Spring Bits and Bobs.

[Clive.]

My second row of broad beans are starting to appear today.

Completed Beetroot sowing in the other garden today....

C.

[Westi]

Domestic day today, can certainly say the critters have responded to the warmth as shedding everywhere despite my grooming. I collect all the fur & roll it into balls & push them into the school fence & the birds fly down as soon as I am out of the way.

Knowles got back to me today & if I order directly from their office & not online they can give me a 2hr window not the full day, just need to give the plot as my address. I will have to get back to them tomorrow just to recheck my plot number & the sites actual address. I will still have a close look at the new one that has been erected on the site when I pass, but like I said I do like the little tweaks Knowles have to protect the structure like the squeezed ends of the pole tops & screw in caps. Then will need to talk nicely to my neighbour in case it all goes pear shape, but I did erect the last one....eventually!

[Westi]

Nice day again but actually kept my eye on the game & did some of the identified chores on my list finally. Used the can again for watering & already have used up the 4 Trugs & 2 butts, so will have to tackle the hose, which I actually bought an extension for today! The soil is really dry so I have been using more as watering the beds a few times while prepping them just to get deep enough to turn & smash up the big clods so poor little plants have room to go down. It is slow & a bit tedious as lots of compost gone in as well but as it might get even more warm & drier in summer thought it best to sort now. Managed to complete 3 beds, but only did some direct sows rather than planting as want to make sure the deeper unworked area doesn't suck up all the water.

Think I might put up the runner & climbing French bean structures up when down on Saturday, just thinking if I don't get them in now, it's going to be even harder work soon & it is currently workable as only just been uncovered. Will do some pot sows in the tunnel as well as collecting up the hoops & planting out the brassica's plants & netting. Just got to make sure I leave room for these so I can erect the new net tunnel without walking on them. BTW I will be going with the Knowle's net tunnel, snuck down the path to check the one I saw, didn't enter their plot but glaring issue was the supports just had plastic caps & not squished & welded to keep the rain out & the crossed supports just finish at the base, & neither the cross supports or vertical supports are buried just cable tied.

[Clive.]

Technically warmer tonight, by the forecast numbers...but it doesn't feel it....grey and with a Northerly wind. Greenhouses closed up early this evening.. We've only had brief glimpses of sun today.

C.

[Geoff]

This fine weather I've been doing a Clive and watching contrails and consulting FlightRadar24. Been seeing new ones I haven't spotted before. Two large ones in quick succession turned out to be Tokyo to London and Paris. Apparently they are avoiding Russia by going up the Bering Strait then looping over Canada and the new US state of Greenland then down over Iceland.

[retropants]

I got the patio sofa cushion covers washed and dried today, hoovered the cobwebs from the underside of the canopy, gave the sofa (oak) a wax polish and had a nice sit down in the late afternoon sun. Lots still to do, but not looking too terrible. Dh gave the new battery mower a run out today, and I gave the old electric one away on freecycle as well. Off to the garden centre tomorrow to see if they have any trailing geraniums in yet, but it’s probably a tad early.

[Westi]

Today I gave the saved plants from the build some TLC, but a dodgy business getting around all the bits already delivered & all the bricks from the paths in random piles. Gave up in the end as being scratched too much getting under & over their bits without breaking anything & decided just a hose water will have to suffice those down the back. I did give the pots I rescued as were not too heavy to move a ice fresh top up & feed.

I'm back procrastinating with buying the net tunnel after chatting to my plot neighbour who came over to see the build. He basically said too expensive & unsure about the door & the rest being secure enough with the winds we can get. I didn't press it further but he rang me later to say he had checked behind my shed & I have enough longer canes ready to go & as is his way checked inside as well & found a pile of marquee stakes. BTW he has my full permission to enter & borrow anything he might need. I should have id'd the chosen bed as no doubt he would have the frame erected by Saturday when I go down next!

[oldherbaceous]

Certainly a warm day today,…making my ears tingle.

