Just curious to know how people will be spending Christmas?

As much as we would love to see our Grandchildren we have decided to have a face time Christmas.  Christmas dinner for us will be spent over the plots.

Listening on the radio today, you can only make one bubble, so different children/family on different days is not allowed. Think the whole thing is going to be a disaster

Morning folks,

I’m after your recommendations for gloves and secateurs please.
 
Secateurs - Ideally left-handed
 
Gloves – Flexible but strong, so can withstand blackberry thorns

Here's a little clip I found quite interesting showing how amazing soil is:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/why-s...t/p090cf64

    This made me laugh!!

I've just got round to pruning out the old fruiting canes of my resident thug, the very definitely not thornless, blackberry.

It's roots are at one end of a, say, 12ft length of stock fence.  In previous years, at this time of year, the trailing canes can reach, say, 9ft along the fence and will continue growing enough to be trained to the end, round the post and back again.  This year I have planted a Tayberry towards the opposite end of the stock fence, with the intention of curtailing the thug a bit to enable the Tayberry to have some room on the stock fence.

I would welcome your thoughts of what the  thug might do if I chop off its wandering canes at the end around the 6ft mark.  Will the amputation, cause the ends to sprout and bush, or will it increase the fruiting spurs, or will the thug take exception and sulk , not fruiting at all?

The new HSL (Heritage Seed Library) list has been published 
https://hsl.gardenorganic.org.uk/sites/d...202021.pdf

I'm not a member but am always interested to see what's available and choose an imaginary 6 packets. Its becoming more and more difficult as nothing is leaping out saying " Join and grow me!)

Hi Folks

I'm looking at getting some for the plot and wondered if anyone had any views on suppliers or what would constitute a reasonable price?

Looking at minimum 10 maximum  20.

I have set up a slatted shelf along the length of my hut window and have placed 2 grow bag trays on the shelf both of which can be covered with large cloch covers, one will be sitting on a heat mat and used as a propagator, while the other will be used to grow on seedlings or cuttings, I also have a strip light which I can fit onto one of the covers, as both will be right beside the window which one should I fit the light onto?

I have never had much success growing peppers/chillies and was wondering when is the best time for sowing the seed and do they need heat once they are through? and if not what is the minimum temperature for them

This old bath was a water trough used by the cows grazing in the field when we bought it (and indeed afterwards, although nobody thought to mention it. The owner of the cows is well known for sticking his animals on any empty bit of land. Complain to the mayor they said. Guess who is acting mayor?!)

   
After ten years of various uses, it is now going to be a planter for all the herbs that love our heat but hate our clay

The bottom half is full of boulders dug out of the borders and veg beds and we've topped it off with a trailer load of broken roof tiles. They were free, rescued from a heap where they had been thrown off my neighbour's roof which is being replaced. I'll be topping it off with some weed matting and then a mix of broken down (I hope) turf, shop compost and a bag of gravel.

   

The planned plants are a pair of prostrate rosemary plants at each end (I've taken cuttings from an ancient and now very pot bound one in a beautiful curved pot that I can't get it out from), lavender and then a load of different thymes, some to creep over the edges ...

Anything else I should be considering?