[Tuppence2]

Hello Bob and Myrna.

I'm glad you have a break in the harsh weather, Bob. Same here. The sun is trying to shine on a very wet day. Much better than the ice and snow - which is due again later in the week, unfortunately. The tiler is in tiling the bathroom. It looks very nice. I'll take a photo later.

My sister has one of those "claws", Myrna. She has bad arthritis and finds it very useful. It certainly strengthens wrists. I got a spade on Sunday at the garden centre where I volunteer, for a friend, and didn't notice one there. I'll look when I next go in. One would be very handy for the raised beds. I do have a long handled tool with three little prongs on the end which I use to turn over the soil in the flower garden, like a miniature fork on the end of a pole.

I grow mainly potatoes, onions and beans and a few cabbages, though I find they upset my digestion (possibly a divirtulitis problem, which is exacerbated by cabbage, etc.). I tried peas last year but they didn't come to anything. It was a strange season for vegetables and a lot of things didn't do well, including tomatoes, though I had a few on a plant in the greenhouse. I'm also growing garlic this year. I planted that before Christmas so it could over-winter in the ground. Apparently, that helps it to grow well. I don't have a big freezer so grow relatively small amounts of things.

I like the red skinned potatoes, too. Most of the ones I have are early and salad varieties, with Red Duke of York being a main-crop.

Looking foward to a better cropping year, this year.

[Tuppence2]

Photo for Bob. Tiling going well in the bathroom.

[oil painter]

Penny--
Your talk of cabbages puts me in mind of when we were young and just moved here. There was an elderly gardener living across the street, He had a beautiful lush garden. He noticed our efforts--my husband grew up on a farm and he knew some things about gardening, but I knew absolutely nothing, He often stopped by to chew the fat and talk gardening and drop a few tips and advice, all of which we drank in like it was our morning coffee.

He told us about cutting a cross in cabbage stems with a sharp knife, after you cut off the head. This results in 4 new cabbages. Well my husband tried it--didn't think he cut deep enough so he cut again, We ended up with 8 cabbages on the one stem. Of course it was too many for one stem to support so they ended up being cooked like large brussel sprouts and my husband learned you only have to make a shallow cut.

We don't grow cabbage any more because it bothers both of us to eat it more than once in a while, but I'll always remember fondly Ivan and his garden tips.

[Tuppence2]

very good tip for propagating cabbages, Myrna. Older gardeners usually have something to teach us. I like cabbage a lot and miss it since it's started not liking me. I'm thinking of growing some leeks, too, as I like the onion family.

I've just watched a programme on TV, "The Victorian Flower Garden". There's a series called "The Victorian Vegetable Garden", too. Interesting to see how things were done in labour-intensive days. There was a pony drawing the first sort of mechanical lawn-mower, which ended the time of scything lawns.

The sun is shining (2.36 p.m.), you wouldn't think it's a winter's day except for the cold wind. I expect that's what will bring the snow we're due to have in the next few days.

[oil painter]

Penny--We used to get a British program on PBS that was called the Victorian garden and I enjoyed it very much. I too like to see how things were done in the old days. Are these shows a spin off from that.

This one was with a gentleman who was apprentised as a boy to a large estate and he was in his 70's when the show was filmed.

I remember the espalied fruit trees growing along the brick wall and they built fires in the wall to keep the frost away. They used pieces of reed to capture earwigs near them and would dump them out into pails of water to kill them.

I remember 2 victorian greenhouses with brick bottoms and glass with ornate victorian trim. In one episode they showed something that Ivan had showed us . Making manure tea which I thought was a nice coincidence,

Near the end of the series they took you into the kitchens and showed how the food was prepared then and some of the molds and things they used. It was an enjoyable hour looking back once a week.

[Gabriel]

Weather permitting I am planting 55 gladiolis this weekend................the daffodils came up before the crocuses this year....they think it is spring

[Farmgirl22]

Originally Posted by Tuppence2

Photo for Bob. Tiling going well in the bathroom.

I like the tile Penny, what does the "L" stand for? Are they planning to put some more tile up by the shower head? It seems like there should be tile going farther up the wall to prevent water damage--you might ought to ask whoever is doing your tile about it. Otherwise, I think it's going to be pretty!

[Tuppence2]

Hello everyone.

I don't think the "L" represents anything particular, Farmgirl. Just a device to rest the flowers on. The shower will be at the other end of the bath - that's the old attachment you can see. There are tiles all the way up the wall at the end where the new shower will be. I think the contractors were only supposed to tile part of the wall and are doing more than the Housing Society required.

I've not grown gladioli, Gabriel, and, by coincidence, was watching a gardening programme yesterday where someone was planting them.

