Author Topic: Gardening  (Read 100090 times)

Online Twizseven

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #525 on: June 22, 2020, 08:55:12 PM »
Those look good Dave.

I've got about 16 tomato plants, 4 cucumber, 1 courgette plant and 1/2 doz lettuce.  Used to have a 32ftx16ft veggie patch but replaced it 20 years ago with a swimming pool.

Colin

Offline Charles Lamont

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #526 on: June 22, 2020, 11:05:33 PM »
Today's production, from the room next to the workshop. £2.75 a jar, next time we can have our stall. (I think the Severn Valley Railway is currently hoping to have an Autumn Gala of some kind.)

Offline Jo

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #527 on: June 23, 2020, 08:10:36 PM »
I forgot to photograph the first batch of veggies  :facepalm: We are now on week four of our cucumbers,  we started with the ones in the conservatory and now are beginning to pick the ones in the greenhouse. 

The tomatoes are going red and even the bigger beef hearts are a good size, I have so far been picking courgettes, new potatoes, peppers and the asparagus season has just finished :P Even the sweetcorn is in flower.

It is however a bit dry so the main courgette/potato bed is having to be irrigated  :-\ and as for the onions this year   :disappointed:

Jo


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Offline Jo

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #528 on: June 23, 2020, 08:23:15 PM »
And in case Dave does not believe it a few of the previously picked Cucumbers  ;)

The Yellow ones in the front are also cucumbers: they taste like cucumbers and are about the right size for one meal for one  :ThumbsUp: the negative is all the male flowers all over the plant and the flies they attract  :ShakeHead: I probably won't grow those again it depends on how long the season is.

Jo
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Offline Bluechip

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #529 on: June 23, 2020, 09:14:33 PM »

And in case Dave does not believe it a few of the previously picked Cucumbers  ;)

Jo

Of course I believed you.  :o   Only a Knave and a Charlatan wouldn't. .... and I no longer have the energy to be either ...     :old:  :'(

Why don't you show all of the commemorative mug I awarded you ?  :LittleDevil:

Are those beefsteak tomatoes the seeds/ plants (?) I gave you. Better than mine ....   :shrug:

Dave

Offline Jo

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #530 on: June 23, 2020, 09:19:23 PM »
Why don't you show all of the commemorative mug I awarded you ?  :LittleDevil:

 :facepalm: Cucumber was in the way.

Yes those were some of the seeds  ;)

Jo
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Offline xatxtal

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #531 on: June 29, 2020, 08:51:38 AM »
Jo you are not only a great Engineer but a very good horticulturist ,does it never end?
Your garden is a delight to behold.
I have been following your feats for years, they just keep getting better and better.
Three cheers for Jo.
Perhaps one day I will meet you at a show, that will be my pleasure! that is if there are shows again.
Thanks again for the hours of entertainment over the Many years at least since 2012 on this site.
I seem to recall you in some Model Engineering Mags, I will have to look them out.
Regards
Trevor
:old:

Offline Jo

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #532 on: June 29, 2020, 09:20:25 AM »
Thank you Trevor,

Jo you are not only a great Engineer but a very good horticulturist ,does it never end?

Have you seen my Cross stitch :embarassed: just to prove I do have some more feminine hobbies  ;)

Jo
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Offline Laurentic

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #533 on: June 29, 2020, 10:39:56 PM »
We've just got back into gardening due to being in iso since 20th March due to the rona and us being classified as "elderly adults with underlying health problems" and now only just coming out and venturing to shops for the first time since our iso started, provided the public are not too much in evidence!

I was OK going into iso, visions of never ending shed time flooded my mind, but what to occupy the time for Senior Management was the problem, so as she likes gardening we decided , like many others these past few months it seems, to grow a load of stuff and she could potter in the garden.  But I ended up spending less time than anticipated in my shed as I also got involved in the growing and planting up process, as opposed to my usual job of just mowing that green stuff with weeds in it at irregular intervals.  We spent a small fortune it seemed on seeds and over the iso a bigger one cornering the world market in compost, or so it felt.  Our local version of the legendary John Innis Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were a bit rubbish - don't water for a day and it set like concrete.  None of the plants liked it much, the seeds would reluctantly germinate, well, some of them did, and then the little seedlings would just sit there and do nothing. 

However, we have enjoyed a lot of cress, assorted salad leaves, rocket, American Land Cress - a good watercress substitute - and now courgettes, beetroot, and spinach, with tomatoes, leeks, spring onions and runner beans on their way.

