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Post by derekbrooks on May 10, 2023 20:54:03 GMT
This afternoon I went to school to finish filling the tomato pots with compost ready for garden club tomorrow. This morning and the rest of the afternoon I have been emptying and re-filling some of my frames. I removed the brassicas and the chrysanths in larger pots from the frames.Two of the frames have not been in use before and I filled these up and the ones I had just emptied .I put some of the runner beans in and the rest were tender annuals and some basket plants. This evening I begun potting dahlias from three and a half inch pots into larger pots and did about 25. I will put these in a frame tomorrow.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 11, 2023 20:55:07 GMT
It was nice for our walk at Blackleach this morning and I did some more weeding this afternoon on the border alongside the visitor centre until it was time to go to school. As soon as I arrived at school at 3.20 it started pouring down and it carried on raining all afternoon. It dried up this evening but I went in the greenhouse and potted another 15 dahlias into larger pots .I put them in a frame and also those I potted yesterday.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 12, 2023 21:14:43 GMT
This morning I finished weeding the border round the back lawn.I then started getting the chrysanth beds ready for planting. I raked the beds, then fixed up the wires to which I attach the canes.These wires have been tied along the fence since last year.I then started putting the canes in but only had time to do two rows.The canes are attached to the wires with V clips. When we got home, 15 plants of Verbena bonariensis had arrived from Suttons. I am planting these in the border at Blackleach but the part where I want them needs weeding first so,even though they are "garden ready"plants I potted them into 4 inch pots. I plant them at Blackleach country park because they are good plants for wildlife.
Tomorrow morning at 10.00 I am leading a bird walk round Blackleach country park. We will go to the reservoir to see what birds are on there and we will walk round the park looking for birds and listening to their songs. I will try to tell them how to identify the various songs. If we hear a chaffinch I will tell them that it reminds me of a bowler in cricket running up to bowl.You get a flourish at the end when the bowler delivers the ball. If we hear a great tit I will tell them that it says "teacher","teacher". If we hear collared doves and wood pigeons I will explain that a collared dove just repeats three notes "coo, coo, cuk", whereas a wood pigeon says five notes " coo, coo,coo, cuk, coo" several times then another "cuk"at the end. If any of you live near enough, why not come!.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 13, 2023 21:29:57 GMT
As I told you yesterday,I went to Blackleach this morning to do the bird walk. I took a lady called Janet who I take every Thursday but only four more people turned up so I was rather disappointed. It was a nice morning so I can't understand why more people didn't come. In the past, there has been at least ten people.
I'll tell you something else now that I can't understand. I have a nest box on the side of my shed with a blue tit's nest..It had eggs in last time I looked. There is a shelf on the side of the shed below the nest box.This afternoon I noticed some of the nest material on the shelf and two dead chicks. I can't see in the box but I felt in and there were at least two live chicks.I can't understand how the nest material has come out of the box. If any of you can tell me what has happened ,please do so.
This afternoon I finished putting in the canes for the chrysanths and fixed them to the wires,91 canes altogether. This evening I started planting the chrysanths but only had time to do about 20. I tie them to the canes as soon as they are planted.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 14, 2023 20:51:50 GMT
There were no living chicks in the nest box so I removed the nest from the box. Heather is here for the weekend so I was able to go on the allotment this afternoon. I told you that I was changing some of the beds from last year. I weeded the bad that grew gladioli last year and planted 4 leeks along the front then 2 rows of exhibition onions.
This evening I continued planting chrysanths and I have finished planting the first of the two beds.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 15, 2023 20:57:41 GMT
Heather has a friend who is interested in birds. She took a photograph of my nest box and sent it to him. He replied saying that it was a mistake to have a shelf under the nest box because a cat could sit on it and catch one of the birds, so that may be what has happened. I will fix the box somewhere else next year.
