Early Summer 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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Monika
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The sun is making my hair rustle like pea straw…. :)


I love the image of that, OH! Yes, it's been rather warm and sunny here too with just enough of a breeze to dry all my washing!
Last night I put the sprinkler on the vegetable beds for almost an hour because everything is so so dry and all the plants are looking very healthy and happy today. Lots of little broad beans are forming, the peas are flowering and we are going to have the first broccoli very soon. I did snip some small central broccoli 'buds' before (on 'Stemia') and they are now forming side shoots, as I had hoped.
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retropants
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yet more strawberries! The cobra beans have finally started to climb too, so won't be long now. Little gem hearting up, small peppers & tommies forming, I might get some veg this year after all!
Leeks are veeerrry slow. Still teeny, but in individual large cells. They will go out after I've dug the spuds, which, as I've no idea what variety they are, could be interesting! There's some purple and some white flowers.
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oldherbaceous
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Glad you are getting some produce, Retropants….you deserve it after the hard work you have put in!
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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Clive.
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I spotted this evening that there were two beetroot ready in an otherwise slow growing row....so beetroot sandwich it is...thus solving my, run out of ideas, tea crisis.. :)

..and stewed gooseberries for pud...Invicta, ready by the bucket full...

C.
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Geoff
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I blinked and missed the "heatwave". Although very gentle the drizzle we have now is quite welcome.

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Westi
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Fortunately the temp was lower down here than some places despite Bournemouth beach being selected for the news reporting on the 'heat wave'. We had a nice sea breeze which is deceiving as feels cooler than the actual temp so expect a few folk will have got caught out & be a bit lobster tomorrow. Breeze is a bit stronger tomorrow but actual temp is higher so a repeat performance & the chance of rain is lower & I was looking forward to the possible rain, thunder & lightening but the highest chance is 27% so that will be a no! Or they are wrong - either way too hot for the dogs tomorrow so we will go down on Sunday when normality returns, even if we hide in the tunnel on & off.
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Clive.
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It was surprisingly workable until lunch time with a lovely breeze...then over lunch the temp popped up to 30C and I see locally 31C recorded still on the 18:00.

Tomorrow forecast halves the numbers...max of 15C....

If I ran out of ideas for tea last night, well, this evening it was plate of Foremost new tateys...and a choc ice..........

C.
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retropants
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We had our first tateys for tea last night! No idea what variety, as they were random under the stairs cupboard. We got 6 potatoes on the first plant, one was green, but they were quite a good size, so enough for one meal. The cobra beans are setting, so won't be long now
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oldherbaceous
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Been so busy this week that I haven’t hardly been on the forum so, how is everyone? Hope you didn’t suffer in the heat like I did, hedgecutting and in knocked me for six, but a lot cooler now, thank goodness….
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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Westi
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Hi OH,

All fine down my way, but weeding is becoming time consuming. The usual culprit - overgrown plots 2 down, no-one seems to know what is going on as the committee strim down empty plots. I have only seen them down once since Xmas & they were gone in about an hour. The neighbours & I had a long chat about it over the fence & it has been reported. The guy from Chile wanted to strim it himself but entering plots is not allowed so he threw black plastic from his side over as best he could. As there is a shared path with it & my neighbours plot we are going to try to do the same from her side. Doesn't address the middle bit, but 'every little helps' as they say!
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Monika
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Lots of weeding here too. The bane of my life are cleavers/robin-run-the-hedge/sticky willy, call them what you will, they are a terrible nuisance. Every year I think I have pulled out all of them before they flower and seed themselves, but every year they pop up again all over the place.
Also lots of watering to do. I have not been too brilliant recently, most likely gall bladder trouble, so I am using the hose to water everything rather than lugging dozens of watering cans. BUT the good news is that the broad beans and peas are producing well, we have eaten the first broccoli, next will be little carrots.
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Geoff
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The weather is ridiculous, 4.3°C overnight on almost midsummer day.
Most of my outdoor activity has gone down the drain recently. Found I had a blocked perforated soakaway drain where it passed some trees and as it was 3' down had to find a man with a digger to change it to rigid underground so roots couldn't get in. Now I'm working on creating proper rodding points on the rest of it. I think we worked out why I couldn't get the rods through!

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oldherbaceous
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That is frustrating about the weedy plot, Westi….I would definitely strim the weeds down, it’s just not fair to other plot holders!
The plot next to mine hadn’t been touched since last year but, a young lad and his Grandad took it on about six weeks ago and now have it all planted up….they have worked so hard!

So sorry you haven’t been feeling great, Monika, Cook had her gall bladder removed many years ago….I can still remember sitting up with her at night and she was in such terrible pain….
Glad you have got some crops ready for picking.

Sounds like that was a big job, Geoff….I know when I was in the building trade, it was unbelievable how roots would follow a water source and manage to make their way into drainage systems….once I did a job where someone else had taken the sealing rubbers out of the plastic couplers, on the soakaway pipes and the roots had even forced their way in there….

Just pulled the first of my carrots, only the size of a dainty Ladies fingers, but still looking forward to them…
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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Hope yiu can get the gall bladder sorted Monika. My husband had his removed in March after twice collapsing in agony. as oH nhassaid, the pain is awful.

I was given what somebody said was a couple of butternut squash planta which I was delighted to have as several of mine failed to germinate. Unfortunately the first flowers and forming fruits have proved them to be courgettes of which we already have four plants so we,re going to be flooded out with them. I really wanted butternut squashes to cover a growing area and reduce weeding.

Is there any way to differentiate between squashes and courgettes in their early seedling state?. The gift was obviously a case of mistaken identity. They do look awfully similar in their early stages.
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oldherbaceous
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I do miss Alan’s posts on here, especially the ones of shortest, longest day, that sort of thing…..
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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