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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 9, 2023 18:36:15 GMT
It has been dull all day but it managed to stay fine. I went to the allotment this morning and just carried on with the weeding I was doing the last time I went. We went for a walk this afternoon and after, I tied the labels on another two rows of chrysanths. I've still another two rows to do. I removed all the canes from those I had done and put them away.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 10, 2023 19:39:28 GMT
A nice day today but it has rained this evening.I have told you before about a lady called Cindy who comes on Tuesday afternoons to look after Rosemary so that I can go out. I had an hour on the allotment this morning while she was still in bed then I went again this afternoon when Cindy came. The sprouts needed staking so I did that first.Used the canes I had taked out of the chrysanths bed yesterday.I finished weeding in the frames then carried on weeding the root crop bed.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 11, 2023 19:20:22 GMT
It rained all morning and afternoon today ,hard at times this afternoon,so no gardening. All I did this morning was to go to the greenhouse and pick the tomatoes that were ready.Because it was not fit to work outside this afternoon I went to our local garden centre,mainly for some bulbs to put in my tubs when the summer bedding has finished.I also got some new gardening gloves and three packets of lobelia seeds.I told you that both Dobies and Suttons seed catalogues were smaller than usual and many things that I normally grow were not in.You know that I do a lot of hanging baskets in the summer, for some friends as well as my own .I need a lot of trailing lobelia but there were none of these seeds in either catalogue.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 12, 2023 18:42:36 GMT
I made my order out for Suttons last night and have posted it today. Please see the garden club page for what else I have done today.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 13, 2023 21:00:48 GMT
It rained till mid morning and then showery but it dried up this evening. Between showers I tied the labels onto the last two rows of chrysanths and removed the canes. The canes had been fastened to horizontal wires with V clips. The wires had been tied to the fence at one end and a T post at the other. I removed them from the T post and tied them along the fence out of the way.While it was raining I washed ten boxes that I use for boxing up the stools in the wheelbarrow under the car port.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 14, 2023 20:10:10 GMT
Because Heather is here for the weekend I was hoping for a full day on the allotment but I didn't quite get one.I went in the morning and there was only a brief shower.I wanted some flowers to put in a vase so I cut a nice bucket of spray chrysanths.There aren't many left now and I started cutting down the plants that had finished.I also picked some runner beans and climbing French beans
Went again this afternoon but there were more showers so I sat in the car sheltering and drinking coffee for quite a while. When I could go out I pulled up a lot of "shaggy soldier" and filled three sacks with it.This is a weed that I don't have in my own garden or at school or at Blackleach but it is all over the allotments,not just mine.It has tiny white flowers with a yellow centre .It pulls up easily without having to dig it out,thank goodness.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 15, 2023 19:46:26 GMT
Not done any gardening at all today apart from opening my greenhouse doors before I went to church. I closed the greenhouse doors last night for the first time this autumn. This afternoon I went to see our great grandson ,Harvey,for the first time. He is about two months old and lives on Anglesea with his parents,Alex (Heather's son)and Beth. We met at Jackson's garden centre near Prestatyn which ia about half way between where we both live.Martyn took Rosemary and me there .Heather went in her own car and went back home to Portmadog after.  Rosemary,Harvey and Heather  Alex and Harvey  Heather and Harvey |
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Post by grindle on Oct 16, 2023 2:58:51 GMT
lovely start to another generation Derek, great photos of your family  |
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 16, 2023 20:03:43 GMT
Thank you, Grindle
I haven't had much gardening time today,just part of the afternoon. I had to stay in this morning waiting for somebody coming to see Rosemary. We went for a walk this afternoon. After, I dug up all the chrysanth stools and sorted them out into their varieties on the floor of my larger greenhouse.I had to move some plants first to make room.They are now ready for boxing up which I hope to do soon,maybe tomorrow.Now they are in the greenhouse,it is a job I can do when it is raining.
