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Post by derekbrooks on Jul 25, 2014 21:30:58 GMT
Just 2 hours for gardening this evening after shopping . I have to go to the allotment every evening to water while the weather is warm like this but I did some more tying up as well and brought home some more sweet peas.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jul 26, 2014 21:55:26 GMT
This afternoon we went to a flower festival at one of our local churches. When we got home I did some weeding in the front garden and painted the greenhouse windows with coolglass. It's rather late for this .I normally do it in late May or June.
On the allotment this evening I finished tying up the annuals that needed it and staked and tied the French beans. Put some more weedol on some of the paths between the flower beds . Brought home a lettuce and a lot of runner beans which I will have to divide between friends and neighbours.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jul 27, 2014 21:51:22 GMT
Stayed at home this afternoon and went on the allotment this evening. At home I sprayed the chrysanths with systhane and fed them with general maxicrop .Some of them have got white rust but I hope that spraying will stop it spreading. Fed the hanging baskets ,tubs and some pot plants with maxicrop tomato. Potted some coleus from 6 inch to 7 inch pots and two from 7 inch to 8 inch.
On the allotment I wait till the sun is going down before I start watering. Before that I spent most of the time with the dahlias, disbudding, de-shooting and tying them up . Did about half of them- the giants, large and mediums. My first show is a week on Saturday and I am hoping to have plenty but I don't think any giants will be ready.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jul 28, 2014 22:20:43 GMT
Been at Blackleach all day today . Just did an hours weeding on the side border before going inside.
This evening I have been on the allotment and finished disbudding , de-shooting and tying up the dahlias.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jul 29, 2014 21:28:09 GMT
This morning I went to church to put more tumbleweed on the weeds between the flags on the paths , then went to school to feed the tomatoes.
Then went on the allotment and fed the dahlias, chrysanths and gladioli with maxicrop. Brought home more runner beans and peas.
we are having some friends visiting the garden tomorrow so I did a bit more tidying up in the afternoon. Went back to the allotment this evening and did some weeding.
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Post by derekbrooks on Jul 31, 2014 20:55:46 GMT
Yesterday morning I put the standard fuchsias from the greenhouse outside. The grow more evenly outside. Fixed a wire up and fastened the fuchsias to it to prevent them from blowing over. Potted 20 odd osteospermums which I had sown in cell trays into yoghurt pots and put these outside.
The friends that I told you about on Tuesday came to look at my garden in the afternoon. There were 4 of them and they had never been to our house before. I think they were impressed. In the evening I went to the allotment and carried on with the weeding and watering.
Today I have only had this afternoon for gardening. I went to the allotment. Did the necessary with the sweet peas (removing side shoots and tendrils and putting more ties on). Filled up the water butts with the hose pipe because I emptied them last night. Then did more weeding.
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 1, 2014 22:04:44 GMT
It rained nearly all day today so I have been in the greenhouses most of the time. I think I have told you that we normally go to the supermarket on Friday evening. Because it was raining we went this afternoon instead hoping the weather would dry up this evening then I could go to the allotment. It did stop raining for a bit but soon started again so I went back in the greenhouse. Took 80 odd fuchsia cuttings and potted a lot of fuchsias from 4 inch pots into 5 inch . Sowed some heleniums, echinaceas and sweet Williams in cell trays. Air layered a heptapleurum that had got too tall.
Suttons bulb catalogue came yesterday but it had some other plants in. I ordered some polyanthus, primulas and bellis extra value plugs for growing on to plant in my winter containers. Ordered them through Dobies (which is part of Suttons) so that I will still get the horticultural society discount of 15%
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 2, 2014 19:50:20 GMT
It rained till mid afternoon and showery the rest of the day. We went out for lunch to celebrate our 56th wedding anniversary. Hasn't it lasted a long time!. Probably some of you can beat us though.
Sometime in the next few days I had to go to" Country Baskets" for the florists foam I need for the shows and because it was raining this afternoon we decided to go then. I get 2 boxes of 20 bricks each which will last me all season. My first show is next Saturday. I normally only need to go once each year. When I went last year I paid with cash but I was a penny short. I paid with my card this time but I told them that I owe them a penny and they could add it on but they didn't!!I had been looking forward to telling them this for 12 months.!!.
