Weeding & Feeding Beds

This afternoon on the plot, Bed 14 netting taken off, membrane removed and weeded, I should have taken photos of it before I touched the bed, but I had done it before I realised I hadn't taken any photos.

So photos from left to right

1) Applying Blood Fish and Bone

2) Adding a layer of coffee grounds sprinkled on the bed

3) After raking into the soil.

4) Finally covered back up with the debris netting to keep the foxes off.

Bed 1 which was cleared on Sunday was also give a dusting of Blood Fish & Bone and coffee grounds and then it was raked into the soil.

Finally the hole dug by the foxes in the Boundary Beds filled back in and cleared up.

New Delivery Date for Potting Shed

I received a Text message today that the potting shed will now be delivered mid next week. 

Looks like rain for most of the week, I have arranged with Jane from idverde to meet on the site on Friday which looks to be the best day to measure up plots 11 & 11A and hopefully try and get Sutton Council to honour the agreement they made to fund the skip so we can clear the plots and get them back into serviceable order.

The plot holders have already cleared most of the metal and had a scrap metal man take as much metal away as possible from the two overgrown and fly tipped plots. 

The head of parks, has replied to my email and side stepped most of the questions I had asked and now idverde are going to inform and remind him that one of his staff Adam Brind agreed 3 times with them to fund the skips, so removal of all the dross they had allowed the previous plot holder to accumulate could be removed. 

The council needs to support the site reps and idverde when plot holders do not work within the guideline document, and not take the "We will accept the plot holders unique way of working the plot" when in fact one could not even get into the plot because it had been made into something like a fort that kids use to build in the 50s, 60's & 70's in overgrown land along streams and railway lines.  

I'm hoping they will have good news for me on Friday or perhaps may even manage get the Head of Parks Mark Dalzell and Adam Brind down to talk to me and come up with a solution, and honour their agreement. I'm not holding my breath, but if it happens I and the plot holders of Mill Green would be overjoyed especially as we have 40 people on the waiting list for a plot. 

It now 3 weeks since I notified the council and idverde about the dangerous gas and oxygen cylinders found in the fly tipped plots that the head of parks described as "a haven for wild life rather" than its true description of looking like the aftermath of a travellers invasion, are still there and have not been removed! 

How Mark can say there has not been any miss management of allotments is beyond my and all of the plot holders on Mill Greens imagination.    

Hydrate Coir whilst the Sun Shines

This weekend a year ago I was making the square foot gardening beds and two years ago I was cutting the slabs to go into the Plot 1 Greenhouse and getting the Quadgrows installed, March this year is looking to be quite cold and wet.

This Sunday I hydrated a CoCo Grow Plus Block of Coir to 75 Litres and bagged it up and filled the Coir storage bin ready for getting the new potatoes in Buckets in.

I also dug out the nettles from bed 1 and turned it over and then gave it a dressing of soil coir and compost from last years potatoes in Buckets.

Two buckets of flowers went into the active Dalek together with two buckets of cardboard and shredded paper and a layer of coffee grounds between each layer. They were watered in with weed water from the weed feed butt.

Gerald is still on security detail and awaiting some idea as to when the potting shed will arrive as there was logistic problems on Wednesday and my delivery was cancelled.

Greenhouse Loft Extension II

Having completed the assembly of the Greenhouse Loft Extension Assembly on the 8th March, and fitting the louvers over the fans openings I had been waiting for the weather to break and the sun to shine so I could test the solar panel and the twin fans before fixing them into the Dormer structure. 

The clouds parted and sunlight shone and I ran out into the garden with the solar panel and fans, and joy of joys they started spinning really fast. So I dashed back indoors and set about fixing them to the inside of the dormer front.  

The leads on these fans are a lot shorter than the first ones I purchased that had their own solar panel each, so I positioned them such that the leads faced each other and the middle of the dormer so that I could take the wire through the roof. 

I melted a hole in the roof, just back from the front panel just large enough to get the connection plug through one at a time and then filled the hole with silicone from the underside, As I want to prevent water getting in and down the wire and into the fans and also not allowing water into the twin wall polycarbonate. 

I used the Ryobi glue gun and sealed the hole also making sure it was raised so as to push water away from the hole anyway.

 

Having sealed the ends of the strip of twin wall polycarbonate that will support the solar panel the night before, I burnt out a recess for the back of the solar panel and the wires to go through and the four bolt holes with the soldering iron and then siliconed up the openings to stop water getting in the twin wall polycarbonate.

When I glued the legs onto the mounting plate, I used my Unwins Seed Box to hold the legs up and and tack glued the outside first and let it dry, then removed the box and glued the inside. Finally I applied silicone to the gaps in between.

