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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 15, 2011 23:05:02 GMT
Sorry Tel but I cant find my thermometer to measure the temperatures.Don,t know if I still have one because it,s a long time since I used one but I,ll keep looking. Had a morning on the allotment forking over and weeding more of the annual beds but there are not many weeds on them. This afternoon I have made some compost for parsnips using 16 gals sieved peat,16 oz.Q 4 base and 4 oz.limestone.I only used Q 4 because I have no Chempak potting base. We are having difficulty getting Chempak products at the hut because the firm has gone out of business.
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Post by Tel on Mar 16, 2011 7:39:40 GMT
Hi Derek, Chempak products, Thompson & Morgan took the company over last year.
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Post by Lou78W on Mar 16, 2011 8:04:44 GMT
It will be the only place you will be able to buy them Derek....a lot more expensive than before as well ...
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 16, 2011 22:38:49 GMT
Yes,we knew that T and M had taken over the Chempak business .Our supplier still has some of the products.We were able to get some Chempak lawn green last week.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 16, 2011 23:06:02 GMT
This morning I made a batch of compost for carnations with a bag of multipurpose compost,one of sand ,one of John Innes no 3 and a Chempak multipurpose base.This is a mix recommended by the carnation expert in Garden News a few years ago. I am taking part in Thompson and Morgan,s trials again this year and the plants have started arriving.This week they have sent some ranunculus,some potatoes and 25 mini plugs of non stop begonias.I potted the begonias into 3 inch pots this morning.I also potted up the next batch of rooted dahlia cuttings.These were taken on Feb 12th. Went on the allotment this afternoon.I planted T&M,s ranunculus in front of one of the borders then carried on forking over the annual beds.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 17, 2011 20:52:40 GMT
Rooted dahlia cuttings potted up
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 17, 2011 20:56:06 GMT
Some lilies came from T&M today,8 each of 3 varieties.I had just time to pot these up before it was time to go to school.Used 9 inch pots and put 4 in each.
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Post by scrumpy on Mar 17, 2011 22:45:42 GMT
Sorry Tel but I cant find my thermometer to measure the temperatures.Don,t know if I still have one because it,s a long time since I used one but I,ll keep looking. Had a morning on the allotment forking over and weeding more of the annual beds but there are not many weeds on them. This afternoon I have made some compost for parsnips using 16 gals sieved peat,16 oz.Q 4 base and 4 oz.limestone.I only used Q 4 because I have no Chempak potting base. We are having difficulty getting Chempak products at the hut because the firm has gone out of business. well i'm still using www.gardendirect.co.uk/ as i've always done for chempak products and everything i've ordered so far has arrived, even the obscure stuff....
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 18, 2011 23:25:19 GMT
This morning I pruned the roses at the community hall.These are the Dorothy Cunliffe roses the Tony Bracegirdle propagated from so that I could have some on the allotment.The community hall is going to be put up for sale sometime so depending on what happens to the building I may lose these roses. This afternoon I went on the allotment and re-potted the carnations in the poly tunnel.The sprout plants have finished so I dug them up and brought them home and put them in the recycling bin.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 19, 2011 22:26:16 GMT
Took 24 dahlia cuttings this afternoon.Could have took more but I have enough cuttings of several varieties so I only took some off varieties I am short of. Also sowed several packets of flower seeds
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 20, 2011 20:49:28 GMT
This afternoon I sowed a few more packets of flower seeds then made up the tubes that I use for growing parsnips made from builders damp proof material.They are about 4 feet high ,3 inches accross the top and tapering towards the bottom.I just staple the top and bottom.Filled them with the compost I made a few days ago.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 21, 2011 23:03:10 GMT
Almost a full gardening day today-greenhouse in the morning and allotment in the afternoon.Sowed the parsnips in the tubes I made yesterday,3 or 4 seeds in each. Took some cuttings off some coleus plants that I have over wintered Planted some potatoes that T&M have sent me in bags that they have also sent.There were 3 varieties ,5 tubers of each.so did a bag of each. On the allotment just carried on forking over and weeding the annual beds. Picked the first rhubarb(yum yum)
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 22, 2011 22:39:42 GMT
Just had about 2 hours spare this afternoon so I went on the allotment and finished forking over the annual beds.The only other bed that needs doing is the bed that has had brassicas in and which will be the root crop bed next year.I picked the last sprouts off here last week and got rid of the plants.I did half of this bed today.The winter onions are on this bed so I will have to just dig the rest of the bed.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 23, 2011 22:22:45 GMT
Rosemary needed the car this morning and afternoon so that meant a day in the greenhouses for me. Sowed two varieties of cabbage and three of cauliflower in 3 inch pots ,5 of each variety.I dont sow too many at once because I don,t want 30 cabbages all ready at once. Also sowed several varieties of lettuce just a few of each in cell trays Potted on the leeks from three and a half inch pots into larger ones. Spent the rest of the day potting rooted cuttings of chrysanths and dahlias.All the cuttings taken up to March 2nd are now potted up.I didn,t take any chrysanth cuttings after March 2nd so all these are potted up now.I therefore took stock of them all to see how many of each variety I have.There are just 2 varieties that I would have liked more of but I dont think there are any more cuttings on the stools.I have 243 plants of disbud varieties and 146 sprays. I have taken 280 dahlia cuttings and so far there are 115 rooted and potted up.
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Post by derekbrooks on Mar 26, 2011 20:44:54 GMT
My daughter Heather from Wales and 2 grandsons arrived last night and are staying till Sunday. My eldest grandson, Alex helped me in the garden this afternoon. He potted 75 onion sets into 3 inch pots. These arrived yesterday from Marshalls. I always start them in pots and put them in the greenhouse to get them going earlier. He then sowed my sweet peas in drinking cups. I have 6 packets with 20 in each.Stood them in trays 15 to a tray and put them under the staging. The trays are O.K. stood on top of each other until the seeds germinate. I will have to keep looking and when they germinate I will have to put them in the light. I have made the compost left from re-potting pot plants into compost for growing potatoes.I rub it between my hands to break it up then mix in 12 oz.Q4 per bushel of compost. There were 43 gals so I did it in 2 mixes.
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