What are we doing in the garden 2025

I see, I suppose you could work out the square cubic yard of how many blocks you've got to match the skip if you are inclined to do . I could of done with a small one but decided to have a clear out went with a midi / 4yard at £180 . The robinson is a beauty I wanted one to begin with but out of reach they are very well made with lots of features, I'll stick with my Elite GH for now until it blows away .

 

I was thinking that Sunday has traditionally been a holey day...

 

I didn't know that, it's a long time to wait.

 

Emptied the big tubs in the front under the kitchen window ready to plant the bulbs.

 

Over the summer I have been helping a non gardening neighbour with her garden. Yesterday I encouraged her to get some tulip bulbs for some pots that were not being used anymore.

I was confident she couldn't go far wrong planting them, told her to remove half of the old compost and refresh with new and that the depth instructions are on the packet.

A few hours later I popped in, she proudly showed me her planted up pots. I spotted that the old compost hadn't been replaced so asked why. She said she had replaced the bottom half not the top. Confused I was trying to establish why she had done that then suddenly the penny dropped, she had planted the bulbs 12cm from the bottom of the large pots not the top.

 

@Friendly - it just shows that things we understand without a problem, aren't always so obvious to a novice! It's why I get annoyed with TV progs, because they skip stuff that might seem straightforward, but not if you're a beginner. We were all beginners at one time.
Just as well you were there to keep her right
Hope you're feeling a bit more 'chipper' today @pete. Sorry
Thanks for the comments re the sweet williams @NigelJ and yourself. I think I'll experiment with the ones that are in a small metal trough while the weather is still so mild for messing about with them. I might leave the one in a wall basket and see if it survives. The winters are so mild here now that it might manage if I keep it out of the wet well enough. I did wonder if they were more half hardy perennial than annual, so may as well try. I checked, and I have lots of collected seed too, so I'll see what happens.
I have some wallflowers that have been tucked against the house wall for a couple of years Nigel, and the seed I collected has all germinated, and the plants have grown. Just need to find spaces for them all. Typical!
I messed about with the water butt yesterday, and will continue with that today. Should have put it at that side of the shed to start with. Shoulda, woulda, coulda...
Will hopefully get on with the potting table thing too. I got some heftier casters, so I might do all that today. It's meant to clear up, but the mist and dampness doesn't look like it wants to leave.

 

Hi,

Thanks @CarolineL I used to enjoy restoring old heavy machinery but this modern tinny rubbish is now like white goods; just dispose of when it breaks. Years ago we bought washing machines one after the other and whatever the cost they seemed to die in about six years; the last one to die was going to cost over £100 just for the circuit board which is a total rip off. We dumped it and on a recommendation from a friend bought a very cheap basic BEKO costing I think at the time only £190; this BEKO is still in regular use and it must be about 15 years old; when it dies I'll strip it of useful parts; recycle the rest and buy the same again; so much is made these days just to last until the warranty expires; this is called saving the planet? I hope you enjoyed the talk on taking hardwood cuttings.

Thanks so much @Perki When a married couple enjoy unconditional love the marriage works.

Thanks @Logan there are conflicting stories on the web and YouTube regarding how long it takes to kill weeds by covering them;

"People also ask
How long does it take to kill weeds if you cover them?

Clear plastic tarps from your local hardware store (2-6 mil) are sufficient for solarization. In dry climates, the process typically takes around two to three weeks during hot summer months. The process is complete when the vegetation underneath the tarp is dead."

I thought excluding light killed weeds but possibly weeds only die on the surface if covered for a short period of time; I wonder how long it would take to kill couch grass including roots. I'm certainly not an expert; others on the forum will have more knowledge/experience.

I'm grounded again today; my friend a former neighbour and her son are visiting this afternoon and as I've washed behind my ears I want to remain clean.

Very true @CarolineL I'm better playing my violin this morning not messing around with a rubbish rotavator which will still be rubbish when repaired; pistons complete with rings (44mm) are available very cheaply through eBay but there's no guarantee it'll be a direct replacement so recycle it is and carry on what I've been doing for the last 50 years buy scrap heavy duty machines and rebuild them. Over the years I've received lots of comments such as you've got the skills; you've got the time; you've got the workshop; you've got the machines; you can make the missing parts and you know where to buy the spares; I was born with all these attributes? If I was desperate I could make the piston and rings in my workshop.


Leaving school my chosen career was mechanical engineering; I can make anything I like from metal such as this 4hp single phase sawbench; this won't meet current machinery safety regulations but I'm the only one who uses it and I have high regard for my safety. It's not a machine to let a novice use. Yes I'm taught this skill but I've not been taught my other many skills including woodworking which I detested at school. I'm off topic as usual but I like to encourage others to leave their comfort zone to try something new.

Kind regards, Col.

 

Not too bad a thing as the roots will grow down into the fresh compost. Unless they're really big pots the bulbs won't be too bothered about being a bit deeper than recommended. Most common bulbs are fairly relaxed about depth of planting. In their natural habitat creatures dig them up and leave them around and they sort themselves out. Seeds germinate at or close to the surface and the small bulbs will work themselves down to a suitable depth. Many common bulbs produce droppers which are long fat roots that extend down and then the end swells into a bulb.
I found this out years ago trying to plant bulbs in shallow soil over clay and only having a trowel, they went down as far as I could get them and flowered excellently for the next few years.

 

Not 100% sure what I'm doing in the garden today, need to do a number of things, but I got distracted earlier after a post on here reminded me of the birth of Athena springing fully formed from her fathers head; following on from that I remembered a Sci Fi story from the 60's where the name Harlan Alltrades cropped up (story was One Face by Larry Niven) and then I found he'd collaborated on the final book of his Ringworld series so that's on the wish list now.
I need to fasten name tags to a number of shrubs having spent time hunting through photos and Plants of the World Online to identify a Berberis from which the label had disappeared since the other year. Turns out it was Berberis (Mahonia) bealei, but needs a less losable label.

 

Solarisation probably won't work in the UK, except maybe in the SE in a good summer. In the Southern USA and similar places the clear polythene on the weeds, with edges dug in, basically it cooks the weeds. Not sure how well it works on really deep rooted weeds though; down side is it kills beneficial organisms as well as pests.
As to why they use clear polythene rather than black polythene which would probably get hotter quicker, no idea.

 

She planted the bulbs 12cm from the bottom of a 105cm pot, that would be a lot of growing for them to do.

 

Oo @NigelJ I used to read a lot of SF- I'll have to find that Niven story! Berberis/Mahonia? Have they changed names again? I think taxonomists don't have enough to do...
All I've done this morning is tidy up a few fallen (rotted) tree limbs in the wood, and tried to work out where to plant some things that shouldn't sit in small pots all winter.