I dug up last years corn patch with a mattock, as the dry clay back there was like dusty cement. It's in our 'wilderness' area.. which had been the previous owners chicken yard.. and the owner before thats dog run. It's a fair size, but beyond the area of the yard sprinkler system. The soil is in much need of improvement, so I had covered it in a half-ripe compost heap last fall. I mattocked it in all together, great chunks of clay and bits of newspaper and egg cartons, etc. I planted four hills of watermelon and some volunteer pumpkins from my usual veg patch, layer out a soaker hose, and covered the soil in newspaper and mulched with twiggy things and pieces of corn stalk I had set aside last fall. The vines take up too much room in my raised beds, so hopefully they are happy back there. I put a good serving of FB&B in each hole, until I can get the soil improved over the next few years. Last year I had added 8 cubic feet of GPC to the 4x8 ft bed, but I didn't see a trace of it while digging today. The clay just swallowed it up.
Started painting the fence once I’d checked the weather forecast a million times to make sure we didn’t get thunder and lightening again within a 4 hour window! Liking ththe colour but it’s going to take a while!
Couldnt get behind the patch left with my roller so needs to but a brush!
Also mowed the front garden, put weed killer around the path edges, the only bit of chemical use I have in the garden and started to clean the patio with a stiff brush, the jet wash was just making more mess of the moss 🌻
Heavy rain for most of the day, tried to sort out a load of Spanish bluebells from MIL's gaden for the green waste bin. Trouble is they,ve been in a big sack since Sunday and are turning into a slimy mess. Hopefully we will get some dry weather so that l can dry them off in the sun and chop them up. Needless to say we are out tomorrow am when it is forecast to be dry, and then when we get back, thundery showers for the rest of the day ☹
Agree that we don’t treat ourselves to just sitting and enjoying the garden enough @Guernsey Donkey2 I did a an hour of weeding and tidying the ‘beach’ area by my pond. Three buckets of Alchemilla Mollis pulled and there is still plenty growing - like the plant but it can soon become a bit of a weed. My phlox in pots has been munched terribly this week - so chopped them back and send the one pot to the intensive care bench to join the ToadLily and Delphiniums.
Last evening after I finished at the allotment I put my chair next to the foxgloves and just watched the bees collecting pollen. It was great. There were loads of them, bumbles and honey bees and they never seemed to get in each others way or have any squabbles over who'll go in which flower. Better than meditation.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
First dry day we have had since i don't know when, but the ground is so saturated, i couldn't do much. I have Cornus baton rouge in standing water, I don't know if they will survive.
Been so hot and dry here for the last week, today was a bit cooler so I did lots of weeding. It was terrible to almost hear the pinging of weeds gone to seed (2 weeks away) bouncing into the earth as I was pull/digging them out. Something to look forward to next Spring - NOT. Watered more seedlings, planted up more seedlings, a satisfying day's work done.
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Couldnt get behind the patch left with my roller so needs to but a brush!
Also mowed the front garden, put weed killer around the path edges, the only bit of chemical use I have in the garden and started to clean the patio with a stiff brush, the jet wash was just making more mess of the moss 🌻
Needless to say we are out tomorrow am when it is forecast to be dry, and then when we get back, thundery showers for the rest of the day ☹
I did a an hour of weeding and tidying the ‘beach’ area by my pond. Three buckets of Alchemilla Mollis pulled and there is still plenty growing - like the plant but it can soon become a bit of a weed. My phlox in pots has been munched terribly this week - so chopped them back and send the one pot to the intensive care bench to join the ToadLily and Delphiniums.