Author Topic: Just saying Hi to everyone  (Read 2240 times)

Paulines7

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,499
Just saying Hi to everyone
« on: June 30, 2020, 12:49:36 »
Hi friends.  It's ages since I have been on here but life has been very hectic for a few years now.  My husband John's prostate cancer went into his spine a few years back and he was given Cyber Knife treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea.  At the beginning of May, John had a PET scan which showed that the cancer was causing spinal cord compression and he had to go into our local hospital in Salisbury immediately for an MRI scan.  They then sent him to the Southampton General to have urgent radiotherapy.  John was in a lot of pain when he returned home and it was several weeks before the inflammation went down. The situation at the moment is that his pain is now under control and he is on a new medication from the Royal Marsden that could stop the cancer from progressing.   

John is unable to do much in the garden or house now so I have found myself inundated.  We have 1½ acres here as well as an 18ft greenhouse so I am kept very busy.  We have made more raised beds this year but I have run out of compost to fill some of the new ones.  My mangetout and sugar snap peas are doing particularly well and some of my courgettes are almost 2 inches long.  We have benefited from the lock down as we haven't been able to go away in the caravan; John probably wouldn't have been well enough anyway.  I am still potting up tomato plants and have sown too many again.  The peppers are in grow bags and look the best they have ever been. 

I hope everyone is well on here.  One thing about having a garden or an allotment, there is always plenty to do!  There is always fulfilment when eating the produce or seeing colourful flower beds.  Unfortunately many of my flower beds are full of bindweed, nettles and grass as I have neglected them for about 5 years now.  I am hoping for good weather in July, August and September so I can get on top of everything. 


daveyboi

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,567
  • Have fun enjoy your allotment
    • Daveyboi's Blog and personal website
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2020, 12:58:14 »
Good to hear from you and wish John well and hope his treatment is successful

That is a large area to deal with on your own but I am glad to hear you are still tackling it and enjoying some produce as well

Daveyboi
Near Haywards Heath Southern U.K.

Visit My Blog if you would like to

Tee Gee

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,926
  • Huddersfield - Light humus rich soil
    • The Gardener's Almanac
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2020, 13:29:52 »
Hi Pauline

Nice to have you back, and from what you have written you certainly have had your problems!

I hope John's new medication does the trick and at least give him a better quality of life which, if it does, I guess this will rub off onto you which would be a good thing for you both.

I suggest you don't let the garden get on top of you!

My advice to you would be similar to what I would give a 'newbie' and that is; make a bit of a plan and tackle its contents a bit at a time

What you don't want to be doing is too much and knocking yourself up to the point that you can't do either the looking after John, the housework and the garden.

Some black plastic sheeting might help you with your bindweed & nettles etc until you find the time to eradicate them! Tg

saddad

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 17,884
  • Derby, Derbyshire (Strange, but true!)
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2020, 16:11:15 »
Lovely to see you again Pauline... sorry to hear John has been unwell. Keep your chin up...

Paulines7

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,499
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2020, 19:10:23 »
Thank you all for your kind messages.  We have been thinking for a while about getting some help with housework and gardening.  We spoke to a neighbour today and he is going to do some gardening for us for five hours one day a week.  I can just about manage the basics of housework.
   
Nettles are everywhere Tee Gee. The only places that I can control them is in the raised beds as they pull out easily, roots and all.  That's why I have gone over to growing all my vegetables and strawberries in raised beds.  Elsewhere, I just pull as many nettles as I can out before they drop their seeds.  I couldn't put plastic sheeting over them because many are in my flower beds or growing in with the blackcurrants.  I also have them growing in the paths around my raised beds and plastic sheeting could make it slippery.  The paths were grass but there now seems to be more nettles than grass.  John used to strim them but cannot do it now and I doubt that I could lift his strimmer let alone use it.  I am going to pull some nettles out tomorrow as I get stung all the time.  I have tried digging them out in the past but the roots go down further than I can dig.

lottie lou

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,620
  • Birmingham
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2020, 20:09:52 »
Hi lovely to hear from you Pauline.  I am sorry to hear that John is poorly and hope that his treatment gives him relief. It's nice that your neighbour is going to help you in the garden. Could you selective spray your nettles through a bag or large bottle. Also would it help if you used that weed membrane down and cover with bark chippings to hold it down and make it easier to walk on. Glad your courgettes are doing ok as mine committed hari kari   Are you still making zoodles with them. Look after yourself.

Jeannine

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 11,447
  • Mapleridge BC Canada
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #6 on: July 01, 2020, 03:37:28 »
Hi Pauline, lovely to hear from you, I have managed teastay on the forum this year. I am sorry to hear about yor John but very pleased to hear his meds a doing there job. It is lovely to have all that acreage, I miss m,ine all the time but I could not deal with it at all.You be careful and do a bit when you can. Good to hear you have some help coming. I have been trying to get a cleaning lady for forever it seems and almost did till Covid reared ithe head.

