Late Winter Bits and Bobs

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

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Elmigo
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retropants
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good one ELmigo! I cycled to work yesterday, clear but chilly, and no breeze. The way back again in late afternoon, it was raining quite hard, freezing and blowing a bit. I was quite soggy and miserable by the time I got home. At least I managed to get the grass cut on Saturday, after 1.5 dry days, although I think it has rained every night.
It's very damp, breezy, but much warmer today.
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oldherbaceous
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I managed to get the allotment grass cut at the weekend, looks a bit more respectable now... :)
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
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Shallot Man
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Went shopping with the Memsahib yesterday. Panic buying on the toilet rolls. Brought back memories of WW2. One of my jobs was tearing up yesterday's newspaper into suitable squares for the toilet. How times have changed. :wink: :wink:
Monika
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Had great fun this morning spreading six bags of organic manure under our long rose hedge, all in pouring rain, and had to put all my clothes into the washing machine afterwards. At least the manure is getting nicely watered in ......
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Primrose
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Remind me again, when was St Swithins Day supposed to be ???
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The tunnel is really surprising me with it's max temp (min seems about right for under cover). Who's the mug sitting in there to ensure the automatic vent is working this afternoon actually sweating in a T Shirt? So 36 has been reached legit & vent working fine so decision is now whether to leave the door open. I think I have to risk it as humidity is pretty intense which will encourage disease. Wondering if door open I could discourage a big drop in the min if I set up a net/mesh curtain? I have this expanding shower rail to go over the door or do I monitor wind direction & change from back door to front? Any help appreciated!
Westi
Elmigo
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I'm following your question Westi, I don't know much about my greenhouse min temps (ordered a min/max thermometer, still waiting), but the max gets up to 22°C at the moment. For now this is good but during summer, having 45°C is probably not too good for most of my plants (kiwano excepted).

I'm also wondering which plants to place on the sunny side of the greenhouse in a few months when the time is right. Cucumbers tend to scorch faster than tomatoes, right? So if I place cucumbers right at the sun catching side behind the window they might get harmed, or so I think.
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retropants
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Elmigo, for shading your greenhouse during the hotter months, I recommend dense green mesh, I just clip a length along the sunny side, light gets through, but it keeps the worst of it off, and it is cleaner than painting the white stuff onto the glass. It still gets hot in there, but high 30's was the hottest mine got last year with the shading on. The cucumber & tomato loved it and the chillies thrived. :)
Elmigo
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Thank you, I'll start my search for it right away. Don't want to be last minute!
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Primrose
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Seems to me there's as much a challenge in learning how best to cope with a new greenhouse as there is coping with a new garden! The extreme heat conditions inside can be as bad as the extreme cold temperatures outside!
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Extreme heat is not yet something we suffer up here in NE Scotland, but it did hit the mid 30's in my greenhouse, auto top opening vents and side louvers were opened and the crop didn't suffer without the need for shading. I am lucky that in the heat of the middle of the day the light is dappled by a tree in next doors garden.
Been gardening for over 65 years and still learning.
Elmigo
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This why I have chosen to place my greenhouse partly in the shade of the neighbours fence. At the end of the day, when temperatures are hot, part of the greenhouse is shaded by the fence. There are no trees to be found nearby, so that's becoming a bit of a challenge.
Westi
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And so without intervention the max temp in there today was only 27.3. I also think I am overthinking as although worried about the humidity, what's in there is looking happy & growing well & it will only be a few weeks until one or both doors open - in the meantime I have radishes, cut & come salad, corn salad & rocket & some winter density proper lettuce ready to take when down on the weekend! Not quite salad weather but I'm sure the little yellow sun on my phone weather will entice me!
Westi
Stephen
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I put onions, shallots and garlic in modules last autumn (good advice here as my ground was so wet). All doing well. Is it about the right time to plant out and give them a bit if room for expansion?
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