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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 8, 2021 19:03:04 GMT
Another dry day . We went shopping this morning and all I had time to do after was watering and cut down a few more chrysanths. We couldn't go a walk this afternoon because Rosemary had to stay in waiting for a phone call. Went to church first and put more weedkiller on some weeds including some growing in a wall behind the car park. Went on the allotment after and planted eight plants of broccoli,early purple sprouting and eight savoy cabbage, Vertus. Planted them where the summer cabbages had been. I harvested one first to make room then forked the ground over and raked in some fish, blood and bone.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 9, 2021 20:51:56 GMT
Yet another dry day! We went a walk this afternoon and then I did some weeding in the back garden. Did the chrysanth beds and one of the borders round the back lawn.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 10, 2021 19:35:18 GMT
A nice day and we went a walk this afternoon . Went on the allotment after, tidying up and getting rid of finished crops. The dwarf French beans have finished so I pulled them up and put them on the compost. The gladioli have also finished so I cut them down and put them on the compost, and then cut down the spray chrysanths that had finished but didn't put these on the compost. Took them home and put them in the recycling bin. On my spray chrysanth bed there is a yellow one that I was puzzled about. I haven't got a spray that colour. I sent an email to John Peace, the Garden News chysanth expert, and sent him a picture of it. He replied saying that it wasn't a spray and that it is Joyce Freida, an incurve. This is one variety that I showed at Edenfield on Sept 18th and I showed you a picture of them. Incurves are disbudded, leaving one bloom on each stem but I had got this plant labelled wrongly , and thinking it was a spray I hadn't disbudded it and it had 4 or5 blooms on each stem.  The mystery spray |
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 11, 2021 19:40:06 GMT
This morning I just did some dead heading and weeding in our front garden. We went a walk this afternoon and then I had an hour on the allotment, just weeding the onion bed and the path behind it again
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 12, 2021 18:54:59 GMT
Went shopping this morning. It takes longer than it used to so all I had time to do after was watering. Went to school this afternoon . One of the teachers brings a different set of about six children out each week to look at the gardens to see what is growing. I show them the four veg beds and explain to them the crop rotation and tell them which type of crops grow in each bed and let them pick some that are ready. I take them into the polytunnel and show them the tomatoes . They have nearly finished now so there weren't many on. The children are only out half an hour so there isn't time to do much. When they had gone back in school I finished weeding the root crop bed which I started before. I couldn't go last Tuesday because I had to go for a hearing test and I can't go next week because I have to take Rosemary to hospital. The week after is half term so I won't be going again for three weeks.
When I got home I weeded the rose bed in the front garden .
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 13, 2021 19:06:43 GMT
Had almost a full day in the allotment. It isn't often that I can do so. Wednesday is normally the only morning I can go because I have other things to do other days. It was a bit drizzly first thing but dried up later. I didn't do much else apart from weeding though. Finished the path I was doing last time and continued doing where the French beans, broad beans and peas had been. Brought home three marrows and a squash to take to Blackleach tomorrow and also the last of the sweet corn.
Now some good news. After almost a year of waiting, Rosemary had finally got a date for her hip replacement operation which is two weeks today. At present, I am having to do several household jobs that she used to do but she is in a lot of pain and can't do much.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 14, 2021 20:14:51 GMT
When the art club people had arrived at Blackleach this afternoon I went out and did some weeding on the border alongside the visitor centre. When I got home about 3.30 I took Rosemary a walk in her wheelchair.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 15, 2021 18:37:51 GMT
The only gardening time I have had today was an hour on the allotment this afternoon after we had been for a walk. I finished weeding the bed I was doing on Wednesday.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 16, 2021 20:57:32 GMT
Had most of the afternoon on the allotment. The sweet corn had finished so I dug up the plants, cut them up and put the pieces on the compost. I then weeded where they had been. I have carrots growing in three cold frames ,covered with nets to keep out the carrot flies. Rosemary wanted some carrots for tomorrow so I removed the nets and weeded all three frames but only got the carrots from one of them and left those in the other two for next time she wants some. I then carried on weeding another of the paths.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 17, 2021 20:22:21 GMT
Not done any gardening at all today. We had our booster vaccinations yesterday afternoon. The only after affects I have is an aching arm but Rosemary didn't feel well this morning. So we didn't go to church. We watched the service on U tube instead. This afternoon I went for my walk round Blackleach. Forgot to mention yesterday that 120 plants came from Suttons for my winter tubs and baskets so this will be one of my next jobs.  Carrots harvested yesterday (sweet candle) |
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 18, 2021 18:56:37 GMT
It started raining mid morning and most of the time till mid afternoon. Before it started I cut some more chrysanths to put in a vase in the house. There aren't many left now and I cut down the rest of the plants that had finished. While it was raining I worked under the carport re-planting some of my tubs with bulbs and some of the plants from Suttons. I also picked the remaining few tomatoes including green ones and got rid of the plants. I will put the green ones in a drawer in the house with a banana skin to ripen them.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 19, 2021 20:36:55 GMT
Showery again today. I had to take Rosemary to hospital today .She had an appointment with a rheumatologist but she also had a blood test and some x rays. We left home at 11.00 and didn't get home till 3.45. Forgot to mention yesterday that she had a big disappointment. She was really pleased to finally get a date for her hip replacement after a long wait but yesterday she got a phone call to say it was cancelled because the surgeon had got covid.
Before we went to hospital and about an hour when we got home I emptied the tomato pots and put them away and put all the compost in bags.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 19, 2021 20:38:49 GMT
 Chrysanths cut yesterday
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 20, 2021 20:07:15 GMT
A day of heavy showers. We had to go shopping this morning because we couldn't go yesterday. This afternoon I have planted the rest of my daffodils in large pots and some crocuses in a bowl then did some tidying up in the garden .
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 21, 2021 20:45:43 GMT
A dry day today. When the art club people arrived at Blackleach this afternoon I went out and planted about 18 wallflowers in the border which I had grown from seed and were in 3 inch pots. I had weeded the ground for them last week and I just raked in some fish, blood and bone before planting. I staked them all with a small split cane. On my way home at 3.00 I called at the allotment for some sprouts but I also removed a lot more yellowing leaves from them and picked some climbing French beans to keep for seed next year. Not much time when I got home but I put the green tomatoes in a drawer in the bedroom with a banana skin to ripen them and I cleaned up the sprouts ready for use. Heather, our daughter from Wales , arrived about 5.30 and is staying till Sunday. She has mostly come for Rosemary's birthday which is tomorrow. She has brought two hanging baskets for me to plant. She is taking us to Bolton tomorrow but I will have time to do some jobs before we go. Our son, Martyn is cooking a meal for us on Saturday and that is what the sprouts are for. Then we are all going out for a meal on Sunday before Heather goes home.
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