Kitchen Garden Forum

I feel a hosepipe ban coming on - hasn't rained since Friday night.

Yes, hasn't it been grand, Geoff? We spent most of the day on the allotment yesterday, tidying the rhubarb, lovage and comfrey, weeding, digging, pulling yellowing leaves off the brassicas. etc etc and it now looks quite decent and almost ready for winter.

So, today, as a reward, we went westward for a bit of bird watching, a good lunch out and a visit to Barton Grange Garden Centre. I don't agree with having these early Christmas displays but, by golly, they do put on a good show at that place. I stuck to horticultural purchases!

Monika: Fine weather a bit late but very welcome! On Monday took my sister, who has taken on a new garden (82 next month), to Springwood Nurseries that you recommended to me some time ago. She was like a kid in a sweet shop and bought loads of their 9 cm pots of perennials at £16 for 20. Not a Christmas decoration in sight, a proper nursery. Confess I didn't come away empty handed. Went on to Grandma Pollards Fish and Chips then to Riggs that didn't do so well out of us, although their bulbs are still good. A grand day out.
Finally planted Garlic and Japanese Onion plants today and gathered some of our limited Apple crop. Did some belated Summer pruning, hope it works trimming the spurs this late. I fear today was the last of the respite, I didn't fill in the ditch I had dug last week to try and dry out the Garlic bed just in case.

Geoff wrote:I feel a hosepipe ban coming on - hasn't rained since Friday night.

After yesterday's downpour you'll escape a ban

I think you are right. I saw it coming so mixed up a big batch of potting compost by skimming where the Broad Beans had been and sieving it with leafmould, sand and FBB fertiliser. Quickly mowed some grass then the rain came and I moved into the shed. Potted up the perennials from their 9 cm pots that I bought on Monday; I think the nursery must have had a quiet Summer as they were well pot bound, ended up using 1½ litre pots when I planned on 1 litre so the cold frames are well full. Then moved on to sorting out the late Summer cuttings from the propagator, was well please to find a Lantern Tree (Crinodendron hookerianum) with good roots - only 1 out of 5 but I've never rooted one before, I'm wondering how slow growing it will be.

Hi Geoff,
I know the feeling. In all my years as a propagator I have only ever managed to strike one Gingko Biloba. It is said to be impossible to do so.
You can imagine my elation and to prove it the tree is now around 35ft tall! I have tried to take cuttings of this tree without success so I will just have to be satisfied with the one.
JB.

That must have been a while ago to get to 35'. I've grown one from seed, it's got to about 5' but I guess it is over 10 years old. People sometimes say "why don't you just buy one?" - they just don't get it. Have you propagated Akebia? We've got one growing where we can't get to it to smell the flowers which sort of defeats the objective but it refuses to root even from Clematis type cuttings.

1st frost of the year this morning.

I knew I should have picked those spaghetti squash last week

A goodly frost here this morning too, P.J, but not the first of the year.

Just been to wind the Church clock and feed some cats for a friend, and the deer at Woburn Abbey are very vocal this morning, blowed if i know what they get up to at this time of the year.

Another ground frost here too but still haven't had an air frost, plus two last night.

No frost when I let the dog out at 7am, now bright & sunny, but not warm.

Did 19.8 miles with the dog yesterday, caught the edge of three separate showers and averaged 3.75mph.

Sweet peas just starting to poke through in their pots.

A brief cool and bright start here this morning. Now back to what it does best here - raining

Lovely bright day here, if a little cold. Need to get out in to the garden and get some work done .

VPM
x

Beautiful sunny day. Found this group of fungi under an apple tree, not in my book, globes about ¾" to 1" diameter.