Yes, Myrna, that's the series of programmes I'm watching. I remember seeing the heated wall and being very impressed. They were using an little bellows on the programme I saw yesterday to dust roses against mildew. I could just do with one of those but I expect they wouldn't be classed as "safe" these days, blowing powder everywhere. I have a pressure sprayer but it doesn't always work very well. I've made comfrey "tea" in the past to use as manure and think I have some leaves in a bucket outside which I'd forgotten about. Should be just about ready to use in the spring, I expect. I like the brick and glass greenhouses very much, too. I'm also watching, again, the series, "Open Gardens". Do you get to see that? People try to get their gardens included in the National "Yellow Book" Scheme and open them to the public. Here's a link to the series.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006z8ck

[ymfoster]

Originally Posted by telecom69

Hi Yvonne, Glad you are not near those fires, quite a bit of tv coverage about them this morning ...lots of sunshine are not always good news as in your case over there, felt so sad for the people most affected I wouldnt mind in the least if you could let us have just half of those temps over here right now Rain storms turning to heavy snow forecast for later this afternoon,so no end in sight just yet ...take care both of you

Thanks Bob,

They're starting to focus on a lot of the wildlife now also, .......

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/...illion-animals


You all sound as though Spring is there already with all the plans you are making already, glad the present conditions aren't too discouraging.

Penny your bathroom is coming along well, it will be finished in no time.


Hi Margaret, Gabriel & Myrna, good to see you are still busy,

[oil painter]

Hi everyone:

Yvonne; We've been getting a lot on our news about your fires too. The sad thing about something like this besides the loss of human life and homes is the wildlife that is killed and their habitat destroyed.
I heard the pain in your officials voices when they announced that the fires were deliberately set, and the people who lost everything including loved ones. I hope they catch the arsonists and throw the book at them.
Any disaster is heart wrenching but to know that some punks had deliberately done this must make losing everything that much worse.

Penny--No we don't get a lot of British programs. Some of our channels are American, some Canadian and except for PBS, CBC and some specialty channels, none of your shows are shown on them.
As for dusting your roses with bellows. I don't think I'd like to be breathing in todays chemicals, but I don't suppose they thought of that then. I used to watch a show with a very knowledgable gardener where he took questions people phoned in and he answered them. He said a mixture of baking soda and water sprayed often on roses but before problems like blackspot arose would keep disease away. Since I don't grow roses I don't know if it works.
I like to sneak a few potatoes out from each hill right after they flower. Though I always eat them I am not a great potato eater like my husband. I can eat potatoes and nothing else when I get these.
I forgot to mention that your bathroom looks good. My sister, whose husband is a contractor who builds houses, has done more bathrooms than anyone I know.She always maintains that white or neutral colors are the way to go with the permenent parts and use color in the accesories.

Bob hope you are keeping well and your weather has improved. We had a little of our snow melt the last few days when it was warmer but it still has a long way to go. I imagine you will have spring much faster than we will.

Gabriel--Good luck with the glads. We can't plant them here. Our growing season is too short. I've tried a couple of times and they got to the flowering stage in september and were frozen before they could open completely.

Bye all catch you later

[telecom69]

Hi people nice to see the thread plodding along so merrily so early in the year yesterday afternoon the sky went black and we had a very heavy rainstorm that turned eventually to sleet and then snow,it lasted for about 5 hours but none of the snow settled,and now its all gone,hardly a sign of any anywhere prior to that I had had a look round the garden,but thats all I did, look, as it was a freezing cold breeze, and was soon back inside I noticed that the Chives were shooting and also the Montbretia (Crocosmia) its a big clump of that,I will have to get it up and split it up in a couple of weeks to get the best out of it ...so there are signs of life out there ...Im hoping now that we have seen the last of the wintry stuff as its mid Feb and soon it will be March,the time we start in earnest to get the season underway ....

The tiling looks good Penny, looks like you have someone who know his job,its very neat indeed he obviously hadn't finished when you took the photo,wondered if they are fitting you an extractor fan in there ?, seems to be the trend in these parts nowadays to fit them in bathroom and kitchen refurbs...

I clicked on the link about the wildlife in the Australian fires,its been a terrible loss for them too of course,but they had to take second place,because of so much human loss ....broght a lump to my throat just thinking of the loss to wildlife,because I really do care so much about animals,the story of the firefighter giving that Koala bear a drink from the bottle of water was heart wrenching to me,that Koala will survive according to the story,due in no small measure to his kindly act,well done that man whoever he is

On a lighter note I used to grow Gladioli a good few years ago now though,always impressed with how regal and majestic they looked standing so tall, about 6 of them in a flower vase give a beautiful display,and they last a good while too ...might even give some a try this year now my interest has been awakened,I would have to give up some of the Dahlia space to do that,but I wouldnt really mind because they suffered so badly in the rains we had last summer,the flowers were continually bent over and none lasted more than a week although they flowered for weeks on end, it was not a good year for them unfortunately ...we will think about it a lot depends on how Im feeling healthwise in late March early April, not getting any younger these days ....

