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Post by dianthus on Feb 9, 2016 16:56:14 GMT
It has snowed here, all afternoon, after a crisp and sunny start to the day. Hope your polydolly copes with snow?
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Post by roofgardener on Feb 9, 2016 20:12:38 GMT
OH yes.
Well... better than in copes with wind, anyway.
No snow here... though there may be some sleet/snow next week ?
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Post by roofgardener on Feb 15, 2016 12:56:26 GMT
Allium Update
Well, it's been a lively weekend, with lots going on.  |
I've been worried for sometime about my Toughball onions, which have been living in the Growhouse (a.k.a "The Flower Shower"), and NOT actually growing !. I wondered whether the growhouse is simply too shaded (it gets ZERO direct sunlight in the winter, and its also uninsulated and unheated.. albeit sheltered from the wind), so I cleared out the Auxillary Greenhouse, added some things (see main Diary), and moved them all in there. (the AG gets at least SOME sunshine in winter).
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Then it was the turn of the Ailsa Craigs in the Polytunnel, which have been growing like mad in their seed tray, despite not being heated. So I spent a lively hour or two potting them on into individual 4" pots. BOY is this fiddly work ! I ran out of pots very rapidly, so a quick sojourne to Wilko's was called for. I bought another 20 pots...(all they had).. and THEY ran out as well.. and I've only potted HALF of the Ailsa's. And I've run out of space in the Auxillary Greenhouse !!!
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I think I'm going to move the Growhouse to the South-facing wall for the next month or two, insulate it, and put the rest of the Ailsa's in THERE. Heck... in its new location... I could even run power in, and give them a heater wire ! Meanwhile, they Bedfordshire Champions are germinating well, and THEY will need potting on soon. Phew. The sooner the weather improves, and I can plant these out (at the Roofgarden, and at my Sisters, and at my Parents) the BETTER. I'll then have space for all my other vegetables ! |
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Post by KC on Feb 15, 2016 13:38:09 GMT
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Post by SueA on Feb 15, 2016 21:08:25 GMT
Looks like everything is bursting into life Roofy.  |
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Post by roofgardener on Mar 6, 2016 16:28:55 GMT
Well, perhaps SueA.. perhaps. At least its lighter in the evenings now (and the mornings for that matter) , which is a VERY welcome development. Meanwhile... back in the Polytunnel.... As ever, the pictures are posted onto the RoofNet, so you can click for a bigger version.
Ailing Alliums !
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Polytunnel Briefing Room, dateline Sunday, 08:30
Roofgardener is finishing his Morning Briefing to the Owls.....
"OK, and finally, we're going to open up the Overflow Greenhouse, and see how the Toughball F1 onion are getting on after their recent failure to grow, and their die-back in the Growhouse ! Now, we don't want to get our hopes up, but at the same time we shouldn't be over optimistic about them...."
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...OI... less of the rampant pessimism !
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I'll grant you, it's not looking BRILLIANT....
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...and many of the Toughballs are DEFINITELY dying back. I've checked the soil, and its moist but not saturated. They've been kept warm-ish (around 7-8 degrees) courtesy of the heater wires, and they've had the benefit of the growlight (and even some SUNLIGHT) over the last week.So I have NO idea what I am doing wrong 
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.. on the other hand, the Ailsa Craigs seem to be coming along nicely !
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I've planted around 30 Vision F1 onion seeds, and I'll do a few more next week, but I'm running out of gravel trays, plantpots, and space !
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And thats about it this week for the World of Alliums. Next week... much excitement as we plant the first ever Roofgarden Shallots ! Oh the anticipation ! |
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Post by grindle on Mar 6, 2016 16:45:25 GMT
sorry I've no advice to give as I've never grown onions from seed, even the garlic is a first for me this year. But I have to say the owls look nice and cosy  |
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Post by roofgardener on Mar 6, 2016 16:49:32 GMT
How much garlic have you planted, grindle ? |
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Post by dianthus on Mar 6, 2016 19:32:40 GMT
Get the garlics outside and potted up in final location. the frost encourage the bulbs to split into the cloves that you want. Looking good, Roofy  |
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Post by roofgardener on Mar 6, 2016 20:15:58 GMT
Ooooh right.. I didn't know that dianthus. Thanks. It seems that - through sheer luck and ignorance - I've done the right thing. Those green (and black) troughs ARE the final locations. |
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Post by SueA on Mar 6, 2016 22:02:21 GMT
Most of your onions look good Roofy, you could try potting on your Bedfordshire Champions into single pots if you've got any spare so that you can hold off planting them out for a while. A lot of your Toughball ones do look terminal unfortunately, I'd save the ones showing signs of life, throw away the compost out of the completely dead looking ones & sow some more seeds in fresh compost, there's still plenty of time for them to get going, they'll speed along now the days are getting longer & brighter. |
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Post by grindle on Mar 7, 2016 4:56:04 GMT
I planted just enough to fill a large pot roofy, they were put in in the autumn and left outside I'll take a picture later |
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Post by roofgardener on Mar 24, 2016 10:27:33 GMT
The arrival of the Onion Beds
A wee bit of a milestone was reached on the Roofgarden last week. Well, apart from the Peak Polytunnel , that is. Regular readers may remember my idea to use plastic storage boxes as miniature "onion beds". Well, the first three have been planted out. The pictures are uploaded to the RoofNet, so you can click for a larger version.  | This is an example of one of the boxes. First, I had to drill holes in the base for drainage. This is not as easy as I first thought, as the plastic is rather brittle. If you're not careful with the drill, big chunks of the box just shatter, as you can see near the bottom-right of this box.
|  | The idea was to plant the seeds directly into the boxes, rather than germinating and 'bringing on' in the Polytunnel. Sooo.. I'd have a layer of gravel (to improve the drainage), then 2"-3" of old compost from last years Spud Bins, and finally a top dressing (1"-2") of fresh compost to give the seeds a good start in life.
So I went out and bought a bag of Pea Gravel.
...except... looking at it... the bag appears to be empty ? Where has all the gravel gone  ?
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AHEM !!!!
The gravel is NOT for making a dry-ski-slope, Owls !!!
|  | .. and after a short struggle with the Owls, the box is gravelled and composted up, and with ten Marco F1 onion seeds in. |  | .. and there we have the first three Onion Beds on the Roofgarden. I'm hoping to have ten or so, spread between the Roofgarden and the Back Yard. (I may use the two troughs in front for Shallots ? ).
But first, I need to buy some more dry-ski-slope material.
I mean.....gravel.
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Post by grindle on Mar 24, 2016 14:56:00 GMT
glad to see you put the owls in their place roofgardenerTry putting some masking tape over the bottom of the container where you want and drill slowly, then they shouldn't shatter |
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Post by dianthus on Mar 24, 2016 17:37:43 GMT
Conversation between Roofy and a man in Black's:
Owl ski boots, Sir? 
Yes, I am enquiring about your smallest size, but they need to be ankle boots, as owls have short legs
Do you have owls that ski, Sir? 
Yes, but I'll be a short-term novelty, as they prefer garden..... oops, I think you had better sit down before you faint, ermm Mark. Shall I get your colleague for you?
Roofy exits the store before some medic apprehends him.
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Sept 6, 2018 17:58:08 GMT
Sept 6, 2018 17:58:08 GMT
Aug 10, 2019 9:01:47 GMT