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Post by Rosie on Feb 28, 2013 17:36:59 GMT
Moonlight, re tomato seeds. If you work back 8 weeks (2 months) from the time you can reasonably plant them (Outdoors) then that is when to sow. eg. A safe time for outdoor planting in the south of England would be around late May so sow the seeds around end of March. Earlier if growing in a g'house. HTH
The other seeds arrived a couple of days ago. The tomato that I was after was Red Whopper (and Mum is still adamant that it was Red Whopper not Whopper which is what my sister thinks - I'm staying out of it  ).
In addition to Whopper I ordered
Chocolate Cherry because it sounded a bit different to normal tomatoes and you know me, I like things that are a little bit different.
I also got small sample packs of Guernsey Island and Stump of the world. The samples are a couple of years old rather than last year's so should be ok but slightly less might germinate.
I think I should go into making chilli sauce, tomato pasta source and relish production with all the tomatoes I will have growing.  Madness but jolly good fun. (I hope) but then I'd have to be able to cook to do that 
Tiny mad steps...Jim is a total sweetie..pea ;D ;D |
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 1, 2013 0:53:01 GMT
My Dad came round today armed with his drill, a Grandad on a mission.
Their mission was to drill holes.
He had got some buckets that the supermarkets put their cut flowers out on display. They were going to drill all of the buckets but I asked him not to because if I ever do show a bunch of flowers, I can have something to get them their in.
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Post by Geranium on Mar 1, 2013 6:10:05 GMT
They're very useful, those buckets. I've got some, too.  Mine came from Morrison's. |
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Post by Cherry on Mar 1, 2013 8:11:07 GMT
I use them for my tomatoes and cut the whole bottom out of them. I cut a matching hole in a growbag and sit the pot into these. The growbag is knocked down to hold two pots which makes it thicker. This tip came from this forum and it works a treat. I have beautiful tomatoes.
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 1, 2013 9:41:08 GMT
Geranium Dad bought his from Morrison's to £1 for 8, I think he said. A woman said that he was crazy for buying them because if he asked in the Co op they would give them to him for nothing. There is always one still Dad was happy with his bargain.
Cherry I hadn't thought of cutting the bottoms off of the pots to make tomato rings. I had toyed with the idea of using a double decker of grow bags. I think that I will grow my beef tomatoes in the green house and maybe the 'vintage' varieties depends really (probably on which way the wind is blowing )
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 1, 2013 12:16:12 GMT
MY dahlias have arrived. 
 Downham Royal [/color] |
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 1, 2013 14:55:16 GMT
And here is Happy Halloween
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 1, 2013 16:02:24 GMT
 No, they are Not strawberries! |
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 1, 2013 16:33:32 GMT
Spoke to Dad yesterday and he said that when my dahlias arrive he could look after them for me. What he really means is I can look after your Downham Royal, he won't be interested in the Happy Halloween tubers. I was actually rather disappointed, I'd got used to the idea and wanted to have ago myself but the flip side of that is, I'm paranoid about killing them off.
So what I am planning on doing is letting him have 2 of my Downham Royal on the condition that he takes 1 of my Happy Halloween. That way if my stock is any good (and I am very suspect in the quality of the Downham Royal tubers) they will survive.
Sent a text to my Mum ages ago and I don't think she has received it as she does not always check her mobile because I am surprised that we have not had a visit from him yet.
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 1, 2013 22:21:15 GMT
Been rather frustrated. I've got all these seeds to plant, compost check and containers ready and waiting but I couldn't because I've been waiting for the girls to be with me.
Today girls got changed from school and we were in the garden ready for action and it was still daylight. In fact I was the last one out. I started getting ready while the girls played together with the gravel that I want moving so that I can plant my dahlias and sweet peas.
I asked Fairy Pink Wellies to get me a bucket and put a bit of water in it (to soak the strawberry roots in) she was gone for ages. I suggested to Pirate Yellow Wellies that she might like to use one of our new flower pots to fill with gravel and when Fairy Pink Wellies returned I was ready to plant but the girls were happy to go back to their game.
So while I planted my strawberry tubs, the girls were playing with the gravel. The blue tarpaulin was the sea and the container pots running along the trench were the dolphins. The gravel which was being scooped up was carried across in the flower pot and then sprinkled over the dolphins. It was a popular attraction because the other daughter was giving a guided tour for all the visitors, to see the dolphins being fed and for an extra £2, one family at a time could come and see what I was doing in the green house with my strawberry plants.
