Drought Declarations In England

 

Hydrating Coir & Cutting Weed Membrane

Three 10 Litre blocks of Coir hydrated in square flower buckets, as the coir blocks arrived in the post today.

Two 18 inch strips of Weed Membrane trimmed up for my sister 

The water in the feeder bottles in the terricotta spikes has been going down rapidly, but there again we are in the 4th Heatwave 

Spotted the first flower on my tomatoes, perhaps I might just get a late harvest.  

 

The Ryobi 18V ONE+ RY18SCA-0 Cordless Secateurs

 

The Ryobi 18V ONE+ RY18SCA-0 Cordless Secateurs are ideal for fast and effortless pruning around the garden. Despite their compact size, they deliver powerful cutting performance to maintain shrubs and small branches.

The chrome-plated SK5 hardened steel bypass blades provide smooth, clean cuts up to 25mm. This promotes healthy plant growth while reducing strain on your hands with a simple trigger-operated design.

• Chrome-plated SK5 blades – delivers clean cuts for healthy plant growth
• High cutting capacity – cuts branches up to 25mm thick
• Fast cycle time – completes a cut in 2.5 seconds for efficiency
• Trigger operation – reduces muscle fatigue compared to manual pruners
• High endurance – makes up to 2,000 cuts on a single charge of a 2Ah Battery

This was one of my recent three Ryobi purchases, when they were doing the buy a tool and get a Free Storage Box or Bag. I went for the 19-inch Toolbox that the Secateurs fit into just nicely. The Tool box retails at £39.99

As regular reader of manvslug.uk know I have a face for radio, so I have found a review of the Ryobi 18V ONE+ RY18SCA-0 Cordless Secateurs by a man that appears to have nearly the same amount of Ryobi Kit as my good self. 

As I have an auto immune disease and arthritis in all my joints especially my hands, as he says in the video "I can honestly see why so many people describe these as a game changer" 

The brambles were 20 - 25mm diameter and the Ryobi Secateurs made light work of the them cutting them into short lengths and dropping into the trug lined with a plastic rubbish bag.

I have cleared the brambles that are growing to the rear and end of Bed 3 and can now get around the back of bed 3 to clear the cat poop that accumulated before I got the debris netting in place  

As soon as these arrive , I can hydrate them and get the topping mix made to complete and top up all three beds ready for planting.  

Oakland Gardens End Of Season Clearance

The Oakland Garden 30L Plant Pot with Handles have been designed and manufactured with a dual-tier base system and drainage holes to prevent waterlogging and promote excellent drainage and thus healthy root growth, plus it stiffens up the base of the pot. I guess its the ex R&D and Structural Engineer in me that notices these kind of things.

What I hadn't taken into account was just how useful that profile is when lifting and decanting of woodchips and soil out into the raised beds I have been building. 

The Oakland pots are so much easier to grab, and tip out as the dual-tier base system gives areas for your fingers to get a grip and make handling and emptying easy. 

They are so much easier to handle and tip out, than the flat bottomed pots I have from other suppliers. 

Cutting Debris Netting And Weeding & Apple Clearing

The highly anticipated rain forecast for this morning never arrived. 

Todays weather forecast and it appears we have lost the rain on the 1st August and the thunderstorm forecast for the 2nd August a few days ago on the 23rd July as shown below. 

What did arrive was my Grandson Digby Elvis, and he was so happy at seeing his grandad that I got lots of hugs and cuddles. Digby got his mum to phone Grandad on his way home as they got rained upon on their way home in Wallington, but alas the rain never made its way to Sutton.  

Working my way clearing the brambles to the rear and side of the end of  bed 3 as I need access to remove the last of the cat poop before laying the mixture of Compost, Mulch, Coir and Vermiculite.

I have run out of Coir at the moment but more is ordered and on it's way 

 

 Having measured from the crown of the arch to the ground I have measured, cut and rolled the Debris netting for the next 3 raised gardening beds 4 to 6 which now need to be burnt and assembled.

I received an email from Marshalls  

End Tonight: Save £15 on your onions, shallots & garlic + FREE Delivery

The Free Delivery was what got me, yes I know it's already built into the RRP for the product, but I had to look 

Normally I have three 2.4m x 1.2m beds of onions down on Mill Green Allotment but as I'm currently house bound and can't drive due to my leg ulcers, and I know from experience that it's not going to be a quick fix. At least one bed of the ultimate nine will be used for onions. 

• Approx. 65 - 75 sets
• Over-wintering onion
• Crisp and sweet flesh

This popular over-wintering red onion reliably produces a heavy crop of excellent quality red/pink onions.

Exceptionally easy to grow, this variety always provides good yields.

Choose Red Winter for an onion that's suited to pickling as well as cooking. This variety has crisp and sweet flesh.

Set in rows from September to December for harvest in July.

How To Grow

Prepare your soil: Onions, Shallots, and Garlic prefer an open, sunny site and light, free-draining soil. If you have heavy soil, dig in a generous amount of grit and organic matter into the planting area to aid drainage. Avoid planting them in very heavy or freshly manured soil. Onions are sensitive to acidity, so if you have acidic soil add some Garden Lime to the area well before planting or use our Concentrated Slow-Release Onion, Garlic & Shallot Feed Granules when planting.

Planting: Both Autumn and Spring varieties can be planted straight out into your pre-prepared soil. Loosen soil and dig in some of our Concentrated Slow-Release Feed Granules to add essential nutrients for optimal growth. I already have the Marshalls feed down at Mill Green Allotment 

Onion & Shallot Sets: Plant Onion and Shallot sets (pointed end upwards) with the tips of the sets showing at the soil surface. 

