19, 2020 19:38:13 GMT
Went on the allotment this morning. Took 2 bags of old compost and put it on what was the potato bed and also the compost that had been used to grow potatoes in buckets and raked it all over. I had some late sown French beans and lettuce for planting. I don't know if the beans will give a crop or if the lettuce will be big enough before the cold weather comes .I decided to plant them in the cold frames in which I had grown carrots so I moved two of the frames onto this empty bed on which I had grown potatoes .Put some Q4 fertiliser on the ground before I planted them. Harvested some sprouts for us and three of our neighbours and also some lettuce, beetroot and runner beans. After a walk this afternoon I went to school and did some more weeding on the veg beds.
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