Finished the paving yesterday, and today laid 3 pavers as stepping stones. It's a long long way from being perfect, I'm hoping with time we'll forget to be so critical.
This whole area has been like a mud bath, the grass has been drowned I'm afraid with all the rain we've had. I've sown grass seed over the area, mixed with half a dried coir brick that's been crumbled into dust. My thoughts is that the coir will expand and keep the seeds moist. The mix was sprinkled just as the rain started.
However the grass turns out, I'm just relieved to be able to hang out the washing in my bare feet again, and not in my wellies.
Great idea @LunarSea re the capillary matting in the greenhouse. Really good for watering when people are away for a few days. Is that special matting he's used please? All those seedlings are looking good too.👍
Well done @Jenny_Aster for a job very well done.👍 You can come and do mine anytime you fancy!😂
Great idea @LunarSea re the capillary matting in the greenhouse. Really good for watering when people are away for a few days. Is that special matting he's used please? All those seedlings are looking good too.👍
Just standard capillary matting @Songbird-2 (green on upper side) but sitting on plastic sheeting to allow it to flow the full length of the bench. She has to adjust how many wicks are coming out of the reservoir depending on how hot it's likely to be. My tomatoes & chillies are in deep 5" pots now so I'm hoping they'll manage to get enough water from the matting.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Thanks @LunarSea, I've taken a screen shot of your set up and may very well adopt that should we go away for any length of time. Good, another excuse to visit the garden centre😂🤭
Managed to get out for a bit yesterday and pricked out a bunch of seedlings, toms, cucumbers and cornflowers. Lots of stuff still not showing any sign of life though
No gardening today. Just come home from being taken out for lunch by my lovely daughter. Mackerel starter, Gurnard mains. Delish! Yesterday I pricked out some onions, long over due, and some cosmos, rather premature I think. Also potted on some basil seedlings, split them up into 4 portions. Also potted on some courgettes.
What a lovely day it's been today, forecast said it would be in the main overcast. Not so, we've had wall to wall sunshine.
Feeling rather disappointed with what I'd sown as most of the seedlings haven't grown as I'd like, it looks like they've gone to sleep after they were pricked out, some seedlings have even died, and some ended up being a slugs supper. All's not lost though, I do have some nice sweet pea plants, hollyhocks, marigold, English daisies, fleabane. I did though manage to cajole 9 geraniums (pelargoniums) seedlings to survive, they looked pretty dire. One species that is thriving though are tomatoes, but not where I'd sown them. I planted 4 types, Burlesque (a 'big un'), black cherry, honeycomb and sweet million - so it's going to be a lucky dip. I'll hold my hands up to being guilty of starting sowing too early though.
Because of the issues I've been having, and that it's getting a bit late now to sow, I treated myself to a new sowing kit, 12 propagators holding 12 cells each. The cells are made of clear plastic so I'll be able to see what's happening to the roots. Therefore I've been busy filling up 144 cells with B&Q compost/vermiculite mix and seeds. Got them sitting nicely on warm mats on the corner of the kitchen's worktop - I now mean business!
Finished the ivy cull in one part so that’s had a bark mulch and looks better.
Spent ages on a bit of the border you can’t even really see, the back corner, was ivy and big stones so now there’s a little clearing that I could bark mulch but none left atm.
After that heavy work, I sowed some seeds: a crate of mixed bee friendly annuals (candytuft, nigella, stocks) and another batch of Cosmos - Kirro, creamy pale lemon. Temperatures a bit up and down so some of the Cosmos are in the poly greenhouse and some are coming inside.
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This whole area has been like a mud bath, the grass has been drowned I'm afraid with all the rain we've had. I've sown grass seed over the area, mixed with half a dried coir brick that's been crumbled into dust. My thoughts is that the coir will expand and keep the seeds moist. The mix was sprinkled just as the rain started.
However the grass turns out, I'm just relieved to be able to hang out the washing in my bare feet again, and not in my wellies.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Well done @Jenny_Aster for a job very well done.👍 You can come and do mine anytime you fancy!😂
Just standard capillary matting @Songbird-2 (green on upper side) but sitting on plastic sheeting to allow it to flow the full length of the bench. She has to adjust how many wicks are coming out of the reservoir depending on how hot it's likely to be. My tomatoes & chillies are in deep 5" pots now so I'm hoping they'll manage to get enough water from the matting.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Yesterday I pricked out some onions, long over due, and some cosmos, rather premature I think. Also potted on some basil seedlings, split them up into 4 portions. Also potted on some courgettes.
Feeling rather disappointed with what I'd sown as most of the seedlings haven't grown as I'd like, it looks like they've gone to sleep after they were pricked out, some seedlings have even died, and some ended up being a slugs supper. All's not lost though, I do have some nice sweet pea plants, hollyhocks, marigold, English daisies, fleabane. I did though manage to cajole 9 geraniums (pelargoniums) seedlings to survive, they looked pretty dire. One species that is thriving though are tomatoes, but not where I'd sown them. I planted 4 types, Burlesque (a 'big un'), black cherry, honeycomb and sweet million - so it's going to be a lucky dip. I'll hold my hands up to being guilty of starting sowing too early though.
Because of the issues I've been having, and that it's getting a bit late now to sow, I treated myself to a new sowing kit, 12 propagators holding 12 cells each. The cells are made of clear plastic so I'll be able to see what's happening to the roots. Therefore I've been busy filling up 144 cells with B&Q compost/vermiculite mix and seeds. Got them sitting nicely on warm mats on the corner of the kitchen's worktop - I now mean business!
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Pleased to say seeds starting to come up in greenhouse
After that heavy work, I sowed some seeds: a crate of mixed bee friendly annuals (candytuft, nigella, stocks) and another batch of Cosmos - Kirro, creamy pale lemon. Temperatures a bit up and down so some of the Cosmos are in the poly greenhouse and some are coming inside.