[Westi]

Got a bit excited as the weather was showing some rain coming, but unfortunately they updated it to mere drizzle for one day & here I was hoping I could hold off watering, but not to be! It needs doing but takes a fair bit of time so I have decided to catch the early 05.30 bus. Hopefully I'll get up in time, but I don't mind this bus, it's quite unique or rather the folk on there are. The bus guys leave any homeless folk that manage to sneak on at the terminus to sit/sleep down the back & take them back on the return journey as usually only a few other workers on board. Not all just quietly sit as there were a couple who would sing all the way when I was last on this bus.

I sincerely doubt anyone will be down for at least another 1 1/2hrs+ so planning on snapping the sprinkler on for some of the really dried up beds & for in the tunnel then I can do some other wee chores. (Don't tell anyone it's not allowed)! They won't need long each as too much will run off but should help if I can do it over a few days. Just planning on building my DIY net tunnel & popping the brassica pots in it to acclimatise & to empty the flower pots on the staging, refill with fresh compost & do some sows of straw flowers which should make a colourful little display. If anytime left then will get the shovel out & edge the outside flower bed again as the site's strimmer & mower are both out of action for a bit. Or of course I might just miss the bus!

[vivienz]

Afternoon, stopping by to say hello on this warm afternoon in deepest darkest Dorset, and looking forward to the rain forecast for next week. Our heavy clay soil has been behaving a lot like concrete for the last two weeks.
Things are picking up in my raised beds - my asparagus has started coming through in the last week or so and should perk up nicely after some rain. It's often my first proper crop of the year and I do look forward to it. I'm going to try and freeze some of this year and I gave away loads last year as I couldn't keep up with it, but it seems a shame not to try and keep some in the freezer.
What prompted my wandering by this afternoon was looking up an old post on over wintering runner beans. Being the lazy devil that I am, I didn't clear away my runner bean bed last year and just let winter do most of the work for me. I planted a few module grown lettuces into the bed a couple of weeks ago and one by one along the row they've been wilting and keeling over, so I went to investigate today. Sure enough, those nasty orange wireworms have been tucking into the tender little lettuce roots so I'll be putting some nematode treatment down once they arrive next week. Whilst I was lifting up the remains of my lettuces, though, my trowel bumped into some really chunky roots left by the runner beans. They were far from dead, however, with big fat juicy tubers and new little thread feeding roots emerging. What a surprise! I'm about to sow some runners and French beans, but I'm going to leave the tubers in out of pure curiosity to see what comes up and if they produce much. They are in a raised bed and were mulched with strulch; together with our really mild winter last season, they must have been nice and cosy in there.
Elsewhere, my greenhouse strawberries are magnificent this year. Again, due to the mild winter, they are very early, even for an unheated greenhouse. It's my same favourite French variety, ciflorette (such a shame we can't get this variety in the UK) and both borders of the greenhouse are covered in plants, which are coming to the end of their flowering. It seems like quite an indulgence giving over an entire greenhouse to strawbs, but hubby loves them above all things and the first ones should be ready for his birthday in early May. And, as we all know, bought strawberries just can't compete with home grown ones.
I don't usually grow too many spuds but the article about growing them for ground clearance in this month's KG magazine came at the perfect time. Hubby has dug out a large new bed for ornamental plants but the sward is so thick and the clay soil so heavy that he was dispairing of being able to get it into shape for planting anything. I waved the KG article under his nose and pointed out that it would mean a lot less work for him if he let me plant it up with spuds grown under polythene, and sure enough he succumbed to my wily ways and the persuasion of KG magazine It looks like we'll be living on spuds all through next winter! I've got the seed potatoes ready to go, but I'm going to let some rain get onto the area first next week, then water in nematodes for slugs and wireworms before putting the polythene down.
There's plenty of activity in other beds, including green globe artichokes - such fabulous looking plants - and catch crops of radish and turnip. I'm comparing French and Italian radish varieties at the moment,, to see if I prefer one over the other. I might just prefer turnips rather than radishes, though!
Nice to see everyone still posting. Happy growing, everyone.
Vivienz

[Westi]

The planned early bus did not come today so I stood at the bus stop for 1/2 hr+ for the next one. Surprisingly I was the only one on it, (well plus dog); very weird. The driver didn't know why either. Think I will give the real early one a miss as had this issue last year as well so think this is the bus diverted if any issues & not surprised it would be sacrificed as more homeless than ticket buyers.

