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Post by roofgardener on Jun 24, 2015 14:18:07 GMT
First patient at the PolyMash Tent ! The Strawberries.As ever, the images have been uploaded to RoofNet, so you can click on them to get a bigger picture.
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The colonising stalks are getting a bit long in the tooth, and where starting to harass one of my onion troughs, so time to give them their OWN dedicated seeding grounds. In this case, two "outrigger" troughs.
I thought that each colonising stalk produced just a single new plant. Imagine my delight when I realised that they throw off multiple plants. At this rate, I will have 7-8 new plants !
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OK... so I need to tie the colonising stalks down to encourage them to drop roots and start new colonies. A neighbour gave me some special Strawberry Wire for this purpose, but an opened-up paperclip would work just as well !
The orange-handled "pruners" are actually Tin Snips. These are a sort of super-heavy-duty secateurs, originally designed for cutting thin steel sheet. The cut through ANYTHING, including small trees !! VERY handy to have around.
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I started off bending the wire into a hoop-shape, but this didn't work. The plant kept pulling them up out of the soil. So I came across this "omega" shape. Push it into the soil, and the two outer bits act like hooks, and hold it all in place.
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[td]
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All held firmly in place ! Yaaay !
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| The right-hand side colonising stalks aren't as well developed yet, but in another week or two I should be able to pin them down !
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The Aloof Capsicum Peppers look on snootily ! They consider the Strawberries to be a bit.... lower class and rowdy, and where NOT pleased to be situated an the adjacent ward !
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Next operation at the MASH PT will be... the Horrible Hairy Honesty plants. <shudder> [/td |
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Post by daitheplant on Jun 24, 2015 19:50:14 GMT
Roofus, may I suggest you put the clip closer to the plantlet so as it does root. The plantlet, not the clip, that is.  |
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Post by roofgardener on Jun 25, 2015 15:43:08 GMT
AOK... will do that Dai. Meanwhile... something a bit different. My Sisters Garden She is very wary about identity theft type issues, but finally allowed me to take some photographs. These are all on RoofNet, so you can click to enlarge. 
| The Upper Border. We used to grow weeds here, but now its going to become Lawn. It took me AGES to weed it, AND there was a tree stump. Not as big as Moonshine's monster, but enough to stump me for a few sessions. We've tried to level it up to the lawn level, and have sprinkled lawn seeds and raked them in. Here's hoping....
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| We call these two curved beds the "upper half moon" and the "lower half moon", which naturally shortened down to "the moons". The upper one is already sown with bluebells and some other bulbs (yet to emerge), with one section sown with about 10 Dhalia plants of unknown type. It has also become choked with weeds, which will be disappearing this weekend.
The lower moon has some Silver Cenerama around the boundary wall, and then what was SUPPOSED to be a dense canopy of petunias, arcing around the funny red bush thing. Sadly, the petunias didn't "bulk out" the way I was hoping, so its looking a bit sparse. I shall be planting some more this weekend to fill up the gaps. (fortunately I grew extra petunia's back at the Roofgarden, just in case.)
At the front are some margigolds and Primroses. Again, these didn't really 'flesh out' in the way I had hoped, so I shall be bringing along the Reserve this weekend. (three big primroses, plus a platoon of Marigolds.
At least the Lavender bush seems to be thriving !.
Oh... SPEAKING of thriving...
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| Something is attacking the marigolds, stripping away the leaves and just leaving a 'skeleton'. Any ideas ? I was thinking perhaps Slugs ?
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I just HAD to show you this. My sisters garden went a bit wild and overgrown, with many strange flora and fauna trying to make it a home. But we never expected THIS.
We think it is.. dunno.. wheat. Or perhaps Barley ? I intend to try and dig it up and re-plant it in the Triangle. (you havn't seen that bit yet, so watch this space).
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Post by steve on Jun 25, 2015 17:14:09 GMT
There wouldn't be a bird feeder nearby would there?
"We think it is.. dunno.. wheat. Or perhaps Barley ? I intend to try and dig it up and re-plant it in the Triangle. (you havn't seen that bit yet, so watch this space)."
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Post by daitheplant on Jun 25, 2015 19:16:22 GMT
The "red bush thing" is a Berberis thunbergii "Rose Glow" I think.
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Post by SueA on Jun 25, 2015 21:13:29 GMT
roofgardener I'd say slugs or snails for the marigolds as they are 'caviar' to them, I gave up planting marigolds in the ground years ago in our old house as I'd turn my back for 5 minutes & be left with a pile of bare sticks! I think steve is probably right & the wheat/barley/corn plants have grown from dropped bird seed, I've had afew similar in my garden this year, it's funny how you don't notice them until they're about a foot tall! 
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Post by roofgardener on Jun 26, 2015 11:21:36 GMT
Yup ... steve has nailed it on the head. There IS a bird-feeder nearby. Still, we might capitalise on this. Just on the left-wing of the Posh Upper Patio is an odd triangular section of undergrowth, which protrudes out from the Wilderness Area. We think a tiny field of barley there would make an interesting talking point during garden parties ! "Oh, and Benson the Under-Butler makes the most marvelous fresh bread with it in the summer..."Thanks for that SueA; I shall dish out the pellets forthwith. Burrberry Thunderbye, you say @diatheplant ? I shall make a note of it ! |
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Post by roofgardener on Jun 30, 2015 15:39:30 GMT
The MASH tent. Episode 2: The Honesty always knocks twice
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My mum gave me five honesty plants; just babies, in small 2" square pots. That was a year ago.
