What's happening in your garden today?

[Anniekay]

All I did was pick the last two cauliflowers and all the rest of the broccolli.

I took a trip to town to pickup my prescriptions and just couldn't stop myself. I got a dozen Crocosmia Lucifer bulbs and a pack of six Rudbeckia Goldstrums. Now I have to figure out where to plant them !!

 

[Zigs]

All I did was pick the last two cauliflowers and all the rest of the broccolli.

I took a trip to town to pickup my prescriptions and just couldn't stop myself. I got a dozen Crocosmia Lucifer bulbs and a pack of six Rudbeckia Goldstrums. Now I have to figure out where to plant them !!

That's good, my Lucifer seedlings aren't looking very happy I suspect Sciarid flies

 

[Anniekay]

That's good, my Lucifer seedlings aren't looking very happy I suspect Sciarid flies

Mine came as bulbs. Will scarid flies damage them? I haven't grown Crocosmia before so I am totally ignorant as to what might plague them.

 

[Sean Regan]

Not a lot today as it's raining. More forecast for tomorrow and for early next week.


My replacement corded electric drill I ordered on eBay on Thursday, arrived today. Most people use battery drills these days. I do have one, but to drill multiple holes through thick concrete, something more substantial I think is needed. It seems well-made and is quite heavy, the body is all metal. It has a detachable side handle with which you can use the supplied depth gauge. It comes with a 2 year guarantee. Curiously, it was supplied with a spare pair of motor brushes.

At £42.95 I don't think I could go far wrong. They've sold, 1336 of 'em.

 

[Anniekay]

Today I up-potted the last two vegetable plants that I have inside, still under grow lights: one Babyboomer tomato plant and one Courgette. Then I put 2 bags of Black Kow compost (it has a lot of cow manure in it) into my Hugel kultur raised bed for the last 6 potato seeds I have. Planted those potatoes and watered them in. Then I put all my stuff away, because I feel a bit poopy today and called it enough !!

 

[Zigs]

Mine came as bulbs. Will scarid flies damage them? I haven't grown Crocosmia before so I am totally ignorant as to what might plague them.

No, they are a pain with roots on very small seedlings but the maggots are only about quarter of an inch long so shouldn't worry a bulb Annie

 

[Zigs]

Not a lot today as it's raining. More forecast for tomorrow and for early next week.


My replacement corded electric drill I ordered on eBay onThursday arrived today. Most people use battery drills these days. I do have one, but to drill multiple holes through thick concrete, something more substantial I think is needed. It seems well-made and is quite heavy, the body is all metal. It has a detachable side handle with which you can use the supplied depth gauge. It comes with a 2 year guarantee. Curiously, it was supplied with a spare pair of motor brushes.

At £42.95 I don't think I could go far wrong. They've sold, 1336 of 'em.

View attachment 2996

Cool

 

[Anniekay]

I got my second wind and planted out 50 more red onion sets around the outsides if the potato plants. I still have another bag of 100 red onions to plant !!

 

[Logan]

Nothing today i went to see my friends and it's been raining all day.

 

[Tetters]

Mine came as bulbs. Will scarid flies damage them? I haven't grown Crocosmia before so I am totally ignorant as to what might plague them.

Your Crocosmia bulbs are tough, and they'll be fine planted out. Not much to worry about with those, you'll love them when they come out later in the year.... and they will hopefully spread a bit for you too!
Your temperatures and sunlight are clearly far nicer than ours at this time of year. I can't believe how much you have harvested this early, and your seedlings have galloped along. Brilliant!! Don't overdo it though, you need time to sit and plan (with your feet up, in a comfy chair)

 

[Sean Regan]

We baled out of pruning the trees today, as it's damp and only +3c. So we've re-scheduled for next week-end, when we're promised sunshine and +14c.
Hmm..

I finished "tarting up" the new hedgehog doorway in the fence. I needed my new mains drill to be able to attach it to the concrete fence base panel. No sign of any hedgehog activity yet.




I've come to a decision about this area under the acer in front of the tea-house.

I think I'd be kidding myself, if I thought I could rescue the grass. It looks a mess at the moment and squirrels digging in it doesn't help.





There's a reclamation/brick-yard near Asda, where do some of our shopping. So one day next week I'll check them out for similar bricks to these.
I'll make the perimeter much bigger. I'll also need a couple of bags of fine concrete mix, in which to set the bricks. It will probably need a roll of turf too.
I'll also give the acer's skirt a trim once I've taken the net and wires off, to allow more light to the area around the bricks' perimeter.
Of course, I won't be doing any of this until it gets a bit warmer.
But I'll be ready for it.

