Today I did something in my Garden

I haven't covered mine. I am not an authority on rhubarb but there was some growing happily if unloved (well it was somewhat strangled by weeds, but it was still growing) in the garden we moved to, I transferred it to a new spot during the summer, the leaves collapsed but it regrew fine. I think it is very long suffering.

I think the idea of covering it is to force early shoots.

fryup wrote: »

should i cover my rhubarb from frost or is it hardy enough??

Definitely don't cover it - the crown needs to be exposed to frost to ensure a good crop the following year. As looksee remarks, the practice of covering the crowns is to force an early crop; but this should only be done after the crown has had a good couple of months of really cold temperatures (less than 3°C)

Note: it is normal for any stems/leaves that happen to be growing at the time of a hard frost to turn to mush. Don't worry - the plant knows what it's doing, and will produce bigger, better replacement shoots in due course.

I have an experimental seed bed (mainly for growing massive quantities of bedding plants) that was originally filled with the shavings, sawdust and miscellaneous bits of rotted bark, moss and lichen from where I cut up logs for the fire. It performed very well last year, and I've just topped it up with woodworking by-products. As the chainsaw stuff is inevitably contaminated with oil and the wood I'm working is of unknown American origin, I'm hesitant to use it on the vegetable garden.

All being well, future shavings and sawdust will go in the new dry/compost toilet that's going up the back of the garden at some point this year. I reckon that'll sort out any traces of hydrocarbon contamination! :pac: These toilets are a staple feature now of most smaller festivals in France (much nicer than portaloos), so I don't think my continental friends will have any problem "doing their business" in the garden ... not sure how the prudish Irish will cope, though. :rolleyes:

I've spent an hour or two the last few days clearing out a bed. It was full of cotoneasters and overshadowed by the neighbours hedge up till last autumn. Cotoneasters are a slow balls of a yolk to remove! But I'm getting there slowly and it's good to be out!

My motto at the moment is little but often! A couple of hours in the afternoon while the toddler is napping! I want to redo the whole garden so have a decent amount of basic/prep jobs to be doing and I'm a massive beginner, especially with flowers!

I've the bed pretty much cleared now. Just have 1 cotoneaster left to take out but it's buried under some rubble that was frozen solid this afternoon.

Quick question, I have an overall plan for the flower bed, but no idea really of what actual plants I need/want to put in. With the lovely virus who knows how things will go with when garden centres will be open. So I'm half thinking about sowing some veg in the spot this year. Are there any veg in particular that would be beneficial to a flower bed prior to sowing flowers? The bed would be semi shade and currently fairly compacted.

scarepanda wrote: »

Are there any veg in particular that would be beneficial to a flower bed prior to sowing flowers? The bed would be semi shade and currently fairly compacted.

Potatoes have been traditionally used to break in new ground. A potato crop competes strongly with weeds, for light, water and nutrients. Previously added manure or garden compost may explain part of the improved soil condition. However, long experience of growing potatoes suggests to me that the potato plants themselves are responsible for improving the land into one of the most perfect crumbly soil textures that a garden can have.

LINK

So the weather got a bit warmer yesterday and the day before, so we were out clearing a very bocketty bit of ground with a few mature trees that is going to get additional lower level planting to make a woodlandish area. We were clearing heaps of soil that had been taken out for a wall foundation - years ago - and had accumulated lots of rubbish (standard for the garden).

One item was a length of telegraph pole that was half buried. I didn't think I would be able to lift it but discovered it was half burned away underneath, and was also pretty rotten. So I moved it a couple of meters. A good while later there was movement and a vole clambered rather dizzily out of the end of the pole (which was upside down at this stage), followed by another one, and they scurried around rather confused. At this stage we reinstated it, right way up, and can only hope they found their way back in!

Its been there so long that I would think any contamination has been done by now! The surrounding weeds and vegetation didn't seem to be affected - or the voles Anyway we moved it more or less ninety degrees and left it along the bottom of a wall so it would be accessible for voles but out of the way. There is the other half of the same pole a little distance away, which will also have to be moved when we get to it.

I cut the grass ... didn't think I'd get to do that
.

Looks like I was mixing up fructose with starch. Went on what I was told.

Got a load of manure out on the garden today and tomorrow ("well my wife did!)

So, something I want to do rather than something I have done: last year all my onions were destroyed with wireworm. I’m giving veggies a miss for now after last year was a complete write off. I’m guessing that if I plant summer bulbs i’ll Run into the same issue with wire worm, yes?

Killed 2 chickens today as they had stopped laying. Getting 5 more in the morning

Is it too early to mow the grass? Have put the house up for sale so was hoping to tidy up lawns a bit.