Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On !

roofgardener
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PLanting Chillis

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Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 11, 2015 19:45:38 GMT Moonlight likes this

Post by roofgardener on Apr 11, 2015 19:45:38 GMT

You're suggesting there's something wrong with my spelling ? What a proposterous proposition

I finally managed to get some decent-ish photographs. They are a bit small, but I've uploaded the full-size versions onto the RoofNet, so you can see the full-size versions by clicking on the small ones below.

OK.... a quick tour.
Firstly,

the Polytunnel...

There's a LITTLE bit of msic. potting going on, but it's mostly soil reclamation at the moment.

The Heliothermic Plantopticon is gone to make space for more potting trays.

In the far background, just in front of the Anglepoise Lamp, are five Runner Bean pots, plus a 15-cell seed tray with Erbs in them. (Sage, Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Corriander.)

Soiled !!

Soil from last years plantpots is mixed with a little fresh compost, and beaten vigorously with a stick, before being dried out.

The idea is then to put it into the larger pots, ready for "potting on" or planting out.

Decorative flowers.

From front to back: Daisies, Dahlias, Primroses, and - side by side - Marigolds and Petunias.
The Primroses seem to be struggling, and only 5-6 of the Dahlias have germinated. The others seem to be coming along strongly though. Hopefully, within 3-4 weeks, I should be able to plant them out ?

After the Plantopticon...

Begonias (possibly) on the left, and Cinarraria on the right. These where the two in the heated propagator.

The Cinarraria.... looking rather leggy and sad ?

Stick Farm !

A fine crop of small wooden sticks !
Actually, this is my primary vegetable crop, with Pak Choi, peas, Brussel Sprouts and Spinache already showing through, and Courgettes, Tomatoes, Broccoli and Capsicums to - hopefully - follow.

SPUDLINKS !!!!

My pride and joy - the Spudlinkariums. There are about 12 spudlink shoots sprouting up in total spread between the two bins, so hopefully it should be a bumper crop this year.

"The two walls" ...

my primary growing area. The low wall is south-facing, but even the 'outdoor toilets' wall gets a lot of sunshine. I'm toying with the idea of putting some sort of improvised trellis on the toilet wall, with a cane matrix on the low wall. Well... it's good to have plans.....we shall see how it develops.

Oooooh... one thing I'm particularly pleased with are the plastic boxes (you may need to click and zoom in to see them properly). These are - respectively - the Leek Patch, the Carrot Patch, and the Spring Onion patch.

I consider this a major step forwards. Previously, the only patch I had was the Damp Patch.

Well, I've got lots of other piccies to show y'all ... but they will wait for another day

Last Edit: Apr 12, 2015 15:45:45 GMT by roofgardener

SueA Global Moderator Posts: 17,918	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 11, 2015 20:26:45 GMT Moonlight likes this Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by SueA on Apr 11, 2015 20:26:45 GMT Great idea to use the kitchen bins for your spuds roofgardener, plenty of depth to earth them up!

Moonlight Top Member Posts: 4,922	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 11, 2015 20:41:22 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Moonlight on Apr 11, 2015 20:41:22 GMT RoofMaster HQ Looking good... but I'm not fooled by your innocent looking plant trays or potato bins (of mass destruction) Seriously tho Roofy, I wish that I could be as organised and tidy as you.

roofgardener
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PLanting Chillis

Posts: 2,378

Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 11, 2015 21:19:41 GMT Tel, SueA, and 1 more like this

Post by roofgardener on Apr 11, 2015 21:19:41 GMT

Apr 11, 2015 20:26:45 GMT SueA said:

Great idea to use the kitchen bins for your spuds roofgardener, plenty of depth to earth them up!

thanks Sue,

My parents had a small kitchen bin (only around 2' tall) that they grew spuds in. This was late spring of last year. At the time, I just happened to have a couple of old kitchen bins, so - inspired by their example - I decided to give it a try. As I recall, I was late planting them ... end of April, or even in May. The seed spuds where nothing special; just 5-6 old white spuds from the local shop, which had been festering in a plastic bag at the back of my larder area and had started to put out roots. (the spuds that is, not the shop).

I was actually suprised when they started to grow ! I was also suprised - and pleased - with the foliage, which is kinda pretty all on its own. You are correct about the earthing up; I gradually filled the bins to the brim, with the folliage then growing up about 3' above the top of the bin. As you know, I'm not much into decorative flowers, but the folliage - just green leaves - DID look quite nice, and brightened up the tarmac of the roofgarden.

After it had died back, (September, perhaps ? ) I tipped out the bins onto a tarpualin, and was delighted by the crop.
Perhaps 10 fist-sized spuds, but another 40-50 or more small ones... some only the size of marbles, admitatedly. But even these where nice steamed.

I think this year I will give them a little longer before I harvest them, and perhaps feed them a little more often, to see if I can encourage the smaller ones to grow a little more. Plus, I have another (smaller) bin (and a few seed spuds) yet to deploy. So hopefully, I'll be eating them all the way to Christmas or beyond !

Natrually SueA, a few will be featured in your competition winners pack

(if you can bear to wait that long)

Last Edit: Apr 11, 2015 21:36:33 GMT by roofgardener

roofgardener
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PLanting Chillis

Posts: 2,378

Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 11, 2015 21:22:12 GMT Tel, SueA, and 1 more like this

Post by roofgardener on Apr 11, 2015 21:22:12 GMT

Apr 11, 2015 20:41:22 GMT Moonlight said:

RoofMaster HQ Looking good... but I'm not fooled by your innocent looking plant trays or potato bins (of mass destruction)

Shhhh.... don't draw attention to them Moonlight... they are actually my Spud Missile launchers. (I got them on Ebay from a chap in Iraq).

