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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 5, 2015 22:31:46 GMT
Been painting again today. Gave the shed I painted yesterday another coat and gave my other one two coats (with a few hours in between). It was the right weather for jobs like this. It was dry but the ground is still frozen so I couldn't do any digging or weeding.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 6, 2015 23:33:48 GMT
I told you yesterday about painting my two sheds at home so this left the allotment shed to do. I went to the allotment this morning to do this. When I arrived there were a lot of people stood around just inside the gate and I wondered who they were. A few minutes later I remembered!. There was to be a demonstration on pruning fruit trees. I had received an email about it but I had forgot till I arrived. It had been organised by an organisation called "Red rose forest". These people , who were from several allotment sites in the district were waiting for the demonstrator to arrive (he had got lost). I went to paint my shed and by the time I had finished the demonstrator had arrived so I joined the group. It was going on till 2.00pm but I told the organiser I could only stay till 12.00 because I had arranged to go somewhere this afternoon. We all congregated in the orchard and watched him prune a pear tree. He then split us into groups of 3 or 4 and each group chose a tree to prune.
When I got home later in the afternoon I went in the greenhouse and took another 49 chrysanth cuttings.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 7, 2015 21:07:18 GMT
The supply hut of our horticultural society opened again this morning. We used to start the third Saturday in January but not many people came so early so it was decided not to start till February in future. 32 people came to join this morning. I will be going every Saturday until the shows start in August. We have been through the prices this morning and this evening I have updated the list. Only a few prices have increased.
I have not had much gardening time this afternoon . I have just taken 15 spray chrysanth cuttings.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 8, 2015 21:46:22 GMT
The frozen ground has finally thawed out and this afternoon I forked over and weeded my chrysanth plot . There weren't many weeds though. I hadn't done the ground any good by walking all over it when it was wet and it was all trampled down flat. This was when I was repairing the wooden frame over the bed but this job had to be done.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 9, 2015 23:18:26 GMT
A full days gardening today. Rosemary needed the car this morning so I did some jobs in my own garden. Several buckets and tubs containing compost which had grown carrots last year needed emptying. Put the compost in sacks ready to take to the allotment. I then had a go at cleaning the path that leads up the garden to the shed and greenhouses which had got rather dirty. When it rains hard soil from the chrysanth beds washes onto the path. It is a brick path and I scraped the bricks with a scraper then brushed the soil together and shovelled it back onto the chrysanth beds.
Went on the allotment this afternoon . Took the sacks of compost and spread it on some of the beds, I then gave the shed another coat of wood preservative. All my three sheds have now had three coats. I then carried on with digging and weeding. Not been able to do any for a while because the ground has been frozen but it has thawed out nicely now and it hasn't rained for a while either so it isn't too wet.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 10, 2015 22:47:50 GMT
On Jan 29th I told you I was supposed to go to a refresher first aid course for health walk leaders but couldn't go due to icy weather. There was another one today which was a more general refresher course so I went this time and took another health walk leader. I have been a health walk leader for over 10 years but we have to have these refresher courses every so often. It was at Salford Quays and after some instruction and discussion in the Watersport Centre we went a walk round the Quays. It went on till about 2.00 pm. When we got back to the other leaders house I pruned her roses. She had asked me a while ago so I thought I may as well do them today when I was taking her home rather than go again on another day. I had taken my tools, my gardening coat and willies with me. She hasn't got many so it didn't take me long. When I got home I went on the allotment for an hour and did some more weeding.
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Post by roofgardener on Feb 11, 2015 6:32:00 GMT
...........When we got back to the other leaders house I pruned her roses. She had asked me a while ago so I thought I may as well do them today when I was taking her home rather than go again on another day. I had taken my tools, my gardening coat and willies with me. She hasn't got many so it didn't take me long. When I got home I went on the allotment for an hour and did some more weeding. I'm not sure what shocks me most. That you have them in the plural, or that you have the option of leaving them at home ?   |
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Post by Tel on Feb 11, 2015 6:58:42 GMT
He is a bit of a lad on the quiet is our Derek. |
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 11, 2015 22:53:45 GMT
So I gave you a laugh yesterday did I?. It wasn't intentional. I didn't realise I had spelt wellies wrong and I have got two of those.  |
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Post by burkey on Feb 12, 2015 8:55:24 GMT
Hi Derek, do you use Signum for controlling white rust........and if ya do, at what time in the new chrysanthemums life would you start spraying..i.e half strength in the early stages of growth, and then full doseage at planting out time...just curious
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 12, 2015 19:59:47 GMT
Hi Burkey
I have never heard of signum. I use Systhane and I start spraying the stools when I have boxed them up in the autumn and continue right through the season every week or so. I haven't got any white rust this year but in the years when I did get it, it started very early on the stools which is why I start spraying early. Hope this helps.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 12, 2015 20:39:40 GMT
After I put the post on yesterday about the wellies I put another on to tell you what I had been doing but it doesn't seem to have gone on.
I went on the allotment in the morning and carried on with forking over and weeding the beds. Did about three quarters of the main dahlia bed.
In the afternoon I went in the greenhouse and sowed three varieties of tomatoes then potted the second sowing of Kelsae onions into small pots. I then finished cleaning the path in the back garden that I started on Monday.
Today I have had a full day on the allotment carrying on with what I was doing yesterday. Finished the main dahlia bed then the smaller bed where I grow just three rows -collarettes (Don Hill), waterlilies (Taratahi Ruby) and singles (Teesbrook red eye ). Then did the veg bed that had grown root crops. There were just a few kohl rabi , swedes and turnips left on there so I took them home. I have been concentrating on the beds that need manuring and they are all done. The only veg bed that I haven't dug is the one that will be for root crops this year because this doesn't get manured. This was the brassica bed last year and still has sprouts on and a few broccoli and the winter onions. I put the winter onions on here to give them time to grow to maturity before the bed needs getting ready for this years root crops. These root crops don't include potatoes because these are in a bed of their own which does get manured.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 14, 2015 20:22:41 GMT
Some begonias and gloxinias that I ordered from Blackmore and Langdon arrived on Thursday while we were out and they were taken to a local post office so I had to go and collect them. I couldn't go yesterday as I was at Blackleach all day so I have had to get them this afternoon. some achimenes came from Dibleys yesterday and I have planted all there this afternoon and put them in my propagator. The gloxinias (6)have just fitted into a half tray but the begonias and achimenes are in three or three and a half inch pots. There were 8 varieties of achimenes , 3 or 4 rhizomes of each. I also took another 23 dahlia cuttings. Two varieties are not showing any signs of growth yet(Ruskin Andrea and Willos violet)so I put the boxes with these in onto the propagators in the house which are a bit warmer.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 15, 2015 21:39:11 GMT
Forgot to mention yesterday that the potatoes had been delivered to the hut during the week . I got 3 kilos each of Winston and Kestrel for myself which are the varieties I normally grow ,and 3 kilos of Casablanca for school. I put them all in trays to chit on my greenhouse shelf.
Had the afternoon on the allotment today and started forking over and weeding the annual beds.
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Post by derekbrooks on Feb 16, 2015 22:30:00 GMT
Some begonias have come from Dobies today so I will be planting these in the greenhouse tomorrow.
This evening I have been to the meeting of Salford and Bolton Fuchsia Society . The meetings are not all about fuchsias though and tonight it was about sweet peas. I have often wondered why sweet peas come true from seed whereas seeds from flowers such as dahlias and chrysanths don't so I asked the speaker. He said that sweet peas were self pollinating because they pollinate before the flowers open and so by the time the insects enter the flowers it's too late.
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