The dustbin incinerator I bought the other week has been brilliant as I’ve burnt off a load of woody stuff that has been piling up at the bottom of the garden. The only trouble is, that making fires is now getting a bit addictive. The other Saturday I was just going to burn off a small pile of waste but as the fire got on it’s way I was scouring the garden for sticks, prunings and whatever else that would burn. A couple of bits of 4 x 2 I was going for use for a gardening project got chucked in alongside wet leaves and freshly cut wood, sending thick plumes of yellow/white smoke out of the funnel at the top of the bin into the SE23 night sky. Jah Wobble mentions the same thing in his biography “memoirs of a geezer”, breaking up furniture at a friend’s squat he lived at to fuel a fire to keep him warm. What’s all that about then, a primeval thing perhaps?
Two nice bits of hidden gardening found while strolling around London town last week. The first, a (blurred) Bob Flowerdew type pram planter (with nice railway sleeper-type wood surrounds) in Drury Lane:
and Figs in front (of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square):
A big thanks going out to Scarlett Cannon for her excellent piece on “weeds up to me knees” (and enlightened cushions) in this month’s I-D online. Brilliant stuff, cheers! Also have a look at Scarlett’s own blog Heavenly Healer for some great garden related reading too!
londoninyourlunchhour.wordpress.com A quick one to let you know of a new blog I’m involved in with a good mate of mine Will. about what you can get up to during that sacred hour you don’t get paid for at work (usually around 1-2pm). The blog is still in it’s early stages and we’re always up for contributions and ideas on what to do. Remember, there’s life outside the sarnie box! http://londoninyourlunchhour.wordpress.com/
Prompted by our good friend Scarlett’s reply on “I’m going to wash that tarp right out of my hair” here’s a pictorial update of one of my favourite local front gardens. It’s different from the norm but one that delivers the goods. As this picture was taken clandestinely at 7.30am this morning, it doesn’t really do it justice but you get the idea!
For the past week there’s been a tarpaulin covering the six feet high (and rising) mound of woody materials collected over the year at the bottom of our garden. It looked like there was an old car rusting away down there much to the disgust of the neighbours. Earlier in the week I treated myself to a dustbin incinerator (£32 at Wickes) and last night as part of the bonfire night celebrations burnt a whole heap of waste. That bin will be a boon as they say, what with all the un-compostable stuff that stacks up and if you use the funnel lid it can create some decent heat inside. I also treated myself to a mushroom growing kit (£3.99 from Robert Dyas). It’s now festering under the stairs and there will be a ‘shroom update next week if everything goes to plan.
Yesterday I did a little bit in the garden (little and often is my motto), preparing for winter including some weeding, cutting back and pulling out any old annuals, tomato plants etc and either stuck them on the compost heap or the pile for the bonfire. I also put a cover over the wormery (a council supplied hessian gardening bag) as it’s starting to get cold now and I might have to move it to the garage or near the house later on. Bubblewrap over the compost heap/wormery is also good to keep the heat in and I know Bob Flowerdew uses old carpet but the heap would have to be well out of view from the house as that method don’t look too attractive.
I’ll be netting the cabbages soon for protection against pigeons but at the moment the net’s being used to keep falling autumn leaves (and this weekend stray rockets and air bombs too) off the pond. The lady down the road who has the mad veg plot in her front garden (spinach, cabbages, lettuces, a grape vine and more) uses old supermarket shopping baskets and what looks like wire trays from an old fridge to keep the pests off her plants. Bob Flowerdew would be proud of her! He’d be proud of me too, as I used last year’s plastic sweet tub from halloween upside down as winter protection for the parsley plant near the kitchen door.
Finally, I heard a good tip this week on “gardening with tim and joe” about putting any pots that will be overwintering outside, up on bricks, stones or purpose built “feet” you can buy at garden centres to help with drainage over the cold spell. Lift up those pots! http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/gwtj
Ta to Amanda for wicker man pumpkin pic idea and Paul W for the inspiration to start this blog. It’s been well over a year now!
