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Chit Chat Garden ( 2017 )
Chit Chat Garden ( 2017 )
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You have to prune them hard, otherwise, they develop a lot of woody growth and become straggly. It's the lush new flowering growth that you want.
I dug out an old lavender hedge a few years ago and the soil was so impoverished nothing would grow properly. Had to dig it all out and replace with fresh compost. |
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screaming from beneaththewaves
He used the same carrots "joke" on the last Gardening thread. lol, you've got a good memory, that was 2014. Thanks anyway, Foinavon.  |
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Anyone else have garden ducks !
It's the oddest thing, a pair of ducks land on my house roof and spend the spring/summer acting like garden birds.  I have a circle of stone paving with a stone bird bath in the middle of my lawn. I pile wild bird seed on there for the Doves and Wood pigeons.Well this pair of ducks fly down onto my lawn and feed on the wild bird seed. I even had to get a large bowl so they can wash it down with fresh water  Then they sit on my fence and sleep ( usually on one leg ! ) Today is the first day back since they disappeared last year. It's a good job my Jack Russell is as laid back as a Rastafarian  |
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The only bird that lands on my roof, here in Bradford, is the Chukar partridge.
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First signs of my Leeks (Musselburgh) this morning, sown in a large tray,in the polytunnel.
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And just in-case you lot think i might have an active imagination or have been at the sherry, a couple of pics of my "Garden Ducks" yesterday.
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wont that make ya leeks at their peak whilst ya still wearing ya shorts...
Leek seed in last week April here  |
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For how many years have you sown your seeds at the same time of year Delta ?
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every
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^ and thats in box like first and then transplanted - so prolong by that too
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Do you think the growing season in the UK has changed over the past decade or so ? I have been sowing seeds earlier and earlier over the past 20 odd years.
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you watching bbc fife ?
ya hoore sir |
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Only four years since one or two growers got caught out:
March weather was second coldest on record - Met Office 3 April 2013 Snow and plunging temperatures have caused chaos through March Freezing temperatures in March made it the UK's joint second coldest since records began more than 100 years ago, the Met Office has said. The mean temperature was just 2.2C (36F) - more than 3C colder than the long-term monthly average. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22010852 Finally sowed the veg patch on Tuesday. Simple stuff - radishes, rocket, spring onions, carrots and kohl rabi. Possibly too early for kohl rabi, but it's the leftovers from last year's packet, so no harm done if I have to re-sow. I leave the complicated crops to those who know what they're doing. Also got round at last to clearing the weeds out of some of the array of ornamental plant-pot holders which the previous, OAP owners had attached to every wall here. Re-filled them with soil and compost from the compost bin and scattered parsley seeds in them. Caught a snippet of Michel Roux Jr on Channel 4 last night explaining that it's always better to use more parsley than you'd think in whatever he was cooking up, then add some more on top of that. I don't think he often passes through the West Country, but if he does this summer, I shall be ready. |
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Smar Tarse, I love your ducks
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Makybe_Diva - I got my dog within 5 feet of them last night. I need to know when i let him out he isn't going to go tear-arsing after them, so a bit of training each day until he doesn't keep looking up at them.
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I am setting my Tomato seeds today, doing my favourite cherry variety called Sweet Million
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New series of Gardeners' World starts tonight
 Season 50 Episode 1 of 31 BBC2 8:00pm |
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Mowed the lawn at lunchtime. First time ever in March. Raked it first too. Feel quite grown up.
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Still too many soggy worm casts for my liking, waiting until i can rake them without treading them flat all over the place.
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When you've got a dog who hunts moles by digging them up, worm casts are the least of your worries.
On the other hand my lawn isn't troubled by mole hills. |
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Bought a Dwarf Patio Stella Cherry Tree in B&Q earlier for £15 which is about average for mail order trees but does anyone know if I will get any cherries from it this year?
The only other things I'm gonna buy will be a popadome, some compost and strawberry plants but I'll keep an eye out for offers. I put my Raspberry, Blackberry and Blueberry plants in bigger pots. I also got some broadbeans into one of those pots I linked above. |
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Frogspawn in the pond today ....March 1st - March 27th is the range for the past 11 years.
