@Omori I tried to avoid buying the big bag of alfalfa pellets. So I did the first two batches with some rabbit/degu pellets (pure alfalfa but expensive for the weight). I did 150g in a builder bucket (1st batch) and then again 150g (2nd batch).
For the 3rd batch, I bought an alfalfa fodder brick. It's hard to split. I separated as much as I could, between 1/10 and 1/5 of the 1kg brick to a bucket. It was quite weak.
4dr batch, I just dumped the rest of the brick to the bucket. It expanded so much that there was almost no water left and I had to split it into two buckets
I think I will stop with this nonsense and get the big bag.
All batches brewed between 6 and 8 days. With the exception of the 3rd one, I also did 2nd weaker brew with them. Some of them started to smell around 6th or 7th day, some never did. I have it loosely covered and stir it every day.
This was the 1st batch when I used it:
The process is usually like this: 1) Alfalfa floats on top, green 2) Less alfalfa on top, golden, foamy 3) Alfalfa at the bottom, amber, foamy 4) it stops being foamy. Maybe the 4th stage is a bit too late but I think it also depends on the weather, cold weather sometimes stops it and makes it green, hot weather makes it more active and amber. The fodder brick behaves differently than the pellets, maybe because there are bigger chunks of alfalfa hay.
That’s a fine looking MW @Mr. Vine Eye looks nothing like mine 😬 Maybe next year...
@edhelka That amber colour looks good. I also am doing like you, loosely covered and stirring daily. Hopefully around day 7 mine will look like yours 🤞
Can anyone tell me how Blush Noisette stands up up to rain...heavy,relentless rain I mean...and would it be suitable for a 7ft obelisk.
I'm not sure anyone has replied to this post ... too many posts on this thread to keep up with! I have a BN on a 7ft column, and have just deadheaded all the blooms after a couple of days of relentless rain... hope to get a second flush, fingers crossed ... I read on here a description of it being like "old toilet paper" once the blooms had gone over, and have never forgotten that! Probably wouldn't have bought it had I read that description first!!!
@rock_hen ...you've done a brilliant job, well done !... you might as well leave it where it is, it doesn't need any support for now, and you've got the opportunity to allow it to develop... it can be grown as a large arching shrub.. ...it can be problematic putting a rose into an established, busy, border full of other plants, they do need some space to start with... just need to keep things clear for a while... potted roses can be a struggle to plant I find, and to get established.. ...let's see how this goes for now..
@Mr. Vine Eye ..Your Aster is doing well, mine hasn't quite started yet, another few days I think.. and Royal Jubilee too.. it will look even better next year, the blooms will be larger, fuller and sometimes take on a different form too.. ..as regards that 'Munstead Wood'.. have you seen it in bloom? only from where I'm looking it appears to be a 'Gertrude Jekyll' in between flushes, which would be right as it gears up for an August flush... the foliage does not look right for MW, and that's without the growth habit.. but it does look right for GJ..
Thanks @edhelka. I'll take a look at Gabriel Oak. Would you say the strength of fragrance is the same?
For some reason my photo of Desdemona didn't process. So here's it again
For those interested, the pot is by Emsa and is available on Amazon. It's 50cm diameter and has a slight lip on the bottom so it can drain. Only £25 with Amazon prime. I'm pretty impressed!
@peteS I have Blush Noisette on one corner of the pergola, I find it really easy, it doesn't seem to mind the rain and flowers continuously from June to December. It throws out some long stems and if they are going the wrong way I just hack them off. I only deadhead when each cluster of flowers have finished and between times I give the plant a shake to get rid of the faded blooms. I had one at my previous house which was on a North facing wall and it was equally happy there. This is before I gave it a shake This is after a quick shake It has loads of buds on still and the foliage is very healthy, I find it really trouble free and I believe it is also perfumed( I've lost my sense of smell so I'm not sure about that but I think I remember it being lightly scented). There is a clematis Montana on the diagonally opposite corner and BN manages to push through the tangle and flower above it.
