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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 12, 2013 22:48:07 GMT
The last three Tuesday mornings I have been taking some of my spare compost to Blackleach for Billy to spread on the beds. I still have one more bag but it is frozen and the ground is frozen too so I had to find him something else to do today. There are some trees overhanging part of the border alongside the visitor centre and the border is covered with leaves.I got him to rake off all these leaves. There are plants in the border but because the ground is frozen I thought he could rake off the leaves without disturbing the plants.
Had the afternoon in the greenhouse and sowed a lot more flower seeds. These were mostly types that needed to go in the propagator-Stocks, nicotiana, cosmos, mimulus, antirrhinums, tagetes, nemesia, salvia farinacea and ageratum. The boxes are all on top of each other in the propagator. After three or four days I will have to look at them every day to see if any are germinating and if they are they will have to come out into the light.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 13, 2013 20:27:47 GMT
Got quite a lot done today. When I had sown all the seeds yesterday I had no compost left.I have used 2 batches of 16 gals each this year. I use the same compost for all my cuttings as well . I still have more seeds to sow and cuttings to take so I thought I had better make another batch of compost.When I made the first two batches we had no peat at the hut so I used multipurpose compost abd added some sand to it. We have peat now so I went up for a bale and a bag of sand and a Chempak seed base to make a batch with.I have a key to the hut so I can go any time if I need anything which is very handy and pay for it next time I go.
I potted the first batch of rooted dahlia cuttings and also potted the rest of the tomato seedlings into yoghurt pots. I am a bit bothered about the tomatoes because they still haven't formed their true leaves even though they have been germinated for many weeks but I potted the hoping they will grow better in new compost. I fixed two small propagators up to put them on.
As you probably know I grow parsnips in tubes made from builders damp proof material I made up the tubes and seived some potting compost to fill them but didn't get time to do them all
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 14, 2013 19:05:19 GMT
This morning I went to the allotment and fixed the roofing felt on the shed. I had been waiting for a dry day and not too windy.Glad I got it done because it rained this afternoon
Before it was time for school this afternoon I finished filling the parsnip tubes but didn't sow them
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 16, 2013 19:54:10 GMT
Not much time this afternoon but I went in the greenhouse and took another 52 dahlia cuttings
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 17, 2013 21:36:04 GMT
Had the afternoon in the greenhouse. Sowed parsnips in the damp proof tubes. Sowed some cabbage, sprouts and cauliflowers . I sow these in 3 inch pots, 3 or 4 seeds in each pot then reduce to one if they all germinate. Sowed some parsley in a cell tray. Also sowed some more tomatoes in cell trays because the others are not growing very well.
I told you before about re-potting my pot plants by removing some of the compost and re-potting with fresh. The compost I remove doesn't get wasted because I grow potatoes in bags using it. I rub it between my hands to break it up and feel for any lumps then mix in some Q4 base at 12 ounces per bushel (8 gals). This is about the same strength as John Innes no 3. Got 15 gals ready this afternoon but didn't get time to mix it.
I have finally finished writing my next book "Getting started on the allotment" which is being published by the National Vegetable Society probably in the autumn.I have just sent the last chapter to the editor. Each article (chapter )will be published in their bulletins as well. Up to now the first four have been published. It was originally going to be just about vegetables and he wanted someone else to write one called "Getting started with fruit". Anyway the executive committee didn't want a book just about fruit so I was asked to write two chapters about fruit to put at the end of my book , which I have just done.
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Post by Cherry on Mar 18, 2013 6:50:05 GMT
You must sleep well after all this Derek. I expect you are referring to soft fruit.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 18, 2013 22:29:17 GMT
Hi Cherry.There is a chapter about soft fruit and one about top fruit. I don,t know as much about fruit as I do about veg so It has meant a bit more work for me . It is only for beginners and I know enough to explain the basics to them.Now that I have finished this writing ,my next job in the evenings is to prepare and print the schedules for our show.Garden News haven't got a sponsor for the Top Tray and Top Vase classes yet but I can't wait any longer. We are going to have these classes in the show without a sponsor . I need to get the schedules done before I start pricking out which I start doing towards the end of the month . Once I start I will be pricking out most evenings throughout April.
Today I have been mixing compost for growing potatoes which I told you about yesterday. I have mixed 55 gals in three mixes and filled some potato growing bags and buckets and tubs. I took three of the potato bags to school because I will be starting some potatoes there in the polytunnel for Tatton show.
