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Post by derekbrooks on Jan 22, 2013 19:47:31 GMT
I have not been on this page much recently because the snow has put an end to jobs outside for the time being so I have not much to tell you about. Also I have not much to do in the greenhouses till I start sowing seeds towards the end of the month. All I have done today in to transplant some onion seedlings into small pots. Yesterday I washed a few more pots but they are nearly all done now.
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Post by Cherry on Jan 22, 2013 19:58:04 GMT
Excuses, excuses! ;D Now our gardens must look similar Derek.  |
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Post by derekbrooks on Jan 23, 2013 21:54:51 GMT
This morning I had to go to our supply hut to help unload a wagon with bags of fertiliser and canes and a few other things.
This afternoon I have just been washing pots.
The first two of my dahlia tubers are growing.I can't resist looking at them to see if there are any more.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jan 24, 2013 20:30:43 GMT
I normally lead the health walk at Blackleach country park every other Thursday . It wasn,t my turn today but I went because one of the other leaders couldn't go. There are supposed to be two leaders, one at the front and one at the back. I walk at the back so I can keep my eye on everybody and make sure they are O.K.
This afternoon I have taken another 93 chrysanth cuttings.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jan 26, 2013 17:05:50 GMT
About 4 inches of snow this morning. This is the most we have had this winter. I know it's not as much as in some parts of the country but it's no wonder we had no customers at the hut this morning.
I have never grown garlic but I decided to try some . I got a bulb from a supermarket and separated the cloves and planted them in 4 inch pots. Put them on a shelf in the greenhouse. I don't think they need to go in a greenhouse but I've nowhere else to put them at present.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jan 27, 2013 20:27:36 GMT
Rained a lot overnight and the snow has nearly gone.
Had a good afternoon in the greenhouse sowing seeds. Sowed 6 varieties of tomatoes and also lobelia,petunia,salvias,asters,and some perennials I want to flower this year--penstemons,dwarf delphiniums and achillea.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jan 30, 2013 21:39:00 GMT
Yesterday morning was quite nice but I had to go to a health walk leaders meeting at Salford quays. It was raining in the afternoon so I didn,t get much done except a bit of tidying up of pot plants in the greenhouse.
This morning was nice and sunny but VERY windy.I had to go to the hut again to help unload a wagon. Went at 9.00 but it didn't come till 10.30.Some wagons have a fork lift on and the driver can lift the pallets off and put them inside inside the doors of the hut and we drag them in on a pallet truck.This driver couldn,t though so we had to handball the bags on to other pallets and it was hard work. Good job there were only 3 pallets. It took us an hour though and I was tired when I got home.
When I got home the wind had blown the gate at the side of the house off its hinges and blown one of my frames over and smashed some of the glass. There were no plants in though.
I have four boxes with dahlia tubers in. Two are on propagators in a spare room in the house and the others are on warming benches in the greenhouse. 16 tubers are growing but they are all in the house because these propagators are warmer than the benches in the greenhouse.So I swapped the boxes over and I will keep doing this to get all the tubers growing.
Sowed some delphinium seeds that were given with yesterdays Garden News. Not the full packet-just a few in a margerine tub.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jan 31, 2013 20:42:53 GMT
The boxes of seeds I sowed last Sunday afternoon had pieces of glass on them and were all in my homemade propagator on top of each other about 4 boxes deep. After 4 days(which is today) I have to take them out every day to see if any seeds are germinating. If they are , the boxes have to come out and go on one of the shelves. Today the asters and some of the tomatoes were germinating. You may think it is early to sow asters but I sow them now because I want them for early shows.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 1, 2013 19:33:07 GMT
I had not been on the allotment for two weeks because of the bad weather.It didn't rain yesterday and it was nice this morning. I couldn't go till afternoon though because Rosemary needed the car this morning.I finished washing my plant pots this morning and put them all away in tubs behind the greenhouse.
So I went this afternoon to carry on with the weeding.I had ordered a load of manure for next Tuesday and I want to finish weeding the beds where it is going . I was very disappointed when it started raining about 2.00 o'clock.I could have done with a full afternoon but I did work in the rain for a bit and managed to finish a bed I was doing last time I went. I sat in the car for half an hour hoping it would stop but it didn't so I went home.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 2, 2013 19:12:06 GMT
I did manage a full afternoon on the allotment today.I decided to dig the trenches for my runner beans and sweet peas but I only had time to do one of them. Had to do some weeding on the bed first.
I bought 5 Phlox "bright eye"from Morrisons yesterday in polythene bags. I haven't any ground ready for planting them yet so I potted them into 5 inch pots
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 3, 2013 21:25:26 GMT
Drizzly today so I had the afternoon in the greenhouse. Started re-potting the pot 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 , scrape away some of the old compost and re-pot them in new compost. Most of them go back into the same pot but if the root system is poor it goes into a smaller pot. As I go through them , any that I don't think are any good get disposed of.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 5, 2013 21:19:17 GMT
My manure was delivered 11.00 this morning and I began shifting it.Put 8 barrows on the chrysanth bed. An inch of snow had fallen overnight but this afternoon it was blowing a blizzard so instead of going back to carry on shifting it I chickened out and went in the greenhouse and carried on re-potting pot plants.I want to finish shifting it this week though. It is tipped on a wide path between the allotments and it is in the way. People can't even walk past and also someone else wants a load next week and that can't be delivered till mine has been moved and I am away next week. I won't be able to dig it into my beds this week but I just want to clear it off the path.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 6, 2013 22:39:21 GMT
A better day today. Rather windy but nice and sunny and yesterdays snow has gone. I have been shifting the manure all morning and part of the afternoon. Put 18 barrows on the veg beds and 6 on the gladioli bed . Brought 12 bags of it home and put them on the chrysanth beds.
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Post by Cherry on Feb 7, 2013 6:59:37 GMT
The best way to warm up Derek. |
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Post by markb on Feb 7, 2013 7:15:37 GMT
That's really good going Derek. Is your allotment on the flat? Mine are at the top of a 1 in 5 slope and the nearest we can get manure is about 200 yards away - means a lot of barrowing uphill.
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