A pot and a half found (by my wife) this week that was left out for the bin-men around the corner from here. How smart is that? “Keep em peeled” as Shaw Taylor used to say!
Eric and little urn
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Category Archives: Jazz Gardening
You take the high road (and I’ll take the flu jab)
Thanks to Lewisham Gardens (it was great meeting you!) for inviting us to the Edible High Road event in Forest Hill last Saturday. Due to having a stinker of a flu combined with an argumentative child in tow, I turned up too early to see Matthew Wilson from GQT but I did see some of the fruit trees in pots with their accompanying herbs, great stuff! I also picked up a couple of freebies that are always appreciated here, three runner beans (from the nice people at friends of Hornimans or Forest Hill Society? sorry I can’t remember which one they were) which went in the back garden as soon as I got home. Only one plant survived the night though (slugs? moths? cats? I have no idea, but they ain’t there now!)
I also got some tomato plants (one a sweet cherry tomato called “Vilma”) from the nice guys at Dig This Nursery in New Cross which is situated next door to the Hobgoblin pub opposite the New Cross Gate train station. It’s a great place, they have plants galore, lots of varieties of tomatoes, their own brand of seeds (Happy Seeds – aimed at the younger market, all with great illustrations, bright packets and info you possibly wouldn’t have known about the plant), some gallery space (to Marc B and Marc G, it might be a good place to show your work) and to cap it all, some boxes of second hand records. What more do you want out of a nursery?
Although I only stayed a short while, it’s brilliant there are events like this, making people more aware of gardening and how easy it is to grow your own food! Big shout to all involved and for the free plants and seeds, ta!
No expense spared (yeah right!)
It was miserable most of today until early evening where there was a hour or so of sunshine. It was nice enough to get out those council worker’s gloves and the secateurs.
The combination of sun and rain is now kicking everything off, above is the eau de cologne mint in the nice cement pot found submerged in 12 years worth of old leaves in the bottom of our pond after moving in. The next is a tumbling tomato and assorted herbs in the plant container originally destined for the binmen and the seed potato in a spud sack (procured for free at that seedy sunday event in Sydenham) which is now cracking on. Be warned, don’t do what I did and play “musical sacks” with the bag, this one’s bottom has fallen out and has now got to stay where it is!
Also a few years ago I found some left over concrete squares from the garden wall (behind the mint, tomato and spud in a bag) and wasn’t sure how to get rid of them so I laid them on their side (they also form a back for the cold frame) and filled them with compost. I now stick any left over seeds in them (herbs, poppies whatever!) and remember to give it a water as it regularly dries out. Big up cheap style gardening!
Thursday night chilling in a stereophonic style
Another big cheers to our good mate Will for passing on this link full of musical magic! The Stereophonic Supply Co features top mixtapes from the great Dr Bob Jones, Ian Wright and Paul Bradshaw. We’re presently listening to the Ian Wright mix (who used to do those mad illustrations in the NME) which is full of some excellent dubwise gear including a great version of “Pop-a-top/Fatman” by Andy Capp, Winston Flames’ bonkers “Armagideon”, Black Uhuru with a version of “no, no, no” (alas no dub!) and “Black beauty” by Joy Tulloch which puts us in mind of Jazz’min Tutum. A great mix tape and one of three we’ll be delving into in the next few days. Big up the stereophonic supply co!
Short Newz!
Big shout to Will for passing on that the breakfast cereal Shredded Wheat are giving away free packs of seeds with each box and they are currently on offer at Tesco’s for £1.09!
Hornimans Museum in Forest Hill have their Horniman Friends annual plant sale on Sunday 19th May and Guerrilla Gardener and author Richard Reynolds is doing a talk there on Sunday 26th May. Great stuff for nowt!
A long time ago I sent Kid Strange, the singer from the Doctors of Madness a copy of my fanzine thinking it’ll be up his street after seeing them live. Ten years later I saw him in Brixton on my way home from the council. “Oi mate, years ago I sent you my fanzine, Ded Yampy. Do you remember it?” A suprised Kid Strange who was probably on his way home from a day job too, paused thinking for what seemed like a age and said “Ahhh, I remember that one, it was from Coventry weren’t it, all about beer…” (another pause) “…terrible!” Oh dear, me and blokes from old punk bands, I just don’t get it right sometimes!
Spirits flying
Dub Gabriel ft. Karen Gibson Roc – Spirit made flesh
Heard on this week’s excellent Echo Chamber an oldie but goodie featuring an Ari Up sample (someone correct me if I’m wrong). A brilliant track which even features what sounds like a shortwave numbers station too (at 4.29 “One Zero, One Zero”) but can’t be sure. Excellent! Big up to Dr Strangedub and DJ Baby Swiss.
If you’re the big tree (onion), I am the small axe
Here’s the latest pic of the mad Tree Onion (aka Egyptian onions, top onions, topsetting onions or walking onions) I purchased from our local garden centre Shannons a few weeks ago. Never growing them before, I reckon the bit that is turning light-yellow halfway up the stem in the picture is going to turn into one of the top onion sets. A bonkers plant indeed but a mighty interesting one at that!
One more before bedtime
Big up the great Daddy U-Roy even though we heard that when he headlined a gig in Brighton the other week he only played for 8 minutes! That beats the Guinness book of records “shortest set in the world” when I saw Joy Division at Malvern Winter Gardens many moons ago (20 minutes before a 10 minute jam with Sector 25 after jeers and shouts!)
I mean U-Roy is 70, at that age I want to be in bed perusing a Reader’s Digest and having me Horlicks before dropping off at 9pm let alone headline a reggae gig after midnight! If that is true about the Brighton gig here’s nearly half of U-Roy’s set (3.23)!
Out with the fleece, out with the fleece…
How mad was the weather today? I was out in the garden this afternoon in a t-shirt splitting shrubs and replanting them with the sun shining on my back. The next minute it was pelting it down so went indoors until a quarter of an hour later when I was back out there in a jumper and coat, then the sun came back out…
We promised the kids a barbeque tonight so we lit one up at five and then it tipped it down, the sun brolly being used for shielding the hot coals. Next minute the temperature dropped and then we all could see our breathe in the air and then voila… Hailstones! Talk about mental, mental, radio rental!
Sluggy Ranks
A neat piece of slug deterrent (crushed up eggshells in a circle) around some brassicas seen last week in the great non-conformist front garden with the vegetable plot in it up the road from us. I am not sure if this is working, as today I saw they had some green plastic sleeve-type things around them.
We here at weeds love the garden this is taken from, as it’s well “out there” in the front garden stakes. At the moment there’s a massive sheet of opaque polythene draped over a DIY metal frame covering some tender plants.
It makes me smile every time I pass there and always makes me think of Bob Flowerdew and his unconventional use of household objects in the garden. It may be different but it does beat the normal summer bedding in neat lines, a small lawn with a garden gnome etc. More front garden vegetable gardening please!
Weeds up to me knees 