Recently I have been selling punk clippings on ebay, alongside out of date toners and 1972 Goal magazines found on a skip (image above from one of them, what mental barnets! Footballer’s wives 1972 stylee). Some might say why am I getting rid of such historical artifacts (yeah right!) but the truth is that the clippings and magazines are taking up space and now starting to smell.
Putting stuff on e-bay is like a modern day swop-shop as the couple of quid I get goes into buying seeds and plants thus saving me a few quid. From the out of date toner cartridges and Goals, I’ve now got a blackberry and a blueberry bush, a himalayan poppy, passion flower and seeds galore. A fair swap I reckon.
Although I’ve made some space in the loft, there are still lots of boxes containing things that were/are of great interest to me. What’s going to happen to all those “fair” quality punk bootlegs, 1988 rave tapes and peel cassettes when I leave this mortal coil? I know, when the kids find them they’ll go straight in the Lewisham Council recycling bin so why don’t I make the most of them now and make “rocksteadytrojanbob69”, “realpunk77” and “hoxtonsid2012” happy (and buy myself some plants into the process?)
I like old Nigel Slater, he’s from the midlands, got a smart old garden and loves his herbs too. A top quote from his telly show last night that made me laugh, “I just can’t sleep if I haven’t got a freshly baked cake in the house”. Sounds like he hasn’t got much to worry about has he? (Triple dipped recession, alien invasion, global warming, bills, asteroids exploding into the earth, more bills, etc etc.)
Tweetah – Issue zero – A5 24 pages £1.50 We were very sad to hear that the excellent magazine Woofah (edited by John Eden) folded as it was a well produced and an informative reggae/dancehall/bass related read (and always well designed too!). It’s always the way isn’t it?
Last week on John’s Uncarved blog I noticed he was selling a fanzine called Tweetah. This is material that was intended for the fifth and final issue of Woofah that never materialised, bah! It’s a great little read, has an interview with David Rodigan, Carlton “Killawatt” Valley and a piece on Tony McDermott, designer of classic greensleeves album covers (Scientist, Lone Ranger etc) amongst other stuff. RIP Woofah! An excellent read for only £1.50 from http://www.uncarved.org/blog/
I heard a great thing off a mate of mine yesterday, that estate agent’s signs were all the rage on his allotment with everybody on the hunt for them. It turns out the poles that hold them up are ideal for using as wooden stakes when making raised beds and they’re a lot cheaper than shelling out cash for wood at wickes. Another use for the damn things rather than making snow shovels out of them!
Talking of making do, old tight git here recycles all his plant ties and gardening wire. I get an old jam jar, stick the plastic plant ties in them and wrap my old gardening wire around the top (it’s a dual purpose thang, innit?) I used this highly sophisticated method yesterday when taking the sweet peas off the old apple tree prunings in the back.
I am fast becoming a man with no mates with my collection of jam jams, 2×1 off-cuts and old plastic margarine tubs from around the world. “Sorry I can’t come out for a pint tonight as I have a big box of used 2BA screws and panel pins to sort out into their respective jars.” Brilliant!
The dustbin incinerator I bought the other week has been brilliant as I’ve burnt off a load of woody stuff that has been piling up at the bottom of the garden. The only trouble is, that making fires is now getting a bit addictive. The other Saturday I was just going to burn off a small pile of waste but as the fire got on it’s way I was scouring the garden for sticks, prunings and whatever else that would burn. A couple of bits of 4 x 2 I was going for use for a gardening project got chucked in alongside wet leaves and freshly cut wood, sending thick plumes of yellow/white smoke out of the funnel at the top of the bin into the SE23 night sky. Jah Wobble mentions the same thing in his biography “memoirs of a geezer”, breaking up furniture at a friend’s squat he lived at to fuel a fire to keep him warm. What’s all that about then, a primeval thing perhaps?
Weeds up to me knees 