Category Archives: Jazz Gardening

The world this week

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cheap herb gardenThis evening I popped into Robert Dyas where it’s half price seed time again. I was told by the assistant that the offer is only for another week or so, get in there quick!  I bought a mixed pack of herbs (basil, coriander, chives and parsley) for the bargain price of £1.50. Not bad for an indoor herb garden for winter!

I also learnt a new word this week courtesy of Gardening with Tim & Joe on BBC Radio Leeds. The excellent Graham Porter who was standing in for Joe mentioned that Petrichor is the word for that earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. Well, I never!

Here’s a great tune as played by Tom Ravenscroft over the past few months which has been on my mind this week. It’s by Rozi Plain called Actually on Lost Map records. Apart from being a lovely tune with a video that’ll put a smile on your face, the video features a bit of T’ai chi sword form and what looks like a bit of Yang style. More T’ai chi in music video’s please!

oh what a dramaAnd finally on the subject of China here’s what arrived through the post after three month’s wait (plus free gift!) Possibly the best name variety of Poppy there is!

Zucchini and I

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Paul's courgetteIt’s all gone a bit courgette-centric around here at the moment. A big shout to our good mate Paul W for sharing with us a pic of his first ever courgette (above). It was grown in a raised bed from a plant bought outside Charlton train station in May this year on his way home from work (four plants for two quid, a bargain or what?) Great stuff Paul! weeds courgettesOur courgettes are doing are doing well too (above) not bad from a packet of seeds from the seed swap earlier this year.

Last weekend another good mate was telling me that the two things on his allotment that never fail are courgettes and beetroot which incidentally are two great crops for someone who fancies starting out gardening. As long as you give them enough water and a feed every now and again you’ll get good results. In the case of courgettes, keep picking them when they are young (and watch they don’t turn into a marrow-like affairs) and you’re onto a winner. Don’t blame me though if you get a glut of the things though!

On the subject of gluts, anyone out there have any good recipes for courgettes? Send them to onedeckpete (a) gmail.com or leave a comment on this post.

Meet me at the trippy greenhouse

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greenhouse classics_MiloBig thanks to our good pal Reverend Milo Speedwagon for his contribution to the second of Greenhouse Classics, a spot where one and all get to choose a tune to blast out while in the potting shed, down the garden pond or while stirring your Comfrey liquid.

The good Reverend picks a lovely tune from C Duncan (who’s been featured on Weeds  here before) called “Garden” aptly enough. It’s one to enjoy loud while putting your feet up after turning over those beds you’ve been meaning to do for years.

As Milo explains “Imagine a bunch of hippy gnomes slowly emerging from the undergrowth…they sing this song while gently stroking your weary head, pampering your inner soul and softly sending you off to the end of the garden to fetch their cup of tea that’s just right for drinking now…..that’s where this tune takes me.” Just wonderful Milo!

We’d love to hear your Greenhouse classic, never mind the genre, anything considered as long as it’s good. Send it to onedeckpete (at) gmail.com or comment on this post with a youtube link and we’ll take it from there.

Remember as that long forgotten punk group sang, “No Genesis, Cliff or The Rolling Stones… in 2015!” as a refusal often offends.

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.)

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