So to everyone please take care and keep well because we need to keep reading your stories of the coming season .....to Yvonne,I wish you a mild winter

Incidentally Penny, just looked at your forecast for the next 5 days,not too bad considering what we have had lately,big improvement Sun/Monday http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=1128

[Tuppence2]

Hello Yvonne, Myrna, Bob, Farmgirl, Gabriel (think that's everyone.) - I'll lump you all together as "Folks" next time.

I like the idea of baking soda and water, Myrna, rather than stronger chemicals. I like plain bathrooms, too. It's coming along nicely. The shower is in and working but I can't use it until the painting is completed and the sealant put round the bath and basin, and I need to get a shower curtain tomorrow when I'm in town. I volunteer, serving in a charity shop (The Scope Charity for people suffering from cerebral palsy and such illnesses). I crocheted a little bag for them to sell and have just started crocheting myself some socks.

Thanks for the weather link, Bob. We had a really nice day, today, with bright skies and no rain or snow. Sorry to hear you had snow again.

I managed to get out and do some pruning and cleaning up in the front garden, raking up dead stems and leaves, etc., and found that there are primroses and lungwort in flower and little yellow crocus, along with the snowdrops. The Veronica has been in flower on and off since last year and there are blue bell-shaped flowers on the plant that climbs everywhere, and whose name I cannot remember. It sends out runners with leaves on and becomes extremely invasive. (Is it Vinca?) All the roses have buds, as does the camelia and the Kilmarnock Willow.

I like the idea of growing gladioli. I love hollyhocks but find they bend a lot in the wind and beause of their height and they suffer from rust and mildew, whereas gladioli look more robust. Will try some. Should they be planted now?

My back is complaining but it was good to do some gardening. The bean trench is next.

[oil painter]

Hi All:

Penny--I like the idea of less toxic gardening too. I gather the secret of the baking soda is to prevent rather than cure, but as I said I've never tried it.

I'm always on the lookout for natural gardening hints so if you have any pass them along. I do use insectacidal soap for bugs though--do you--anyone else can throw in an answer to these too.

There is a smaller hollyhock that I have grown. It's called Queeny purple and is about 28inches tall. Pretty flowers but not as big as the tall ones. Maybe you can't get it there though. We get some pretty strong winds sometimes and like you the tall ones fall over, and that's why I gave up on them and Delphiniums too.

As for glads. It takes 2 or 3 weeks for them to show above ground and you should be frost free by then or shortly after. I do grow Lavateria which is an annual, abour 3 feet tall and has flowers much like petunias only larger.

On another note--I knit and crochet too. I've knit socks but I never heard of crocheting them it sounds interesting.

Bob--I looked up that plant you mentioned--Cocosmia--because I never heard of it before. I found out that it is a member of the Gladiola family. Pretty flower but it requires too warm a climate for me though.

It will be a while before I can do any gardening, so I'll just have to putter with indoor plants for a while. I plan to start my geranium cuttings tomorrow.

Take care all and I'll catch you later

P.S.--It's interesting to hear about what others grow. Many of the things you grow I can't grow here

[telecom69]

Hello there everyone the weather people threatened us with some heavy snow and rain for yesterday afternoon,but it turned out to be just rain thank heavens and its still raining coupled with all the thawed snow this will cause some waterlogging of the garden for sure,we just cant win can we ?...definitely decided now that Im going to grow some Gladioli this time round.the more I thought about it,the more I liked it,so will see what the garden centre has on offer in a couple of weeks.... for Penny ....they can be planted in late March through April 4 inches deep and they are best provided with a bit of support in some form because they do grow a bit tall,but its worth the trouble, because they really are a striking plant and also a great cut flower ...

oil painter ....we are not considered frost free until the first week in June,and in the past it has been known to snow in June,not often, but known, usually you can take a chance with the last week in May as pretty safe to be getting on with the planting...

nothing at all to report on the gardening front Im afraid,still very much to cold to be outside for long .....couple of pics below,not really garden related ...

Imagine this animal with a long bushy tail curled up his/her back and what do you have ? remarkable similarity dont you think ? yes he/she was back briefly yesterday,my head says call in the pest control people my heart says give the poor creature a chance ....


Shot with DSC-W35 at 2009-02-12


Some of the fish 3ft down on the bottom,patiently waiting for the water temperature to rise,some time before that happens though ..


Shot with DSC-W35 at 2009-02-12

[oil painter]

Bob--before you get to live and let live about your visitor
Rats don't come singly. Where there is one there are more. If food is good they can have up to 5 litters of 7 to 14 a year. That's at least 35.
Rats carry mites and diseases that could infect your dog and the birds you are feeding. They will gnaw their way into buildings. We had a little field mouse that took up residence one winter under our one garden shed. The shed had a 3/4 inch plywood base laid over creasoted railway ties. They chewed about a 4 inch hole right through that plywood, My husband set traps for them where he saw they had tunneled under it and got a total of 19 mice.