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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 18, 2022 18:25:27 GMT
Just a few showers today. I have boxed up the spray chrysanth stools into 4 boxes and put them on a shelf in the greenhouse with the others. Rosemary went shopping with Heather yesterday and bought a poinsettia. I potted it into a 6 inch pot and put it on the windowsill. In summer, we have a garden table and chairs on the terrace under the back window. I decided it was time to put them away for the winter .The table dismantles with the use of a key so I put them away in the shed.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 19, 2022 22:07:18 GMT
This morning was the last day for our horticultural supply hut to be open this year. When we closed at 12.00 we had the A.G.M. I am the vice chairman but I had to chair the meeting because the chairman couldn't come. I just went at 12.00 in time for the meeting and it only lasted 20 minutes.
Took Rosemary a walk this afternoon and after, I swept all the leaves from the top of the greenhouses.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 20, 2022 19:07:29 GMT
Went to Martyn's this afternoon to do some gardening. I wanted to put some of my used compost on his garden so I took 5 sacks of it. There were still a few bedding plants in which needed taking out first and a few weeds. I put the 5 sacks on the garden ,intending to rake the compost level but at 3.00 , as soon as I had put them on it started pouring down so I didn't get chance. I asked Martyn to rake it sometime. So I just quickly loaded the car up and went in the house and we watched the football before coming home.
This morning I posted a bulk seed order to Dobies with three other orders along with my own.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 21, 2022 19:45:59 GMT
This morning I just did some watering and tidying up in the greenhouse. I had five pepper plants in the greenhouse but I decided to get rid of them to make more room because the few small fruits on them would never have ripened. This afternoon I stayed in watching the football. It was raining so I couldn't have done any gardening and it is still raining now at 7.45.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 22, 2022 20:05:47 GMT
It has been dry today. We went for a walk this afternoon. When we got home, and a bit of time this morning, I weeded and forked over the border between the back lawn and the fence. The bird table, which has not been in use over the summer goes on this border in winter so I put it in position. I knocked a stake into the ground to tie it to then it won't get blown over. I will have to get some bird food now, won't I?
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 23, 2022 22:15:29 GMT
It rained till about 10.30 this morning. When it stopped, I went out and started weeding the chrysanth beds. This afternoon we were ready to go a walk when it started raining again. It didn't last long but we didn't risk going in case it started again. The rest of the day was showery and I did a bit more weeding between showers. This evening I have been to a meeting at Blackleach but it only lasted 20 minutes.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 24, 2022 19:20:49 GMT
It was nice for our walk at Blackleach this morning but it has been raining this afternoon, hard at times. It did stop later in the afternoon but I didn't go out only to shut the greenhouse doors so I haven't done any gardening jobs today.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 25, 2022 22:10:08 GMT
It has been dry today and this morning I finished weeding the chrysanth beds. Rosemary had a dentist appointment this afternoon so I took her there then we went for another walk.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 26, 2022 22:34:21 GMT
Mainly dry today, just a bit of drizzle occasionally. A few days ago I told you that I had weeded the border between the back lawn and the path. Today I started doing the border on the other side. There was a row of dahlias along the back of this border. When I went to Whitefield show on November 5th (3 weeks ago), an exhibitor who I was talking to said that they had had a frost that blackened his dahlias. This is what happens when the first frost arrives but it hasn't arrived here yet. My dahlias are still green, both at home and on the allotment. I normally wait till they have been blackened before I cut them down and dig them up. According to my records the only year I didn't do so was 2011. Anyway, I cut this row down this afternoon to make it easier to weed and tidy up the border. If we don't get a frost soon I will do the same with the dahlias in the main bed.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 27, 2022 22:42:17 GMT
Martyn took Rosemary a ride in the car this afternoon so I took the opportunity to go on the allotment. I could only stay till 3.30 though, because Martyn had to go home. I removed the nets from over the brassica bed and put them away in the shed. I picked some sprouts and two cabbages to take home
I then started cutting the dahlias down even though they hadn't been blackened but I didn't have time to do many.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 28, 2022 20:10:55 GMT
My seed order arrived from Dobies. Besides my own seeds there were some for school, some to be given out on the allotments and some for someone else. I put them all on one order to save carriage. I sorted them all out into individual orders. I peeled the sprouts I brought home yesterday and cut the cabbages up into sections and gave them all to three of our neighbours. Didn't have time to do any other gardening jobs.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 29, 2022 22:59:30 GMT
I have told you before that I can't go on the allotment unless Martyn or Heather are here to see to Rosemary. However, we have a cleaner called Angela who comes on Tuesday mornings every two weeks and I decided to go while she was here. She loves sprouts so I picked some and a cabbage for her to take home.
I finished cutting down the dahlias and put them on the compost. I began digging them up and preparing them for storage but I only had time to do a quarter of them. All dahlia growers have their own methods of storing their tubers. I cut the stems down to about 3 inches , scrape off most of the loose soil with a screwdriver then knock the screwdriver down the hollow stem and out at the bottom. This helps to free any water trapped in the stem. I tie the labels on with string right round the tuber, not round the stem because the stem shrinks and the labels would come off. I then stand the tubers upside down in boxes and put them under the greenhouse staging to dry over winter.
As you know, I get most of my seeds from Dobies and Suttons because we get a discount., but I also get some from Shelleys. Some seeds came from Shelleys today but only about half of my order .However, there was a letter with them saying that due to ill health the company had ceased to trade and they couldn't complete my order but they sent me a cheque to cover the missing items.
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Post by derekbrooks on Nov 30, 2022 19:36:17 GMT
Today, I have dug up the dahlia tubers from the border alongside the back lawn, prepared them for storage and put them upside down in a box under the greenhouse staging. I then cut down all the dahlias on the main bed and all the stems and foliage filled four sacks. Will take these to the allotment next time I go and put them on the compost.
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Post by derekbrooks on Dec 1, 2022 19:48:33 GMT
I couldn't go to Blackleach today as I usually do on Thursdays because Martyn couldn't come to see to Rosemary. Heather has arrived this evening and is staying till Sunday. I have had almost a full day in the garden. I dug up all the dahlias on the main bed and put them into storage. I then did some more weeding on the border between the back lawn and the fence, where the row of dahlias had been. I also cleaned out one of my water butts.
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Post by derekbrooks on Dec 2, 2022 21:27:33 GMT
Because Heather is here to see to Rosemary I had a full day on the allotment. This morning I dug up the rest of the dahlia tubers, prepared them for storage and brought them home and put them under the greenhouse staging with the others. This afternoon I started clearing the annuals and putting them on the compost. There were some sunflowers and tithonias 7 or 8 feet tall with many stems. I had to cut these up into small sections so that they would lie flat on the compost and it took a long time. They will rot down quicker cut up like this.
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