Early Winter Bits and Bobs.

[Primrose]

it's almost beginning to feel like we needn't bother to check the forecast because we know it's going to be more rain!

Don't know about the need for electric cars to save the planet. We need to be building more Arks ! If Noah was still alive he'd be saying "I told you so! What took you so long???"

[oldherbaceous]

It’s absolutely chucking it down here, and looks like we have it all night….

[Westi]

Nice morning down here but of course it was short lived. More aluminium poles bent on the walk in net tunnel so I took it down to at least save the net cover ripping on the popped out poles. All the upright poles have bent but the linking ones across were OK, so will pop on line to see how much they will be to replace & if no too shocking might even get some of the shorter link ones so the structure is like a cube then I can securely peg it down at the bottom as well which may help control the rocking in the big blows. I anticipate it will be cost prohibitive to replace the poles so option 2 it will be cable ties & thick canes.

Cheery little sun showing on my phone weather for the next 10 days......we will see!

[Clive.]

I like the sound of an app that shows sunshine but not available on my vintage Samsung D900...

...my PC based forecast doesn't now show a sunny symbol until next Tuesday.!

C.

[Westi]

Well did some research on the poles for the net tunnel, found online a pack of right height 10 for £24.79 & the company I bought from are selling them for £26 each hmmm? I obvs won't be buying the same ones as they don't link together well as the little triangle corner thing you screw in is pants, the screws holding it are so small they literally only need one turn of the screwdriver & then they pop straight out & are so small you can't even find them on the ground. I found better ones of these from 2 Wests for £7.99 ea that are much thicker & a bigger screw, but my neighbour questioned whether those old hose clips might be more secure as they tighten securely & adjustable, he seems to think these are available in different widths the larger widths with 2 screw in ties, which might be good to secure the plastic T junctions to the poles & then one under the edge. Leaning toward giving the cheap ones a go as price is OK & they are the same width top to bottom unlike canes & will have a search of the hose clips to check if wider ones. OK That enthralled you enough, but you know I'm always open to suggestions.

Lovely day today which was just as well as I went down to things blown about again so sorted that, secured everything & if soil dries the stakes will be going nowhere as in well deep as soil so wet & easy to hammer in. Fitted in some weeding & clearing too as taller things were literally laying on the ground so Chinese tall crops & Brussel Sprouts in the compost bin.

I hope the sunshine finds it's way everywhere asap & that none of your homes have been affected by this latest deluge.

[Primrose]

I,m surpsed at how many lumps of moss recent strong winds and heavy rain downpours have blown off our roof slates down onto the patio.

It,s almost as if we,ve lost a free layer of insulation, (does a moss coating actually provide much insulation I wonder?).

[Clive.]

We have often wondered how much weight is on a nearby Church roof. On the North side it is totally moss covered to quite a thickness, the weight of which when holding water, like at the moment, must be quite considerable.
I have seen slate roofs with a strip of copper along the full length just below the ridge tiles...hey presto, no green build up on the slates and good water run off.

C.

[Geoff]

Disappointed yesterday. First day for a bit when I thought I could do something on a veg bed so I decided to lime the brassica beds. Went to the garage for the bag of lime I thought I had in stock but it was a memory failure, no lime. Decided to look online to see if I could order anything and was horrified by the prices. I think of it as a cheap commodity that should be less than £10 a bag but most adverts were around £25. How much are you paying / am I looking in the wrong places?

[retropants]

Geoff, I’ve just bought a 1kg tub for £8.99 on Amazon. It’s probably cheaper in a shop, but I’ve been ill and unable to get out. I was pretty shocked at that price too, but as I only have a small patch, 1 kg should last me a while. Good luck.

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Geoff, it seems Keith Singleton Horticultural Products, is about the cheapest at £17.49 including postage……not sure what the cost is at our local suppliers, at the moment, but everything seems to be going up so much!

[Tony Hague]

Presuming the lime is to raise pH, I just use wood ash, of which I have plenty, instead. My cabbages grew better than anything else last year, so can't be doing too much harm.

[Myrkk]

Presuming the lime is to raise pH, I just use wood ash, of which I have plenty, instead. My cabbages grew better than anything else last year, so can't be doing too much harm.

That’s interesting. We have lots of wood ash currently as the burner is on. Is there a specific section of plants that would benefit from it? I.e. brassicas, peas, potatoes etc

[Westi]

Pretty low key day today weeding & checking on crops. Had my first lemons today, had the tree for 10 years +, but it has always dropped it's fruit so it has been getting some extra attention & I think the fact that the tunnel has kept pretty even temps has suited it. They say they are hardy down to - 5C but mine sulks badly with drops in temp. It's doing the right thing now with flowers & fruit of various sizes on the tree at the same time.

Rolled back the black plastic on the really wet bed to take advantage of a bit of sunshine to dry it out. It thanked me by pushing me into the mud, OK I slipped as the membrane path was slippery with wet mud, thankfully I keep some clothes in the shed for such occasions!

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[Primrose]

Well done on the lemons Westi. That must feel quite an achievement as I know they,re pretty hard to rear in our climate, even with the benefit of winter cover.

Good job you keep some spare emergency clothing in your allotment shed! slippery mud can be a real accident causer.

[Westi]

We have an ice warning for tomorrow, only -1C, but think the council are covering themselves from previous bodge ups.

The last one was several years ago where they thought it was OK to just grit the roads to about midnight then leave it, unfortunately it drizzled & all roads were ice rinks. I managed to get to work with Mr being creative with using footpaths where there was some grass & other's tracks. We picked up several others trying to walk or ride their bikes with obvious consequences so piled them in the car with us, me being the first aider. He was even creative enough to deposit us safely right inside the main corridor of the community hospital driving close to open the automatic doors & get right inside. We became an overflow centre for the walking wounded, so many older folk still had to have their paper! Fortunately the council sent the gritters out again with hospitals as priority & staff were able to come over & do the many plaster casts. It's was a very long day, but everyone rallied.

I think I will go down to the plot, no rain for a few days so think ice warning is for the folk who are flooded already which is quite extensive. I shall stay away from the slippery mud Primrose!