Stay safe XX Jannine
When God blesses you with a multitude of seeds double  the blessing by sharing your  seeds with other folks.

pumkinlover

  • Guest
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #7 on: July 01, 2020, 08:05:21 »
Good to hear from you Pauline.
Best wishes for John's treatment.
I hope that you both  get some pleasure from you garden.

Paulines7

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,499
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #8 on: July 01, 2020, 13:35:47 »
It's so lovely to hear from you all and thank you for your good wishes for John.  We should know in about 3 weeks whether the new medication is working.  It cost £7,200 a month to the NHS so it must have worked on some people!  Spinal compression would cost a lot more than that if John became paralyzed and needed 24 hour care.   

Lottie Lou, it's lovely to hear from you too.  I am against weed killer as it does so much damage to the environment.  Caterpillars on the nettles can still be eaten by birds once the nettles are treated.  My raised beds are spread out in 2 areas and are far apart.  Altogether there must be about 35 square metres of growing space in the raised beds. Given that the beds have 4 sides, that is 140 metres of weed membrane.   It would also take an awful lot of  bark to cover the areas around them.   


lottie lou

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,620
  • Birmingham
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2020, 14:36:29 »
Whoops. Forgot how big your garden is.

Obelixx

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,937
  • Vendée, France
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2020, 13:57:46 »
It sounds like you've been having some very trying times Pauline.  I hope the treatment works well for your husband and that you have one less thing to worry about.   

My OH has 2 strimmers - a big petrol powered job I can lift but not carry for any length of time cos of my arthritic spine and a smaller, lighter leccy one he uses for trimming edges of grass.  I can manage that one very well tho I rarely do.  Under gardener job but could you maybe use one of those to cut down the weeds between your raised beds and then mow once it's short enough?   At least all the nettles will make great composts and teas for your leafy veg.
Obxx - Vendée France

Paulines7

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,499
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2020, 13:27:37 »
Obelixx, I don't put nettles on the compost heaps because the roots don't seem to rot down and most of the nettles have seed heads.  I save my empty compost bags and put the nettles in there and then when I have several bags full, I take them to the tip.  I had to leave one patch of nettles yesterday as they had Peacock caterpillars on them. 

Once I have the nettles out, I can go along with the lawn mower.  I have also been pulling up grass and digging out docks both of which have seed heads on them as I don't want them in amongst the compost either. 

I will have to think about making some nettle fertiliser again.  I remember the smell from my last batch! 

galina

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,456
  • Johanniskirchen
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2020, 15:55:39 »
But you can put nettles into a container with water and they will 'brew' for an excellent, pongy, foliar feed or diluted for watering.  High nitrogen.  Because nettle roots dig very deep, they bring up a lot of minerals from the subsoil.  Excellent for hungry crops like brassica or tomatoes  :wave:

Obelixx

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,937
  • Vendée, France
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2020, 16:20:40 »
In my experience nettles are shallow rooted, especially in fertile soils and are best for plants that need nitrogen.  Comfrey is better for tomatoes, roses and other flowering and fruiting plants as it provides a wider mix of nutrients.  On Beechgrove tests it beat commercial tomato feed hands down.  Jim was s sceptical he did the comparison 2 years running to be sure and then switched to comfrey.
Obxx - Vendée France

woodypecks

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 601
    • Daisy in the Garden
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #14 on: July 05, 2020, 13:54:56 »
Hello , sending you and John a hug . Hope he will feel better and a whole lot more comfortable very soon  . Dont worry too much about the garden now will you . It sounds like your neighbour will get the basics done for you .You have both had a very stressful time , so you need to look after yourself and rest up . Enjoy and take pictures of all the lovely things in your garden . Get the deckchair out and relax both of you . Sending you both healing vibes ! :) hugs Debbie xxx  :)
Trespassers will be composted !

Paulines7

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,499
Re: Just saying Hi to everyone
« Reply #15 on: July 08, 2020, 23:31:33 »
So far I have filled six large compost bags full of compressed nettles and I have only done a small area.  I found some more nettles with caterpillars and am nurturing them. 

My neighbour didn't turn up yesterday to do his first 5 hour shift as he is diabetic and having trouble with his feet.   I do wonder if the nettles put him off when he came to see what needed doing a week ago.  A friend came to our house this evening to help me lift some 75 litre bags of multi purpose compost up to the greenhouse.  He made light work of it and emptied one bagful into the compost bin (dustbin) in the greenhouse and put the other bag beside it.  I then added some water, seaweed and Q4 fertilizers, mixed it up and sat and potted up some more peppers and tomatoes.  I would much rather be doing that than sitting in a deckchair doing nothing.   

Debbie, thank you so much for your hugs and healing vibes.  xx

 

anything
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal