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Post by auntieannie on Jul 28, 2016 13:27:44 GMT 2
you can use the remaining woodchips to help with the flowerbed, I'm sure!
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Post by sophie on Jul 29, 2016 3:25:27 GMT 2
All the wood chips will get used! I was out there for a few hours today, sorting out some of the plants which survived the chain saw massacre. It will be fun cleaning it all up and putting in some more plants.
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 2, 2016 10:36:16 GMT 2
We haven't been down to the allotment yet (too wet last night). However my friend at Waitrose gave us a tiny tomato plant that was all droopy. We have watered and spoken kindly to it and the plant is now vast. This morning Mrs Faz picked the first ripe tomato.
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Post by happytraveller on Aug 2, 2016 16:03:56 GMT 2
Could you speak to my zucchini plant? It grows zucchinis and as soon as the flowers fall off, the zucchini goes soggy... Way before it is ripe enough to harvest. Grrrrr...
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Post by lumi on Aug 2, 2016 16:29:17 GMT 2
I harvested my carrots yesterday. Most were so tiny you couldn't really eat them. The few that were proper size tasted lovely though. I have bought seeds which I'll sow tomorrow and hope for better luck next time.
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Post by sophie on Aug 2, 2016 16:41:52 GMT 2
I went to a neighbours place yesterday to pick blackberries. Many are frozen and rest are jamming as I write this....mmmm...
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Post by shrjeff on Aug 2, 2016 17:15:06 GMT 2
I went to a neighbours place yesterday to pick blackberries. Many are frozen and rest are jamming as I write this....mmmm... what tunes are they playing?...
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 2, 2016 19:08:10 GMT 2
I went to our allotment this afternoon and got a good harvest: broad beans, purple beans, spinach, courgettes and the first raspberries. The previous allotmenteer had grown potatoes and there are always a few missed when they are harvested. I let these grow and dug one up and now have some potatoes as well. They are red skinned so I assume for boiling.
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 2, 2016 20:38:33 GMT 2
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 8, 2016 18:02:35 GMT 2
I picked the last of the broad beans this afternoon. Some will go in the freezer, some will be for a starter tonight with pancetta. It will be the end of the mange tout peas tomorrow. Luckily the courgettes and purple beans are heaving.
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 10, 2016 23:34:33 GMT 2
I pulled up the mange tout peas this afternoon. Inevitably there were some that had grown fat (while we were away in Italy) so I shelled them and we added them to tonight's dinner. To tell the truth they were not nearly as tasty as Birdseye frozen peas.
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Post by lumi on Aug 10, 2016 23:57:18 GMT 2
I picked most of my kale and took out the 3 plants that had bolted which leaves me with 2. I had intended to pull out my spinach as it wasn't doing well at all once my broccoli was big (guess it didn't get any sun and I planted he spinach amongst the broccoli thinking it would be ready and finished by the time the broccoli was big) but it has made an amazing comeback since pulling all of the broccoli out. I looked back and I had planted perpetual spinach which apparently will be edible for about 9 months if used as a pick-and-come-again crop which is what I do.
I will plant some carrots, spring onions and rocket seeds tomorrow. It's a bit on the late side for these veges but I hope to get a half decent crop from them.
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Post by sophie on Aug 11, 2016 2:24:57 GMT 2
I am trying to propagate one of my favourite rhodos..a beautiful large purple flowered one which is not in a spot where it can be seen and admired well. I stuck 5 of the lower branches (which had been resting on the ground and were close to rooting) into pots. After a few weeks, I will cut them off from the main plant if they have rooted.
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 11, 2016 11:32:28 GMT 2
all your garden adventures make me want my own. hmmm... maybe I should become a kind of hermit/healer in a remote village, living as self-sufficient a life in a little wooden hut as possible... with wi-fi connection to you all. ;-)
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 12, 2016 18:35:12 GMT 2
Yesterday I sowed another row of spinach. They haven't come up yet. However on Monday I cut the broad beans almost to the ground, leaving the roots in, and they are sprouting again. Will I get a second crop before autumn turns too cold?
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Post by lumi on Aug 12, 2016 18:54:21 GMT 2
I bought and planted a hydrangea in the front garden today. I've wanted one for ages and saw a really pretty one for a decent price when out and about so decided to go for it. I also tacked (again) the problem we have with mares/horses tail. It is never ending and hard work as the roots are quite deep.
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 12, 2016 19:00:35 GMT 2
I wish you luck with the mares tails. We are mercifully free but other people on our allotment patch are plagued by them.
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Post by lumi on Aug 12, 2016 19:37:42 GMT 2
It is everywhere on one side of our drive in the front garden. I only found out the name when my neighbour mentioned he was trying to kill it when he set my lawn on fire. After googling the name i found out why it has been so hard to get rid of. I think I will always have it from what I've read as you need to be extremely diligent for many years to eradicate it.
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 12, 2016 20:46:06 GMT 2
I think it has something to do with the composition of the soil. Horsetail is a valuable medicinal plant.
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Post by Scrubb on Aug 13, 2016 3:56:38 GMT 2
I'm worried about my garden - haven't heard a word from the friend who said he'd look after it, not even a response to the email with instructons. He's supposed to be watering my houseplants too.
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Post by pizzawheel on Aug 13, 2016 14:30:28 GMT 2
My cherry Tree sapling is struggling, so I've implemented a dedicated watering plan for it. Have had 2 hose pipes burst this summer- have to remember to leave them unpressurised...
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 17, 2016 23:43:09 GMT 2
There is a National Allotment Week in the UK. I missed it as it finished last Sunday. What do you suppose people do during National Allotment Week? Swop vegetables? Dig each other's patch? Kiss behind the shed?
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 18, 2016 0:31:12 GMT 2
Maybe they pool resources to get the tomatoes to turn red? My dad says the best way to do that is to show them your bum...Apparently guaranteed to give them a lovely blush.
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Post by rikita on Aug 18, 2016 0:55:45 GMT 2
the red currant bush we planted this spring had one small bunch of berries when we returned from vacation - considering i didn't expect it to carry anything this year this was a nice surprise, and a. had the berries for dessert yesterday.
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Post by Scrubb on Aug 18, 2016 5:20:02 GMT 2
Baz, maybe all of those things?
My garden looked fine when I got home, and today I had the first caprese salad with garden tomatoes and basil! Also lots of cucumbers ready, which I mostly gave to my Mom and my brother's family.
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 20, 2016 10:28:13 GMT 2
The sweetcorn I planted are pathetic and I don't know why. I'll buy some from the stall in nearby Yate.
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Post by OnlyMark on Aug 20, 2016 12:07:21 GMT 2
My father spent years trying to perfect the art of growing sweetcorn. He gave up in the end. Mind you, I think he was trying to compare them with those he had as a kid in Kenya.
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Post by Voy on Aug 20, 2016 16:09:04 GMT 2
my guess is, being from N America, that the corn needs more heat than it gets in England? Ours is just coming in big time, and is wonderful this year ! ( our little rhyme, "knee high by the 4th of July".. and that was just it this summer. perfect. sorry....
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Post by Baz Faz on Aug 20, 2016 18:08:06 GMT 2
When I lived in Hertfordshire I grew wonderful sweetcorn. The pigeons and deer loved them too so I had to net the whole lot but it was worth it.
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Post by Scrubb on Aug 20, 2016 23:39:35 GMT 2
I've been having tomato salads every day. Yesterday I mixed leftover basmati rice, cucumber (from the garden), tomatoes (from the garden), kalamata olives, rocket (from the garden) and small chunks of pepper jack cheese, tossed with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Yum.
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