Before fitting onto the mounting plate 

I found some nuts bolts and washers and mounted the solar panel to the supporting framework. 

Photo of the mounting in it's trial location. I wasn't happy with the way the wires and connectors were on the roof top and decided I would need to improvise a support, but having decided on a location that would offer some rain shielding for the connections I tack welded the legs to the roof.

Added a Twin wall polycarbonate offcut to hold the wires up off the flat roof deck and keep the joint under the panel support hopefully out of the rain, and glued it in place, then using the peg to hold the wire, I tack welded the wires onto the cross member. 

Bracket glued in place , the wires were much shorter on this one and I needed to come out via the roof and the solar panel has to face the sun.

Now ready to be taken down to the allotment and fitted. 

Where Is The Potting Shed?

 

Gerald the Gnome was ready and waiting on the base of the potting shed to see the unloading of the potting shed. 

The 4 hour slot was shortened to a 2 hour slot via an email and his plot holder was ready to come down and be around to let the the driver in. 

However a telephone call was received to say the lorry was overloaded and the delivery would need to be rescheduled! 

Looks like all the rain we have been having is making timber products a lot heavier than anticipated!  

Dalefoot Compost Arrives

My Dalefoot delivery came today. Having heard at the Garden Press Event that I intend to repeat by previous grow off between Dalefoot Potting Compost & westland New Horizon BIO3 Tomato Planter in 2021. This year it will be Dalefoot Tomato Compost V westland Big Tom Planter Compost & Big Tom Feed, they kindly supplied me with some bags of free compost to play with. 

The tracking app was so cool I could watch the driver making his way towards my location and I could see how many stops were still in front of me.  

I updated the app and couldn't find him! and that was because he was actually dropping off my compost on the doorstep!

So one by one, I added the bags of compost to my boot to be taken down to my allotment in readiness for the delivery and erection of my new Forest Green Potting Shed which is to follow later this week. 

A big thank you to Dalefoot Composts for supplying the compost for the 2023 Tomato Grow Off and some additional bags for me to trial and review. Information and links to the Dalefoots' web site for each of the compost I received can be found below:- 

 

Wool Compost for Tomatoes

Super-strength compost containing all the must-have nutrients needed to grow organic, succulent, aromatic tomatoes throughout the year without additional tomato feed. Now with added Comfrey! – the organic gardeners best friend – a ‘dynamic accumulator’ packed with nutrients is added into the Wool Compost range. Comfrey's ‘Bocking 14’ variety has high levels of potassium, phosphorous & nitrogen for healthy plant growth, larger flowers & bigger crops.

·         Use as a grow bag or in pots

·         Reduced watering

·         No need to feed - feeds tomatoes throughout the season without additional feed!

·         Peat-free

·         Soil Association approved

·         Wool Compost for Tomatoes 30 litre

 

Wool Compost for Potting

This general purpose compost is ideal for growing in pots, tubs and hanging baskets where water retention is key. No need to add extra feed or water retaining gels. Now with added Comfrey! – the organic gardeners best friend – a ‘dynamic accumulator’ packed with nutrients is added into the Wool Compost range. Comfrey's ‘Bocking 14’ variety has high levels of potassium, phosphorous & nitrogen for healthy plant growth, larger flowers & bigger crops.

·         Use in containers, hanging baskets and raised beds

·         Reduced watering

·         No need to feed

·         Peat-free

·         Soil Association approved

 

Lakeland Gold

Traditional Claybuster and 'Gold-standard' Spring/Autumn Mulch. Encourages worms and enriches your soil. 

·         Mulch into your beds in Spring & Autumn for improved nutrition and soil structure

·         Top dress plants such as potatoes, fruit trees, asparagus and flowering shrubs such as roses (1 bag per m2)

·         Ideal for 'No-Dig' gardening

·         Feeds for 2 years

·         Peat-free

·         Vegan friendly

·         Soil Association approved

·         Lakeland Gold 30 litre

Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads

Perfect for "grow your own" organic vegetables, salad and fruit in an allotment, raised beds, containers or windowsill. Now with added Comfrey! – the organic gardeners best friend – a ‘dynamic accumulator’ packed with nutrients is added into the Wool Compost range. Comfrey's ‘Bocking 14’ variety has high levels of potassium, phosphorous & nitrogen for healthy plant growth, larger flowers & bigger crops.

·         Reducedwatering

·         Feeds throughout the growing season

·         Peat-free

·         Soil Association approved

·         Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads 30 litre

Dalefoot Compost Bag Volumes

·         Lakeland Gold 30 litre

·         Bulb Compost 20 litre

·         Wool Compost 30 litre

·         Double Strength Wool Compost 30 litre

·         Ericaceous Mix Potting Compost 30 litre

·         Wool Compost for Seeds 12 litre

·         Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads 30 litre

·         Wool Compost for Tomatoes 30 litre 

Day off from Gardening

 

Great find by my son-in-law when we went to the Hollywood Bowl for my birthday.

