Category Archives: Jazz Gardening

Lifting the roof off

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Since spring officially started the other day it looks like there’s some changes going on. For the first time today we lifted the plastic cover off the foxgloves and giant garlic that have been overwintering to give them some air and to make sure they don’t overheat. The giant garlic looks more than healthy and the foxgloves are hanging on in there. The brick at the side is there for size comparison. God knows how giant those garlic will get!

We just found this excellent tune by accident and what a tune! It’s by Burt Blanca & The King Creoles and called Taboo ’69. We love those echoey sound effects (one sounds like a metal M&B beer tray being slammed down hard on a pub table) and the twangy guitar too! It’s from the Radio Martiko Bandcamp that has some seriously good stuff on there.

And thinking of that title here’s another fine tune, this one’s by The Cyril X. Diaz Orchestra with Tabu. Wonderful stuff!

And talking of the Radio Martiko Bandcamp, how’s this for some serious mad stuff? Ansambl Mileta Petrovića with Moj Mihone. All we can say is “Wow!”

Sha-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na-na, get a job

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Here’s last night’s broadcast of WORK on Imaginary Stations on WRMI on Shortwave. There’s an hour of work related tunes from DJ Frederick and Justin Patrick Moore and at 7 minutes in there’s a mix from One Deck Pete called “Work (The old fashioned way)”. Here’s the tracklistings:

Eric Coates – Calling all Workers (excerpt)
Willie Hutch – Brothers gonna work it out
The Blue Orchids – Work
Culture – Work on Natty
Chairmen of the Board – Working on a building of love
The Silhouettes – Get a Job (Extract)

So ditch the sarnie box, kick off the Toetectors and interview slacks and tune into WORK.

… you’ll sing again, shal-lots in Forest Hill*

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We’ve had some shallots sitting about in a bag for weeks and noticed they were looking like they had to be put out soon or they’ll go mouldy, so yesterday (on the eve of the official start of spring) we undertook a little job in the garden.

Years ago we found an old window frame on a skip and over the years it’s had many uses but since lockdown it’s been lying up against the back fence in retirement. The weather’s so changeable at the moment we knew those shallots had to be put in under cover, so the window frame had a bath in warm soapy water and is now back in service.

We got some bricks to make a simple support to put the frame on and then dug out a good bit of soil out of the space within, then made a small compost trench with a little bit of kitchen waste pinched from the top of the compost heap (whilst we were there, we gave the heap a bit of a fork over and a mix). Also using a trowel, we fished out about two buckets worth of decent compost (Black Gold as they call it) from the bottom of the heap which we put on top of the compost trench and then covered that with the soil we initially took out and there you go, we’ve now got some shallots “under glass”!

All of the shallots went in, had a light water and then we gave the bed around it a little hoe over (top pic) and then gave the path next to it a good old sweep. This gives a nice contrast between the bed and path making the bed look like it had a good few hours work on it. A trick learnt from the council. Now we have to wait and see. Springtime weather, do your job!

* To the tune of “Tulips from Amsterdam”.

Skylarking on the radio

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Big shout to our good mate Shane Quentin for this excellent mix for his Skylarking show on Tak Tent Radio. Some excellent tunes here!

And here’s the tracks:
Vernon Allen : Far I Come
The Viceroys : Sugar Spice
Ernest Ranglin Selected Group : Free Form
Black Velvet : Safari
The Skatalites : Collie Bud
Azie Lawrence : Pempelem
Raymond Harper : Autumn Leaves
Arena : Knot Up Head
Invaders : You Touch My Soul
Don Drummond & The Skatalites : Smiling
Tomorrow’s Children : Bang Bang Rock Steady
Al Senior Pone & Hippy Boys : Hold My Hand
The Termites : I Made a Mistake
Bonnie Gayle : I Can’t Change My Skin
Grey Brothers : Big Man
Jackie Mittoo & The Soul Vendors : Midnight Hour
Prince Buster : High Blood Pressure
Amiel Moodie : Ratchet Knife
Johnny & The Attractions : Call Of The Drums
The Kingstonians : Mother Miserable
Delroy Wilson : I Shall Not Remove
Henry III : I’ll Reach The End
Horace Andy : Goodnight My Love

And they’re off part 2

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It looks like there’s action on the Miner’s Lettuce stakes and we only put the seeds in last Saturday, that hasn’t taken long to germinate has it? Nothing on the others but it’s early days yet. We’re still keeping the propagator lid on and opening the vents during the day. We’ll keep you posted on the others. As the Desperate Bicycles once sang “It was easy, it was cheap, GO AND DO IT!” Buy those seeds and get them started, it won’t be till spring.

You had better do as you are told, you better listen to the radio

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Coming this weekend on Sunday 19th March 2023 on 9395 kHz at 2200 hrs UTC via WRMI is the next instalment of Imaginary Stations and it’s an employment special called WORK. They’ll be a shortwave tea break with biscuits suppled* and lots of tunes that will distract your manager and get you through your shift.

If you haven’t a shortwave radio just tune in to 9395 kHz in AM mode on this online shortwave radio here on Sunday night. Clock in, feet up and then chill out.
*Subject to availability,

And they’re off!

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Spring may be springing or maybe not but we’ve got in and sowed some seeds in the propagator on the windowsill. We’ve done some miner’s lettuce, giant sunflowers some tomatoes and some chillies along with some rows sowed outside (we’re pushing our luck but having a try anyway, what we got to lose?)

Years ago we bought some wild garlic bulblets on ebay and they’ve popped up yet again down the shady area behind the pond and are kept safe under the watchful eye of a plastic dalek. And the second lot of the giant garlic we bought is starting to peep through the inch or two of the leaf mulch in the raised bed. We don’t know if it’s the plastic protection on the top that has helped or the the fact that one of the Weeds cats spends a lot of time sleeping on top of it! Who knows but something is working!)

And here’s some spring inspired dubs to get those plants on their way.

Permaculture in SE8

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A big thanks to our friend Ruth who lets us know of a great course called Connect with Nature – The Basics of Permaculture on Friday 17th March 2023 from 11.00am to 1.30pm. You’ll learn about the building blocks of Permaculture design and how to apply it in everyday life, something we here would be very much into and it’s at a great price of £20 as well. It takes place at John Evelyn Community Garden, Windlass Place, London SE8 3QZ. More on the course and how to apply here.

My old man’s a dustman he wears a dustman’s hat

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Here’s last nights transmission of the Imaginary Stations show on WRMI which is a KBIN special with WSTL vs WELK. As usual the show is an eclectic mix of tunes from DJ Frederick and the crew and features a One Deck Pete mix called “A bit of welk whistling” at 06.04 minutes in. Here’s the tracklisting:
Charles Kellogg – How Birds Sing (WSTL)
Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin – Loango weaver (WSTL)
Meekmocha – 2 Hop Whistler Dub (WSTL)
Ghostown – Accordeon (Instrumental version) (WELK)
Jackie Mittoo & Peter Tosh – Whistling Jane (WSTL)
NO FINGER NAILS – Good & Intelligent ft. Mannaroman (WELK)

A big shout to Justin Patrick Moore who played this Lou Reed tune last night called City Lights which has had some rather scathing reviews over the years but we find the song rather catchy with a nice upbeat bassline.