 

[Anniekay]

We baled out of pruning the trees today, as it's damp and only +3c. So we've re-scheduled for next week-end, when we're promised sunshine and +14c.
Hmm..

I finished "tarting up" the new hedgehog doorway in the fence. I needed my new mains drill to be able to attach it to the concrete fence base panel. No sign of any hedgehog activity yet.


View attachment 3000

I've come to a decision about this area under the acer in front of the tea-house.

I think I'd be kidding myself, if I thought I could rescue the grass. It looks a mess at the moment and squirrels digging in it doesn't help.


View attachment 3001


There's a reclamation/brick-yard near Asda, where do some of our shopping. So one day next week I'll check them out for similar bricks to these.
I'll make the perimeter much bigger. I'll also need a couple of bags of fine concrete mix, in which to set the bricks. It will probably need a roll of turf too.
I'll also give the acer's skirt a trim once I've taken the net and wires off, to allow more light to the area around the bricks' perimeter.
Of course, I won't be doing any of this until it gets a bit warmer.
But I'll be ready for it.

Why don't you plant some low-growing, shade tolerant plants under it and put a brick edge around that? Some snow drops and hyacinths with some begonias for summer as a suggestion. Much prettier than brick paving .

 

[Sean Regan]

Why don't you plant some low-growing, shade tolerant plants under it and put a brick edge around that? Some snow drops and hyacinths with some begonias for summer as a suggestion. Much prettier than brick paving .

Thanks for that, but I want to get back to this look. less maintenance required.




As is the other one.

 

[Sean Regan]

A cold day today, seems lower than +5c.

No hedgehog activity. I've put the second camera out to cover the new doorway.

 

[olly-buckle]

Blooming chilly wind. Mostly I have been filling sacks ready for potatoes. roll the sack down to the bottom, put in a layer of wood to hold moisture, then leaves and all the stuff I sweep up around the chopping block and work it down into the wood, then a bit of well rotted manure, then I thoroughly mix 50/50 earth and manure with a bit of blood fish and bone, and maybe a bit of wood ash if there is a lot of oak in the wood, but not too much, potatoes like acidic. I'll put in three or four inches of that and then stand them aside. When the potatoes have chitted properly I'll probably put three to a bag, then they will get another five inches of mix on top, that will be topped up and the bag unrolled as they grow. I'll do them as they chit, so I get a bit of a succession, the first ones will probably be a bit early and go in the greenhouse to avoid frost for a bit.
I made a bit of an error this year, I ordered a potato selection back last year and forgot I had done it and ordered another one early January. they are from different companies, so I have a selection of ten different varieties, Ill try and keep some for summer planting in july-august.

 

[Tetters]

A cold day today, seems lower than +5c.

No hedgehog activity. I've put the second camera out to cover the new doorway.

Maybe they'll venture out soon when the temperatures improve (hopefully) . Evidently Kent should expect about -5C this week (about 23F) they might be best off staying asleep a bit longer.

 

[Logan]

It's too cold but i did plant out 10 pots of crocus and hubby did a bit of clearing in the back garden.

 

[big rockpile]

Fed .y Worms. Too cold and snowy to do anymore.

big rockpile

 

[Sean Regan]

Too wet for gardening, but I did some related shopping. I bought some Hedgehog food, from Pets Are Us, which was reduced in price, don't know why, they're only just coming out of hibernation.

I also bought some, "Grass Gains," for £7.50 (less than half retail price) from the local Homebase, which is closing on Saturday and being replaced by B&Q.





My search for brick setts goes on. To remake the ones around the smaller of our two acers.

The nearest I've found are these from a brickyard 20 miles away at 80p each.






Or these at £1.85 from B&Q. "Your local rip-off merchants."





"It's just lawn edging." I'll leave getting the cheaper ones for a couple of weeks.


I've linked another hedgehog video from last year, to my, "Build a Better Hedgehog Feeder" on my YouTube Channel
It's of the old feeder, but demonstrates how a 4" pipe entrance, is quite acceptable to those hedgehogs who used it.

 

[Sean Regan]

Couldn't edit my previous post.
I bought a replacement corded drill for the one that went U/S when I was drilling holes in concrete making the new hedgehog doorway.
I knew it didn't come in a case, just a cardboard box.
But I decided it needed a case, but wouldn't find a purpose made one. So I saw this on eBay and thought it had possibilities. I've no idea what was its previous use. It had two hard foam inserts that completely filled both halves.



It arrived this afternoon.

But with "a bit of fettling" with a hacksaw blade, it now has a case.