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Post by derekbrooks on May 7, 2022 19:46:40 GMT
Forgot to mention yesterday that Heather, our daughter, is here again. She has been every weekend while her mother is in hospital. She went to see her at lunch time and I went this afternoon. When I got home I did some tidying up on the terrace in the back garden . There were a few weeds but a lot of moss which I tried to scrape off but I haven.t finished it yet. All the bedding plants that are in the frames have to temporarily go on this terrace till they are planted out and containers of plants go on it after which is why it needs tidying. This evening I took some more cuttings from my basket plants, diascias, nepetas and bacopas.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 8, 2022 20:35:02 GMT
Not much gardening time today but this evening I had another go at scraping the moss off the terrace. Got off all that I could then watered some moss killer on to hopefully get rid of the rest. Heather went home this evening but is coming again on Thursday When I went round Blackleach on Friday I wished I had my camera with me because I could have got some nice pictures of ducklings and coot chicks. When I had been to hospital this afternoon I decided to go again with my camera because I thought the pictures might cheer Rosemary up.I did get some pictures but they are not as good as I would have got on Friday but I will take my computer and show her tomorrow.  Two wood pigeons by the reservoir |
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Post by derekbrooks on May 8, 2022 20:37:42 GMT
 Two swans near the nest. There is also a coot's nest to the left but you can't see it very well
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Post by derekbrooks on May 8, 2022 20:40:02 GMT
 Coot chicks. I saw a lot more than this last Friday
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Post by derekbrooks on May 9, 2022 20:40:45 GMT
Went to the allotment this morning and planted the leeks. Had to do more weeding first but I managed to get them done. When I got home from hospital this afternoon I mowed the lawns. Then I emptied all the frames , except those with chrysanths in . The other five had sweet peas and the hardier annuals so I put all these on the terrace. Filled 4 of the frames up again with half hardy annuals.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 10, 2022 21:05:48 GMT
It was showery this morning but fine this afternoon. When it was raining this morning I went in the greenhouse and potted the achimenes that were growing in a tray into four 5 inch pots. I have been in the garden the rest of the day and evening except for going to hospital at lunch time. I removed all the chrysanths from the frames that were in larger pots then carried on planting them. I have two chrysanth beds each with four rows of eleven . I planted all the first bed and tied them up to the canes and tied all the labels to the top of the canes. Tying the labels on is a job Rosemary normally did for me but she can't do them from a hospital bed, can she?. I then planted two rows in the second bed but didn't get time to tie them up.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 11, 2022 21:08:49 GMT
Like yesterday it was showery this morning but dry later. I finished planting all the chrysanths and tied them to the canes and tied the labels on top of the canes. After that, I started potting dahlias from three and a half inch pots into larger ones,the same pots that the chrysanths had been in. Did about thirty.  Chrysanths all planted. You can see the T post and wires to which the canes are fastened |
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Post by derekbrooks on May 12, 2022 20:47:05 GMT
This evening I potted on another 30 dahlias and put them and those potted yesterday in a frame (63 done up to now)
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Post by derekbrooks on May 13, 2022 21:58:01 GMT
Went to the allotment this morning and got the spray chrysanth bed ready for planting. Had to weed it first then I put fish, blood and bone on and raked it in. There will be three rows of 18 canes but I only had time to put two rows of canes in. After my hospital visit this afternoon I potted up some more dahlias and put them in a frame. There are 91 potted now and that will be enough . Also put some squashes and more beans in one of the frames.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 14, 2022 21:22:05 GMT
I have about 40 tomato plants that urgently need potting into their final pots. They are getting quite tall and beginning to flower and are potbound. I normally grow just over 30 in the poytunnel at school but I have been waiting to see if it is going to be repaired and I still don't now whether it is or not. I grow about 8 in my greenhouse at home but if the polytunnel isn't being repaired I could try and fit more into my greenhouse but I haven't room for all these. At the end of last season I brought the pots from school home and washed them and took them back. I decided this afternoon to go to school and bring some of the pots home and plant them up. I planted 11, 5 with meccano and 6 with sungold. If the F.A. cup final had not gone to extra time,I would have had time to do more!. I have some pots of my own that I could plant but they need washing. If the polytunnel does get repaired I could take some of the plants there.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 15, 2022 20:56:51 GMT
Went on the allotment this afternoon after my hospital visit to plant the spray chrysanths .Didn't have time to do them all but I tied up those that I planted. Been in the greenhouse this evening and potted the remaining rooted cuttings of basket plants into small pots. All these cuttings were taken in April but there are just a few taken in May that are not rooted yet.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 16, 2022 21:02:17 GMT
Went to the allotment this morning hoping to finish planting my spray chrysanths. As soon as I arrived it started raining so I sat in the car reading for about half an hour then decided to go home .When I got home I washed my pots for tomatoes under the car port. The weather dried up this afternoon so I went to the allotment again and finished the planting. I tied them up and also tied all the labels to the top of the canes. I then weeded the gladioli bed ready for planting. At 7.00 this evening I went to the A.G.M. on the allotments. It was over by 8.15 so when I got home I went in the greenhouse and potted 5 peppers from yoghurt pots into 4 inch pots, then did some tidying up in the garden.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 17, 2022 21:26:04 GMT
It was fine this morning so I went to the allotment and started weeding what I call the "others" bed which is for anything apart from potatoes, brassicas and root crops. Broad and French beans go in this bed and it is time they were sown.
My two grandsons from Wales (Heather's boys) have been to see Rosemary in hospital this afternoon. Alex, the eldest one , supports Newcastle United and Jake, the younger one, supports Arsenal. They were playing each other last night at Newcastle .They went to the match and stayed in Newcastle for the night and came here on their was back to Wales. They arrived here about 1.15 and I took them straight to hospital. They each had about 15 minutes with her before it was my turn .Soon after we got back home they set off back to Wales. I then went to Martyn's to cut his hedge. He has only one at the front now. He has had the hedge at the back taken out and replaced by a fence.
Went in the greenhouse a bit this evening. I put the tubes of parsnips outside to make room for more tomato plants and I potted another four.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 18, 2022 21:12:56 GMT
Today I have been on the allotment this morning, this afternoon after going to hospital and again this evening till rain stopped play at 8.15. I planted my gladioli first, 28 in a bed of their own, then some between the leeks and a row between the back two rows of spray chrysanths. The rest of the time I have just been weeding. I have done about two thirds of the "others" bed which is where the broad beans and peas will be going. This bed was full of chickweed. I then did the runner bean/sweet pea bed but there weren't many weeds on here. Just got it finished before it started raining.
Heather is here again, she arrived this morning and went straight to hospital.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 19, 2022 21:16:10 GMT
Did some more weeding at Blackleach this afternoon. Just had an hour or so on the allotment this evening. Put fish, blood and bone on the "others" bed as far as I had weeded and also on the sweet pea/runner bean bed and raked it in. Began putting up the 8 foot canes for sweet peas and runner beans .I have told you before that it is a work of art getting 8 foot canes into a 6 foot shed. It isn't easy getting them out either.
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