The Fence *The Gardening Forum Off Topic and Chat Thread

Dr Galen

You get the idea.......:D

Dr Galen

So this weekend has involved crap all to do with gardening, veggies or anything similar. Apart from a quick check over at the allotment, and a bit of harvesting yesterday. It's been a hectic few weeks in work and to be fair I'm bollixed.

Bed was my home today, with occasional visits to the kitchen to make tea.Wifey was working so it was, Sky Sports and the cats. Feel so much better for it too. Ready to take on the world lol, well until tomorrow morning that is.

How was everyone else's weekend?

Dr Galen

wife going to Poland
roll on the weekend of DVD's, takeaway and a poker night

The Sweeper

Just back from 2.5 weeks back in Ireland and England. It rained most of the time while I was away, and my front garden looks, frankly, like a sh1t tip. I have weeds everywhere. Will have to get hoeing this weekend, BIG STYLE. God it looks awful. Not to mention the planting I have left to do. Ah well, at least the ground will be nice and workable after all that rain...

The Sweeper

Right. It's just not funny now. Surveyed the garden in daylight. There's a pile of work to be done this weekend, and it's due to be 13 degrees, lashing rain and blowing a gale. How the hell do I convince myself to go out in that??!!

Dr Galen

i was wondering who you were MAJD until I checked. New user names always confuse me.

The Sweeper

SSSSsshhhh, I'm in cognito.... Wherever that is.

Shamefully, didn't get into the garden over the weekend. Too cold and wet. This weekend should be better, so may do some then.

delly

I just managed to get the front savannah garden cut in between rainfalls. WD40 is the only way to go when cutting these days.

Dizzyblonde

I like your new username MAJD

I'm very much an amateur when it comes to gardening but I do enjoy it. I have my first veggie patch this year and so far it's going well - I go on caterpillar safari every morning and throw the greedy beggars off my leafy greens. I've been growing cherry tomatoes on the patio for years and they've never been as slow to ripen as this year.

Doeas anyone else feel this summer was all work and no play in the garden? There were so few days when you could even sit out and read because of the wind and rain.

Dr Galen

delly wrote: »

I just managed to get the front savannah garden cut in between rainfalls. WD40 is the only way to go when cutting these days.

WD40 when used as a fuel for a flamethrower to burn al the crap away man. It's been a nightmare. Been very slow for a lot of things. Apart from work that is which is meaning I'm getting less and less time to spend outdoors.

foxinsox

Is anyone else dealing with a jungle?

The weather has been so bad my garden is so overgrown.. great to see everything in flower, but the grass is now so long.

I've just started a new job and am finding it hard to keep up with the jobs in the garden. I'm off next weekend so hopefully can at least get the grass cut.

I also have about 6 wild/feral cats that live under the shed next door, they eat next door then my garden is their toilet!!! Nice!! so it doesn't encourage gardening as they are now working on pulling up all my weed guard and scattering the bark mulch everywhere!!! :mad:

delly

Mystik Monkey wrote: »

WD40 when used as a fuel for a flamethrower to burn al the crap away man. It's been a nightmare. Been very slow for a lot of things. Apart from work that is which is meaning I'm getting less and less time to spend outdoors.

Lol, i meant spraying the underside of the lawnmower and collection box to stop the grass sticking, but I like the way your thinking. Flamethrowers and gardening, its a winning combination!

The Sweeper

I've planted about 50 plants in my heavy clay soil, and every time I planted something I learned a better trick and better method of dealing with the soil I have. This, however, means that a few things in the first sort of, 10-15 items that I planted have started to die off, between poor soil and conditions too harsh for them, I got the root bowl wrong a few times, and in others they just didn't take our unusually severe winter or I positioned them wrong.

The upshot: springtime, do over.

Dizzyblonde

foxinsox wrote: »

I also have about 6 wild/feral cats that live under the shed next door, they eat next door then my garden is their toilet!!! Nice!! so it doesn't encourage gardening as they are now working on pulling up all my weed guard and scattering the bark mulch everywhere!!! :mad:

Two of my neighbours behind me have cats and they use part of my front garden as a toilet. Cats are the enemy of the gardener :mad:

My grass is (too) long and lush too - it's growing like mad with all this rain.

Dr Galen

ok enough with the on-topic-ness

is anyone else going on holidays in 3 weeks?

