Idle chat - OLD

Last post 06-08-2010 3:28 PM by admin. 7645 replies.

• 17/04/2010 01:13 PM

  EvaInNL Location: Holland Joined on: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 1,759

  Locked Reply | Contact A lovely sunny day here as well! The trees are now actually unfurling their new leaves so there's a tinge of green on all of them today, together with all the blossoms it really lifts the spirits! My head's fine, thanks for your concern very sweet, and I was at the hairdressers on time as well! I actually just checked in to see if I hadn't said anything silly and of course to see what you're all up to today. Just off to the lotty to put up the mini polytunnels so I can sow some salad leaves. Susiq, seeing that the outlook for Schiphol isn't any better I'll send you my phone number by PM so that if your daughter needs any help she can give me a bell. I'm on stand-by anyway because our VP is stranded in Amsterdam as well, so I really don't mind. I guess the best hope is for rain to clear the air...

• 17/04/2010 02:20 PM

  gardenwhimsy Location: Centralia, Washington USA Joined on: 11 Apr 2010 Posts: 35

  Locked Reply | Contact Good morning, I too love second hand shops and finding a great bargain.  Nothing better than turning someting discarded into something new and original...I hope to find lots of treasures when I visit your lovely country.  Any tips on best shops and markets are appreciated. We will be in London and the Cotswolds.  I am eager to visit the gardens to gather ideas for my little garden. What is a boot fair?   Carla

• 17/04/2010 02:45 PM
  gardenwhimsy Location: Centralia, Washington USA Joined on: 11 Apr 2010 Posts: 35	Locked Reply | Contact Good morning, What is a lotty? Carla

• 17/04/2010 03:47 PM

  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,499

  Locked Reply | Contact HI gardenwhimsy a lotty is an 'allotment' I don't  believe you have such things in the USA. It is a piece of ground, usually belonging to the council or similar, and it is divided up into sections and people rent out the sections and cultivate them for growing vegetables, fruit, etc, some people have sheds and greenhouses on them too. A 'boot sale' is  a place (could be a field) where people go to in their cars usually, and set up stalls for selling things that they no longer need. I think I have that right Hope you have a good time at the GH (greenhouse) Susiq and have fun sowing your nasturtiums.  Are the little poytunnels sort of cloches Eva? -Richard

• 17/04/2010 05:10 PM
  gardenwhimsy Location: Centralia, Washington USA Joined on: 11 Apr 2010 Posts: 35	Locked Reply | Contact Thanks for the info.  How does one know where the boot sales are located?  Signs? Newspaper Ads? Fliers? Many of the bigger cities have community garden spaces like your lotty.  It is good for the soul to have ones hands digging in the dirt... Carla

• 17/04/2010 05:49 PM

  EvaInNL Location: Holland Joined on: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 1,759

  Locked Reply | Contact Hi again Carla, you can google for them, I found a Top 10 for London on the TimeOut website. It's basically like the flea markets or (organized) car boot sales you have in the US. I used to love those as a kid! Always fun to visit one of those when you're abroad! Hope you find a couple of good deals there and that you have a great time at Chelsea! The polytunnel (I feel I have to add 'mini' to that having seen Susiq's monster one ) is just a couple of half rings in the ground with perforated clear plastic sheeting over it and a knot at the end. I spent most of the afternoon chatting with the other potty-lotties and accidentally hoeing where no hoeing should be done... Will go back tomorrow and plant the little lettuce plug plants I bought today and put the mini polytunnels over them as we're expecting frost. My precious self-sown seedlings are staying at home for now.

• 17/04/2010 10:05 PM
  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,499	Locked Reply | Contact Hi Carla - it is nice that you have joined us here. Do you grow flowers  and veg in your garden? I mainly grow flowers I have a smallish garden and I try to pack in as much as I can. I grow my own lettuce Eva from seed I have never tried the plug plants before but I suppose they are larger now than my lettuce which are only two leaves (seed leaves) tall -Richard

• 17/04/2010 11:43 PM

  gardenwhimsy Location: Centralia, Washington USA Joined on: 11 Apr 2010 Posts: 35

  Locked Reply | Contact Hi Richard, I grow mostly flowers and shrubs.  Nothing like a fresh bouquet of flowers. I grow blueberries and tomatoes too.  I'm going to try my hand at basil again.  I don't think it gets hot enough here to keep basil happy.  I should try lettuce but there is a little rabbit who comes around and chomps down my tulips.  I'd hate to feed him lettuce too. Just in from a downpour  Oh well, I got most of the patio pressure washed before getting soaked.   Carla

• 18/04/2010 09:01 AM

  EvaInNL Location: Holland Joined on: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 1,759

  Locked Reply | Contact I only bought the plug plants Richard so I had something above ground to be honest, hardly anyone on the allotment is growing everything from seed and my plot looks so bare compared to theirs, I just couldn't resist. I didn't buy a lot, just 3 plug plants each of lollo rosso, oak leaf, endives, broccolli and chinese cabbage. All together they only cost me 2 euro 40 and looked quite healthy so worth a gamble. And I can test my mini polytunnel out on them. If they don't die of frost this week it means I can sow my seeds straight in the ground under them and really get cracking! Carla, you're in Washington state, all the way up in the North West right? Must be quite a challenge with the cold winters you get up there! Hope you have a good summer so you can give the basil another try, or it might be worth buying/making a small cold frame. That'll keep the rabbits from the lettuce as well. Do you grow your tomatoes inside then? PS: Will be sowing the marigold seeds you so kindly sent me between the potatoes today Richard..

