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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 29, 2013 19:18:53 GMT
Not much time today but I potted 20 odd Achilleas into yoghurt pots and potted a few more rooted dahlias. All the February rooted dahlias are now potted up. There are 80 odd.
Heather, our daughter from Wales arrived this afternoon till Sunday. She may even do some pricking out for me tomorrow.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 30, 2013 21:30:13 GMT
Not been on the allotment for a week or so because of the weather but I went today because it isn't quite as cold and not as windy and nice and sunny. Just carried on with the weeding.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 31, 2013 21:19:06 GMT
At church this morning everyone had been asked to take some flowers to decorate the Lenten cross as we do every year (I showed you a picture of it a few years ago ). I am ashamed to admit that I haven't a flower in the garden at present that I could take.We had to buy some!.The snowdrops and crocuses are past their best and there is nothing else ready.
I told you a few weeks ago about Heather,our daughter ,taking me to see an elderly man called Geraint who she does some gardening for. She wanted me to see his garden and greenhouse. I told you that he had spent a fortune on plants for his baskets and tubs.I said that when she came to our house at Easter we would get some surfinias from a garden centre and take some cuttings for him.Well she has gone back home now and we didn,t have time to go to a garden centre.I don,t think they would have surfinias yet anyway because it is too early. I have noy been very successful in keeping mine through the winter either. However I have quite a few diascias and bacopas so before she went home and I showed her how to take cuttings from them. So she has taken a tray of cuttings of each for him . I also gave her the plants we had taken the cuttings from because there are more cuttings coming which she can take for him later.I also suggested to her that she keeps looking at their local garden centre for surfinias and pick some with plenty of cuttings on.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 1, 2013 21:17:07 GMT
Carried on with weeding on the allotment this morning.The herbaceous border at the back of the allotment has a lot of couch grass on it, the roots of which are among the roots of other plants. It is therefore difficult to dig out without disturbing the plants. I did dig up several clumps of plants to get the couch grass roots out and then re-planted them but I don't think I have time to do the whole border like this.
This afternoon Rosemary removed the chrysanth stools from the boxes. This is usually her job. Because there is a very cold wind I took the boxes in the greenhouse so she could work in there. She removes the labels and string and puts them in seperate buckets. When she had finished I removed the compost from the boxes and rubbed it between my hands then I could use it for something else. I'll probably grow carrots in it when I have mixed in some more fertiliser.
I have also planted the onion sets in 3 inch pots. 48 fen early and 12 red baron.
This evening I have pricked out 4 boxes of lobelia.I do my pricking out in a spare room next to the kitchen that I call my utility room . I have two propagators in this room as well.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 2, 2013 21:07:02 GMT
Not much time today but I have fixed up 2 aluminium frames and put in the shallots, garlic,onion sets and some overwintered perennials.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 3, 2013 21:47:17 GMT
In front of the shed is an area where the rest of my frames go in the spring.When the frames are not in use they are dismantled and stacked behind the shed. When the frames are not there the area is just a dumping ground for all sorts of things so I cleared it this morning ready to put up the frames again.When the area was cleared I painted this side and the front of the shed because I can't get at it when the frames are there.The frame tops are leaning up against the other side of the shed and the frames are round the back so I will paint these sides when I can get to them.
I need to start putting these frames up soon but this afternoon I decided to go on the allotment and carry on tackling the couch grass . This was because I could have the car. Rosemary needs tha car tomorrow afternoon so I can carry on with the frames then.
This evening I have been pricking out lobelia again.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 4, 2013 22:02:58 GMT
This afternoon I got the wooden frames from behind the shed and began putting them up. Nearly always I have to do some repairs to some of them. Some are getting beyond repair though .
Pricked out some more lobelia this evening.
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Post by Cherry on Apr 5, 2013 14:29:00 GMT
Just heard about your dahlia cuttings on the radio Derek. GQT think you are "one heck of a gardener".
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 5, 2013 21:32:38 GMT
Thanks for telling me, Cherry. Was it on last Sunday because I missed it then.? I normally listen to it but last Sunday , Heather(our daughter)was here and we went out with her. I,m sorry I missed it. What did they actually say?
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 5, 2013 21:49:29 GMT
This morning I finished putting up my wooden frames.
Went on the allotment this afternoon. I finished weeding the border I told you about where all the couch grass is. I just had one of the annual beds to weed .There weren't many weeds on here and I nearly finished it.Want to finish the weeding while this dry weather is on because it is supposed to be changing next week. I will finish it tomorrow and then I have 10 sacks of weeds to take to the tip.
This evening I finished pricking out the lobelia and started the pansies. I am always glad when the lobelia is finished because it is fiddly because I do them in clumps of 5 or6 plants and it takes a lomg time
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 6, 2013 20:59:04 GMT
Finished the weeding this afternoon and took all the weeds to the tip. I know the weeds will come up again though when the weather warms up.
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Post by Cherry on Apr 7, 2013 16:32:18 GMT
Thanks for telling me, Cherry. Was it on last Sunday because I missed it then.? I normally listen to it but last Sunday , Heather(our daughter)was here and we went out with her. I,m sorry I missed it. What did they actually say? I hope this link takes you to the programme Derek. |
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 7, 2013 20:33:07 GMT
Thanks very much ,Cherry. Heather has also told me how to find it.I haven't time to listen to it now but I am going to do tomorrow.
Haven't had much time for gardening today but I have potted up the gloxinias and begonias into 5 or6 inch pots. They have been in trays on the warming benches.
This evening I have finished pricking out the pansies and started the petunias. I am going to do another 2 boxes now.
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 8, 2013 21:42:31 GMT
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Post by derekbrooks on Apr 8, 2013 22:03:51 GMT
I don't need to use my home made propagator any more this year. It is stood on two sheets of asbestos with sheets of glass on the top.When not in use I put the asbestos on the top which is what I did this morning. It gives me more room to stand plants . So I decided to take a picture of it to show you.It is at the far end with plants stood on it. I still have two warming benches with cuttings and seedlings on . You can see one at the front end of the picture.There were some trays of achimenes tubercles in the propagator . These haven't started growing yet so I put them on the propagator in the kitchen.
This afternoon I went on the allotment and begun shovelling last years compost out of the compost bay and barrowing it onto the chrysanth and dahlia beds . Only got time to do half of it.
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