Dr Galen

delly wrote: »

Lol, i meant spraying the underside of the lawnmower and collection box to stop the grass sticking, but I like the way your thinking. Flamethrowers and gardening, its a winning combination!

i actually have one of those flamethrower yokeys. Well it's actually a propane can attached to a long metal tube, but flamethrower sounds much more sexy and cool. Useful for the patio and driveway weeds, anything broad leafed. Not so suitable for grass......or allotments

Dizzyblonde

Mystik Monkey wrote: »

ok enough with the on-topic-ness

is anyone else going on holidays in 3 weeks?

No, but at a wild guess I'd say you might be

Go on, make us jealous - where are you going?

secman

The Sweeper wrote: »

I've planted about 50 plants in my heavy clay soil, and every time I planted something I learned a better trick and better method of dealing with the soil I have. This, however, means that a few things in the first sort of, 10-15 items that I planted have started to die off, between poor soil and conditions too harsh for them, I got the root bowl wrong a few times, and in others they just didn't take our unusually severe winter or I positioned them wrong.

The upshot: springtime, do over.

Care to share some of your tips re planting in heavy clay ?

Secman

Dr Galen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1xfllmp0Ig

Dizzyblonde

Very nice - bet you can't wait.

How fabulous is that blue sky today! I can't remember the last time we had a day like this.

Dr Galen

i went into the greenhouse just there for a bit of checking over etc and guess what.........it was hot. like proper hot, like a greenhouse is supposed to be. the toms are loving it, the peppers are dancing around and the chillis, well they are just having a field day!

on a less frivilous note, yes dizzy I can't effing wait for the holidays.

The Sweeper

secman wrote: »

Care to share some of your tips re planting in heavy clay ?

Secman

Not meaning to be glib, but I'm not going to post them on this thread - basically it involves digging, addition of organic material, decisions on raised beds, soil testing and then the use of copious amounts of gypsum as a clay breaker. If you go through my past posts on this forum, I posted a war-n-peace set of instructions for a guy about working with clay soil recently...

It's the start of my weekend today, and I'm wrecked tired this morning. Have a job interview at 4pm so need to try spending the day doing constructive things, but it might not happen!

Dr Galen

not sure what time it is now, but Good Luck in the interview madam!

Dizzyblonde

The Sweeper wrote: »

Have a job interview at 4pm !

Hope it went well

Oh the sun is shining again - what a novelty! I have great hopes of my tomatoes ripening on the plants after all.

Planet X

Same here. Just been out to feed them.
Fingers crossed.

Dr Galen

another lovel day here

decisions decisions

a) allotment
b) walk on the beach
c) something else random that doesn't involve muck, caterpillars and potatoes

Dizzyblonde

This weather really is great. At last a weekend in the garden with no major jobs to do

The Sweeper

Had good weather here yesterday too, and did a considerable amount of weeding. Dropped five full buckets of weeds into the compost bin - and none of them were over 4" seedling size. Planted out some foxgloves, which was cool. Have more foxgloves to plant today (it's very early here, 6.15am at the moment) but also have screen work to do indoors and am not happy about the clash.

In other news, I totally abandoned all my cities in Evony Online last night. Never start playing it. Sucks your life away. I dont need another excuse not to be outside, so it was time to get rid!

Dr Galen

I've seen that game advertised alright. I steered clear. Had enough of that kinda thing following the Farmville incident

Dizzyblonde

The hubby was on World Of Warcraft for a couple of years :rolleyes:
I like RPG's but those online ones steal your life.

The Sweeper

Have second round interview today. Swapped a shift with a co-worker to be able to attend, and so have to work tomorrow (day off). This means less gardening, which sucks some. However, the weather for Friday through Sunday is supposed to land between 19 and 22 degrees every day, so I should manage to get lots done. Then it's supposed to rain all day on Monday, which will water everything in nicely if I do a bunch of planting.

Need to get my veggies sown - it's the equivalent of March down here and I have to get a move on!

Planet X

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

This weather really is great. At last a weekend in the garden with no major jobs to do

I'm still planting. Bought a biggish propagator at the weekend in Homebase and have a bunch of Winter Cabbage, Artic Lettuce and all year round Cauliflowers planted. Alot have sprouted already. That heat is great! Bought a roll of polythene also which fits over my netting poles snugly. Will post a pic. soon.

Have mixed salad leaves on the go the whole time, they're bullet proof it seems. Still busy but worried that my beds will need serious feeding soon. As in a few sacks of cow sh1te.

(Hey, two or more tomatoes have turned, you know what colour, in the last few days. Still holding on in hope!)

The Sweeper

Wow, well that was the worst interview EVAR!!!! Oh well. If I don't get the job it still means I work three days on and four days off and have time to spend in my garden!

Have to go into work for a pathetic 3.5 hours now - how sad is that - so can't wait to finish up and get home and back to my gardening!

