[Tuppence2]

Hello Yvonne. Lovely to see your spring flowers. A splash of colour in the beginning of our autumn. I worked at Palmer Gardens today, putting out newly delivered herbaceous perennials for sale.

I had six bags of farmyard manure delivered today for the roses and vegetable garden. They're too heavy for me to lift and my wheelbarrow has a soft tyre. I have a sack truck and will shift them to the vegetable garden using that.

Hello Bush Lady. I have green tomatoes, too. Leaving it as long as possible before bringing them indoors but it looks as though that's the only way they will ripen. Sorry to hear the rain has caused problems with your tomatoes. We could do with some rain. Not had any for a week or so and I hosed the vegetables the other day.

The spring onions in the "Gro-Bag" in the greenhouse are germinating, which is nice to see.

[telecom69]

Hi Ladies, not been many men around this year has there ? hardly heard anything at all from Frank very unusual ...anyway its good to see some posts again ...looks like the climate where BushLady is,is the same as ours in the uk, over here of course the season is all but over now so its good to see that Yvonne is just starting up again and should be able to keep us happy over the Winter ....great photos Yvonne hope that you will keep them coming,because its going to be 6 months before our season starts up again,and it was a very short one this year due to weather conditions, like BushLady the Tomatoes have not fared well,been the most dissapointing season I can remember,especially for three plants I grew outside as an experiment,they have turned out a disaster,they grew ok but have never ripened, at the moment they are just rotting on the plants ...I wont even get one to be useable,guess thats gardening though .....

Glad your onions are showing Penny,keep us informed how they progress, Im sure that your garden will benefit from the preparation that is going on at the moment with manure etc ...

Im not sure abour Primroses and Primulas, the ones I bought right at the beginning of the year I put aside in the garden and they were still growing till they were almost decimated by caterpillars, but there is still a lot of new growth keeps appearing, so Im wondering if they will "come again" for next season,Ive split some of them up,but just dont know how they will go,guess its wait and see...

All the leaves are now beginning to take on their Autumn tints and starting to fall,especially Hostas and Hydrangeas,since they are all in containers of some sort,will move them into the greenhouse over Winter when Tomatoes finish,no need to of course,they just get a better start next time with the added protection I find ....

[Tuppence2]

Hello Bob. Yes, it is nice to see posts here to help us through our autumn and winter.

We are in need of rain here, the ground is so dry. We've not had steady, heavy rain for ages and none at all for over a week.

The little onions are doing well under their netting cloche, so are the Tundra cabbages. I have to keep pressing the onions into the soil as they work their way out somehow. Most are quite firm with their little roots growing into the soil.

I climbed a ladder to pick Bramleys today. Have asked my neighbour for the loan of her apple picker. There are some nice apples high up in the tree.

Must check my tomatoes in the greenhouse and bring some in to ripen. I picked the green pepper today.

[telecom69]

Hi Penny,thats the way it is with Onions,Shallots too have this habit of pushing themselves upwards,think its to do with the fact they have heavy root formation when they start to grow,nothing you can do except keep pushing them back,they will settle down ...same here with the rain situation,but its not causing me too many problems now the season is almost over (for me anyway) easily managing with watering cans at the moment....by the way my second flush of flowering on the Feverfew is better than the first, it looks really well at the moment .....

Some of the Tomatoes that are still not ripening properly on the plants,Im having to bring them in to ripen,note that now almost all foliage has been removed to help with ripening ....

Some that have ripened albeit indoors,but to me they dont taste as good as ones that ripen on the plants for some reason ....

My white Dahlias have survived the best from the recent drenchings,the others are still going but look to be struggling a bit ....

[Tuppence2]

Thanks for the photos, Bob. I didn't know about removing foliage from the tomatoe plants. Mine is very well covered in leaves.

Thanks for the advice about the little onions.

I've just been out (8.15 a.m.) and sawed of yet another huge branch from the apple tree. Very aerobic exercise! The worse part is sawing it up into logs for someone to burn and disposing of the little branches and leaves. I have a second green wheelie-bin, the first one is full of other cuttings from the garden, and will use that.

I have to walk into Bradford-on-Avon this morning to take Cecil to his "minder" and to collect a second-hand bike to use as a spare.

My ox-eye daisies and feverfew are still in flower.

Misty out - looks like another dry day.

[telecom69]

Yes Penny defoliating as it is called is widely practised by Tomato growers once the plant has set all its fruit,it doesnt need all the leaves at all,and some plants have a massive amount of them,so all leaves are removed by bendoing them downwards and they will snap offcertainly all leaves around the trusses are removed,just leaving one now and again and some at the top,this aids air flow and light round the trusses,to help with ripening ....I have also read that cutting back on the watering also helps to speed up rirening,but I have never tried this out, same weather as you I think,it was very misty and cold earlier but now at 9.45 its bright sunshine and warming up a lot,been like this most of the week now,so its not all doom and gloom rain showers forecast next week from Monday onwards for this area ....
Hope you got the second bike back ok and well done with the apple tree aerobics so early in the day happy gardening

[ymfoster]

Thanks Penny & Bob,

glad you enjoyed them, ......

you sound very busy still Penny with your manure & sprouting onions, the hot house will be very handy now.

Bob your tomatoes did pretty well considering the poor season, you'll be able to make chutney with the rest. If we don't keep the water up to our tomatoes a heavy downpoor will cause them to grow fast & split ! it used to happen with the stone fruit on the trees also, we have taken our fruit trees out now as the lorikeets & Fruit Bats have become such a problem now

I spent most of yesterday repotting a lot of small Cacti & Succulents & lots I'd struck also, so they have more room to grow now, but still have lots of repotting to do & feeding also.

[Tuppence2]

I like cacti, Yvonne. Have some on my windowsill in the sitting room.