Today, I have finished planting the chrysanths, all 91 of them ,and tied them to the canes. These are all the disbud varieties. I still have the sprays to plant but I grow these on the allotment and the bed needs weeding first.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 16, 2023 20:52:34 GMT
I told you about a lady who was to sit with Rosemary then I can go out. When she was here this afternoon I went on the allotment and started weeding the bed where the spray chrysanths are going. Been in my garden the rest of the day and evening.The spray chrysanths were in two frames .I removed them and filled these frames up with annuals and basket plants. I emptied the compost from the boxes in which the chrysanth stools had been into 5 sacks and took 3 of them to the allotment and put them on the root crop bed. This evening I have pricked out the remaining antirrhinums "Mme Butterfly" into cell trays and thinned out some lettuce seedlings in cell trays. I have also mowed the lawns.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 17, 2023 20:43:03 GMT
We went a walk this afternoon but I have been in the greenhouse the rest of the time.I have potted all the remaining rooted dahlia cuttings into three and a half inch pots, 67 plants altogether.These cuttings had been taken on April 7th and 13th.At 7.00 this evening I have been to a meeting at Blackleach country park but it only lasted half an hour so I went in the greenhouse again when I got home and finished potting the dahlias.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 18, 2023 20:18:03 GMT
As usual on Thursdays I was at Blackleach till it was time to go to school for 3.30. I did more weeding on the border while the art club were in this afternoon.
The tubes in which parsnips were growing were still in the greenhouse so I put them outside to make more room.The tubes are stood in two containers, about 12 in each.The containers were too heavy for me to lift so I had to take each tube out seperately and put it in another container outside. This is all I had time to do this evening.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 19, 2023 20:51:59 GMT
Today ,I have potted 12 tomato plants and 4 cucumbers into their final pots. These are all I have room for on one side of my greenhouse.I can't put them in position till all the annuals have gone into the frames. I have also potted the remaining 20 rooted cuttings of basket plants into small pots.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 20, 2023 20:50:36 GMT
I can't remember if I have told you about a lady called Janet who I take to Blackleach every Thursday to go on the walk. I also took her up last Saturday for the bird walk. She enjoyed that so I told her that I go every two weeks at weekend to count the birds and record all the wild flowers and I asked her if she would like to come to that with me and she said that she would. This afternoon I took Rosemary a walk first then went for Janet to take her to Blackleach. As we walked round she did all the writing of the numbers like Rosemary used to do. She told me last Thursday that her mother had been trying to get a Rosemary plant and had been to several garden centres and been unable to find one. I have several at home so yesterday I potted one into a larger pot and took it for her today.
This evening I have done some weeding on the rose bed in the front garden. This is the only gardening I have been able to do apart from watering which takes me nearly an hour every morning.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 21, 2023 20:30:58 GMT
Martyn took Rosemary a ride this afternoon so I took the opportunity to go on the allotment.I just carried on weeding the bed for spray chrysanths but didn't finish it.Brought some rhubarb home and gave it to three neighbours.
This evening I finished weeding the front rose bed and sprayed some weeds along the front of the front wall and some along the edges of the paths.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 22, 2023 21:30:10 GMT
I had an hour on the allotment this morning and another hour this afternoon.I finished weeding where the spray chrysanths are going then did some weeding on the root crop bed.I took the five large buckets in which I had planted potatoes.
At home, I have been forking over and weeding the border round the front lawn but there aren't many weeds like there are on the allotment.Did two of the three sides.
At 7.00 this evening I went to A.G.M.followed by a general meeting on the allotments but I was home at 8.20 so I went out and carried on with the weeding.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 23, 2023 21:55:14 GMT
Rosemary normally stays in bed all morning and I have decided that when I have done all the watering I can have an hour on the allotment. This morning I finished weeding a strip a metr wide on the root crop bed for sowing swedes and turnips. I raked in some fish, blood and bone.Didn't sow any seeds ,though, because I forgot to take them.I also raked some fish, blood and bone into the spray chrysanth bed.
Rosemary had a doctor'sappointment this afternoon but when we got home I mowed the lawns.
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Post by derekbrooks on May 24, 2023 21:42:28 GMT
On the allotment this morning I only had time to put in two rows of 21 canes for the spray chrysanths .I need to put another row in but will have weed another strip first.
Part of this afternoon and evening I have emptied and re-filled all the frames.All the annuals have gone in. One frame is full of dahlias but there wasn't room for them all.
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