When we got home I went in the greenhouse for a bit. I had a tray of small begonias that I didn't know what to do with then I remembered that I have a small wheelbarrow in the shed that I hadn't planted so I put them in there. potted a few more plants into bigger pots that needed it and I gave some of the plants another feed of maxicrop tomato.
We were due to do our walk round Blackleach country park to record the wild flowers and birds sometime this weekend. It was fine this evening so we decided to chance it. We wrote all the flowers down round the car park (we can nearly fill a page just there)then went down to the reservoir . It then started thundering so thought we had better not walk right round as we usually do so we made a quick retreat back to the car and came home. It absolutely poured down on the way home.
Tomorrow afternoon we are going on a canal boat trip for a further celebration of our wedding anniversary.
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 3, 2014 22:16:23 GMT
Got home from the boat trip about 3 30 and went on the allotment and also went on again this evening. After two mostly wet days it has been dry today. I put fleece over the frames where I had sown carrots to keep the carrot flies out. Put blanching collars round the celery. Removed the collars from the leeks and tidied them up by removing broken flags. I then measured the length and the thickness of them before putting the collars back. This will help me when I want to show some. I need to match them up for size so I will know which ones are the same size without removing all the collars again. Fed the tomatoes. Brought more sweet peas home and a large cauliflower.
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 3, 2014 22:18:39 GMT
 Picture taken on canal this afternoon |
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 3, 2014 22:20:40 GMT
 Another picture taken from the boat. |
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 4, 2014 21:03:01 GMT
Went on the allotment this morning. Did some more disbudding of the dahlias the spent the rest of the time digging up the potatoes. There are 8 rows and I dug them all up except one and brought them home. I washed them all this afternoon. When washing them I sort out those that I may be able to show . Many had slug holes in them so we will use these ourselves and give the rest to neighbours. If they are damaged too much I bin them.
Went back to the allotment this evening and dug up the last row. Then started forking over the ground again to get any that I missed this morning and got the weeds out at the same time. Only had time to do half of it.
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 5, 2014 22:18:10 GMT
 Potatoes dug up yesterday morning.-Winston, Kestrel and Maxine |
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 5, 2014 22:20:51 GMT
I haven't had much gardening time today . All I have done is wash the potatoes I dug up last evening and given some of my surplus to 5 neighbours
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Post by derekbrooks on Aug 6, 2014 22:29:03 GMT
My first show of the season is on Saturday at Edenfield which is at the other side of Bury from where I live ,about 15 miles away. I started making preparations for it today. I have to go to the allotment every day to water my plants in the polytunnel so I decided to do that first. I also wanted to bring home the large onion and she wanted me to get some lettuce. As soon as I got there it started pouring down so I had to sit in the car for 10 minutes till it slackened.
When I got home I washed the potatoes again that I may be able to show in the kitchen then sorted them out into sets for showing. They of course have to be free of blemishes if possible and each set has to match for size, shape and colour. I then dressed up the large onions that I had just brought home and washed them then picked out 3 matching and blemish free ones for showing. One large onion had a bit of rot at the base which of course rules it out for showing. I just cut off the bad bit and put the rest in a pan and we have had it for supper.
The small onions had been drying in the shed for a few weeks and I picked some of these out for showing and also the shallots.
I then washed all the buckets that I use to carry my flowers to the shows and finally went in the greenhouse and decided which plants I am showing and tidied them up.
Recently I have been compiling a quiz for the inter society veg quiz .I have been the question master at this for several years and I have told you about it before. I am always thinking of types of questions we haven't had before so this time I thought we could have a round about gardening celebrities. I have therefore been looking on google to find information about these people . I will then read them out and the teams will have to say who they think the person is. I have enough information about the most well known people like Alan Titchmarsh, Monty Don and Carol Klein. I couldn't find enough about Charlie Dimmock though apart from her being on "Ground Force". When I was sitting under the car port dressing my onions this morning an odd job gardener/handymen came round pushing leaflets through the letter boxes advertising his work. He remarked how nice my front garden was and I showed him my back garden as well. We chatted about gardening for a bit but you will never guess what he said to me next. He said "Charlie Dimmock is my cousin".I naturally told him about the quiz and he told me many things about her.
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