You have probably heard me rambling on about my front steps project where I took out the old steps and completely re-modelled the entrance with steps leading off to the side instead of the front. All done with scrounged bricks (took me ages to clean them), Well that part was completed a few weeks back but was a bit of a deathtrap without railings. i always intended to make the railing in the same guise as my gate and fence and finally finished them. After a coat of paint they don't look three bad so I was chuffed that project is just about complete.

I also scrounged a big lump of wood from a tree that some one was keen to get rid of. This I planned on turning into an anvil stand and yesterday my youngest son gave me a hand to construct my 'Garden Folly' Maybe not to everyone's taste but its at the top of the garden, unseen from the French doors and patio and with plenty of room around it so I can shape metal to my hearts content!

Here's  a few piccies.

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Just chopped down some outdoor tomatoes as the blight had got to them.  Sometimes I wonder why I bother! 

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has a recipe that uses cherries for a special birthday-type treat. I don't bake with them much, but they're my husband's favorite.

Thanks!

Our new lawn had its first hair cut today. Jay got the new lawn mower out after a week of intermittent rain which stopped play with my new toy. 
I had no idea how much grass a large lawn like this produces! I bought the biggest thermoking composter as soon as we got here, so plenty of space, right? Right?
Wrong.
One cut and the TK is three quarters full!

I got busy taking it back out, layering it with cardboard in a dalek, and had soon filled one and a half of them, and still a third full in the TK! And the grass was already slightly warmer than body temperature in the ZTK after just four hours. Very impressed.

Chances are that I'll need another TK, what do you think? LOL

I really like the look of this book / file . Don’t really know what you’d call it. 
https://www.seehow.co.uk/

Unfortunately I don’t like the price.

Does anyone know of any things similar or a book that has the same sort of layout.
I really like how it shows the whole plant lifecycle through the year.

Some one gave me some gladioli bulbs, or so I thought. 
Are these those things you don’t like veggie? Can’t remember the name.
I was getting really excited as they were starting to open, never growing gladioli before so I didn’t realise until the flowers opened that they weren’t.

         

I did notice today 3 that look a little more promising. What do you think?

   

Before consigning it to the compost heap, I thought I would consult people here.

Chopping up sweet potatoes for tea tonight, one has a 1" sprout at one end. I've chopped it off with a chunk of flesh but doubtful it will survive for the next 7 months before it coud be potted up.

I could put it in a bag with compost, put in fridge and hope for best.
or I could pot up and see if it roots then keep on windowsill if it does. or?

IF (big IF) I've understood Charles Dowding's "No Dig" method correctly, he top dresses all his beds with a 2" layer of compost every year.........and that's it - apart from some stuff about cow's horns and stirring of cauldrons.
My Question for the G&G Panel is :-
Would a 2" layer of compost on top of a container of MPC that has been used for growing tomatoes enable you to grow another crop in it next year (I don't mean lettuce but something like cucumbers or carrots)?

For the record, I normally empty the MFBs onto the GH beds and grow salad leaves in that but, every year, I buy bags of compost to fill them for the tomatoes and cukes. 
I know you're going to say "Try it and see" but I'm interested in your thoughts first.

Afternoon folks

Most articles I read suggest doing this when the plant is dormant however will I do any harm doing it now?

These are all fairly new plants (just over a year I think) and for whatever reason do not look like they will fruit this year, unless I'm being impatient?

The plants in question are blueberry, blackberry, and gooseberry.

        I posted a while back about a trial I was doing of growing potatoes in paper, I had set up three buckets, one with soil one with seaweed and paper and one with paper I lost the first two I think due to frost but the paper survived, I must admit to neglecting the bucket but decided yesterday to empty it out to see the results, so here's photos of the results
 Not the best crop but still quite surprising both with the results using the growing medium and the fact they were neglected, I did have another bucket out side he greenhouse which again is using newspaper, so will let you know how well it works, I have paid more attention to this one