Monthly Archives: July 2015

Open up (those greenhouse doors)

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greenhouse classics_odp
Here’s the first of a new feature called “Greenhouse Classics” where we stick up a tune to be played loud while out in the garden or repotting in the greenhouse.

port o jam

The first one in the series is a personal favourite of ours from 1964 by M Robinson called Follow You  found in a junk shop in Coventry in the late 70’s for 10p. Originally picked up on a blank seven inch, I bought another version recently on Coxsone Dodd’s Port of Jam label where it was tucked away on a B side to a tune called Who Are you. Turn it up and open up those greenhouse doors!

Fancy contributing to Greenhouse Classics? It’s easy, send us your nomination with a youtube/soundcloud link to onedeckpete (at) gmail.com (or leave a comment on this post) and we’ll feature it on the blog. Any genre is welcomed, old or brand spanking new, we’re not fussy as long as it’s good. Non-gardeners welcomed too!

Please note: No Thin Lizzy’s or Dire Straits as a refusal often offends.

Hand in glove

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glove

I made a bit of a slip-up today and now have to buy a new pair of gardening gloves.

I was tidying up a comfrey plant that was getting out of control and snipped off some excess leaves as you do. I then decided to add the cuttings into some comfrey liquid that’s been fermenting in a bucket down the bottom of the garden for a couple of months or so.

The leaves went in, followed by my (gardening) gloved hands. The gloves had to be thrown away straight away and my hands thoroughly scrubbed!

I’m still haunted by that smell of rotting comfrey and can’t get the putrid smell out of my nostrils. Horrible stuff! (More on how to make liquid comfrey feed here.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg5xvDoQOhA

The image has cracked

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Piggot on a spiggotOn the way home from work tonight I walked past some stuff in the street outside a house. There was an old portable TV set and a couple of prints of famous jockeys on horses in broken picture frames. Beside them was a note saying “Take Me” on it.

A few minutes later, I passed a woman with a very heavy looking rusty iron clock-face about 6 foot high. The woman was leaning against a wall well out of breath, waiting for a cab as she couldn’t carry the clock-face to the bus stop. She told me she’d won it off ebay for £6.50 and had just collected it from the seller. My thought was “and much will it cost you to get it home?”

These two events made me think of one of our Sounds From The South episodes from christmas last year called “Take Me I’m Yours” about finding stuff in the street or on a skip, a subject that is dear to our hearts.

All of our other Sounds From The South podcasts are archived on i-tunes here or Stitcher here.

https://soundcloud.com/weedsuptomeknees/sfts-19-sounds-from-the-south-take-me-im-yours

Temperature’s rising…

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mirror manYesterday I was floored by a horrible bug that knocked me for six and rendered me useless, yet when I woke up this morning I felt right as rain (well, near enough.) I popped out and got a couple of plants from Shannons and spent a bit of time forking over the front and back gardens before it got too hot. Big up Summer!essential purchaseThe latest purchase from shannons (above) and (below) a couple of squash plants going mad!squash

Two for a sunny Saturday

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It’s been a lovely day today with the sun showing its face so why not crank these two up loud while you’re sitting in the back garden with a glass or two of your favourite tipple and take in the scent of the night scented stock this evening.

First off, a great mix from Brooklyn’s Ratatat from Tom Ravenscroft’s show last week. It’s only short, but features tunes from Jay Z, Ratatat, Sebastien Tellier and Aphex Twin. Listen here.

RatatatAlso thanks to Rt Hon David Rodigan for letting us know about the new single with a great video from Alborosie – Rocky Road. Tune!

Top buzz

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toothache plant_2As you know, I do like an out-of-the-ordinary plant (The Egyptian Onion and Eremurus for instance) and this week purchased a mad one off ebay for six quid. It’s known as the Electric Daisy (very Jimi Hendrix!) or the Toothache plant and has some odd properties.

What’s bonkers about it is, if you pop the flower buds in your mouth (washed first of course) it has a grassy taste followed by a strong tingling or numbing sensation and supposedly good if you have toothache. I’ve just looked online and someone likened the effect to when as a kid you used to put your tongue on a 9 volt battery, nice. Me, I’d rather pop a clove on the pain and see a dentist! Here’s the plant (below) in situ!

ToothacheAlso a big shout to the staff at Shannon‘s who thought of us the other day when they got a new delivery of plants in. It included a Eremurus Bungei (which is smaller of the species and only grows to 4ft) which I just had to have today alongside a few other treats too. Thanks for letting us know about the plant, and I’ll send you some pictures soon when it flowers.shannons on a saturday

Typically tropical

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INI Movement – 13 Moon Cycle Mixes – El Búho (Self Existing Moon) 

The heat in London yesterday was bonkers, hitting around the 35 degree mark during the day and come the late evening it was still nice and warm when the garden hose was set upon those parched plants out the back.

Talking of tropical, a big thanks to my good friend Will J for letting us know about this super mix, part of INI Movement’s 13 Mooncycle mix series where they invite an artist to curate a mix for the new moon. This installment is a lovely chilled affair from El Buho featuring some great stuff from all over the shop including the great Acid Pauli, Nicola Cruz and a lot lot more and as it says on the soundcloud “El Buho has curated a flowing piece of music bathed in moonlight, fit for a dark, mysterious evening filled with hooting owls, swaying trees and tribal rhythms to dance around the fire (to).”

And it’s also a mix to blast out loud through the patio doors while you’re flaked out on a deck chair in the back garden with a glass of vino come late evening and one to complement Maria Thun’s Biodynamic Calendar (which I have regrettably haven’t been using of late due to being a bit lazy!)

Big shout to the sun and the moon as we’d be knackered without you!