WHAT JOBS ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY 2019

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Phil A, Dec 31, 2018.

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  1. Verdun

    Verdun Passionate gardener

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    Yes, blades set high Andrews. :)
    The scarifier is far from gentle.....nothing subtle about its perfomance:snorky:
    Note my comment the lawn now looks "lovely" was said tongue in cheek; it looks awful now esp as I have now completed second scarifying in two days
    I still hand raked quite physically too and mown again afterwards.
    I guess its still hard work but I enjoy that side of it.:)
    I mowed the back lawn too.....grass has not stopped growing and rarely does for long down here
     
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    • andrews

      andrews Super Gardener

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      Ahhhh …. missed the irony in that. I'll scarify next year and it will look a mess but looks better very soon after. I think its due to the grass standing upright rather than being trampled down.
      I tend to have mine set just below soil level.

      I keep looking out for a cheap hollow tiner but they don't seem to turn up.
       
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      • Snorky85

        Snorky85 Total Gardener

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        Could do with scarifying our front garden and think a machine would make it easier than using a rake. Any recommendations?

        Today we managed to get outside and jet washered/jeyes fluid some of the path. Will let that dry out and spray on the wet and forget onto the path and the new slabs at the back of the garden.

        Went up to my lotty and cleared all my stuff out of the neighbours plot and tidied it all up and cut the grass inbetween the plots. I'd spent loads of time and money clearing out the weeds and filling it up with decent compost and loads of manure for her to then say she wants to start using it (after I've done all the hard work - typical eh!). Anyway..cleared that and weeded the stoney areas on the lotty. Might go over and prune the apple tree tomorrow.
         
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        • Verdun

          Verdun Passionate gardener

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          Yes Snorky, got a good one from Screwfix on their website...free delivery and cheap ..£70...but excellent machine.
          Saves a lot of hard work but probably better done in spring in most places.
           
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          • Snorky85

            Snorky85 Total Gardener

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            No gardening as such today. Went to a local family run nursery and discussed hedging and was shown how to pleach trees. Hedging will be ordered when I’ve moved the last few shrubs out the way.
             
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            • Kandy

              Kandy Will be glad to see the sun again soon.....

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              @Snorky85 I bought the GW magazine before Christmas as it had a free calendar and reading through the adverts it had the one listed that we got our beech hedge saplings from.It is Buckingham Nurseries,we actually drove there and picked out the ones we wanted and as you live down that way not sure if it is of any help or whether it is the actual nursery that you went to?:smile:
               
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              • shiney

                shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                If you're getting one you could then pop over here and get some practice in using. :heehee: A few years ago we had someone in to do it. He only did the front lawn and part of one of our lawns around the fruit trees and had to take away two ton bags of moss! :hate-shocked: He told me some time afterwards that he bagged up loads of the moss and sold it to a nursery that specialises in doing hanging baskets. Quite enterprising.

                I'm still carrying on with the pressure hosing. I'll also, eventually, give the patio a going over with Wet and Forget. It worked really well for a couple of years and I would have just given it another coat this month (the lichen and mould were just coming back) but I've had the roof de-mossed and although the man swept afterwards there was too much tiny bits of debris on the patio. So a quick going over (will be about ten hours instead of the 40 hours, three times a year, it used to take) will prepare it. The roof man will still be coming back to spray it with a similar chemical to Wet and Forget but can't do it if it's windy. He would have done it when he cleared the roof but he had a cough and wasn't able to wear his mask - essential when spraying the roof.

                We're still clearing leaves from amongst the plants and yesterday we cut back a big Viburnum. It was 14ft long, 5ft wide and 8ft high. When we've finished cutting back it will be 6" high but my loppers can't cut below about 2ft as the stems are more than 2" thick there. I have someone coming to saw them lower down as I can't bend and do heavy work. From now on we intend to keep the Viburnum at just above knee high. :fingers crossed:
                 
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                • andrews

                  andrews Super Gardener

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                  A friend bought the screwfix machine and it does a great job.

                  I ended up with a Camon as I needed a petrol scarifier due to the distance to the power
                   
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                  • Snorky85

                    Snorky85 Total Gardener

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                    Ha ha @shiney that is a great idea! There’s lots of grass on our estate common parts that is getting full of moss. I could bag that up and sell it! :snorky:

                    I’ll look into that screwfix scarifier for sure.

                    @Kandy ah yes I had see Buckingham nurseries and was going to give them a try but the nursery i found is more local near tring called Batchelors. A father and son run it and it was great...would definitely prefer to support local and theyve given me a good price and good advice :)
                     
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                    • CarolineL

                      CarolineL Total Gardener

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                      I know I shouldn't have, but I was so desperate to do something in my new garden that I lifted some dodgy turf and planted out some of my pots of bulbs. I have found by probing with a garden fork that large areas of the new garden have claggy clay subsoil overlaying leftover gravel, stones etc. Ho hum. Good job I have access to plenty of horse manure...
                       
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                      • shiney

                        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                        Look on the bright side. The gravel and stones will help with the drainage so when you add horse manure and, eventually lots of your own compost you will have some very good soil. Clay is very nutritious for plants. :dbgrtmb:
                         
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                        • Sheal

                          Sheal Total Gardener

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                          Any further reports on the Screwfix scarifier would be welcome please. I'm thinking of hiring a different make (petrol engine) come Spring, so at £50 a day it would be worthwhile buying the above instead, although the cable would be a bit of a nuisance.
                           
                        • Verdun

                          Verdun Passionate gardener

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                          Sheal, it comes with both scarifier and raker attachments, solidly built and does an excellent job on both counts.
                          Variable settings from light to heavy duty work
                          For my 150 sq metre front lawn the cable, 30', (I needed an extension reel) was no real problem. A slower job than mowing so avoiding the cable was fine.
                          Priced at under £70 it was the best value machine available.
                          It was recommended to me by another owner who was well satisfied with its performance.
                          Hope this is helpful :)
                           
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                          • WeeTam

                            WeeTam Total Gardener

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                            I use an electric one bought years ago from Lidl. Using the blades after the tine fitting wore out. Works fine as long as you pre treat it with iron sulphate 2 weeks beforehand.

                            Moss will never be defeated just controlled....unless you sort your drainage and compaction, feed the grass and remove all shading.
                             
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                            • noisette47

                              noisette47 Total Gardener

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                              britain-4-w.jpg
                              Sorry..couldn't resist ;):snorky:
                               
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