Onions: These should be spaced 5-10cm (2-4in) apart with 25-30cm (10in to 1ft) between rows. 

So looking at the actual minimum area in mm that's more SFG Square Foot Gardening based 

50mm x 250mm = 12,500 mm squared which could be obtained by spacing at

125mm x 100mm on a grid pattern rather than rows and spacing. 

With approximately 65 to 75 sets per bag, this layout is ideal and based on the same square metre area as the minimum row and spacing dimensions suggested by Marshalls 

Layout based on SFG (Square Foot Gardening) layout of 100mm x 100mm, I feel the first layout suits the quantity of sets and the minimum area per onion better. 

Shallots: Should be spaced 15-20cm (6-8in) with 30-45cm (1ft to 18in) between rows. 

Garlic: The Bulbs should be separated into individual cloves and planted pointed end up, so that the tip of each clove is 2cm (1/2in) below the soil surface. Leave 15cm (6in) between individual cloves and 30cm (12in) between the rows. Marshalls also recommend covering garlic bulbs in Horticultural Fleece to protect emerging shoots from hungry birds!

Guide To Plant Sizes 

 

What to expect when they arrive: Marshalls sets and cloves are suitable for planting out immediately. However, if you’re unable to do so right away, they recommend keeping them in a cool, dark place until you are ready. Sets are sold by weight, so counts may vary slightly to those stated on their website.

Dampen Your Compost Heaps

 

I have been asked by a lovely fireman to remind everyone with a compost heap to dampen them down .

Reports of them spontaneously combusting are rising .

This includes the mound of grass clippings down the bottom of the garden and manure piles .

If you see a pile smouldering , DO NOT break it open .

Increased oxygen will cause it to burst into flames .

Dampen down with a hose pipe etc .

Don’t worry about a hose pipe ban , it’s an emergency .

Call the fire brigade if the fire is spreading or if there are open flames .

Better still , go and stick some water on it now to ensure it’s not on the verge of combustion.

Am I being dramatic ? Hardly . Back in 2022 in Wennington , a compost fire devastated the village .

Vicky

Topping Up Beds 1 - 3

Apples picked up and brambles nipped back this morning 

 
I woke up late this morning and as such I missed the opportunity to get anything done at the top end of the garden. I had rough cut / melted the debris netting and set about forming a much better straighter cut to the start of the roll of debris netting. 

I will measure the ground to the top of the arch and cut the next length of debris netting.

The level of the compost, fertile mulch, coir and vermiculite has dropped a little after watering in yesterday , and needs some additional material blended and added to bed 1.    

Bed 2, has not consolidated as much as bed 1 but still needs some topping up. 

Compost, fertile mulch, coir and vermiculite blended with the 600mm Power Planter added to the front half of bed 3.   

Debris netting clipped back to the hoops to stop the cats getting into the beds to use as a litter tray. 

Beds 1 to 3 

More Coir purchased of ebay, so I can make enough of the topping mix to top up beds 1 to 3 such that no more is required.

Whilst on ebay I looked to see if anyone sold Battery Terminal Covers caps, to protect and prevents short circuits. They do and I have ordered enough for my holding of batteries.  

The Kindness Of Plot Neighbours

Dominika from Plot 11 offered to harvest my raspberries and drop them off to me, she also asked If I needed any shopping bless her, I told her to make sure she harvests the same amount for herself. 

Dominika took on the allotment last last year and this is her first year of growing on her allotment. She worked hard over the Winter to get her allotment ready for this Spring 

She brought a pot of tomatoes and cucumbers from her first harvest bless her.  

Dominika also made some blackberry syrop, It goes well with tea or water. She informs me it has lots of vitamins, I did try some and it's really nice. Dominika is going to have another harvest of Raspberries next week and do a drop off for me again.   

The water finally ran out in the 500ml bottle which has been in place since the 17th July see Self-Watering Terracotta Stakes so that's 7 days not including what water was left in the actual Terracotta stakes.

Topping Off Beds 1 and 2

 

Looking at the weather forecast today there is no rain shown for the Monday 27th like there was on the 19th July forecast 

The Self Watering Terracotta Stakes appear to be doing their job and the water can be seen reducing in the bottle each day. Had I used them before going into hospital for four days, my strawberries would not have been set back as much as they are.  

Three 30L flower buckets of 10L Coir, 10L Compost and 5L Mulch and 5L vermiculite mixed with the 600mm PowerPlanter & my Ryobi drill and spread into bed 1. I cut melted the debris netting roll so that there is enough to hang down the raised bed scaffold boards. 

The sun started to come around from the front of the house, so play stopped for the moment. 

View of Beds 1 & 2 in the late afternoon/ early evening after bed 2 had been topped up 

Bed 3 only half cleared of cat poo, once that is done the last bed in this row can be filled and planted up. 

18 Perennial Veggies

 

Just A Little Thought For The Day.....

 

Timber Decking Tiles Splitting

 

It wood appear that the timber decking tiles are drying out splitting in the sun  

I will try and relocate these tiles under the storage unit, these were the best of what was available and the splits were not there on purchase 

I found all but one leg of the tower 

The tomatoes are growing really well, but as I have not been able to get to the allotment to rescue the Quadgrows or to take these and plant them out, I have offered a few to my neighbour 

Black 10L buckets with lids arrived and compost & small tools and sieves stored in them.