Had a bit of a nervous night. The early eveningforecast overnight temp was 7 or 8C, nothing to worry about. At late night news they changed their mind to 3C, which is a bit more risky. I had covered up the tenders and have a thermostatically controlled fan heater in one gh but the potted on toms and other things were in the unheated one. I hadn't got the will to traipse about late at night so crossed my fingers gers and went to bed. The indoor temp reader said 1°C! So checked the gh's this morning and luckily they didn't go below 4 so all is still alive. Rinse and repeat tonight
. I have today transferred the precious stuff to the heated gh. In amongst all that I found the thermostat in gh 1 was stuck at 20° . Talk about a perfect storm! Thermostat has been beaten into submission for tonight.
Spent HOURS repotting a pair of large agaves. They are absolutely vicious bug**rs.
Took two of us to manhandle them out of their existing cramped quarters and get them steady in the new pots. Even though we were wearing goggles and padded gauntlets, we still got stabbed several times in the upper arms.
Very pleased to have done it though - it’s a job that’s been on my list for several years.
Exhausted now!
More weeding.
Planted 2 "sacrificial" courgettes
Found a Honeyberry bush that I'd forgotten about. Don't have any great expectations for it but its nice to see its survived. Last week I found a Kiwi "Issai" I'd also forgotten about. Wonder what I'll find next week.
Finished pruning the big forsythia and then tackled the neighbouring buddleja which got missed when I did the others.
Cleared sticky willy out from both sides of the long hedge by the veg garden. Horrible stuff.
Weeded the black bamboo. Last year the wild boar bulldozed right through the middle and broke all but two of the new stems so I was glad to see four new shoots, although there's still a hole in the middle!
It rained the whole time so I got totally soaked and then had to barrow firewood from the store at the bottom of the garden because we used the last from the store next to the house a few weeks ago with the last fire. Or so we thought!
Back at work today, so only went to collect eggs at lunch time, but after work I went out with my nuts and bolts for the greenhouse and managed to finish the back of the greenhouse and carried it down to where it's going to live.
I realised it's a bit too ruddy heavy for me to do on my own, so instead of manhandling the front of the greenhouse, I set out to paint the fence instead. Got most of that done before I had to head indoors for tea.
More and more need watering now - I'm re-rembembering what it's like to have a garden again!
Garden planing/ setting out & pricking out seedlings.
Put up a tripod of the biggest canes I could find for the passion flower. MrPP is going to build a tripod for it with some left-over extension wood, but he's too busy so we'll have a temporary cane support for this year.
Clipped the fedge.
Planted out a couple of pots of daffs that have finished, some into beds, some just into the grass.
Planted out some houseleeks that my neighbour gave me along a flight of steps.
Extended a wildlife log pile near the pond with some rotting logs brought back from a client's garden.
And didn't get rained on despite the terrible forcast!
Planted out my Topmix Red dahlias into their summer pots and sowed some nasturtium jewel seeds in there too.
Removed last years Kale plants collecting a bag of leaves to freeze for soups/casseroles, ratty were composted. Pulled up Land cress before it goes to seed. Weeded around raspberries and the new brassica bed.
Replanted the shopping trolley with strawberry plants (runners from last year). Also planted a big tub with them. Generally weeded and tidied up The Pot Garden at the end of the patio. So much more light there now that the bamboo has been hacked down.
Hoed up a lot of superficial weeds along the path and turned the Weed heaps, piling them onto grass and stuff that I want to eliminate.
Cleaned the chook house and added the contents to Mr Greedy capacious tum.
Had a shuffle in GH 4 and moved the early toms to the window, where the strawberries were. Watered the GHs. Didn't find any unexpected items today.!