Hobbies and Crafts

Glad to hear the gardening is going well Tess

I am trying to beat the birds to the fruit at the moment,. Yesterday just realised that they have taken most of the gooseberries, so spent the morning trying to pick all the ripe blackcurrants and raspberries.

Blissfully cool here at the moment so crossed finger it will last long enough to plant the leeks out

Got four plants from the garden centre the other week, including a tomatoe plant - which is doing quite well and has (at least) five tomatoes on it.

Alredy repotted four of the plants - but seem to have finished off the Venus Fly Trap. I will talk to it nicely tomorrow to see if that helps.

Now got some compost + some tools from Wil------s will be digging some holes and planting one of them an Achillea 'desert Eve Red' soon (tomorrow if I can).

Must be the weather, the fuchsia are all succombing to rust this year, l;ast year no sign of it. :-(

LOL! Buttercup !! Well the shoe does have some magic - think it's the smell - but if you chant some magic words while you press down with the shoe or a stick or even your hand - which must be covered with a garden glove - (It should come away easily) then Bobs Your Uncle ...job done..................that is of course that it is a sucker and not a branch :-S

Thanks K.

I have a Wilk--------- store nearby, so will try there.

Live in the West Midlands, so not too far north of you.
Back garden is sunny (ish) and front is shady. Have got a paved area in the back garden which gets quite warm, might try tomatoes there.


Will look out for marigolds, so thanks for the advise.


Tess

Sadly, I couldn't reach it, Nolls....I wonder does the shoe HAVE to have a foot in it? :-D :-D

AH! but Buttercup did it work LOL ??

Nolls have nearly injured myself trying to scrape my rose bush as it is in a large pot.... :-D

Tess

Re cheap tools also try looking for them in diy stores or cheap stores such as Wilki...ns. My recently OH bought a light really lovely spade from the last store for £7.

Re plants do grow what you like to eat. I love growing plants that it is difficult to buy fresh such cut and come again lettuce and french beans. Tomatoes are great but growing outside and getting them to ripen further north of where I live in Herefordshire can be difficult, unless you are very sheltered. Ferns generally like shady locations. Marigolds like the sun and can be interplanted with veg to stop pests.

Have fun and enjoy it :-) Kay

Gong back to suckers - that is rose suckers of course - I was told if you take the side of your foot (with shoe on!) and gently scrape down the stem to the growing bit put slight pressure on it and it falls off easily then it is a sucker, they are usually a light green colour.

I'm hoping to go to a large(ish) garden centre next week. Might even buy something :-)
Are garden centres a good place to buy garden spades/forks/rakes etc. or would I get a better price somewhere else.

I am becoming a newbie gardener, so at the moment just want to plant potatoes and carrots.
Perhaps grow tomatoes (but don't have a green house.
Maybe plants like ferns and marigolds.

Have advise either for or against the above, will be welcomed.




Tess
P. S. Will be looking for potato planters and boxes to grow carrots too. :-S

I think sweet pea pods might be a bit smaller and harder than beans. He might also suggest you pick them then :-D

Thanks Annie, will just have to give my husband a lesson in the difference between Beans and sweet pea pods, otherwise if I leave him to do the picking we might end up rather poorly !!! M

My oh says yes but train the sweet peas to go round the sticks at the lower level as beans flower higher up. But they are both avid feeders.

Ooh, it's a long time since anyone came on here !!!

Hope all your gardens are now blooming ? And that the woes of a few months ago are well behind.

Mine is so full of colour it is hard to remember that wind blown, swampy half the time, dry as a bone the rest if the time patch of bare soil that I kept looking in hope at for so long. Just waiting for some little sign of life.

I have just added to Lynda's Sweet Pea thread and then had a thought.

Has anyone ever grown them alongside Runner Beans, up the same poles at the same time ?

Would this work or do you think they might get swamped by the beans ?? M

I know why Wend went to her greenhouse and had a tickle.. ;-) ;-)


She is growing Willie Peppers and Chuchu's.... :-D :-D

Wend!!!! Step away from the spade :-| :-| :-D <3 <3

:-D @ BC. I did to-day. Had a much-needed little tickle around in my greenhouse ;-) :-D <3

Well from one virgin to another, Wend, I think I will let the old suckers (or whatever they are) stay! I am too much in awe of this lovely climber to dare interfere with it :-D

ps...hope you are feeling better and will soon be able to go out in your beloved garden <3

Lol Wend.