My Aldi strawberry plants were a 100 times better than the T&M ones but obviously the proof will be in the picking.
I've not asked Pirate Yellow Wellies but I asked Fairy Pink Wellies that would she be upset if I planted when she was not there. I've also been assured by HH that he won't be upset if I plant when he is not there. ;D v.tongue in check.
So all the time I've been raring to go but feeling too guilty to be able to start without them, I've got a back log of seeds to grow and they might not have bothered at after all. Well, it is not that surprising after all how many other people can boast dolphins in their backgarden.
That said Pirate Yellow Wellies is very impatient to see Weston Pirate and I can understand that.
Tiny steps.
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 2, 2013 21:32:09 GMT
Mum did not realise that she had got a text yesterday, so Dad was surprised when I asked him. I asked a couple of questions about dahlia tubers and Dad asked me loads more. He should have been a detective in a interrogation room investigating the bad treatment of dahlias and dahlia protection squad.
If he were not ill he'd have been round. I know that he wants to inspect Downham Royal, especially now that I have told him that it is not in as good a condition as Happy Halloween. I've been told by both my Dad and my Mum to hold them very gently and support their weight with my hand underneath.
Won't be surprised at all if Dad pops round tomorrow.
I wonder what we will talk about...........................
Tiny steps.
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 3, 2013 21:32:35 GMT
It has not been a bad weekend but it has been a very tough day. The girls' school fund raise by doing a blue bag old clothes collections. Today I handed in most of my girls' baby clothes. I am a really bad hoarder and bags of old clothes ready and waiting to go have been accumulating over the last few years or so. I started taking a few more bags downstairs ready to go in the car. Pirate Yellow Wellies was sobbing because I had put her favourite thing in one of the bags. I went through the last 3 or 4 that I had packed but I could not see what she was upset about but that is what set me off. It was hard enough going through all my baby clothes without having a sobbing child tell me that I had thrown something that she had loved in the bin. 
Then we went off to our Horticultural Society shop to buy some canes for my sweet peas, some labels and perlite (that is the vermiculite stuff that my Dad sometimes uses.). HH was not thrilled that I wanted 8 foot canes for the sweet peas. Only bought 20 but not sure how that is going to work with the number of sweet pea plants I have growing. I want to take some photos of them tomorrow to add here, to see if they are all right now. Asked about the "Ver...mi...cu...lite (trying to read my Garden Friends entry and struggling to read the tiny writing on my mobile: stuff that begins with the letter P erm think it is something like pearl?". They did it in small bags but they only had big bags left and I really did not need the £7.55 10 litre bag. They had a look round back and they did not have any, so they said that they would sell it to me for £5 and if I don't want it and bring it back unopened they would give me my money back.  They gave the girls a plastic wigwam top ring each and HH bought 3 bags of bark for behind the greenhouse.
Later went out with girls and we did a bit of gravel moving and trench filling, path making. In theory anyway. We were out till it got dark (something about my family and I night time gardeners ). I carried the lobbers to the massive bush that has toppled across our garden and before I even opened the blades Pirate Yellow Wellies started getting upset "No Mummy the birds hide in there, they won't have anywhere to hide if you cut it down."  I really didn't need that and we all went in.
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 4, 2013 9:32:06 GMT
Today is my DD day.
D for dentist
D for delivery our dahlias begin their journey from USA today. 
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 4, 2013 12:08:51 GMT
Dad is coming over to see my tubers. I'll see him tomorrow but he will have seen them 1st without me and he knows that I would rather be there so that he can tell me what he really thinks. Feel a bit guilty for not putting the Downham Royal on the compost but he will only want to pick it up and inspect them for himself.
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 4, 2013 22:21:10 GMT
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).
Mine came from Morrison's. 
stuff that begins with the letter P erm think it is something like pearl?". They did it in small bags but they only had big bags left and I really did not need the £7.55 10 litre bag. They had a look round back and they did not have any, so they said that they would sell it to me for £5 and if I don't want it and bring it back unopened they would give me my money back. 
They gave the girls a plastic wigwam top ring each and HH bought 3 bags of bark for behind the greenhouse.
I really didn't need that and we all went in. 
