Busy weekend driving the kids around but I did manage to get some gardening done. A bit of mowing and weeding, cut back all my crocosmia that have been frazzled for months and spent time ripping up cardboard boxes (that would have been destined for the tip) to mix into grass cuttings for the compost heap. Also, started bringing some potted plants into the greenhouse for winter - just the lemons, pelargoniums and succulents/aeoniums for now. Checked the greenhouse heater - still works! BBC forecasts down to 3 degrees tonight!
I noticed literally thousands of cleaver (catchweed/sticky willy, or whatever people call it) seedlings have popped up under my hedgerow since the recent rains. There's a daunting task for next weekend, weeding all those up from under the hawthorn and dog rose thorns.
Does anyone know if hoeing is effective against those, or do I need to pick them out one by one?
Finished clearing the bark path. How do you stop weeds from growing in it other than regular watering with weedkiller? The mind your own business has resurrected itself in it along with the field grass which increases by bulbils. There are millions of grass seeds lying in the bark just waiting for some light to germinate. I feel I am on a losing wicket as my garden is surrounded by uncultivated fields and Cornish hedges. I do not like using weedkillers because I saw a tiny Common Lizard on the bank last year. It was a delight, a minuscule dragon! Picked more tomatoes and kale, further deleafing in the greenhouse. Picked a handful of late raspberries. Relieved to see some spinach seedlings have appeared.
On allotments yesterday. Note that my courgette has collapsed - don't think we have had frost yet but obviously was just too cold for it. Begonias, cosmos, salvias, fuchsia still doing their best to keep me cheery.
Sorted out plants at front of house and moved them into g/h Bought some winter pansies yesterday going to plant them in some empty pots After lunch off to allotment Lovely sunny day Noticed g/h went down to 6-3 degrees last night
Washed a load of pots. Emptied the geraniums from the window box, they were still flowering but the Sun isn't coming round as far these days and they weren't getting any sunshine, so l decided they had to go.
OH was emptying bags of garden waste to see if we could reduce the amount of stuff to take to the tip, and came across a stump of a phormium, completely rootbound and dry as a bone. Sticking out of the side of the stump was a minature pale phormium looking a bit like rhubarb, with a load of fibrous roots. I've potted it up. It deserves a chance !
All the plants for keeping in the coldframe/ next to a wall over winter have been tided up and any weeds removed. Definitely feels like the garden is winding down even though the Heleniums, Asters etc are still going full throttle.
@Joyce Goldenlily, could you regularly hoe your bark mulch path? Perhaps you need a deeper amount. I don't get many weeds on ours but it is laid over a weed membrane which does help a bit.
I started weeding the back garden raised wall bed. Cut back the NDN's winter flowering jasmine which has come through our fence and got so long (3-4ft) that bits had rooted into the wall bed! Unfortunately I believe she's now very elderly and bed-ridden so the garden's got a bit neglected and all the bushes are growing through our fence too high up for me to do much about it (NDN's garden is much higher than ours). I also pulled up yards and yards of bindweed roots which are coming under the wall. More to do tomorrow if the weather's still dry.
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I noticed literally thousands of cleaver (catchweed/sticky willy, or whatever people call it) seedlings have popped up under my hedgerow since the recent rains. There's a daunting task for next weekend, weeding all those up from under the hawthorn and dog rose thorns.
Does anyone know if hoeing is effective against those, or do I need to pick them out one by one?
I moved lemon 🍋 & orange 🍊 bush into g/h this morning and some canna lilies
Tomorrow morning need to sort out some pots at front of the house into g/h
I feel I am on a losing wicket as my garden is surrounded by uncultivated fields and Cornish hedges. I do not like using weedkillers because I saw a tiny Common Lizard on the bank last year. It was a delight, a minuscule dragon!
Picked more tomatoes and kale, further deleafing in the greenhouse. Picked a handful of late raspberries. Relieved to see some spinach seedlings have appeared.
Bought some winter pansies yesterday going to plant them in some empty pots
After lunch off to allotment
Lovely sunny day
Noticed g/h went down to 6-3 degrees last night
OH was emptying bags of garden waste to see if we could reduce the amount of stuff to take to the tip, and came across a stump of a phormium, completely rootbound and dry as a bone. Sticking out of the side of the stump was a minature pale phormium looking a bit like rhubarb, with a load of fibrous roots. I've potted it up. It deserves a chance !
All the plants for keeping in the coldframe/ next to a wall over winter have been tided up and any weeds removed.
Definitely feels like the garden is winding down even though the Heleniums, Asters etc are still going full throttle.
I started weeding the back garden raised wall bed. Cut back the NDN's winter flowering jasmine which has come through our fence and got so long (3-4ft) that bits had rooted into the wall bed! Unfortunately I believe she's now very elderly and bed-ridden so the garden's got a bit neglected and all the bushes are growing through our fence too high up for me to do much about it (NDN's garden is much higher than ours).
I also pulled up yards and yards of bindweed roots which are coming under the wall.
More to do tomorrow if the weather's still dry.