2024 - What I did today

Collecting seeds, fixed the polytunnel cover, rock splitting

I forgot the most important job I did yesterday. Bagged my Bombay bronze cockscomb head for seed saving.

Sounds like mites - they are too small for me to see: I know they are there by the damage they cause and when it is really bad, the webbing, leaf on the right. The one on the left is just starting to show damage.

You might be right. The leaves look very similar to mine, although there's no sign of webbing. Next trip to the greenhouse I'll take powerful lens to see if they are visible. Next question, what do you do about them?

There are 2 products I have come across for controling spider mites: SB Plant Invigorator, sold by simply seeds among others and Neem Oil which isn't recommended in the UK as an insecticide. My understanding is that it would be harmful to bees if in direct contact so using on young plants and foliage only should be no problem to bees. I got some neem oil from superdrug but there are other suppliers that could be cheaper (e.g. https://thenaturalgardener.co.uk/product...cts_id=288).

The SB Plant Invigorator doesn't say what the active ingredients are and the safety notes on the internet just mention 'Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate' which is a detergent.

This article discusses neem oil use by bee-keepers for pest control in hives in the US as well as gardening.  https://pollenpaths.com/does-neem-oil-kill-bees/

I've pulled off all the dead/badly infected leaves on my cucumbers and created quite a long bare stem. They have new vines from near the bottom. I sprayed it with a mixture made up of the plant invigorator (2L.) and added 10ml. of neem oil along the stem and the leaves at top and bottom, there were no flowers on it at the time. The detergent in the SB Plant Invigorator acts to disperse the neem oil in solution.  I've sprayed it once since and quite happy with the results.

Ideally though, I'd like to get rid of them from the greenhouses as both products are not cheap and it takes my time from other things. They are not in the polytunnel.  I cleaned them with Jayes fluid last winter but obviously that wasn't enough. This winter, I'll do the same but also steam clean all the nooks and cranies and see if that works.

Heavy rain all day so no gardening for me, apart from putting the sprouting end of a sweet potato in water!

Rock splitting, putting rocks in place around the crescent bed. Potting up lots of cuttings I’ve been given. Dug out a young gorse from the wild flower area and planted a red campion & oxeye daisy.

Again, no gardening - pouring rain.
To cheer myself up (I don't think) I went to the Doctors and had two injections, one in each arm!! That qualifies for doing something new this week.

More rock splitting and putting them in place.

On the return home a quick shufti up the garden inbetween the showers showed everything was at least intact and upright. Friday was shopping with the intention of harvesting anything and everything in the afternoon but heavy showers got in the way. Finally managed to get just before dinner out to harvest courgettes, corn, tomatoes, broccoli and some very wet and engorged autumn raspberries.

Very busy day. I finally got myself a trailer load of manure from the farm .       Walked home along the beach after filling trailer        Collecting drift wood and shells for a couple of projects I’m working on. As always if I’m on the beach I always collect some rubbish/plastic for the bin. Bob collect the trailer after he got back from holiday cottage call out problems . We both emptied the trailer into the odd shaped bed.      . Bed is now covered again until I plant it up. 
Then we did some more rock splitting      . We take it in turns to drill as the vibrations it causes needs a rest from regularly.

Its Fruit Day and I meant to sow some mangetout but forgot in the excitement of cutting down brambles and holly. I also chopped up a few bucketsful of elder and peach tree prunings and added them to two of the compost bins. Cut off some very thorny plum tree suckers - I'll be cutting that tree down soon - its gone beyond saving.
Tidied up the 25p plants I bought yesterday. They're too small to plant out so I'll repot them for overwinter and see how they look in spring.

Spilt a fish box full of iris, cranesbill and primrose. Planted iris in latest bed. Along with some other things.
Gave some of the iris and cranesbill to the neighbours. Put the cranesbill & primrose into their own pots. Potted up some white scabious seedlings. Put a thick layer of wood chip on top of the new bed. Got flipping soaked doing it.