Girls V Slug 

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In My Seed Box For 2023 - Pak Choi

Pak Choi Macau F1 - 100 Seeds - Dobies -  Cost £2.49

Plants will hold in the ground two weeks longer than regular varieties without going to seed!

Perfect for any stir- fry or steamed until soft in a vegetable side dish.

Compact habit, they are the ideal addition to beds, borders or containers.

Macau is a vigorous mini Pak Choi variety, that performs well in mid-summer with good bolt tolerance. Plants will hold in the ground for around 2 weeks longer than regular varieties without going to seed. These vegetable plants are ideal to succession sow for a continued harvest for months. Compact habit, they are the ideal addition to beds and borders or patio pots and containers. Height 10–100mm (½–4"); spread 10 - 100cm (½–4").

Pak Choi is a Chinese leafy green member of the cabbage family, popular for its delicious flavour. Harvesting from mid-May until December, ‘Macau’ is a mini Pak Choi variety that is the perfect addition to any stir-fry dish or steamed until soft for a delicious Chinese side dish.

Growing Pak Choi from seed

Seeds should be sown 1cm deep in finely raked, moist soil. To ensure plants produce miniature Pak Choi, sow seeds in a grid pattern 5cm apart and 10cm between rows. To extend your harvest, seeds can also be started off earlier or later than stated if grown in a greenhouse border.

Growing Information

Seeds should be sown 1cm deep in finely raked, moist soil. To ensure plants produce miniature Pak Choi, sow seeds in a grid pattern 5cm apart and 10cm between rows. To extend your harvest seeds can also be started off earlier or later than stated if grown in a greenhouse border.

In My Seed Box For 2023 - Index.

Unwins Gardeners' Wooden Seed Box

Seed Boxes come in all shapes sizes and materials and the new Victorian period looking Unwins Gardeners’ wooden seed box measures 215mm long x 162mm deep and 173mm high.

This high quality FSC approved timber box has been specifically crafted for Unwins and is beautifully made, with the word SEEDS on the top and on the side Unwins Logo, year established 1903 and company name.

Read about the history of Unwins here from their New Web site

The wooden seed box contains 1 x packet (15 seeds) of Sunflower Giant Single seeds, 1 packet (200 seeds) of Carrot Early Scarlet Horn, 1 packet (100 seeds) of Beetroot Boltardy, 1 packet (80 seeds) of Pea (Early) Kelvedon Wonder, 1 packet (150 seeds) of Bee & Butterfly mixed annuals, 5 wooden plant labels, 1 label pencil, 6mtrs of natural Gardeners Twine and a Gardeners pocket Notebook

And now the bullet points

•          FSC-approved
•          Contains seeds, twine, notepad, and plant labels
•          Safely store and organise all your sowing essentials
•          Designed by gardeners, for gardeners
•          Great looking Victorian period wooden seed box
•          Is the perfect gift for a gardener

My Unwins Seed box will be living in my new potting shed when it arrives. (The potting shed that is, I already have the seed box, those are my photographs in the banner of this post) 

If purchased from Marshalls which is westland and Unwins sister company, or Amazon this perfect gift for a gardener can be bought for £19.99.

However if you do a little web browsing you will also find it being sold at £22.99, £28.04, £29.95 & even £32.95 (by Quickcrop).

So as with everything in gardening, it pays to shop around and you soon find out which garden centres and companies are super greedy because one knows Marshalls are making a profit selling this at £19.99.

If you want to find a stockist then Visit the Unwins web site Here.  There is a search field at the bottom of the page, pop in your Post Code and it will tell you where they are being sold nearby.  

Peckish launched their brand-new website.

Peckish launched their brand-new website in conjunction with the start of National Nest Box Week, which is an established part of the ornithological calendar. National Nest Box Week is celebrated from February 14th each year, it puts the spotlight on breeding birds and asks everyone to put up more nestboxes in their local area.  

The new inspirational and educational Peckish web site has an interactive bird identifier guide, individual bird guides, bird care articles, kids’ activities and of course information on their full product range.

This new web site provides an invaluable resource to consumers, whether they are seasoned bird feeders or new to the world of feeding – Peckish will help them through their exciting bird care journey. They can certainly expect to see lots of varieties of birds coming to their garden with a little help from Peckish!

#Birds #Birdcare #Peckish #Gardening #BirdSpotting #BTO #RSPB #UKWildlife #NatureFacts #DiscoverWildlife #BirdCare #PeckishforPeckish #PeckishforNature #GardenBirds