Over the garden fence

Re: Idle chat

sue1002 — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:14:08 GMT

You did well at the charity shop Clematis

The heavens opened this morning just as I got down the road with Sasha, so needless to say, I just took her round the block instead of over the park. The rain stopped about ten minutes after we got back in and it's been hot ever since. I was able to use the aircon in my car on the way home from work

Re: Idle chat

Clematis — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:27:42 GMT

Great gardening day here today sunshine and a bit of a breeze, I hope you're all having the same. I have been planting some of my greenhouse 'leftovers' in the garden this afternoon. This morning I took a couple of pans that don't work on the new induction hob to the local charity shop and of course they had some gardening books on the shelf so I ended up coming away with 2 for a fiver... Pippa Greenwood's Flower Gardener and a Reader's Digest guide to Creative Gardening (they are £19.99 each to buy new on the web) so I'm well pleased with my morning's excursion!

If it rains I'll be ready to read and if not they'll keep - beautiful photos in the Flower Gardiner book and the other one is packed full of interesting information on a variety of topics.

Re: Idle chat

Clematis — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:47:52 GMT

Lamb curry sounds good Sue - can't make up my mind about what to have tonight.

I have a few trailing begonias I'm growing from tubers so if they have sprouted I could try them there. Someone gave those to me and I wasn't sure what to do with them as I'd already filled my hanging baskets and patio tubs so that's a great idea. I'll go and hunt them out.

Re: Idle chat

sue1002 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:31:36 GMT

Hope you enjoyed your meal Clematis, we had a curry made with the left over lamb from yesterday's roast.

I think Geraniums (and Pelargoniums) like full sun or partial shade. Begonias will live happily in shade with the odd bit of sun, the cascading ones would look nice trailing over the side of a tub.

Re: Idle chat

Clematis — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:25:11 GMT

That's not like the thing fr us to be ahead - I had a taste from one pea pod today - couldn't resist! but peas inside are still not properly formed yet but tasted really sweet though. I think it was one called Flavora not tried it before I've had purple podded ones the last few years but I think they were later flowering.

The hob is now working and I'm really impressed with it - induction with timers for separate areas, and automatic simmer after boiling the potatoes... Smoked haddock with new Jersey Royal potatoes for tea... can't wait!

I worked in the greenhouse this afternoon while the electrician fixed up my new hob and potted up various seedlings - mainly allysum that should already have been put out but I wasn't sure that was what I was growing till they flowered! More tomato plants which have finally decided to grow and finally some lobellia into a tub at the front door. I think I need some more 'somethings' for the front door tubs as they're a bit sparse but I'm not sure what to plant in them as they don't get a lot of sun... would geraniums do?

Re: Idle chat

sue1002 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:55:59 GMT

Glad you got your jab sorted ok Clematis, now you're covered for another ten years

Your peas are doing well, mine have grown quite a bit with the recent rains but haven't started flowering yet.

Re: Idle chat

Clematis — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:37:13 GMT

Afternoon all, many thanks for your advice re tetanus - had to get a triple one for tetanus, polio and diptheria and would you believe they came to deliver the hob again while I was out! Luckily I'd asked a very kind neighbour to house sit and she took it in for me. Eletrician is coming to fit it this afternoon too.

Lovely day here, my peas are podding and the strawberries are in fruit now - they're green but growing!

Re: Idle chat

Ian-C — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:20:09 GMT

Just had my morning wonder around the garden in the rain here in Birmingham its great how easy it is to weed in wet soil. Plants and veggies are looking great even with this dodgy weather.

Re: Idle chat

sue1002 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:14:44 GMT

Morning all, the sun is trying to peek through the clouds here and the wind has dropped a bit here too, and surprise, surprise, that's supposed to pick up again later...

Good luck phoning the docs Clematis

Re: Idle chat

Clematis — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:04:26 GMT

Thanks Phot's and Sue, I'll phone and check this morning re tetanus I think it's at least 8 years since I had one and probably a lot more...

Enjoy your gardens today, blue sky here this morning and the wind has died down. My grass is growing at last.

