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Post by roofgardener on Jul 7, 2016 19:14:18 GMT
All is looking great roofgardener. Night scented stock is stunning. I have so much of it sown this year. Though yours has trailed as its meant to, mine's reaching for the clouds lol This plant is a REVELATION, KC. Even my parents like it ! |
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Post by roofgardener on Jul 18, 2016 16:36:15 GMT
A Pleasant Suprise
Several pleasant suprises, actually. Firstly, dianthus sent me three more butterflies; a chromatic silver, a bronze, and a black. I've managed to lose the 'invisible string' to suspend them, so a trip to Hobbycraft is called for !. Now, as to the second suprise.... I had been getting worried about my spud bins. The folliage was turning yellow/brown and wilting, and yet it is surely too early for the spuds to be ready for harvesting. I suspected Potato Blight, or the Plague, or somesuch. 
| I decided to tip a couple of the more badly effected bins out... so down went the Potato Tarpaulin (I have one specifically for spuds...), and I nervously tipped the smallest bin out, expecting to see a liquid slurry of decay and disease. | 
| Well, that doesn't look TOO bad... very dry mind you. So lets tip the SECOND bin out, furkle around, and see what we have. | 
| YAAAAAAAAY.... SPUDLINKS !!
It seems there was nothing wrong with them after all... for some reason they have just matured earlier than usual.
The tray represents around 6lb of spuds.... and they are bigger than last years. (or rather.... there are fewer small ones...).
A modest (minute, even) harvest by allotment standards, but a bumper crop for the Roofgarden.
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And this is just TWO out of FIVE of the bins... I wonder what the other three will reveal ? Their folliage hasn't entirely collapsed yet, so I'm going to give them another couple-or-three weeks ! |
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Post by dianthus on Jul 18, 2016 17:01:50 GMT
Well done Roofy!!!!!!!  |
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Post by daitheplant on Jul 18, 2016 18:56:30 GMT
Roofus Murphy.  |
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Post by roofgardener on Jul 18, 2016 19:11:56 GMT
I've just read on Wikipedia that the Potato is actually a type of Nightshade  |
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Post by daitheplant on Jul 18, 2016 19:36:42 GMT
Yep, Solanum
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Post by roofgardener on Jul 18, 2016 20:21:52 GMT
Apparantly 2008 was designated by the UN as the International Year Of The Potato ?
This whole Solanum Tuberosum thing is an enigma wrapped in a mystery and baked in an oven !
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Post by grindle on Jul 19, 2016 5:00:49 GMT
great crop  |
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Post by roofgardener on Jul 25, 2016 12:58:20 GMT
July Update
Already, we can see the end in sight. All the work has been done, the die has been cast, the seeds have been sown, and we await the harvest. Well... sort of. ANYWAY... the Polytunnel went into Phase V this weekend. Phase I was over winter, with things being prepared, and the soil/compost being reconditioned and put into pots in readyness. Phase II was sowing seeds, and germinating. Phase III was planting out, and tidying up. Phase IV was Strawberries. (bringing them in to avoid the birds getting at them). And Phase V... is Tomato's and Chilli's. (and perhaps salads). This is pretty much the last phase of the season. After this... it's pretty much back to Phase I again. At least as far as the polytunnel is concerned. And a very nice phase it is, too. The 'tunnel is all tidied up (as far as it will ever be), and just a few simple potted plants remain. Tomatoes, Chilli's, Capsicums, and.. perhaps.. some salady stuff. The pictures are posted onto RoofNet, so you can click them to see a larger version. Suddenly, everything becomes simple and straightforwards. No more confusion and chaos... just the elegant simplicity of pruning, tending and feeding five plantpots. Oh.. plus some other smaller ones that will - eventually - need potting on as well. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. No stress, no pressure, and a nice tidy polytunnel with clear access to the Kettle and Tea Caddy. And some really nice decorative butterflies and dragonflies, courtesy of dianthus ! BLISSOf course, there is always a fly in the ointment. In this case, the labels fell off when I moved the plantpots over from the auxillary greenhouse. So now I don't know which ones are chilli plants, and which ones are capsicums. But here's the thing... I don't really care either ! Next week, I shall be potting on the salad plants and bringing THEM into the polytunnel as well. Providing they behave, and don't have late-night rowdy parties ! |
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Post by dianthus on Jul 25, 2016 15:37:57 GMT
How have you managed to get slugs up on the roof terrace?  |
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Post by daitheplant on Jul 25, 2016 18:19:13 GMT
Where are the slugs Di?
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Post by dianthus on Jul 25, 2016 20:58:53 GMT
The pack of slug pellets gave the game away Dai   |
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Post by roofgardener on Jul 26, 2016 8:43:26 GMT
Back in The Beginning, there where no slugs. Then, around 3 years ago, they started appearing. Last year, they where out in force, and I bought the Slug Pellets. This year... I have a record crop of dead snails and slugs. Miss M mentioned that she had acquired a resident Frog, and apparently these eat slugs ? How did they get up here ? I mean... they would have to climb 30' walls to get in. Do Slugs have a sense of smell ? I mean... why would they KNOW that there are edibles here in the first place ? Or do they just randomly climb walls on the offchance ? Perhaps there is a slug parachuting society around here somewhere ?  |
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Post by roofgardener on Jul 26, 2016 8:46:28 GMT
Salad Days
The broadband was out of action for a couple of hours last night. I spent a little time weeping, and wandering around bumping into walls, and then decided to make a cup of tea and hie out onto the RoofGarden. It was quite productive, as I moved my salad collection into the Polytunnel, and repotted a couple of them. I also got some advice from dianthus on pruning my larger tomato plant. (photograph to follow). The salad collection this year is a bit sad... many things just died in May/June, and what survived is under-developed. I'm sure this time last year I was ankle-deep in salad stuff. Oh well... such is the lot of the 'umble Roofgardener. This 'nature' stuff is just SO disorganised !  The picture is a bit small, but it is on the RoofNet, so you can click for a bigger version. I'm thinking of seriously rethinking my approach to salad stuff for next year, and I have made a note in the RoofJournal accordingly ! (all will be revealed at the 'end of the season'... probably around late August ?? ) |
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Post by daitheplant on Jul 26, 2016 18:33:40 GMT
I didn`t notice them Di. Roofus, Di, both slugs AND snails can climb great heights.  A poser for you both. How many feet does a snail have? |
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A poser for you both. How many feet does a snail have? 