Yes, things still to grow this season. I've just been to a wonderfully eccentric old lady's garden (she wears a woolly hat and trainers and an apron), full of vegetables for sale. Got some sprout plants and four winter cauliflower. I've just planted those, and some strawberry runners from my sister's garden in Devizes. I worked there this afternoon, hoeing and weeding for her. She has arthritis and finds it hard to bend down for long.

I walked Cecil to Bradford-on-Avon, then up a very steep hill (the town is built on hills) to his "minder's" cottage, then walked back into the town and collected the bicycle and rode it home along the canal path. I then walked the dogs with the neighbour's dog and was just sitting down when my sister rang to say they were in Trowbridge and did I want to go to their house. I've not stopped all day until now. Getting something to eat. It turned out to be a lovely, sunny afternoon.

I got a telescopic branch lopper while out to get at the higher branches of the apple tree. Will do some more pruning tomorrow afternoon. I'm at harvest festival service in the morning.

I think it's probably too late to defoliate my tomato plant but I'll remember that for next year, Bob.

[ymfoster]

Yes Penny,

Cacti are so easy care,
mine are on my windowsill also & more in planters & the garden outside, the flowers are so bright too & they are so easy to strike from the leaves.

Those dogs will certainly keep you fit Penny,

Well I fed my garden this morning with 'Seamungus' .. http://fertilizers.com.sg/sea-mungus
My hands smell of seaweed now, .... I fed the roses, azaleas, camellias, bulbs, lemon tree & everything else with appropriate fertilisers, just need more rain now.

[Tuppence2]

Lovely to see the flower photos, Yvonne. Thanks. I don't get flowers on my cacti and would need to have them in a heated greenhouse for that. Very nice to be able to have them in flower outside.

A misty Sunday morning, so it could be sunny when it lifts. I've watered the newly planted cauliflowers, sprouts and strawberries and hope that the frogs in the garden eat any slugs that might attack them.

I'm having a cut of tea and toast for breakfast before getting ready to go to Harvest Festival Service - apparently, there's a Christening, too. I was hoping to get home for the start of the Grand Prix, but will probably miss that.

I'm about to unpack my telescopic-handled tree pruner and see how high I can get in the apple tree later. A lot of fruit this year. I've stored some wrapped in newspaper but a lot is going into the compost bins.

My "Rokko Kolla" white clematis is having a second flush of flowers and looks very nice next to the rose on the arch, "Lady Penelope", which is also flowering again. The rose has tall runners coming from it and I'll have to cut those back.

[trekguy]

Yikes, I haven't been in here for a while. I have to say that this summer was a busy one... one kid graduating from highschool, and the other just starting. My gardening for this year has been a task of "maintaining"... no new projects. We were also quite dry for a good part of the summer. Watering from the well just doesn't do what rain does.

Vegetable garden was a mix of success and failures (as usual). Radishes were all tops.. sugar snap peas and green beans were excellent... zucchini did only OK, didn't produce much, which is very unusual... normally, we can supply the whole township! Lettuce and spinach grew very well... but I thought they both were quite bitter tasting. Sweet corn was very good, but not much for quantity. Pepper... good. Cucumbers... good. And finally, the new Heritage raspberries that I started last year really took off, and produced quite well... they still are, and will continue til frost... I love that!

Hmmm, after I read what I just wrote... I think it may be time for some manure in the 'ole veggie garden!

We visited here in August. http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/default.aspx

We definitely got a lot of ideas for projects. I wish their site had more pictures... it was quite an impressive place. If anyone is ever in the area... I would recommend it.

Fall colors are here... I'll try to get some pics soon.

[Tuppence2]

Thanks for the news about your gardening year and the link to the Arboretum. There's a big one not all that far away in Gloucestershire that I've visited in the past. Very enjoyable.

I've had manure delivered in bags and need to get on and spread it but I'm in the middle of pruning the big Bramley apple tree and lots of clearing to do.

[telecom69]

Hi Yvonne, Good to see you in here again,you certainly have some very colourful plants in your garden,great pics know what you mean about the Tomatos splitting after a down pour,that will happen too if you do irregular watering,as Ive found out over the years,when I mentioned about witholding water I meant when the fruit are fully grown and about to ripen,its supposed to aid ripening if you do not water very often,not tried it myself,but can see the logic as the plant itself is almost dead as can be seen from the leaves yellowing and dropping ...its just there for the Tomatos to hang onto at this time ...and yes Im pretty well satisfied how my Toms have done particularly after a bad start with the young plants and having to start again....

Hi Treckguy good to read your news,you seem to have not done too bad from what you say,and yes dont forget to get that manuring done ....

Penny hope you are winning the battle with the apple tree,like you Ive never been able to get Cactus to flower,think they definitely need to be greenhouse grown for that, as our climate seems not to work for them...

Happy Gardening everyone

[Tuppence2]

Yes, Bob, I'm getting on with the pruning. Did some more this morning, early, and have come in now at 9 a.m. to have a cup of tea. Masses of prunings to clear up and big branches to saw into logs.

The new cauliflower and sprouds wilted a little yesterday but were standing up this morning. They've been watered. I think it's time to put my tomato plant from the greenhouse into the compost.

Not misty this morning. The ground is so dry. I've just planted tiny wallflower seedlings my sister grew.

[telecom69]

The wilting is normal Penny so dont worry about it,it happens because they have to put down new roots in there new home,it will have cleared up in a few days ...you probably know this anyway,same weather up here but it was quite cold at 6am when I went down the paper shop,very sunny now 9.40 am but lots of rain forecast for this week and much lower temperatures too, down to 3 degrees on Thursday night, good luck with the Wallflowers the scent can be almost overpowering in early mornings,used to grow lots of them years ago ....