Its hot and my mind is wandering (again). Memories of things/happenings are surfacing so I thought I'd share them with you - as nobody else will listen.

Yesterday, I remembered that old cars and motorbikes had a "reserve" tank of petrol for when you ran out of petrol. My Dad's Austin 7 car would run out of petrol whilst he was driving, and he'd coast to the kerb, say "I'll turn on the Reserve", get out of the car, lift the bonnet, turn a knob/switch, put bonnet back down, start the car with a starting handle, and off we'd go again until we reached a garage.

I told my brother this and we couldn't remember whether these cars had a petrol gauge - I suppose so but not very accurate.

Look who had germinated this morning

   

Is it only me, or has anyone had fantastic crops of juicy strawberries this year whereas last year mine were rubbish . No blackcurrants this year but goosegogs are good as well. Birds have had most of my redcurrants.
Strangely, without even netting,  both birds and slugs/snails haven't had many either.

Has anyone grown Nectar rose before. Its suffering badly with BER whereas every other plant under the same watering and feeding regime is fine. Ive had a bit of BER before on longer toms such as orange banana  but this variety  seems quite squat so a bit of a surprise. I 've now added a bit of calcium to see whether that helps or hinders but it's very soon going into the compost bin and the 'dont grow again' pile unless I can fix it.

I have been thinking about ways to make my (hopeful) future space as productive as possible. While I like ornamentals, I am most motivated by growing things I can eat (with attracting pollinators and growing green compost also important). So, until I have more space for fruit and veg than I can handle, I want to pack as much as I can into every available bit of garden. 

I am going to have a reasonable size south facing back garden (hard to be sure on Google maps, but I think around 112 square metres, or 1200 square feet for the old'uns), though some if that will end up being paths, shed, pond, compost bins etc. However, there's also a smaller north facing front garden. The top bit will be very shaded by the house for most of the day, but the bottom two thirds look like they may get a bit of sun as there isn't really shade from the east or west. In an ideal world, I'd like to get some fruit and veg growing there as well, but I would want to grow things that will be okay next to a main road. I'm thinking leafy things and herbs will be difficult to wash, but perhaps there are other options that would work well? 

Until I live there, I'm not going to know for sure how busy the road is, but I don't think it is going to be too bad. Although it's a main road, it's on a spoke that just leads up to the top of the (populous) village (where there are a couple of schools and a GP surgery) then out into countryside. I don't think there will be heavy traffic. So, hopefully it will be okay to grow some food there? 

I'm looking for ideas of things that will be easy to wash, won't look a mess growing in the front garden, can cope on a slope, and don't need too much full sun. What do you think?

Hi
Anybody has success with flowers this year that have previously failed???
I have tried for years to grow gypsophila and mesembryanthemum (livingstone daisies). Amazingly, this year they have flourished / no idea why!
But full marks to me for repeated attempts to get there!

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57838103

Just as it should be.

XMy birthday soon  just saying!

Anyway, I will not be getting any cycling kit this year. In fact I've requested to sell the tandem so I can use the money for a pond, but that another story.

Has anyone used soil blockers? I like to sow in modules- Poppy's often get sown with tweezers. Pricking out is a pain and I love to see rows of plants neatly growing. I usually pick up modules from the recycling bins at the garden centres etc....though due to covid I stoped going. I now buy considered purchases, rather than impulse buys and have found my garden is looking much better for it....but back to pots. 
I run out all the time  I gift plants and don't get my pots back. Having odd shapes and sizes lead to a jiggled mess wastes valuable greenhouse space. I start off lots of seeds.
Are these a waste of money??spec would you buy these
https://www.soilblockers.co.uk/collectio...-gift-sets

It's either those or I'm considering a proper blowtorch for silver work....but can't get my head around what I would need. Not sure the OH awould be happy with a gas bottle in the house either??

The picture below shows some of the damage on just one of my plants. I've been nipping off bits of leaves and trusses as they have been turning black.
This morning it was looking to be spreading so pulled up the plant. It looks like blight but it seems to be systemic in just the 1 plant with bits of damage in several places.
One good thing about it is that it is a roma vf and the root system is really good even when planted where all other varieties I've grown there die off early from wilt. Another roma is next to it that is looking very healthy.

No blight at all on any outdoor potatoes which is where I would have thought it to strike if anywhere.

   

What do you think might be  chomping  off the heads of my gazanias?
This is the second one I have found eaten off like this.  I don’t think it's four legged as it isn't bitten off but nibbled from the side of the stem and I don't see any slug trails, coul it be woodlice?