Early Autumn Bits and Bobs - 2017

A place to chat about anything you like, including non-gardening related subjects. Just keep it clean, please!

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Primrose
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Shall we start a new thread with the arrival of September?

My D.T.Brown Autumn seed catalogue arrived this morning, no doubt the first of several to hit the doormat. I love browsing through these looking for new varieties even though I have vegetable seed packets bulging out of my eyeballs. Have put it aside for a wet day. Feel I have to make the most of the sunshine at this time of year.

I was looking at our patio this morning, covered in shining silvery slug trails. It looks like Spaghetti Junction, yet come daylight all the perishers disappear and I can't find them. They're just hidden away somewhere laughing at me!
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peter
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Lovely sunny morning in Frome admiring the old buildings around Stony Street before my nephew's wedding this afternoon, while my wife investigates every shop.... :?
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Westi
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Being totally distracted by the Bournemouth Air Show - no didn't go into Bournemouth as just too crowded but amazing how many spots in Christchurch you can get a great view from the most unlikely spots! Caught in traffic on the bypass managed to see quite a few of the smaller planes & then the view from Lidls' for the Red Arrows was amazing! I only live a couple of blocks away but can't see much even from upstairs as the trees have grown too large around the marsh.

Nice chatting to others in the car park (including staff) & seeing the amazement on the children's faces. Then sneakily slipped away so almost had the store to myself until they all came in after me & beat me to the tills so stuck in the inevitable queue! :)
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Monika
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No autumn seed catalogues yet but no doubt they will start plopping through the letterbox soon. I have already ordered my next year's garlic and shallots via the DT Brown website which is very user-friendly. I usually plant the garlic and shallots at the end of September.

Mornings have certainly been autumnal lately with mist and heavy dew but followed by beautifully sunny weather, making the ground eminently diggable, a fact we have certainly made use of. Oh, I do love my digging .....

Our village show was today with, apparently, more than 200 entries. In spite of greatly cutting back my own entries, I won four trophies, sadly mostly for non-gardening things: best photograph, most points for a potato grown in a 9" pot (a yield of more than 2lb), best entry in preserves (apple chutney, made with our neighbour's apples and our own shallots) and best entry in the novice section of flower arranging for an arrangement in a teacup. The village hall was a great sight with lots of flower and vegetable entries including many tomatoes, huge cucumbers and a giant pumpkin. The children's entries are always a joy to see, too, and, hopefully, they will eventually become the grownup exhibitors of the future.
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peter
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Preparing to raid Westi's allotment tomorrow when we arrive at the Christchurch end of Bournemouth.
Have the balaclava, secateurs and sack.... :twisted:
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Mouse2
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Well done, Monica.
Our village show is next weekend, so i will be very busy getting everything ready over this coming week,doing last-minute baking and preparing any veg that are good enough to enter. I have made a lot of things already for the crafts section, and have made jams, chutney, jellies and marmalades, as well as decorating a couple of eggs, so will have lots of entries even if my veg are not up to scratch. I am getting quite excited now.
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Primrose
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Congratulations Monika and glad the show was well supported.
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Shallot Man
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1st of the seed catalogues online came this morning. Thinking of introducing fresh blood in the shape of my favorite Shallot. [ LONGOR ] Have decided to forget that idea. With P&P they work out at £1.26 each. :( :(
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Diane
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I need a bigger garden, or a couple of fields at least, as the D.T. Brown catalogues has so many wonderful veg varieties. My crop of tomatillos has become a riotous cacophony of green round parcels and has spread all over the raised bed and taken over the greenhouse. However, I'm really glad I grew Tithonia this year. It seems I've hit on this year's trendy flower annual - even Monty has some!
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Primrose
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And i know tomatillos don't fill the gap supplied by tomatoes and they're used in different ways but presumably they don't suffer from the dreaded blight which has wiped out so many of our plants this year ?
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Think of it as an investment Shallotman. I bought some Topper about 20 years ago and save a few to grow again the following year and they are still producing good sized bulbs so they've hardly cost me anything. My other variety is Jermore which I bought a bit more recently.
I did the same with a good variety of garlic which I thought were a bit pricey at the time and their offspring are still productive.
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I've been having a mega weeding session today but have been rained off now. Doesn't the garden look instantly better when the paths are clean and tidy.
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Hi Peter!

Your welcome to come down & have a mooch around the plot & take some things if you fancy a change from holiday food! (I'll pm you the details)! If your like me it's quite good fun having a busman's holiday & having mooch around allotments & getting ideas.

Today I foolishly decided to go down as the weather report emphasised it was showers. Technically it was, but just really long showers! As I was soaking wet I soldiered on regardless and managed to dig out the prickly blackberry gift from the birds & tidy the outside garden a bit. The hot shower when I got home was greatly appreciated!
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Monika
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My favoured shallots are Jermor for autumn planting and Ambition to grow from seed in spring. Jermor usually keeps until at least Easter and the seed-grown Ambition until summer the following year, so I don't usually have to buy shallots or onions.

Good luck for the show, Mouse2!
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peter
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Somewhere between Frome and Bournemouth one of the sunroof drain tubes in our car has become detached. :cry:
Drivers side front, so the "A" pillar and the edge of the roof forward of the grab handle are more than damp.
Happened with all of them on the passenger side just after the sunroof had to be replaced a few years ago.push on hoses were not secured well enough, looks like drivers side was done a bit better but has now worked it's way off, that or something else..... :roll: :( :cry:
Do not put off thanking people when they have helped you, as they may not be there to thank later.

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