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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 13, 2023 20:05:55 GMT
This morning I did some tidying up on the rockery and the border alongside the path in the back garden. There is ivy on a fence along the back of the rockery and creeps all over the rockery and border if I allow it to. I have to keep pulling the roots up and cutting it back to stop it spreading. It started raining about 11.45 and has done so off and on all day, heavy at times so I have been in the greenhouse this afternoon. I potted 18 rooted cuttings of coleus into small pots. The cleome seeds I sowed a few weeks ago didn't germinate. I packet of cleome came in Garden News this morning so I sowed these. I have heard before that they germinate better if they have fluctuating temperatures and it says so on the packet. So I decided to put the tray on the warming mat in the kitchen in the day time and put it outside at night.
I was watching "Mastermind" on the television this evening when Rosemary's carer arrived. I told her that I had sat on that mastermind chair and won "Mastermind of gardening" and I showed her the trophy.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 14, 2023 20:02:28 GMT
It was nice this morning till about 10.30 but since then we have had VERY heavy hail storms.So I have been washing some more pots in the wheelbarrow under the car port the 5, 6, and 7 inch ones.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 15, 2023 21:51:35 GMT
This morning I got rid of part of an old fence at the bottom of the garden between our garden and next door. One of the posts was rotten and was leaning over and this part of the fence isn't needed any more because my next door neighbour has a fence there.
This afternoon I started fixing up my cold frames because I will be needing them soon. When not in use they are dismantled and put behind the greenhouse. I fixed one up then it started raining so I took two under the car port and fixed them up there.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 16, 2023 20:39:35 GMT
After Blackleach today I went to school for the garden club so I haven't had time to do any of my own garden jobs .
Heather, our daughter, arrived this afternoon and tomorrow she is taking Rosemary back to Porthmadog with her. Martyn, my son, is taking me there on Sunday and we are all coming home on Monday.I will therefore be at home on my own on Saturday so I will be able to do what I want!
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 17, 2023 19:38:48 GMT
Been in the greenhouse most of the day. This morning I took another 44 dahlia cuttings and this afternoon I sowed 16 packets of flower seeds. Two varieties of hardy annuals , alyssum and calendulas, have been left on the staging but the others which are half hardy have all gone in my large propagator.The trays all stand on top of each other and I know they will be altight like that till I return from Wales. I will then have to look at them every day to see if any have germinated. When they have, they will need light so they have to be put on top of the pile or took out of the propagator.
This evening I have rubbed some labels clean on the kitchen table.I write the names in pencil so they rub out easily then I can use them again.
Heather went back to Porthmadog this afternoon and took Rosemary with her.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 18, 2023 20:29:07 GMT
Because Rosemary is away I took the opportunity to go to the hut this morning for the first time this year.Previously I have just called when I have needed some compost or anything else but I stayed the full 2 hours this morning. Apart from getting some compost and some fish, blood and bone for myself I got two bags of compost (a potting and a multipurpose} and some fish, blood and bone for school. It had been showery all morning but it wasn't raining this afternoon so I took what I got to school.If I have anything heavy to carry, like bags of compost, I try to go at weekend because I can take my car onto the car park, which I can't do on school days. It is still a long walk from the car park to the polytunnel and garden, so I put my wheelbarrow in the back of the car. If I couldn't get on the car park I would have further to walk. When I got there it was still fine so I decided to stay and do some weeding. I told you last Thursday that the children each have their own small beds.I decided to fork over these beds to loosen the soil so that the children could get the weeds out easier. I have told you before that apart from these children's beds there are four larger veg beds and I use the same crop rotation on them as I do on my beds on the allotment. These beds all needed forking over and weeding and I did two of them this aftenoon ,the beds that will be for potatoes and brassicas.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 18, 2023 20:40:31 GMT
I forgot to mention that when I go away tomorrow I am not taking my computer so you won't hear anything from me till I get back next week.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 20, 2023 20:53:13 GMT
We arrived home from Portmadog this evening after a nice weekend away si it is back to "normal"tomorrow.The weather has been dull but no rain . We went a walk birdwatching yesterday afternoon and a ride to Criccieth and Borth y gest this morning.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 21, 2023 20:35:11 GMT
Almost a full day in the greenhouse. First, I had to look in the propagater at the seeds I sowed last Friday.Many had germinated and had to come out. I then sowed another 6 packets of flower seeds and put those in the propagator.
I also took another 25 dahlia cuttings and 18 chrysanths.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 22, 2023 21:45:24 GMT
Another full day in the greenhouse.Sowed another three packets of flower seeds. Then I pricked out about 50 tomato seedlings into small pots. 144 plug plants came from Suttons, 72 non stop begonias and 72 gazanias. Transferred them all to cell trays.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 23, 2023 22:21:35 GMT
Couldn't go to Blackleach this morning as I normally do on Thursdays because Martyn couldn't come to see to Rosemary but I was able to go to school at 3.30. Not as much gardening time today but I potted 43 rooted chrysanths into 3 inch pots and sowed 8 sunflower seeds into individual pots.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 24, 2023 19:31:09 GMT
This afternoon I went to Blackleach to do the bird count and write down the flowers but this morning and the rest of the afternoon I have been in the greenhouse.I potted a lot of rooted cuttings of basket plants(bacopas, diascias and nepeta) into small pots, about 70 altogether.When I refer to "small pots" they are Ambrosia custart pots ,I use a lot of them.I then took a few more cuttings of these plants.I also kept a lot of surfinias and calibracoas over winter ,hoping to take cuttings but none of these plants have survived the winter so I got rid of them to make room for other plants.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 25, 2023 22:15:49 GMT
Not a full gardening day because we went a walk this afternoon. Didn't know whether to risk the weather but it stayed fine till we were almost back to the car so we only got a bit wet.
As you probably know, I grow long carrots and parsnips in tubes made from builder's damp proof material. They stack away behind the shed when not in use . I got them all out and fixed them up and washed the containers that they go in. I fix the tubes up with paper clips top and bottom.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 26, 2023 20:46:13 GMT
Went to the allotment this afternoon but couldn't stay long. Took a bag of green material to put on the compost and brought home the bags and tubs in which I had grown potatoes because I wanted to use the compost for carrots.Also brought home the first rhubarb.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 27, 2023 20:28:35 GMT
Went to my son, Martyn's, this morning to prune his roses. He hasn't many so it didn't take me long. He had a bottlebrush shrub moved a year or so ago but it didn't survive so I got rid of it.Put it in the council bin with the rose prunings.Thought that I would have to dig it up but it just pulled up easily.
We went for a walk this afternoon .When we got home, and also when I got home from Martyn's this morning I took 59 dahlia cuttings.I have taken exactly 200 now.
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