• 18/04/2010 02:25 PM

  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,499

  Locked Reply | Contact Good afternoon all, hope everyone is well. I have a small greenhouse which I use to grow my tomatoes in Carla. I started some basil off indoors as it likes the warmth. When it gets a bit warmer I will plant it out. This year I am growing some basil every few weeks as we should have a good supply. It is delicious in home made tomato soup (when the tomatoes come up). OH was just telling me of a mistake in a  cookbook that will cost them £12,000 to put right. Instead of saying 'add salt and ground black pepper' it read 'add salt and  ground black people!' Hope you get on OK with the plug plants Eva and your new mini polytunnel. Our daughter has gone to a friends house near Birmingham for the weekend and he is kindly digging up a crown of rhubarb for me out of his garden. I think I will grow it in a tub to start with. I made Sunday lunch today, roast pork and all the trimmings. I also made a rice pudding and a dish of potatoes and onion in a cheese sauce which is baking now in the oven and I will brown it under the grill. We will be eating it outside under the gazzebo today, with a glass of wine, as the sun is shining lovely here... -Richard

• 19/04/2010 08:47 AM

  EvaInNL Location: Holland Joined on: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 1,759

  Locked Reply | Contact Morning all, I think this was the slowest weekend on Idle Chat since I joined! Not surprising of course, I think we all had great weather to be out and about in our gardens/lotties or having lunch under gazebos, that sounded lovely as usual Richard! And yikes, what a mistake to make in a cookery book! I made one myself in a garden Easter catologue, when I was working for a French flower and plant import company. I chose the feminine form of cat instead of the masculine and that turned out to be rather rude (I'll leave you to look it up, but it was a porcelain figure of a little kitten, 'chatte' filled with spring bulbs), but I think the customers got a good chuckle out of it... Spent 2 afternoons at the lotty, didn't get much done though, spent the first day chatting with people - met a very nice Welsh lady whith whom I exchanged seeds yesterday) and an Austrian lady and a couple of Dutch people who mainly grow flowering plants, their plot is the greenest of them all and looks immaculate! There was too much wind yesterday to put the mini polytunnel up, but I did put all the herbs in and the strawberries. Also planted the plug plants in a container and put them in the coldframe, still a chance of frost this week. I made a video but can't upload it for some reason, will try and do that later today. How about you, what did you all get up to?

• 19/04/2010 09:26 AM

  RogerB Location: Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Joined on: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 363

  Locked Reply | Contact Chatting to other plot holders is all part of the fun of having a lottie, I think, Eva. Most of Saturday went on 'chores' but I got out in the garden late afternoon to plant a trough of lily bulbs I lifted last autumn, as well as some bulbils I planted up to grow a bit larger. I'm not sure that the ones I just stored in the shed survived the winter but I've planted them anyway and I'll see if anything comes as a result. The little bulbs may be too small to flower this year but at least I know they survived the winter - they all had nice new shoots on them. Yesterday morning I painted 4 fence panels with a new pressure sprayer - first time I'd ever used one so I got through rather a lot to start with and had to get a brush to distribute it evenly - it looks a lot better now though, even if I say so myself. Went over to the lottie for a couple of hours late Sunday afternoon and got a couple more rows of maincrop spuds in (about 25 plants) - another row and a half to go and they'll all be in for this year. Had to water everything I've already got growing as its been so dry lately. Hard to believe after the winter we've just been through - the water butt at home is nearly empty as well too having been full to overflowing most of the winter. I think I need to look at whether I can get another one into the garden somewhere. Shame about not being able to get your polytunnel up because of the wind but hopefully that same wind will shift the volcanic ash and let life get back to normal for everyone. Look forard to seeing the video, hopefully, later. Hope every one has a good day again today, especially those of you that can get back out in the garden again. Give it a go - it might just work!

• 19/04/2010 09:28 AM

  BB Location: Hereford Joined on: 12 May 2009 Posts: 729

  Locked Reply | Contact Good Morning All, Just thought I'd check in so that you didn't think I'd fallen off the face of the earth! I've been so busy at work and with the new allotment and the garden at home - not to mention that OH and me have been doing a lot of visiting out and about - making up for lost time last year when he was hospitalised for 3 months! OH has kindly bought me tickets to the spring garden show at Malvern (the one that's usually featured on Gardeners World TV programme) so I'm looking forward to that. Sorry I haven't read through everyone's posts, it seemed a bit daunting as there are so many! Sue the chilli seeds are doing well, and Miranda the 1st of the sweetcorn sowings are through. Thanks both   BB

• 19/04/2010 09:59 AM

  RogerB Location: Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Joined on: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 363

  Locked Reply | Contact Good to see you back BB on the forums. sounds like you've been very busy one way and another! I'm going to the Malvern Show too, on the Saturday, so fingers crossed for a few days of good weather for you and me both. I went last year and really enjoyed it, looking forward to this year's show. Glad to see that your seeds are coming along well too. Give it a go - it might just work!

• 19/04/2010 10:05 AM

  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,499

  Locked Reply | Contact Hi all. BB its so nice to hear from you, glad you are well. You sound as though you have a very busy life especially trying to make up for lost time.I am sure that you will have a great time at Malvern. I have a paint sprayer in the shed Roger, its been in there two years and I haven't used it yet -I am still on the large paint brush for our fence as really it is not that much to paint every few years. I looked up the 'word' Eva ....lol  I expect you had a few laughs. The welsh lady told me that she had a chat with you when she got back to Cardiff and she mentioned that she loved your polytunnel idea and it was a shame about the windy weather. I took out the pond yesterday in the garden, as I thought it was too deep and murky. I siphoned out the water and wow! - what a smell. There was a load of dead leaves at the bottom and a frog in there too so I rescued him and put him in nearby bushes. I replaced the pond with two shallow ones which will be easier to keep clean.I'll take a pic later. At last my chillies are starting to come through -Richard