@Katsa YL is an old rose blend, GO is fruity. I would say YL is stronger but I've only smelled it once. GO fragrance intensity changes with weather and day time which makes it hard to judge but it is good when it is good.
YL has thin canes, good for a pot or raised bed, and slightly cooler colour. GO is upright and the colour is slightly warmer and deeper.
@Marlorena - it’s entirely possible that I photographed the wrong one! But I don’t remember them having a Gertrude Jekyll there last year. MW was definitely on this side of the bed as it was labelled and the blooms were unmistakeable. I had a quick look at the canes since there were no blooms and this looked the most MW like. None of them had flowers. Couldn’t see the names this time.
Come to think of it, maybe it was slightly further to the right of this photo. But that one had very few thorns! Maybe they moved it?
@Janie B and @Suesyn thanks for your info...I think I'm going to err on the side of caution and dismiss the idea of getting Blush Noisette, with the amount of rain we get here it isn't worth the risk of having a sodden mess everytime it rains. Maybe someone could recommend a suitable alternative, one which is able to stand up to heavy rains, and is suitable for growing up a 7ft obelisk (I don't mind if it grows a few feet higher as it will be near a trellis)...oh and one which has a definite pink tinge (but not pink) to it and is a semi double.
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@edhelka That amber colour looks good. I also am doing like you, loosely covered and stirring daily. Hopefully around day 7 mine will look like yours 🤞
I'm not sure anyone has replied to this post ... too many posts on this thread to keep up with! I have a BN on a 7ft column, and have just deadheaded all the blooms after a couple of days of relentless rain... hope to get a second flush, fingers crossed ... I read on here a description of it being like "old toilet paper" once the blooms had gone over, and have never forgotten that! Probably wouldn't have bought it had I read that description first!!!
...you've done a brilliant job, well done !... you might as well leave it where it is, it doesn't need any support for now, and you've got the opportunity to allow it to develop... it can be grown as a large arching shrub..
...it can be problematic putting a rose into an established, busy, border full of other plants, they do need some space to start with... just need to keep things clear for a while... potted roses can be a struggle to plant I find, and to get established..
...let's see how this goes for now..
@Mr. Vine Eye
..Your Aster is doing well, mine hasn't quite started yet, another few days I think.. and Royal Jubilee too.. it will look even better next year, the blooms will be larger, fuller and sometimes take on a different form too..
..as regards that 'Munstead Wood'.. have you seen it in bloom? only from where I'm looking it appears to be a 'Gertrude Jekyll' in between flushes, which would be right as it gears up for an August flush... the foliage does not look right for MW, and that's without the growth habit.. but it does look right for GJ..
For some reason my photo of Desdemona didn't process. So here's it again
For those interested, the pot is by Emsa and is available on Amazon. It's 50cm diameter and has a slight lip on the bottom so it can drain. Only £25 with Amazon prime. I'm pretty impressed!
I have Blush Noisette on one corner of the pergola, I find it really easy, it doesn't seem to mind the rain and flowers continuously from June to December. It throws out some long stems and if they are going the wrong way I just hack them off. I only deadhead when each cluster of flowers have finished and between times I give the plant a shake to get rid of the faded blooms. I had one at my previous house which was on a North facing wall and it was equally happy there.
This is before I gave it a shake
This is after a quick shake
It has loads of buds on still and the foliage is very healthy, I find it really trouble free and I believe it is also perfumed( I've lost my sense of smell so I'm not sure about that but I think I remember it being lightly scented).
There is a clematis Montana on the diagonally opposite corner and BN manages to push through the tangle and flower above it.
Come to think of it, maybe it was slightly further to the right of this photo. But that one had very few thorns! Maybe they moved it?
I’ll have to check again next time we go! 😄
@AlliumPurpleSensation sorry to disappoint but this is the Cheshire ground cover rose. I got it from my local rose company.
Shropshire Star is getting paler by the day but still very pretty.
And my first bloom to open on my new Boscobel and such a lovely fragrance.