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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 11, 2023 20:05:43 GMT
This morning I potted another 8 chrysanths into larger pots so that is 62 altogether .Put all these into one of the frames. The begonia corms from last year have been in my propagator to start them growing and this afternoon I potted them into individual pots. This evening I have pricked out another 3 trays of French marigolds and one of marigold "Tall scotch prize". This variety was not in my catalogue this year so I saved my own seeds and they have done very well.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 12, 2023 21:31:38 GMT
Yesterday I told you that I has put the chrysanths that I had potted into larger pots into a frame. Today I have put all those that are still in 3 inch pots into another frame. My leeks have been on one of my warming benches.I decided today that it was time to take them off because it will soon be time to plant them.So I took them off and put the first blanching collars on them and put them in a box in the other greenhouse.
This evening I have pricked out 3 boxes of stocks.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 13, 2023 19:46:27 GMT
Very windy but it stayed fine for our walk at Blackleach this morning. There is no art club till further notice and no garden club at school till next week so I came home at 1.00.
72 plugs of Impatiens came this morning from Suttons so I transfered them to cell trays.I then took the last 58 dahlia cuttings .I have taken 387 altogether and that is plenty.Took the boxes of tubers off the propagators and warming benches and the warming mat in the house. This is not needed any more so I put it on top of a cupboard in the kitchen where it syays when not in use.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 14, 2023 21:13:47 GMT
A showery day but it rained nearly all afternoon so I have been in the greenhouse most of the day.This morning I removed the dahlia tubers from the boxes and emptied the compost into a sack.We have a new cleaner started today. She has an allotment on our site and she says she has a large garden. I gave her a lot of the dahlia tubers and I am going to give some to someone else on the allotments who has lost all his from last year.
My large home made propagator in the greenhouse stands on sheets of asbestos with a large glass over the top which used to be a shower curtain. I don't need it any more this year.There were just a few trays of seedlings left in so I put these on one of the warming benches where the dahlia tubers had been. I then put the sheets of asbestos from underneath on the top. I can now put plants on it which will give me more room in my overcrowded greenhouse. Took the shower curtain outside and leaned it against the side of the greenhouse.
I then potted about 50 tomato plants which were still in small custard pots into larger pots and put them on top of the asbestos on the propagator.I have also pricked out a few more marigolds and some lobelia.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 15, 2023 20:15:34 GMT
I forgot to mention last Thursday that Heather arrived for the weekend. Because she is here to see to Rosemary I was able to go to the hut this morning and to the allotment this afternoon.I took all the compost that I had mixed for carrots to the allotment. I have two 80 gallon drums and another drum of the same depth in which I grow long carrots.They are filled with old compost and I make bore holes in them and fill them with the compost I have mixed, 7 in the 80 gallon drums and 5 in the other.I knock a bar in to the bottom of the drum and waggle it about to make the hole wider at the top. When I put the compost in I poke it down with a cane so that there are no air pockets.It is easy to knock the bar in but it is difficult to pull it out so it takes a long time and I didn't have time to do all the holes.I still have four to do.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 16, 2023 20:07:25 GMT
Had another afternoon on the allotment. I finished making the bore holes in the drums for long carrots and sowed the seeds (St Valery). I then planted the onion sets which were in 3 inch pots. Raked some fish, blood and bone in the ground first. There are 60 in two rows behind the shallots.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 17, 2023 19:03:48 GMT
I need some more basket plants,particularly surfinias and calibracoas because I am not succsessful keeping them through the winter. If I can get some early enough I can take cuttings from them and get more plants fror my baskets.I called at our local garden centre a few weeks ago to see if they had any.Lisa, the owner , said they would have some after Easter. I went this morning and she said they were being delivered later today so I will have to go again tomorrow.
When I came home I mixed another batch of 16 gallons of compost for potatoes.I grow some potatoes in large buckets on the allotment.I brought these buckets home a few weeks ago and I pot the new compost in these but they are not full. This evening I am going to do some more pricking out of lobelia and statice.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 18, 2023 20:09:09 GMT
This morning I sowed my sweet peas in drinking cups , one seed in each.There are 15 each of 6 varieties(90 altogether).It takes a while to fill all the cups.They are all stood in trays under the greenhouse staging.
This afternoon I went to the garden centre for the basket plants I told you about yesterday. Got 25, 4 or 5 each of 6 varieties of surfinias and calibracoas. This evening I have pricked out 30 achilleas into cell trays.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 19, 2023 19:49:00 GMT
Very windy today but it stayed dry. This afternoon I mowed the lawns .Been in the greenhouse the rest of the time.I have taken 92 cuttings from the 25 basket plants I bought yesterday.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 20, 2023 20:06:49 GMT
It was nice for our walk at Blackleach this morning.There was no art club so I just stayed till 12.45. I then went straight to the allotment to plant my potatoes.I had taken them and my tools with me. I have six rows to plant but I only had time to plant four rows ,3 of Casablanca and one of Kestrel, before it was time to go to school at 3.30. The school is next to the allotments. This evening I have just rubbed some more labels.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 21, 2023 20:44:46 GMT
Very windy today .In February I took a lot of cuttings from my overwintered basket plants ,bacopas,diascias and nepeta. These rooted and were potted into individual custard pots in March. These plants are growing well and today I took about 100 more cuttings from them. I have also potted some more rooted chrysanth cuttings and reduced the Zinnia seedlings to one per pot.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 22, 2023 20:50:54 GMT
The wind has dropped, thank goodness. This morning I mixed another batch of 16 gallons potato compost. I part filled another two potato bags and topped up some of the others.I have also potted 6 cucumber plants from custard pots into 4 inch pots and pricked out 2 boxes of antirrhinums, one each of "Mme Butterfly" and "Royal Bride".
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 23, 2023 19:15:20 GMT
This afternoon I have potted all the remaining rooted chrysanths into 3 inch pots and put them all into a frame, about 60 plants altogether.These cuttings were taken on April 3rd.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 24, 2023 19:47:42 GMT
This morning I mixed another 11 gallons of compost for potatoes and topped up the bags I had part filled before.Put 6 of the bags alongside the greenhouse and planted 3 Charlotte potatoes in each. There is room in the bags to add more compost when the potatoes start growing. This afternoon,when we had been for a walk, I potted up some more rooted dahlia cuttings.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 25, 2023 21:00:02 GMT
This morning I sowed 32 "Stenner" runner bean seeds individually in 4 inch square pots.Put them on a propagator in the larger greenhouse. A lady has started to come on Tuesday afternoons to sit with Rosemary for an hour then I can go out if I want to. While she was here today I went on the allotment and finished planting the potatoes.I just had two rows of Kestrel to do. This evening I have pricked out some more antirrhinums and some cosmos and calendulas.
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