What are we doing in the garden 2024

I took the dog for a walk before starting on the cooking marathon. Exhausted but did it. Family all completed their charity event and no one came last thank goodness. No one came first so no bragging rights and family harmony was preserved! They were all tired, quiet and sore from various old injuries etc. but still alive.
Today is a rest day, we are going to a local hostelry for Sunday Lunch. No outdoor activities, it started raining yesterday afternoon around 4.00pm and hasn't stopped.

 

Potted up 60 yellow crocus corms, 3 in each pot and 50 purple crocus corms, they were smaller so i put 5 in each pot. I do that so if there's any spaces i can put them in.

 

I know how all conversations will start next week in the office.

"Yes I'm all right. No, I don't have a kitten. "





Two brown binfuls of brambles got ripped out from outside and inside of the inherited greenhouse. Greenhouse is a priority as I have several small rooted cuttings of this and that to overwinter, plus plans to sow some seeds as soon as I can find them.

They are probably right next to the hammer that was carefully moved from the old house in The Child's handbag and promptly mislaid never to be seen again.


I'm thinking to put down some root membrane and a new layer of paving slabs (plenty of those lying around...) to slow down the return of the brambles, mare's tail and bindweed. Not perfect, but I can live with annual growth (as opposed to the ancient mass we just cleared) and as the stuff is firmly established on both sides of the fence there's no way to get rid of them completely.

That's fine, brambles are great for wildlife and spectacular scratches.

Can't wait for next summer! (First chilli seeds have been bought already, if only I could find them... )

 

It's chucking it down here today, so all I've done is to transplant some Thyme into larger pots and in a brief lull in the rain, pick some Lupin seeds.

 

Finally saw a patch of sunshine today - hurrah. Feels like it's been raining for ever.

Everything's so saturated though, I can't do much outside. Just dug up one potato plant - total 4 small spuds for dinner tonight and picked some apples to make an apple cake ready for visitors next week.

I've got some perennials to dig up, a bush to plant in their place, weeds galore, two hedges to cut and a general tidy up before autumn storms arrive.

 

Been washing plant pots before putting them away in the shed, apart from 6 that i will be adding lettuce seed to keep me in salad for a little bit long. I found it better to grow them in 6 inch pots rather then the window trough as lifting them out caused a bit of a mess with their large roots.

Radish and spring onions are a bit of a disaster! 5 times I have tried and ended up with both being the size of a matchstick. (a total failer)
1-tried different depths in planting the seeds
2- made sure radishes had plenty of room to swell out
3- I grow first lot of spring onions in groups (failed) "they are called bunch spring onions after all" and even though I didn't expect a bulb when harvesting most were wick size and very small.

My next door neighbour is having the same trouble? So I'm thinking I might pull the rest of the onions and radishes out and start again with a different compost mix - I still have some compost left for seeds so will mixed it with John Innes 3 and see if that will do the trick.
LOL I should be adding this to the veg section but I got carried away for a bit

 

Will be tearing up the toms today - 3°C predicted for Wednesday into Thursday night. A poor year.

 

The 'lawn' needs cutting, that's a first in September! It's too wet, though, so will be doing a bit of tree surgery instead. A Robinia planted in the drive bed has got way too big for it's boots and although it's useful for shade in summer and the flowers make lovely fritters, it's going to get the classic French autumn hatchet job. Then a wander round to make a note of all the gaps to be filled in October!

 

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed @Tidemark as I still have quite a few tomatoes just turning colour. My Baby Boomer and Lufichoice Multi-Flora are still producing and the taste from both is delicious.
(Definitely a must for next year)

My hopes of the sun shining looks very slim though as I'm actually wearing winter woollies!

 

Do you mean minus 3 @Tidemark ? That seems odd.
We have low single figures in the forecast for later in the week, but I'll leave the toms that are under cover for a while. Most are turning, so I'll play it by ear as to how many come into the house. The single outside plant has some fruits, but I may just have to cover it and leave it to get on with it. I won't have enough windowsills if they all have to come indoors!
Not sure what I'll do outside today, but it might be the bed in the front garden - right at the other end. Instead of doing that yesterday, I lifted an Actea from the bed under the front windows, which hasn't done well this year, divided it and potted up both sections. I have a very invasive, inherited geranium [bio-kovo] which I dislike intensely, and that's covering every square inch of soil, so I pulled out as much of that as I could too. It needs a blowtorch.
I might give the grass a quick cut if it stays dry, and that might be almost the last cut this year. Maybe one more, as growth should slow right down soon. I moved the hog house into the gap where the Actea was, and in behind the adjacent hydrangea, which means it's easier for access if any possible residents are around.
Got the renovated birdcage back up on the rear fence yesterday, which took a bit of jiggery pokery, but that's plenty of choice for the birds now. Will go and get some more gravel so that I can do another layer of concrete at the front gate, although the weather's a bit hit and miss this week, so may not get done until mid week or so.
I know I did other things, but I've already forgotten what they were.

 

Dash it! No, it was a dash! 3° is bad enough though!

 

I wondered if that was what you'd done! I use a hyphen in that way a lot too.

 

Still no sign of fruits here on my Tumbling Tom despite the mass of flowers. Think that's probably it for this year ...

 

Hello @fairygirl - i went on a cricket groundsmans course about 20 years ago presented by a county cricket groundsman. Cutting grass was a popular topic . In essence , his view was that if the grass was growing then as long as the weather is not freezing nor is the ground saturated or the grass too wet then you can cut your grass at any time of the year but on a higher setting in late autumn and winter . I have run with that and have had no problem by cutting on the highest setting in autumn/winter . Of course British weather does mean limited opportunities of doing that as its generally raining and if its not its very cold but i generally get a couple of cuts October to March. It works for me and may work in more southerly parts . I suspect in central Scotland those opportunities would be fewer over a longer period?

 

well I've done something today attacked the dead lawn again hopefully I'll get it reseed for weekend but the weather working against me, I'll have to fleece it to speed it up before winter . Done some deadheading its been a while even deadheaded the heleniums . Picked first lot of tomatoes a cucumber and a bunch of grapes from the greenhouse but yet again I've got white fly in the GH I am sick to death of the little blighters 3 years on the trot now, trimmed back some of the tomato foliage which they are on so got rid of some , I'll defoliate the entire plants next week when the cold spell ends and hope summer arrives its saying 1'C Thursday night possible - 2C, if I see a flipping minus 2 I am going to throw a WOBBLER . Making plans as well for moving plants and new additions