Sowed carrot , beetroot , radish and onion in my raised bed . Five pots now contain potatoes. |
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weeded
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I spent more
 Bought manure to dig in, 2 grow bags for later use, carrots (golf ball type) suitable for window boxes, some first early spuds for 2 grow bags and some fish blood and bone. We have tons of soil thanks to that grant but I'm unsure what condition it is. It's a bit clay like which is good afaik but I thought I would help it with FB&B and manure. My Birthday is this week and my kids are buying me a Popadome. That should stop things eating my raised bed but it will also help me extend the season to November or so (maybe all year round with a heater.) |
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Potted on seedlings of begonias and geraniums. These will be grown on in the cold frame until mid-may.
Disinfected the heated propagator ready for sowing seeds of cosmos, geraniums and rudbeckia. Planted out young pot marigold plants which were autumn sown under cover. This should ensure earlier flowering than spring sowing. I won't be starting any veg seed for at least another couple of weeks as the ground is too cold. |
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Still no show from any of my onion seeds sown on Tuesday the 31st of January, they were from a multi-pack. I have just searched through the draws in my shed and found the multi-pack packaging.........packed 2013 printed on it
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Finally got my lawn mowed, lots of bright coloured moss patches have appeared.
 Just done a google image search and it appears i have a moss that resembles a miniature forest of christmas trees, the moss is called Polytrichum https://www.rhs.org.uk Spring treatment: Mid- to late March: Apply spring fertiliser and mosskiller during fine weather Early April: Lightly rake out dead moss Lightly over-seed sparsely grassed areas and lightly top-dress as above if necessary I ran the lawn aerator over it several times last year, so i think i will adjust the mower one notch higher this season and cut the grass a bit longer. |
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Thanks to Foinavon for the excellent blackcurrant advice. The pruned bits I recovered from where I'd chucked them in the hedge are now all sprouting nicely. In fact they're showing more fresh growth at this stage than the original rootstock.
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started
Spinach [medania] Rocket [wild and esmee] Lettuce [tan tan and sylvesta] today |
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My tray of Cornflower are poking through, took just 3 days to show.
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It's a good sign, Screaming, just need to keep the soil moist.
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A question about watering seedlings. I know the advice is to water from below and not the top, but will this really work on small seedlings? I read about leaving them in water for 30 minutes and the plant will soak up what it needs - will they really? I mean if the seedling is small and the roots aren't that extensive will they get the necessary water?
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If you stand the pot or tray in a shallow tray of water, the water will percolate upwards through the soil or compost without disturbing the seeds or seedlings. Remove it from the water when well soaked.
After planting seeds, I always sprinkle a thin layer of vermiculite over the surface. It seems to ensure better germination and deter stem rot. |
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Always use slightly tepid water, you wouldn't want to put your feet in cold tap water, would you?
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Hi foinavon - I see how that works for the shallow trays, but I have some starts that are in styrofoam cups - I know it's not environmentally sound but it's what I had at the time. They have slits in the bottom for drainage but I don't think they soaked anything up.
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It should work Hank. Cut a bigger hole and leave them to soak overnight.
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Made room in the fruit bed for another tree and a bush , going to get them tomorrow.
Moved several pineberries , which effortlessly split into about 6 plants each time. Been planting lots of the cuttings I took last autumn ...... Hebe , Pinks , Roses , Forsythia. |
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I shovelled some more soil into one of the raised beds tonight but tbf most of the work is done by the others that have taken a keen interest.
 The 2 raised beds to the left have popped up since I was last around. My raised bed is one of those on the right. The polytunnel and shed can just be made out to the back of the building. The grassy verge on the other side of the fence is now ours after the council "donated" it (less grass for them to cut.) There are fruit trees on the other side of the building. At the very back which can't be seen is a communal growing area for foodbank use. I bought £1 pot and blackberry plant out of Poundworld to go along with my Blueberry, Raspberry and Blackcurrant plants. My alpine strawberries are coming along nicely. |
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Looks great, Ovalman.
I love this thread |
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The side of that building would look nice with a few baskets of "Tumbling" cherry Tomato's hanging from it Ovalman, especially if it gets plenty of sun
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