Kitchen Garden Forum

Oh well, don't blame yourself. We all make mistakes when we're new to equipment. Your faux pas is no worse than the one I made with my first car many more years ago that I care to remember.

The engine oil needed topping up and my father came out to find me trying to pour a can of oil down the small hole from which I had just removed the dip stick. There was oil pouring all over the driveway and I was complaining "Only a man could have designed such a stupid way of having to top up the oil level!". I will not print my dad's reply !!

Don't worry about it Robo, my FIL knackered himself out on a regular basis pushing his big petrol mower around. He'd had it for 5 years before he discovered it had gears.

Maximum temperature today 10 degrees, at present (7pm) just 5 degrees, the sky is clearing, so it looks like frost tonight. Had two short but nasty hail showers today as well.
Well, it IS April.

Hail here too later in the day.
First cut of top grass near house:
04/04/04
20/03/05
22/04/06
10/03/07
04/04/08
20/03/09
09/04/10
25/03/11
23/03/12
26/04/13
Well records are there to be broken!

A little bit of fertiliser thrown across the lawn this morning...making good use hopefully of the odd shower that seems to be about...hopefully a wash it in shower and not a wash it off shower.........

I see the Early Onward Peas are just starting to pop through.

Wind gone just East of North again.............

Clive.

yes Clive that's the one problem with applying fertiliser or weedkiller to a lawn in April. You never quite know whether the showers will delay long enough for it to be effective, especially as far as any kind of granular weedkiller is concerned as I was under the impression that it really needed to stay on the leaves of the weeds long enough to burn them off as well as having a systemic effect once it had been washed in. Or is my assumption wrong here?

My application this morning was granular feed only.

.....and I suspect it will now keep the showers away. ..which may be good for me to get on with jobs.

We had 15mm rain overnight Thursday/Friday has really made things move forward.....including the weed seedlings...and lurking gravel path weeds..

Clive.

first earlies were just about showing their heads yesterday (a wee bit frosted) so I earthed them up generously, who knows how cold the nights will be in May. also parsnips, leeks and radishes have germinated and are through. all outside in a raised bed.

What a glorious day.
Spent much of the day planting out Peas from eight sets of Rootrainers. With the dozen Calabrese Ironman I planted yesterday afternoon it makes me feel things are moving.
Before I came in I sat at the picnic table listening to all the birds and watching lots of Bumble Bees on the Heathers - they obviously all thought it was a nice evening too. Had a Blackcap on the fat balls the last couple of days, haven't seen one before, and the Pied Flycatchers are looking very interested in one of my nest boxes. What with all the wriggling tadpoles, is it Spring?

Re the weed and feed, I did my lawns last week and nothing much happened until we had some rain and then it killed the moss and weeds within a few hours, so I'd say it needs water to activate it properly.

Work today takes me to an IT conference and this is the view as I drink my coffee this morning.

Dear Peter, is there any chance you could plant a nice wisteria across the road, i think it would soften the tower a little.

Seen two butterfly's in the last couple of days. Both Cabbage White. A sign of things to come !

Note to OH, security scanners on buildings in "sensitive" locations regard safety boots as a potential hazard.

No before you say it I had cleaned the "fertiliser" off them last night.

The warm weather today brought out quite a few butterflies - small tortoishells, peacocks and an orange tip.

The robins are feeding young in a nest on the shelf in my garage and I was accompanied by blackbirds and the robin while digging this afternoon.