Re: Idle chat

sue1002 — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:56:07 GMT

It sounds like your garden is coming on a treat Clematis. I grow my new potatoes in buckets and have harvested four buckets so far

I agree with Phot's, it might be best to ring your doctors surgery tomorrow to see if you need a tetanus jab. I think they last for ten years and I know the last one I had was well over that (probably more like 20 years since my last one).

The recent rain has done wonders in the garden - the peas, broad beans and brassicas have really shot up in height over the last few days

Re: Idle chat

Phot's-Moll — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:41:41 GMT

Clematis, it used to be recommended that people always had tetanus jabs if they cut themselves gardening (I think it's the soil getting in rather than the metal implement that's the problem) but now 'they' seem to think that as long as you've had the injection before you should be covered. If you've never had it, or it was quite a while ago it's probably a good idea to phone your surgery and ask for advice.

Re: Idle chat

Clematis — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:24:47 GMT

Good gardening today up here, cloudy but warm and the rain has stayed away so I have fed all my clematis and roses now.

I have those yellow traps (somewhere....!,,,) I'll have a look for them! I was trimming my box balls earlier and managed to trim myself, still not quite sure how I did it, so have been dousing my hand with iodined stuff and trying to attach gauze and plasters - not easy when you've done the hand you use, scissors definitely a problem when trying to cut plasters and tape, lol! But, do I need an injection - since I cut my hand with the metal garden clippers / shears?

I whacked back some of my damson tree to try and trick it into fruiting and then gave it a good feed when I found some finished blossom on one branch so maybe fruit will come yet! It'll probably fruit on the neighbour's side as I cut it on my side... that'll just be my luck! I have some fruit showing on the Victoria plum though and I'll be keeping an eye on that and thinning it so's not to over fruit it this year since it didn't fruit last year.

All in all the garden is beginning to look healthy again and the tomatoes, chillies and peppers are growing well despite the whitefly. Potatoes are well up and looking really healthy compared with last years crop. The potatoes last year were really small and so I have changed the compost I'm using this year to one called Mother Earth which has a lovely consistency and very few woody bits unlike the other ones I've had which seemed to have been frozen at some point. They were full of "stuff" and killed off quite a few of my plants when I potted them up.

The lupins are flowering well - as are the Welsh Poppies, which I took the fork to this afternoon but I'm sure they'll be back again as they have a huge root and I can never manage to get it all out without leaving some somewhere.

I hope all your gardening has been fruitful today...

Re: Idle chat

sue1002 — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:37:45 GMT

Morning all, the water butt by the back door is full to brimming again after all the rain we had yesterday and during the night. The sun is out at the moment and it's still pretty windy.

My chillies and peppers are the only plants in my greenhouse that tend to attract the whitefly Clematis. I use those yellow sticky traps and hang them just above where those plants are and they do catch any that fly upwards, especially when I give the plants a little shake. The traps do catch other small flies and in the last 8 years or so of using them, they have never once caught any bees or spiders

Re: Idle chat

Clematis — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:23:25 GMT

Still on the chilly side here and short bursts of heavy rain, but the forecast looks better for tomorrow! I went for the messages (very fast!) and so far nothing has arrived and no card either so I guess they must mean the new hob will arrive Monday... My potatoes are well up in their tubs now wih all the sunshine last week and now the rain. I bought some new potatoes yesterday and am trying Nigel Slater's oven roasting idea. I think I've done them that way before - lovely but not the same as new boiled ones!

I've been running in and out of the greenhouse between showers and potting up plants - mostly tomatoes that have finally decided to grow, and a melonpepper that my aunt gave me - looking good so far but no flowers and neither of us know what to expect or what to do with it either, so we've potted them up to tomato size pots - anyone heard of this or grown it? It looks very healthy so far.

I discovered white fly on one side of the greenhouse plants and am wondering how to deal with them as I don't want to kill off the insects that will pollinate my tomatoes, peppers etc.... but I don't want them spreading either. What does anyone else do? My aunt suggests marigolds between the tomatoes but can't remember which ones and it may be too late by now she thinks as the damage will already be done.

Going to check on my oven baked new potatoes now...