This delay set my plans back as after watering, limited time for starting bigger jobs like the brassica frame & cover & the bean poles & I didn't even bother joining the new hose on as just knew it would end up time wasted so they are for another day. I did the display on the staging I have beside the shed. All the clay pots emptied, cleaned, fresh compost & then resown. The area behind the table was all cleared but skipped digging out the artichokes as I pretty much cleared them completely last year & only about 6 stems. Asparagus & most of the strawberry beds weeded; (got baby fruit on some of them). Lots of little hoes done as weeds noted as well so not wasted time.

Positive to finish is the weather report changed again & we've got a few days in a row of light rain & drizzle so no watering & no probs with doing the structures as only a gently breeze.

[Clive.]

I got the errant bit of ground dug over that had eluded my efforts last year...and just as I had completed it, in an excellent piece of unplanned timing, along came the previously mentioned gift of a few surplus to requirement potatoes, from across the road.. So this evening I have planted a row and a half across the garden having sliced a few to make up the numbers, Lady Christl and Charlotte.....and did I say earlier in the year...I'm not going to plant any potatoes....

C.

[Clive.]

I checked the forecast and it's got a few spots of rain listed as possible soon....so thought I best get on and got the posts, wire mesh and the sticks at the Early Onward pea row..sadly, not actually sticks these days but canes... Hilled up the short rows of Maris Peer and then put the stakes and strings round the first Bunyard's Exhibition broad bean rows...long way to go 'til they need restraint but easier to get on whilst dry.
My plan to put some lettuce in one of the old cold frames came to nought as I never quite got round to pricking out the seedlings from their seed pan...and they have sat forlornly by the house back door...so today rescued a few and put them in a line by the pea row and put the wire cages that came off the pea row over them....they had water put under them but they will need the help of a real shower to get them away.

Instead, the cold frame has become home to two sowings of sweetcorn, Moonshine and Swift..leftovers from last years seed packets...I was out of compost and was about to riddle some from the heap to use but then fancied a trip out to the very local small nursery/garden centre...so I have a bag of Eco-Gro peat free to try, also treated my South border to a little Phlox subulata 'McDaniel's cushion', cerise pink...they always have some gems and I never like to walk out having only had a look..so added a couple of 4ft round posts to the list as well....bound to have one or two posts go ping when sorting the subsequent pea and bean rows...
It came over quite dark cloudy just before lunchtime..as i was hanging out some washing...only 3 or 4 spots of rain... but also decided to get the lawn mown ahead of any more organised precipitation.....

Had a very lovely sounding classic, Piper Twin Comanche, fly by....sadly couldn't look it up on Flight Radar24 ...I keep getting a message about something lacking from my web browser...in fact on all three web browsers.?...
........thank goodness https://globe.adsbexchange.com/ is still available to me...

C.

[Westi]

Weather holding for tomorrow but a bit cooler, but I will be able to crack on without any tedious watering taking time as the next 6 days have drizzle or light rain. I am going to get the net cage up for the brassica's as a priority as every time I check the plants they seem to have grown. I want the staging space for the next sows as well, so on a drizzle day I can get in the tunnel & sow the next guys like melons, squash etc.
With any luck I might even be able to set up the frame I have for the French beans, but certainly not the runners, as I grow too many of these as do extra's for the food bank & a neighbour. He's the last man standing now, I used to drop 5 bags off.

[Westi]

Well I'm on my way to completing the DIY net tunnel, but hard work getting the canes in so the Japanese knife got lots of work digging holes for the canes. I would have preferred not to, but it would be more secure if the soil was damp & I could just push the canes in. I am quite concerned that in a blow the loose soil around will make the canes loosen & rock which with my building skills would mean a full collapse despite the numerous cable ties. I will just have to keep my fingers crossed this light drizzle & rain will moisten it enough & then some sun will set it.

I do think I have a back up as I have some fence post securing liquid I plan to use on the front gate & apparently this can be dug out & does not have to be permanent. The structure needs more diagonal supports but it is progress; the black top is some sticky lagging tape that is cushioned & just to protect the mesh cover, & I ordered the velcro that will create the door space. Any advice, ideas, feedback on obvious mistakes gratefully received!

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