Seriously tho Roofy, I wish that I could be as organised and tidy as you.

It's a new thing for me, Moonlight. I've NEVER been this organised before.

Mind you... I've never had the huge Polytunnel before, which encourages me to do little bits of work each evening. It's amazing how it all adds up, and how the "pottering" can encourage thought and planning.

And ... of course ... I didn't have you all on Garden Friends last year to inspire me

Last Edit: Apr 11, 2015 21:25:07 GMT by roofgardener

Moonlight Top Member Posts: 4,922	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 12, 2015 0:28:31 GMT Tel likes this Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Moonlight on Apr 12, 2015 0:28:31 GMT Apr 11, 2015 21:22:12 GMT roofgardener said: And ... of course ... I didn't have you all on Garden Friends last year to inspire me Totally agree with you there 100%.

roofgardener Top Member PLanting Chillis Posts: 2,378	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 13, 2015 21:22:19 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by roofgardener on Apr 13, 2015 21:22:19 GMT A little bit of pottering. I repotted a surplus Primrose, and stuck it on one of the Roofgarden Tables. It looks very..... purple. I gave everything a good water, as well.

grindle Top Member Tamar Valley Posts: 19,753	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 14, 2015 5:16:13 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by grindle on Apr 14, 2015 5:16:13 GMT you have a great setup there roofy, I like the idea of the potato bins too

roofgardener
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PLanting Chillis

Posts: 2,378

Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 14, 2015 21:33:01 GMT

Post by roofgardener on Apr 14, 2015 21:33:01 GMT

Hmmm.. grim news.

I may have just lost my Cinneraria AND Marigold crops.
I came home tonight, and both trays where... well.... brown and wrinkled.

The Max/Min thermometer showed almost 50 degrees CENTIGRADE.

I think my poor seedlings have burned to death !!!

I've evacuated the Polytunnel, and put the relevant seedling trays on Life Support. (shade, and water).

Lets see ?

Moonlight Top Member Posts: 4,922	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 14, 2015 23:30:23 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Moonlight on Apr 14, 2015 23:30:23 GMT Not good News, Poor you Hope they pull through.

roofgardener
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PLanting Chillis

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Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 15, 2015 19:09:01 GMT Moonlight likes this

Post by roofgardener on Apr 15, 2015 19:09:01 GMT

We can but hope Moonlight.
Still... we shouldn't be downcast. The Petunias still seem to be going strong, and SOME of the Marigolds have survived.

I've watered the affected plants with a misting spray (to avoid flooding out the seedlings that have toppled over, and to avoid 'battering down' the remainders with the comparative heavy drenching from a watering can).

And the five Dhalias seem to be thriving !

Still, to cheer myself up, I've planted....A THIRD SPUDLINK BIN.
Only a small one, but.. a spudlink bin nevertheless.
And I've started earthing up the two existing spud bins.

I'm going to ventilate the Polytunnel more aggressively over the next couple of days.. perhaps even leaving the main door open during the day.

Last Edit: Apr 15, 2015 19:09:57 GMT by roofgardener

SueA
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Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 15, 2015 19:55:18 GMT grindle likes this

Post by SueA on Apr 15, 2015 19:55:18 GMT

Oh heck roofy, the marigolds might survive if as you say some are showing signs of life, they're pretty tough. If you're worried about watering seedlings from above again I'd just put some water in a driptray underneath them & let them soak up what they need & then remove them after half an hour or so. It's surprising how quickly some things dry out in the heat in greenhouses & polytunnels even if you have the vents open.

roofgardener Top Member PLanting Chillis Posts: 2,378	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 16, 2015 9:28:30 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by roofgardener on Apr 16, 2015 9:28:30 GMT I'll give that a try, SueA. In the meantime, I have left the PT door open. It's a BIG door... almost the full width of the PT... so I'm just hoping it doesn't get too windy.

roofgardener
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PLanting Chillis

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Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 17, 2015 7:20:08 GMT

Post by roofgardener on Apr 17, 2015 7:20:08 GMT

Hmmm.... despite the cooler weather, the die-back continues. Now some of my Dhalia shoots are curling up, and my Pansies keeling over

As a precaution, I've emptied my water but and refilled it with tap water. The water in the but was green. (I'd left the lid off, and I'm wondering wether some sort of algea - or other contaminent - could have got in ? ). It's grasping at straws, but I couldn't think of anything else to do.

Meanwhile, the potato's are growing well, and may need a second earthing-up this weekend. The leeks, carrots, onions and spring onions are also making a decent effort !

The Pak Choi is thriving, as are the Peas and Spinache. All of them will need potting on this weekend !
Only ONE Courgette has germinated thus far, but it is growing strongly. The same story with the tomatoes.
No signs of life from the Capsicums yet, which is a bit worrying.

daitheplant Top Member Posts: 6,385	Mud on the Rooftops 2015 - the Fiddling goes On ! Apr 17, 2015 18:50:02 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by daitheplant on Apr 17, 2015 18:50:02 GMT Roofy, how often are you watering? Also, how wet is the compost?