This evening I have been to the fuchsia meeting (Salford and Bolton fuchsia society ).This is the first time I have been able to go this year. The speaker was talking mostly about hybridising.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 19, 2013 22:20:36 GMT
At Blackleach this morning I asked Billy to rake the nursery beds as fine as he could ready for sowing seeds.I took one more bag of old compost and asked him to rake it in.When he had finished that I asked him to start forking over the border alongside the visitor centre. I won't be there next Tuesday so I asked him to carry on with it then.
This afternoon I took 4 buckets of the potato compost that I made yesterday to the allotment and carried on doing some weeding.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 20, 2013 20:08:42 GMT
This morning I re-potted some more lilies I had forgotten about before ands emptied 2 containers that had had plants in which gave me another 9 gals of compost which I made into potato growing compost and filled two potato bags.I think I have enough now I have 5 buckets or tubs on the allotment, 3 bags at school and 3 bags here.
Had the afternoon on the allotment just carrying on with weeding.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 21, 2013 19:58:27 GMT
Carried on with weeding on the allotment this morning.
Not much time this afternoon before going to school but I sowed some sunflowers in drinking cups. I took the boxes of dahlia tubers off the warming benches to make room for other things because I think I have taken enough cuttings.There are some more ready for taking so I might take those then that will be the lot.
When I got to school I planted 3 potatoes (Blue Belle) in each of the 3 bags I took and put in the polytunnel.These will hopefully be ready for the R.H.S.show at Tatton Park.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 24, 2013 20:37:44 GMT
Yesterday afternoon I went in the greenhouse and took the last 50 dahlia cuttings. I have taken 351 altogether and that is more than enough. The boxes of tubers are in the cooler greenhouse. I will probably give then to people on the allotments in a few weeks time. I potted some more rooted dahlia and chrysanth cuttings.The dahlias stay in the warmer greenhouse but the chrysanths go in the other one.
Went in the greenhouse again this afternoon. When I go in on Sunday afternoons I take my radio and listen to Gardener's Question Time. When they got to "topical tips", Christine Walkden said it is time to examine your dahlia tubers and start them into growth ready to take cuttings.This is the day after I had finished taking all mine!
I potted up the rest of the rooted chrysanth cuttings then I sowed the sweet peas in drinking cups I have about 7 varieties.They go under the greenhouse staging till they germinate. 15 cups go in a standard seed tray .
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 24, 2013 20:57:13 GMT
Forgot to mention that I have many different kinds of drinking cups(vending machine cups) that I have collected from different places over the years. I always use the deepest ones for sweet peas.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 26, 2013 22:17:48 GMT
Been in the greenhouse much of the day. Potted some more rooted dahlias
Two lots of plants came that I had ordered from Dobies. 18 non stop begonias which I transfered to cell trays and 18 verbena bonariensis which I potted into yoghurt pots.
Sowed a few more packets of seeds.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 27, 2013 20:04:53 GMT
Potted a few more rooted chrysanth cuttings. 3 more lots of plants came from Dobies in mini plugs--50 gazanias, 50 Impatiens and 150 bedding begonias. Didn't get time to do the begonias but I transfered the others to cell trays.
Began pricking out my bedding plants this evening . Did 3 boxes of asters.I will be doing some most evenings for the next few weeks.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 28, 2013 21:50:49 GMT
Some people writing in gardening magazines tell you to write labels with permanent markers. I never do this because I use the same labels over and over again. I write them with ordinary pencil then when the label is no longer needed it just rubs off with a rubber .This is usually Rosemary's job. She washes them in the sink first then spreads them out on newspaper to dry , then rubs them clear at night while she is watching telly.When going through all my pot plants last month , many were discarded that were no longer any good or died through the winter which meant a lot of labels to re-use. I was running short of labels yesterday so I asked Rosemary if she could clean some. She was too busy this morning so I washed them all before I went in the greenhouse and she has rubbed them this evening.
I tranfered the 150 begonias that came yesterday into cell trays which took a long time and also potted some more rooted dahlias.
I then decided to have a box washing session-boxes that I need for pricking out. Many had been stored behind the greenhouse and others that had been used more recently had been left lying about in the garden. I wash boxes in the wheelbarrow under the car port. All the seed trays had been washed at the beginning of the year before I started sowing. These standard seed trays are O.K.for pricking out small plants like alyssum, pansies and French marigols but for larger plants like cosmos, asters and African marigolds I like boxes a bit deeper. Years ago I used to be able to get as many wooden boxes as I wanted from a greengrocer but these are not used much these days so I use any boxes I can get hold of.At present I am using a lot of the blue plastic boxes but they have holes all over them .I have to line them with plastic so that they will hold compost. I cut up the compost bags for this.
This evening I have pricked out 6 boxes of 48 asters.
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