Gardening

[Roger B]

She is certainly very creative      however in different areas. She has her own food blog where she cooks and takes the pictures:

https://www.themarshsidepantry.co.uk/

She also works for Mashed:

https://www.mashed.com/416531/old-fashioned-blackberry-cake-recipe-is-a-light-dessert-youll-love/

[Roger B]

She said: It wasn’t me, but I’m tempted to hunt down his allotment now and carry on the plaiting of the corn  I love how odd and slightly disturbing, yet completely innocent this is!

[Bluechip]

Just to cheer Jo up a bit ... 

[Jo]

Thank you Dave, I will not be showing mine this year 

Jo

[steam guy willy]

She said: It wasn’t me, but I’m tempted to hunt down his allotment now and carry on the plaiting of the corn  I love how odd and slightly disturbing, yet completely innocent this is!

Hi, thanks for the reply and my allotment is No 59B and  60 Bluebell South ...off the Avenues near the Varsity ( concrete block). not medieval/red brick ?!!!
Willy

[Bluechip]

Marigold pics. for Jo

Most are like pic#1  but a few are like pic #2 & #3.

The pic. #1 are about 15" high but the other two sorts are about half that.

Dave

[Laurentic]

Managed to get only two marigolds to that sort of size Dave, the rest the slugs and snails decimated. 

Slug and snail damage has been very bad this year, have learnt that garlic wash puts them off, a hosta grower seemingly uses nothing else, so am just trying that, seems to be working so far. 

What the slugs and snails haven't ruined the caterpillars have this year, and now loosing all outdoor tomatoes to blight.  It's only runner beans that have done well this year, the rest has been a waste of time, mostly.

Chris

[Jo]

Yes I recognise all three of those in my garden Dave 

Veggie wise: Onions useless (powdery mildew), Beetroots poor, potatoes poor, courgettes picking up, Toms slow and both types of Beans trying for world domination   

And as for the Apples 

Jo

[Bluechip]

White Buddleia ( ? ) Pansy and a Small Tortoiseshell  [ As requested by Jo      ]


Dave

[Jo]

Nice, the one next door is not as big as that.

I've been working on my gardening knife. For the last 30 years I have been using a Seaman's knife for gardening, just like my father. A couple of years ago he abandoned his knife as it had worn down and was too short. Mine seems to be going the same way   

I had been messing around with a broken machine hacksaw blade trying to make a new longer knife when I enquired to Father about what happened to his old knife? He duly found it and gave it to me  So drill rivets out. Drill a new hole between the two originals. Make three brass rivets. Find a suitable bit of steel as a spacer and mount in handle, drill required hole and rivet back together. Finally seal round with some araldite to seal the sides.

Looks like I have a new gardening knife - unless father pinches it back 

Jo

[Bluechip]

They look the business       We'll make an armourer out of you yet ..   

I reckon the gaffer will want his back.   

Just given up here. 27^oC in the shop. No thanks, not for me. Decided to launch myself at a can of Doombar     

Dave

[Laurentic]

We have a fairly young columnar Victoria plum tree which for the first time has fruited well.  Having eaten most of the fruit (delicious!) there were still some fruit left on the tree still to ripen to which we were looking forward to eating. 

Now all has gone, but who was the thief?

I am inclined to blame the grey tree rats as we have some in the wood behind us, but we also have foxes around and badgers.  Foxes could get in as could badgers but no evidence of badgers in our garden has been seen, neither do I know if they are partial to plums, so I'm back to suspecting grey tree rats or Mr.Fox.

Anyone able to suggest any other likely villains? 

And how to stop it happening again? 

I can only think of netting, or a piece of lead inserted robustly behind the ear of the offender but I have neither the means nor the ability for that, so was wondering if there were any other deterrents to the grey tree rats, like the garlic wash was to slugs and snails (which seems to be working really well!) that had worked for anyone else?

Chris. 

[Jo]

Yes tree rats or Crows/Jackdaws thief anything and everything  round here they are second only to my Father 

Birds don't like nets, squiggles avoid them but it depends on how tempting the prize is. Both the Pigeon and the tree rat recognise my air rifle when I bring it out

Jo

[ddmckee54]

Jo:

You need to brush up on your sniper skills, just stick the end of the barrel out the window.  Or even better open the window, and shoot from the shadows.  Eventually they'll llearn that at least one side of the tree is off limits.
Don

[crueby]

Jo:

You need to brush up on your sniper skills, just stick the end of the barrel out the window.  Or even better open the window, and shoot from the shadows.  Eventually they'll llearn that at least one side of the tree is off limits.
Don

And the neighbors behind your house learn not to use thier dining room when your window is open....