What jobs are we doing in the garden today 2016

Oh alright then where was my invite then :p

 

That's boring :(
I'm gonna sulk now

 

Hi Armandii,

Have you always done your hardy perennials now ? If so is there any real advantage? I've always left mine till around the end of May/beginning of June when I've planted out all my Spring sown stuff. I find that I've got nice young plants to plant out then in the Autumn.

 

I moved my small greenhouse. Rewired, rerigged the watering and was happy when the sun hit my work area and brought the temperature above freezing.

working in bitter cold with or wighout gloves is hard on the skin. I now have 10 splits on my fingers and the rest of my hands are much better being only like coarse sandpaper.

It was a good day. Any sunshine is lovely.

 

Lori do you have eczema or just poor skin due to cold/wet? My hands (and legs) crack in the cold and are like sandpaper most of the time too (sister has eczema, I have really dry skin) and depending if your country sells these items.. get some Germolene on the cracks (it helps with healing, stinging and keeping nastys out) then some vaseline as a barrier and copious amounts of E45/Bodyshop shea/cocoa butter and get these bad boys http://www.amazon.co.uk/Westlab-Sho...459332980&sr=8-1&keywords=moisturising+gloves on in the night

 

@Lynd I have what I would call "ordinary" skin but since I work extensively with fabric which sucks the oils out of your skin, I am constantly battling dryness. I cannot use lotions when working with fabric as it might leave residue on the material. Then I aggravate the skin by working outside in the cold to get ready for gardening season. The skin on my hands turn hard and cracks. I do use lotions when I'm finished for the day but obviously not as much as is needed. Thank you for your helpful suggestions.

I'm back outside today to get some more work done on the waterlines. We're looking at two more weeks before the temperatures stop plunging well below freezing so I won't be testing/using them for awhile.

 

Ahh yes I see, that's a pain! Still, you need to slap some more cream on in the night when your done and that Germolene really is good for the stinging, look after yourself

 

Treated myself to some box balls to add to the garden, got a bargin, 6 large ones for £72, they normally retail at £30 each so really pleased.

I also got myself another Black Bamboo from Homebase today, 18l pot reduced to £35 so happy with that. Its not the best specimen, but I will prune out the weaker growth, some roots and lower leaves, then plant it out.

Heres a pic, not the best, but you will see the box balls (theres more out of shot) and bamboo on the left will be copied on the right so its symmetrical. Does mean I have to move that Apple tree though .

 

Hooray, I've just finished sowing all the seeds I had scheduled for March, 14 x half seed trays and just over 500 pots, tubes and individual cells. Tommorow I'll preparing March's list, extracting the seeds ready for sowing and washing more pots & trays.

Then it starts all over again, only in April I'll also be doing more stuff at the plot, there will also be continual pricking out then potting up, plus my grow boxes will be full and I'll be shifting plants in and out of them up to twice a day.

No rest until June and it's all planted.

 

Well, I shrink into the background in shame at my meagre seed sowing exploits
But, I am happy to report that the Asters I sowed just over a week ago have all germinated and will soon be ready for potting on.
The Echinacea are looking promising and the Canterbury Bells are looking the same as when I planted them.
My greatest success (so far!) this year are the sweet peas.
The direct garden sowings are yet to decide what they are going to do with themselves

The eggshells from the past few months have all been duly baked in the oven, crushed and then scattered over the borders (or as much of them as I can) to provide a prickly barrier from the slugs and snails - which, I'm predicting, will be quite prolific this year following the mild and wet Autumn/Winter we've had.