You know that I save my own runner bean seeds.When I harvest them I put to one side the pods that contain large beans and throw them on top of a cupboard in the kitchen to dry.This evening,those that were on the cupboard had been there for a few weeks and were dry so I got them down and removed the beans ,then put some more on the cupboard.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 17, 2023 19:53:29 GMT
A decent day so I wanted to make the most of it .Had about an hour or so on the allotment while Rosemary was in bed and again this afternoon while Cindy was taking her a walk.I
Cut the remaining spray chrysanths down that had finished flowering then finished weeding the root crop bed except for a strip where there were some beetroot.I then harvested the last three marrows which I will take to Blackleach on Thursday and pulled up the plants .I then weeded the ground where they had been.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 18, 2023 19:35:11 GMT
Another decent day till 4.00 till it started raining. Couldn't go to the allotment, though,because I had to stay at home waiting for a nurse coming to see Rosemary and we didn't know what time she was coming and she didn't come till 3.45.
I went in the greenhouse and boxed up the chrysanth stools .They are in six mushroom boxes,two varieties in each.Tidied the greenhouse floor where the stools had been.I didn't need all the stools so I untied all the labels from the stools that I don't want. Now that the chrysanth beds are empty of plants I started weeding them.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 19, 2023 19:16:07 GMT
It is nearly always nice on Thursday mornings for our walk at Blackleach but we had a wet one today. On my way home at 3.00 I had some errands to do,one being to get a card for Rosemary's birthday on Sunday so I didn't have time to do any jobs after.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 20, 2023 21:15:10 GMT
It rained all morning but dried up a bit this afternoon. I decided to pick all the tomatoes including the green ones .I will put the green ones in a drawer with a banana skin to ripen them. I then cut down the plants and emptied the compost from the pots into sacks which I will take to the allotment. Put the plants into the council re-cycling bin.I tidied the floor where the tomatoes had been. The tomatoes were all on one side of my larger greenhouse.When there are no tomatoes in,I have shelves along both sides of the greenhouse but when they are in I have to take down the shelves on that side so today I put them back in position and put the boxes of chrysanth stools on them. One reason for getting rid of the tomato plants today is that I want to re-plant some of my hanging baskets with winter and spring plants .Most of them are past their best now and it is a job I can do in the greenhouse when it is raining (which is what was forecast for tomorrow).So,now that I have made room, I took down the baskets from the front of the house and took them up to the greenhouse. Before I re-plant them I need to pot up some of the plants from them that I want to keep for taking cuttings of next spring,such as surfinias and calibracoas.I have just been watching Gardener's World and Monty was also getting rid of his tomatoes to make room for other things. Today I have also ordered 7 packets of flower seeds from D.T.Browns. I mainly deal with Dobie's and Sutton's because we get society discount but these are varieties that are not in either of those catalogues.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 21, 2023 20:12:28 GMT
I thought that rain had been forecast today but we didn't have any and it has been a nice day. Therefore,instead of doing my baskets in the greenhouse I carried on weeding my chrysanth beds this morning and nearly finished them.Before I went out I put the green tomatoes in two drawers with banana skins to ripen them. The reason I wanted to weed the chrysanth beds was that when emptying my hanging baskets I can tip them onto the beds .It is then easier to remove the plants and take those I want to keep into the greenhouse for potting up.The rest of the plants I will put into a sack to take to the allotment and put them onto the compost heap.I will rake the compost from the baskets into the bed.
This afternoon I went to Blackleach with Janet to write down the birds and wild flowers that we see. We do this every two weeks but after today we will only do the birds and not do the flowers again till the snowdrops appear next February. We had to go for our covid jabs at 4.00 so I didn't have time to do anything else after.
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Post by derekbrooks on Oct 22, 2023 19:23:37 GMT
Not done any gardening jobs today.It's Rosemary's birthday and Martyn took us to R.H.S.Bridgewater this afternoon.It's a long time since we went and it is only about 3 miles from where we live. We must try to go more next year. To celebrate Rosemary's birthday he took us out for a meal this evening.
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