I looked after them carefully by adopting the technique of putting them in a deserted corner of the RoofGarden, and COMPLETELY forgetting about them for about a year. The results where...... not good.
(As per usual, all of the images are uploaded to RoofNet, so you can click to see a larger version.)
How bad is THAT ? It looks like a group of Goths. (lots of hair).
OK... into the MASH tent they go.
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Separating the first pot out... and it looked even worse than when they where all bundled together. My heart sank; How am I going to separate the Honesty from the other grasses and weeds without destroying it ?
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It gets worse. Although the small pots had been well watered over the previous weeks (or so I thought), the soils was dry and rock hard. I had to use a mallet to loosen it !!!! Gradually it gave way, and the root systems started to separate.
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Yaaaaaay... result. FINALLY.
Some of them had REALLY thick root clumps... almost like tubers.
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Some of the leaves had these nasty blisters on them, so I removed them.
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Finally, all done, and returned to the plantpots with fresh soil, plant food, and water. I'll leave them for a week to recover, and then plant them on into their final (much larger) pots.. if they survive.
Another successful day in the Mobile Agricultural Surgical Hospital !
<cue music> |
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Post by daitheplant on Jun 30, 2015 18:58:01 GMT
Shouldn`t that be, More Attention Seeking Honesty?  |
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Post by SueA on Jun 30, 2015 20:02:19 GMT
Hope the operation is a success roofgardener , the roots look very promising.  |
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Post by roofgardener on Jun 30, 2015 21:02:43 GMT
Thank you SueA, Daitheplant.
Yesterday, I mulched.
Extensively.
I'd already mulched the Lower Moon at my Sisters. That was Saturday... but even then I felt the beginnings of The Stirring.
Now I have mulched back home at the Roofgarden. I've mulched around my tomatoes, runner beans, bay tree, Capsicums, Peas, and everything else with large amounts of exposed soil in the pot.
It was a strange experience. I feel... Mighty. Perhaps even ... Righteous ?
I keep having this STRANGE urge to declare war against the French in the name of King Arthur, and to raise my Banner over Northumbria.
Trouble is, I don't have a banner, and I'm a BIT vague as to where Northumbria actually IS ?
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Post by roofgardener on Jun 30, 2015 21:09:19 GMT
***UPDATE***
Having finished dinner (including a home-grown salad), I have mulched the dirty pots, and am retiring to bed.
It's early.. but this will help me with my current plan to cut down on smoking (I've gone from 20+/day to five... so far... ).
I'm worried that I'm halucinating, or having wierd false memories. Perhaps nicotine withdrawal symptoms are setting in ? I just caught myself "on autopilot", rolling up a Mulch ciggarette. Luckily, the Large Pink Rabbit stopped me JUST in time !
Goodnight everybody.
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Post by daitheplant on Jul 1, 2015 18:48:51 GMT
2 questions Roofus. 1/ what are you mulching with, and 2/ did you water everything BEFORE mulching? 8-)Also.If you are giving up smoking, may I suggest you set a date to do so, say the 31st of July.  Each day though, you tell yourself that you want to give up, that you need to give up, that you WILL give up. That is how I stopped about 18 years ago. |
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Post by roofgardener on Jul 1, 2015 20:14:42 GMT
Yup, I watered before Mulching, Daitheplant. (and in the case of the washing up, rinsed afterwards).
I've also left a little circle near the stem of the plants that I water into, lest the mulch prevent the water from even REACHING the soil.
I'm mulching with a bag of mulch I got from Wilkinsons. I'll get the name of it tomorrow. It appears to be made up of chunks of tree bark and wooden 'flakes'.
I tried the "cold turkey" technique for smoking, but it didn't work for me. What I'm doing now is setting targets. Each day, the gap between ciggarettes gets longer. I can now be smoke free from waking up (07:00, ususally), to just before coming home from work.(16:30). this has occured over the last 14 days or so.
I don't allow myself to smoke in the car (this has worked), so up till now I have a ciggy BEFORE getting into the car to drive to work (journey takes an hour). Originally, I would have my "first ciggy" BEFORE driving to work, but I havn't had one of those for... gosh.. four days now ? And I'm not missing it.... it seems... "natural".
I used to allow myself a ciggy at lunchtime, (this was last Monday) but that has gone now. In fact, the whole idea of smoking in the morning is becoming... alien ?
Tomorrow, I try and relinquish the 16:30 ciggy, and remain smoke free untill I get home, and even THEN delay for a bit before smoking. (getting dinner ready etcetera).
If I can sustain this, then by the weekend I will be able to go 24 hours without a ciggarette. And if I can do that on ONE occassion, then I can do it for another. And next week that 'one day' will be 'two days', and once I've got THAT far, then... well... I'll be falling out of the habit of having ciggies.
I was a "30-a-day" man just 5-6 weeks ago. Progress has been slow, but by gradually moving the targets.. bit by bit... well, we shall see.
Having done this, it merely leaves my Mulch habit to deal with.
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Post by Moonlight on Jul 2, 2015 10:08:10 GMT
Well done on all your progress Roofy with re, giving up smoking, each to their own. My Dad gave up 1st when Margaret Thatcher put the tax up and he basically said Sod that she's not having any more of my money and refused to even finish his current packet. Mum gave up when she was in hospital with Kidney stones because the whole thing scared her and she was not able to smoke on ward anyway, so she didn't finish off her then current packet either.
What I can't stand is the way that companies are aggressively promoting electronic cigarettes.
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Each day though, you tell yourself that you want to give up, that you need to give up, that you WILL give up. That is how I stopped about 18 years ago.