Dizzyblonde

Planet X wrote: »

Hey, two or more tomatoes have turned, you know what colour, in the last few days. Still holding on in hope!

I got almost a kilo of ripe tomatoes off my plants (I have 3) today - yippee! The good weather's really helping.

Your veg sounds great - my patch is still full of beetroot, carrots, turnips, cabbage and broccoli that'll be ready from next month. I took a chance and threw in some seed potatoes last month and they're thriving.

The Sweeper

It's the weekend!! And this weekend I shall mostly be doing as much as I physically possibly can in the garden. Already got a bunch of work done yesterday in terms of planting and weeding. Have two days of sunshine and mild temperatures and then it's due to rain Mon to Weds... It's like it WANTS me to garden...

The Sweeper

AAArrrrrrgggghhhh, struck down by the dreaded lurgy, and no brass instruments to cure it... Spent Thurs, Fri and Sat in the garden, and got a lot of work done. Was very pleased, but started to feel a bit crappy Saturday night. Have a full blown lurgy - sinus infection, face on fire, feeling bleh - today. Called in sick to work, but will have to go to the doctor because I have no sick leave entitlement without a certificate, even for one day. Day could be better.

Dr Galen

anyone know a good masseuse

8 hours at the allotment yesterday................world of pain today

The Sweeper

You know, I think there are fewer things in the world more beautiful than an Australian summer morning. It's the best thing about the place. At the moment it starts to get bright around a quarter past five. Sunrise itself isn't officially until about 6.45, but before then it's bright, and the skies are high and blue and endless.

I wake up early because I do shift work that means sometimes I'm at work for 7am. However for the next five weeks I'm covering a colleague's shifts while she's on long leave, and this is unfortunate beause it means less time in my garden.

This morning, however, I had a surge of motivation that when I get up early (usually 6.15am) but don't have to leave for work for a while (usually 8.15am), I might go out in the garden for an hour and a half in the mornings and tend to the little jobs - potting up tube stock, weeding, mulching, so on and so forth... And it's amazing what the outdoors does for you mentally, because even the thought of 90 minutes out in the early sunshine with blue skies over me makes me feel more light-hearted and happy!

Dr Galen

my greenhouse blew down

treesireland

thats terabil i do hope u will try put it up agin

The Sweeper

That's not good on the greenhouse!

We've had rain. I know that's not exciting if you're in Ireland, but it certainly is here, where we'd just had the hottest start to the summer since 1918 or some such. I tried to plant tube stock seedlings on Saturday. Couldn't get the fork into the clay. No amount of standing and jumping on it would let the tines penetrate the ground. I was able to plant in some areas of my front garden - I had it remodelled when we moved in, because it was just a weed-strewn embankment, and anywhere that the landscaper had cut and backfilled earth, I could still dig, but anywhere that was original impacted paddock, I had no chance.

And then it rained. So I ran around like a mad thing, planting.

Dizzyblonde

Sorry to hear that Mystik Monkey, I hope it's not beyond repair.

Dr Galen

it's fecked.......was out yesterday having a look

looksee

In spite of the sad looking trees - which do have buds if you look very closely - and the loads of dead looking shrubs around the place, today I saw daffodils - lots of them. Camellias are in brave pink flower, some winter heather, catkins on some trees - my contorted hazel looks very pretty with long yellow catkins. A few garden primulas.

Not much else that I can see, and some shrubs and trees which would normally be coming into leaf now seem to be doing nothing at all. Lots of bluebell greenery but it will be a while before they flower.

Any other signs of life around the country?

TequilaMockingBird

All my rose bushes are bursting with new shoots, honeysuckle has loads of new leaves and I had snowdrops, but the local kids picked them all... :mad:

My bamboo is trying to take over the world, and the acers are full of new growth.

Great to see it.

Dr Galen

i hate and love my job in equal measure

lucy2010

Anyone want a dog ????????????
She just upended everything i planted yesterday & is using all the pots as frisbees :mad::mad:

Dr Galen

your dog can throw pots around?
impressive

lucy2010

Mystik Monkey wrote: »

your dog can throw pots around?
impressive

You want her to see actually how impressive she is ?????:D:D

The Sweeper

I spent the day finishing off a large garden bed along one of the fences, with a lot of climbing, flowering plants. The cats were good - hung around with me, didn't get into trouble, didn't try to escape from the garden. Frank did roll in the mulch at one stage, but there was a marked lack of anyone digging in it to take a crap the second it was laid, which is nice. (Fuckers still haven't learned to pick up a shovel yet though.)

The Sweeper

PS: I'm so tired I think I might pass out.