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Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 10:53 am
by oldherbaceous
Have now got my £100 worth of Mr Fothergill vouchers, from the giant marrow competition. then suddenly realised i don't get one of their catalouges. So catalouge now ordered and just thinking in my head, what i will order.

So a huge thank you to Emma Rawlings from the KG Magazine, for all the hard work that was put in organising the competition....and also the nice pictures of her in the KG Magazine.... :wink: :)
So much more photgenic than Steve... :)

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs.

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 1:09 pm
by Pa Snip
oldherbaceous wrote:So a huge thank you to Emma Rawlings from the KG Magazine, for all the hard work that was put in organising the competition....and also the nice pictures of her in the KG Magazine.... :wink: :)
So much more photgenic than Steve... :)



OH You smoothie you , :D

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs.

Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 10:36 am
by Pa Snip
Latter part of last year Mrs S found some Kelsae onion seed online.
Most peoples stocks had been wiped out thanks to a storm in Italy which demolished the seed fields

Today I have at last found the energy to get down the greenhouse and sow some, The original intention was to sow on Boxing |day.

The packet cost £5.00 and claims to contain approx. 70 seeds.

No complaints here, sown 90 seeds in modules this morning and there are as many again still in the packet, if not more.

D T Brown are offering plugs this year but not seed until stocks recover

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs.

Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:17 pm
by oldherbaceous
Afternoon Pa Snip, you always manage to find something interesting to report to us all, and that's just what we need, so thank you.

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 10:30 am
by retropants
I opened my greenhouse door (the one at home) yesterday to grab a pair of gloves so that I could wax polish a vintage Kraft cheese box for storing eggs in the kitchen. I was immediately enveloped in a net of webs that I hadn't seen. That shows how long it's been since I went in there!

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 1:44 pm
by oldherbaceous
I hate that, esecially if you have a tray of plants in each hand, so you can't brush the webbs off your face instantly.

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:31 pm
by Monika
Our resident house sparrows (around 18 at the last count) have taken to scavenging IN the greenhouse at home and are causing havoc, scratching the tops of the bulb pots and today, the last straw, they have started to rip the petals off the primrose flowers! I know they do it in the garden, but IN the greenhouse! So, first job tomorrow: putting fine gauge wire netting over the top ventilators so that they can't get in. We already have a netting door which is closed when the sliding glass door is open to stop birds (and cats which might be following them!) getting in.

The hanging bird feeders are busy with blue, great, coal and long-tailed tits, goldfinches, bullfinches (3 male, 2 female), robins, siskins, the occasional nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, goldcrest, chaffinch and, yes, many house sparrows. So far very few greenfinches and no bramblings yet. The blackbirds number more than 20 - the moment we open the backdoor, they appear, begging for currants. Sometimes, it feels a bit like Hitchcocks "The Birds" ......

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:36 pm
by Colin2016
Just had a cracking day collecting seaweed with another allotment holder, we got 3 builder bags full one each and a spare one for a friend.

It was knee deep and there was loads of it, if only we had access to trailer and tractor/4x4.

Off to check seaweed threads on this forum for best way of using it.

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 6:33 pm
by Pa Snip
Monika, despite the destructive nature of the sparrows you paint a fabulous picture in words of the activity taking place.

We are currently getting about 30 goldfinches , 2 to 4 thrushes, blue tits. great tits and this year we are even welcoming the starlings given how few there were throughout last year

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:13 pm
by Monika
Pa Snip, you remind me: we also get a lot of starlings. They are certainly no longer rare here and they are sooo greedy. Luckily, I think they just come to the feeder when they wake up and then they are off into the fields to feed on chafer grubs or whatever. Some winters ago, when a large forestry plantation was cut down near us, all the starlings which had roosted there in their thousands (no doubt, numbers augmented by continental birds), came into the village every evening to roost in any evergreen they could find. The noise and smell was horrendous! Some people installed noisy bird scarers, played tapes with bird of prey calls and we also went out with all the children in the neighbourhood banging pots and pans to chase them off before they settled. I think they must have found other beds to sleep in ......

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:19 pm
by Shallot Man
Monika. Re Starlings. We also get a lot. What puzzles me, is why do they bath late in the day, and not first thing in the morning, allowing more time to dry out. :?

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:43 pm
by Monika
We hadn't noticed that, Shallot Man, but our (almost pet) robin does the same. He/she arrives when it's almost dark to bathe, so it must be ok for the birds to do so before 'bedtime'. Perhaps it gets rid of daytime bugs and dirt?

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:22 am
by oldherbaceous
It works for me..... :)

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:28 am
by Pa Snip
I tried it day before yesterday.

Got arrested

Perhaps stripping off and taking a dirt bath up the plot in the evening wasn't such a good idea.
Was released as they could find little evidence

Now to change plan and turn proposed raised bed into a cubicle

Re: Late Winter Bits and Bobs - 2018

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:18 am
by oldherbaceous
Pa Snip.....the maker of smiles..... :) :) :)

And very near an amazing, well deserved likes....well done Old Boy....