But the big talking point has been our bees.  Not that we have a hive or anything, but rather last year some bees decided to set up home somewhere in a space between the roof and wall of my shed; my shed has 2ft or so thick walls build of mud and stones and pointing on the outside and rendered on the inside.  Makes hanging stuff on the wall inside a bit of a lottery.  I thought the bees would die out naturally during the winter but no, they are back again this year in numbers and, over the past month or so, have swarmed not once but three times. 

The first time they swarmed on a Sunday and then hung off a tree in the wood behind us.  A day later their scouts obviously had found a suitable new home and and the swarm flew off, across the fields towards some woods.  A fortnight later on the Saturday - they like weekends - two mobs swarmed on the same day, one mob then hung in 3 groups off a branch before gradually becoming one group as the day wore on, the other mob went behind my shed and found an tree to hang from.  After a day the first mob flew off over the woods behind us, while the other mob hung around for another day before disappearing whilst we were out.

The bees are a sensitive subject with me.  I like them as they are great pollenators and I love the honey they make - the worlds longest shelf life food (like thousands of years!) and without them we're all brown bread.  But, they are in my shed uninvited and possibly doing damage - I now have rainwater coming in where the roof meets the top of the wall, so I need to have a look-see when winter comes.

Chris
PS - If I could work out how to make my photos smaller I would post them, as they are all about 4 times tha max size allowed ......

Offline Jo

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #534 on: June 30, 2020, 08:16:32 AM »
Yes a lot of people have been reminded of the joys of gardening during Lockdown  8)

But the big talking point has been our bees.  Not that we have a hive or anything, but rather last year some bees decided to set up home somewhere in a space between the roof and wall of my shed

Bees are lovely to have in the garden  :) I have two hives at the bottom of my garden hidden behind a "netting wall".  The netting encourages them to fly up when they leave the nest rather than be lazy and fly low.

Quote
But, they are in my shed uninvited and possibly doing damage - I now have rainwater coming in where the roof meets the top of the wall, so I need to have a look-see when winter comes.

Yes if you need to do anything near to your bee nest then a nice cold day in February is best, after they have had a few months to slow down. Or find someone with a bee suit to do the repairs for you at any another time of the year.

One of my neighbours had a hornets nest in the roof of their summer house, she had no problem with them as she would open the door quietly and use the summer house, her husband was heavy handed and would bang the door when going in and out which agitated the Hornets so he got a few stings for his trouble. All Bees and surprisingly Hornets tend not to sting unless provoked.  If you get a sting from either use vinegar on it to get rid of the pain and make sure you quickly remove the bee stinger by scratching the it out with your finger nail.

If you suffer from hay fever then a good cure is eating honey from your own hive as it is made from all the local pollen so will provide you with immunity to it  ;)

Jo

P.S. In Windows "Paint" lets you resized photographs.
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Online Twizseven

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #535 on: June 30, 2020, 01:42:33 PM »
Jo,

Is there any end to your talents,

Scientist
Engineer
Gardener
Crossstitcher
Bee Keeper
Hoarder of Castings
 :wine1:

Colin


Offline tghs

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #536 on: June 30, 2020, 02:12:15 PM »
except for fighting the mites, keeping bees is very relaxing,, been doing it for about 5years,, checked the hives on sunday and have a full box of honey to harvest on one hive,, my wife painted the hives when we first started,,I find the pollen color charts and be able to tell what plants the bees are working very cool.. bright yellow as my cucumbers are blooming like crazy now..
what the @#&% over

Offline Jo

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #537 on: June 30, 2020, 02:25:54 PM »
Love the paintwork on the hives 8)

Jo
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Offline Laurentic

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #538 on: June 30, 2020, 02:43:16 PM »
I use Apple Jo, but have now found out how to resize photos on my MacBook.  Hopefully, there will show the shed roof/wall containing the nest entrance - big stone on wall against the roof join at bottom of picture with first swarm hanging in the background, close-up of nest entrance, and the three swarms.  Would love to have a hive but our garden is very small so where to put it would be a problem, and we are away for 2-3 months at a time, so that could be a problem too.

Chris

Offline Laurentic

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #539 on: June 30, 2020, 02:50:42 PM »
PS - Thanks for hay fever tip Jo, I knew there was a very good reason I liked honey so much!

When I worked for a very large horticultural company the tomato plants in the huge greenhouses were all pollinated with bees specially supplied to the industry (from Holland I think) and fed by the growers.  Workers had to be careful about bees stings though and records kept of bees stings per person because the toxin can build up inside you and become fatal - not heard the vinegar trick before, nice one.

Chris

 

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