Today I did something in my Garden

SouthWesterly

looksee wrote: »

Give them a really good soak before planting, I am quite sceptical about those pots, some plants have trouble escaping from them in order to develop.

Have them a good Soak which will hopefully be aided by the bit of rain we had

blackbox

I removed a huge New Zealand flax that had been annoying me for ages. Had brambles growing through it.
It took me a day and a half by the time I sawed it back, broke off the stems and dug out the roots.

I was planning to put out grass seed with a long term plan for a crab apple, but I might go for a flower bed.

Hocus Focus

CelticRambler wrote: »

The supposed benefit (based on its use in ancient times in Europe and still today in the Far East) is that charring creates a tough water resistant/repellant layer on the outside of the burnt wood. There are (according to my cursory recent reading on the subject) all kinds of variables, not least of which are the type of wood and the wetness of the soil into which it is driven, but by and large charred wood lasts longer than "chemical" treatments. Does it retain its strength? I'll let you know in ten years, as I'm also going to use it on some 2.4m posts that'll mark the back of my new terraced bed!

Currently having an early lunchbreak. The sander worked ... for about ten minutes. Then started spitting orange sparks out of the motor. Did a quick hand-sand to remove the worst of the dirt and too-colourful sub-contractor's marks; the rest will have to be "character" if it shows through the stain. :rolleyes:

Needs a new pair of brushes. Google brushes plus the make and model and you'll find plenty of them for sale. Access to replace them is usually two slot-headed ports, one each side of the sander/drill or whatever.

Hocus Focus

New Home wrote: »

You mean this one?

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=116883479&postcount=816

Couldn't remember where I saw it:)

CelticRambler

Hocus Focus wrote: »

Needs a new pair of brushes. Google brushes plus the make and model and you'll find plenty of them for sale.

It came with a spare set of brushes (and drive belt). It's not the brushes, it's the bearing. 100% certain!

New one is ordered; will hopefully arrive on Friday.

The West Bank palisade is now fully treated and ready to put into place, but I'm holding off for a (very short) while so that I can take some "before" photos with the drone. And also spent time chatting to a green lizard who is - I think - the offspring of a couple who've been living on the edge of my strawberry bed for at least a few years. :cool:

I've made a start on my saffron planters this morning. Getting them finished, positioned and filled with soil is this week's target (the bulbs won't go in till July). Am thinking that this would also be a good bed in which to sow my winter salad, especially the Lamb's lettuce that I like so much and which is a great self-seeder.

hirondelle

CelticRambler wrote: »

You may ask! Various reasons, the main one being inconvenience. If the day's catering is for (low) single digits, it's more trouble than it's worth to find fuel, get it all set up, wait for the fire to be "just right", then cook a small amount of food on it and have to supervise it for the rest of the evening. If catering for large numbers, then the person/people doing the cooking can't be at the table.

Probably because I'm in France, our meals contain relatively small amounts of hot cooked meat, and the menu is based on what food is being served, not a single means of cooking. In the fifteen years I've been here, I've never been to dinner anywhere where anyone's used a barbecue. Spit-roasted whole sheep or pig over an open fire, yes - all the time! - but no barbecues.

Way back in our first year, I did build one (recycled an old, defunct, range-style cooker that was in the kitchen. It got used for cooking that first year, and ever since has been relegated to being a place to rest stuff when trying to get to the stuff behind! :pac:

In the fullness of time, I'll replace it with a proper outdoor kitchen - gas hob, electric oven, fridge and sink. That'll allow us to keep the heat out of the house in the summer months, especially when preparing food for storage (jams, chutneys, pickles, par-boiled veg prior to freezing, etc.

That is fascinating, and totally makes sense given the food culture. Funny enough, I got one of the outdoor pizza ovens and would actually use it more than the BBQ, more for climactic than cultural reason though!

Seanergy

Made a simple mini greenhouse from various leftover bits of perspecs/twinwall/shiplap from friends and family, spent 33 euro on hinges and pressure treated timber for frame.

SouthWesterly

Transplanted chard lettuce and beetroot this evening.
Also got a beehive put in the garden.

lrushe

Weeded my 3 flower beds over the past week, stick a fork in me I'm done!!!

NIMAN

Does anyone here roll their gardens?

I have some sections of my garden that have tracks in them now, due to mowing when the ground was soft.
Makes for uncomfortable mowing now, as the mower bounces up and down going over the area.

No longer have a ride-on, so only option for me would be one you could push/pull yourself.
Are these any use?

CelticRambler

NIMAN wrote: »

Does anyone here roll their gardens?

I have some sections of my garden that have tracks in them now, due to mowing when the ground was soft.

Nope! Well, not really. With my mole infestation, it's not worth it, but most years I do deliberately drive the mower over the ground when it's soft so as to even out the worst of the humps and hollows.

