Early Spring 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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retropants
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I've planted out the little gem lettuces and put up one wigwam for my cobra French beans. I remember the days of my allotment when I could put up a lot more bean canes!
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A tiny bit of precipitation today, got well excited but it was really a tiny bit. Once again the phone weather is in conflict with the news weather in regards to the expectation of some more substantial rain. Fingers crossed!
Westi
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Geoff
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I'm getting a very negative feeling about this Spring, -2.3°C again last night with all the plum family in full blossom. Forecast had it positive last night but luckily I covered the potatoes anyway, haven't been to check yet if it got into the tunnel and the cold greenhouse.
Last edited by Geoff on Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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retropants
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yes, every morning, I go to open the greenhouse (I am off to work and can't leave it closed, it'll go up to the 30's in the sun) and it's still so cold. Can we have some warm please?
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It's been a strange month, this April. After all the fresh growth in the March warmth, lots of our new leaves have been frosted. Our long rosa rugosa hedge looks terrible with many of the new leaves just frizzled up, as are the leaves on the hydrangea. And everything still bone dry ....
Retropants, we had the same problem when we were out 11 hours a day, including a long commute. We had fitted an automatic window opener in the greenhouse and that alleviated the heat problem to a point. The greenhouse and the window opener are now more than 40 years old and still ok.
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Geoff
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Just been cheered up by the gritting lorry going past.
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Primrose
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Oh dear Geoff. I predict it,a going to be the sort of year where we,re getting early blight warnings in May before the outdoor tomatoes are even planted out!
I have two early "guinea pig" climbing bean seedlings on my bay window sill whose tips will soon be touching the bay window roof but it,s still too premature and cold to risk planting them out

So glad I curbed my usual,premature enthusiasm to sow my tomato seeds early. They,re only a couple of inches high. I have just one early sown tumbling variety that is outside in a patio container under r a "big "water cooler" cloche which is benefitting from the stronger all round daylight outside. My solitarily overwintered pepper plant is awash with tiny peppers. It,s loving our central heating and doesn,t seem to mind much the lower indoor light level on the window sill.
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retropants
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My cobras are going back inside tonight. They are about 8" tall, they'll be flopping over very soon.
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retropants
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:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Well I did get some of the showers, none worth writing home about but quite a few in succession so with any luck I will be able to get the fork into the ground on the last bed to be dug over which is well compacted as was my burn pile dumping ground & then had the burn. Mind could be a flood plane if Monday's rain prediction is right.

On the down side the local weather once again lied & we got a frost this morning. I left the tunnel door open intentionally due to the mega high temps in there & the plants being tiny & potentially cooking, but hopefully the frost didn't encroach too far inside, but anything new is back toward the walls not the path so fingers crossed.

What a strange old April, but in keeping with the strange old world we have found ourselves in for the last year!
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The merest attempt to rain over the past few days.
I'm not sure if any of the seeds we planted have taken.
We will get something growing in the end but do wonder when & what.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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Everything is so late this year, isn,t it. We,ve sown very little in the ground, just half a row of Swiss chard, carrots & beetroot but nothing is peeping through. I,m wondering whether the seeds have all been killed by the constant frost and whether to resow in the same locations but that risks overcrowding I'd the original seeds eventually germinate.

I always have problems germinating my climbing beans and nothing is showing though in the cells in my mini greenhouse from 10 days ago. Wondering whether to resow them as well as everything is going to risk a late harvest this year.
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retropants
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Does anyone know if weeping willow catkins are fragrant? I keep getting a strong hit of 1970's ambre solaire sun tan oil on my river walks, and this is the only thing I can see that it might be?
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I don't think weeping willow catkins have any smell, but balsam poplar should be flowering now and is very fragrant.
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