I finally (yippee) got my garlic, tulip and allium bulbs in this morning. Yes, I know I'm late - I blame W S Warmenhoven for late delivery). I'm now hot, sticky, filthy dirty but feeling very pleased with myself. Might even go back out into the sun and dismantle that old concrete path once I've had a cup of tea.
Well it's gardening weather here too Jill and I'm itching to get out there. Unfortunately I've got a stinking feverish cold so I'm feeling too wobbly. I'll just have to content myself with the puter. :'( :'( :'(
Jill ;)
;D ;D ;D You go Girl.....Get back out there and Dismantle that path
and Ah WEll Done ;)
Mike ;D
A cold but bright day here in Cambridgeshire....just been to plot and managed to finish digging the half a plot I had to leave last week and also dug another. Broke up the digging by wandering around looking at everyone else's lotties for inspiration! As I've onlt just got the plot I too am late with Garlic I guess?!? Ordered it last weekend so I hope it doesn't take too long to get here. I would have like to get it in today if poss as we are due heavy frost tonight and I understand it likes to be cold first. Never mind.
Yeh!! :D First time at the lottie this year and it was bliss to be back. It has been a lovely day and quite a few other allotmenteers were about too. Saw one who said I could have his bull rush plant for around our pond. Weeded all of our four raised beds and in between our Japanese onions which are looking good, and dug up the last two of our savoy cabbages. My birthday hubby had a celebratory bonfire, and it was great to be back. :D busy_lizzie
...and how many times did everyone smile??? Sunshine is such a wonderful healer ;D
Yes, it has been a fab day for gardening and I was out there for hours. I did some serious pruning, gave some of my pots a good layer of my precious leaf mould, removed leaves from the water feature (again), turned the compost and generally tidied up. These were some lovely surprises like a flower on the Forsythia, a Schizostylis still in flower, eight out of nine garlic bulbs now showing and Narcissi, Muscari, Allium and Leucojum all showing signs of life too. On the down side I've lost three Osteospermums and I found aphid eggs on an Aquilegia in the mini greenhouse but hey, it was just great to be out in the fresh air again doing what I love most. ;D
G xx
Sunny and mild here first thing in Brum. I was up early (for me on a Saturday)..5 bags of spent mushroom compost were being delivered between 8-80........at 9.15 I phoned them. They'd not been able to find my address which Dave had written down on Thursday (Dave doesn't work Saturdays, obv..), but they'd be with me "in five". Sure enough, 5 mns later a man comes up my path with 2 heavy bags of compost, goes to fetch another two, and then another two......but the deal I'd had was 5 bags for £6...after a short(ish) pause, honestly and integrity got the better of me, and I told him he needed to take one back :( "No I don't", he said. "The other one's by way of an apology". ;D ;D ;D
And the day just got better. Compost spread, plan of what will go where finalized, thought about cutting the lawns but it only stayed a thought, nothing else to do as everything's just waiting quietly for the Off.......so read the paper for an hour in brilliant sunshine. :)
I was happy until I tried to dig up some horseradish and my new spade broke >:( >:( >:( ! I suppose £10 for a stainless steel spade (from LIDL) is suspiciously cheap!
With spade handle snapped in two, I decided to walk home from the allotment and prune the pear tree in the garden instead.
Anyone know where I can buy a stronger replacement handle? ???
I've been digging over one of my overgrown flowerbeds. Nearly finished now. Three or four snowdrops were out, here and there. This isn't a good pic, but never mind. I should have adjusted the exposure a bit.
Quote from: amanda21 on January 21, 2006, 15:35:13
A cold but bright day here in Cambridgeshire
It wasn't that cold on my patio again - 20
oC at lunchtime (think I need to put that temperature sensor somewhere shadier)! - mind you, it's down to 1.5
o now - brrr.
Didn't get any gardening done (apart from cleaning the birdfeeder, if that counts) but it was lovely out - & we now have half a dozen daffodils, a few crocuses, and a spring snowflake in flower - no snowdrops yet though.
Hi Juliet - It was lovely in the sunshine and I did have to remove a couple of layers half way through digging.......but it's a cold wind that whips across our lotties I think - it was time to go home once the sun had disappeared behind the nearby house.....
Sunday morning - foggy but lifting.
Cold with a colder breeze here (Belgium) but me and my pal Skeela-the-border collie will be off to the plot as soon as my thick socks are dry. Skeela will also be going swimming in the lake at the plot. (Not given her that news yet.)
QuoteAs I've onlt just got the plot I too am late with Garlic I guess?!? Ordered it last weekend so I hope it doesn't take too long to get here.
to answer your question, amanda, you are not too late at all :)
try and plant as soon as you can, but if i recall correctly, i planted mine last year in march as i only got the plot in february, and had a great harvest in july :)
It looks colder out today, but never mind, I'll have another bash this afternoon. I'm feeling better than I was anyway, I had a headache all day yesterday which rather limited what I could manage.
Nippy here, but I will be out there revamping a small lawned patch into an al fresco dining area. The ayatollah in pink knickers wanted the whole area in decking, but we compromised and it is now going to be a low oval in decking then surround the rest of the area in gravel and staggered sandstone slabs. That way I can also use the spot as an ornamental grass garden and grow some nice smellies up the steel wire screens.
The whole area will then be covered with a removable old gaffer sail for shade/shelter. I have also aquired an infra red heater for chilly evenings but I will have to see how expensive it is on running costs.
Oh well coffee break over, better get back to it.
After that 20o yesterday, it went down to 0.3 overnight and it's now 5.4 - just been out to feed the birds & I think I'm staying in for the rest of the day!
I'm really pleased with myself as I have finally planted an apple(Sunset), a plum (Victoria) and ten raspberries (Autumn Bliss and Glen Ample)
The sun was shining and the birds singing and it really felt as if spring was on the way. Isn't it fantastic to complete a job and then go home again?
Two very productive days for me this weekend. Yesterday a neighbour decided to dig up a plum tree out of his front garden, I helped and of course he was kind enough to give me the tree. ;D It must be at least five years old, haven't a clue what variety - and was massive ! Spent the rest of yesterday digging a hole and putting it in on the allotment.
Today was not quite so sunny, but spent a lovely afternoon moving some nice sweet compost out of a pallet bin and onto the beds, and then filling up the now empty bin with the pile of kitchen waste and debris that has been collecting since the autumn. Didn't finish the job, (it was a huge pile) but one thing I do like about that sort of job is that you can see you've done a days work - very satisfying.
That tree's going to want a bucket of water daily during the growing season, or as near to that as humanly possible. If it gets it, it should be OK as long as you've moved it with lots of root. Trimming the branches back might be a good idea, but leave it till it starts to grow due to the danger od silver leaf fungus.