But (as previously declared) I've long since given up on the expectation of having a flat grassy surface that could in any way be described as "a lawn" ...

paddylonglegs

Sowed various seeds in the last few weeks. Fine to have 2 seed trays on the window cill, but I’m trying to figure out how I can get 50 or 60 pots for posting on (never mind where to put them, don’t have a greenhouse). Anyone know anywhere that sells a bulk of pots? Probably 3 inch pots or so.

CelticRambler

I do, but not sure it'll be of any help - they're in France! Ordered 200 pots from them last year, but only larger sizes (two, three and five litre). For the smaller seedlings/plants, I use 125ml yoghurt pots and then upgrade to half a 1-litre milk bottle.

SnowyMuckish

Got a delivery of shrubs during the week, was planning on planting up on Saturday so left them on the south facing patio and half watered them, came back from work to see my climbing hydrangea keeled over, Ugh!!:(

SouthWesterly

Just got a delivery of woodchips for the garden. Planning on planting out my leeks today

CelticRambler

Am half-way through treating the panels that will make up my saffron bed, which just might get put together tomorrow, if things continue to go well. Figured out this morning that a problem with the chain tension on my electric chainsaw isn't actually a problem with the chainsaw but the blade (not the one it came with) so I don't have to waste time taking it back to the shop, and can get back to slicing trees next week.

Not sure if I've done the right thing, but have tentatively agreed to do two, maybe three weeks' work in May. It'll seriously cut into my "vehicles and engines" time, which was supposed to be May's focus, but the other projects are coming to an end, or at least a convenient pause, and I think I can get most of my mature seedlings into the ground by then (I'll take the immature ones with me in their boxes) On the other hand, it means I'll have to figure out some kind of trickley watering system for while I'm gone ...

Currently 26°C outside :cool: - and I'm down to my last 500l of stored rainwater.

New Home

Water retaining gel might help, if you bury it under a layer of soil. If you need large quantities, though, keep in mind that nappies (including the full sized, adult ones) contain absorbent fibres and yes, you've guessed it, water retaining gel. It might work out cheaper.

CelticRambler

Hmm. Having spent the last five years picking bits of plastic out of all my cultivated areas, I think I'll pass on the burying nappies in the garden idea! :pac: Besides, I think my clay soil is probably as good at holding the water as nappy-gel. The problem isn't really retaining the water, it's the getting of it in the first place.

New Home

Well, I didn't mean the plastic wrapping...

CelticRambler

'Salright! I appreciate the input.

Never one to dismiss a potentially useful idea, I've done a quick bit of googling and it seems like it's not a great solution, as the gel competes with the plants to absorb whatever water is available, and the gel is a lot better at sequestering water than seedlings. There's also a suggestion that there's "big money" behind a push to get the underlying compounds (superabsorbent polymers) accepted as "normal" so that they can cheaply funnel personal hygiene waste into farming instead of having it treated as low-grade biohazard.

In any case, I have way too much ground to treat. I'll stick with the old reliables: a leaky bottle and a good mulch!

billyhead

Would anyone know why the top of these leaves are turning grey?

New Home

Am I the only one who can't see any photos?

macraignil

New Home wrote: »

Am I the only one who can't see any photos?

No. I can't see any photos either.

SouthWesterly

macraignil wrote: »

No. I can't see any photos either.

I can see them, you're just blind.









Nope, can't see them either

nigeldaniel

The last few days have been lovely, every morning after getting up I sit with my coffee on a few blocks under a whitethorn tree and listing to the chatter of the birds. All while planning what to do with last year's veg patch.

Pious14

Cut the grass Friday, scarified on Saturday, aerated this morning and fertilised with 7-6-17 this evening. Great to get all done

SnowyMuckish

Had a busy day in the garden today, mostly planting up shrubs and watering newly transplanted perennials.

Afterwards, I sat down wearily by the edge of the pond in the stillness of the evening and emptied my mind. Nothing but the chorus of the birds echoing from the hawthorn around the garden as I watched, mesmerized by the signs of life slowly beginning to appear and dart across the water’s sunlit surface.

It was never in my plan but I must make a permanent seating area here, pure bliss!



It’s come a long way in a few months, starting to take shape but sadly too late for tadpoles this year!

looksee

SnowyMuckish wrote: »

It was never in my plan but I must make a permanent seating area here, pure bliss!

I didn't do anything in the garden today, though it was a beautiful day, but I enjoyed the sunshine while making a Leopold bench!

Got it mostly completed - slow progress as the timber is very heavy (7 x 2's) but its coming together nicely. After I had cut up one length of timber it dawned on me that it was not the treated timber I had ordered, but I decided to go ahead anyway and use it as a practice piece. I can give it a coat of preservative. I suspect the seat is going to be a bit low so I will get around to making another one with some treated timber and raise the legs a bit. Very easy design.

SnowyMuckish

Would love to see a pic of the finished design? I’m half toying with the idea of a naturalistic seating area with two tree stumps and a seat across them and plant a few ferns around it. I read ‘ dryoptris filix mas’ can take sun. Looking for a hosta for a sunny spot now, there are some but I may have to park that plan.

looksee

Will post a pic when it is done