And the heat in there is impressive too! Look at the build up of brandling worms at the bottom. We’ve just seen on the web you can buy them, 100 for £11! All we did is put a wet piece of cardboard down the bottom of the garden. Two days later, worms! Thanks to the great Bob Flowerdew for that! #theuniverseinthecompostbin
Big shout to our good mate Marc B for passing on a tuber of this lovely dahlia earlier this year. Look at it now! Ok it’s a bit thirsty looking and is a bit droopy but don’t we all feel like that when the temperature’s as mad as this?
Remember it’s the peak of a meteor shower tonight (or thereabouts.) So if you’re thinking of sitting out the back later on (it’s far too hot to sit in or even for trying to get to sleep!) have a look at this site here (and their twitter account here) it’s “Dead good” as they say. We’ve had many a happy evening looking at their twitter feed, looking up at the night sky, looking at their twitter feed, looking up at the night sky (Ad infinitum).
We’ve been furloughed again for two weeks so it’s back out in the garden for some sanity! It’s never ending this gardening lark and if you want something to do you’ll soon find that “something”.
Whilst working as a council gardener years ago I was told that one of my fellow co-workers was watched by the boss (and “Dave the driver”) from a hidden council truck and was seen staring into space for nearly an hour, smoking a roll up with one foot on the garden fork. I mean an hour just staring into space is some feat (never mind with one foot balanced on a gardening fork!), he should’ve got a medal!
It’s a shame said worker didn’t say to the boss he was “practising mindfulness” as when he was finally caught his excuse to the gaffer was “I’ve ran out of things to do”. Never EVER say you’ve nothing to do at work especially in the councils of yesteryear. The next day he was handed a four sheets of typed A4 of jobs that had to be done by the weekend and was told there was more of the same to do when he’d finished. They got rid of the bloke in the end, I wonder why?
This morning’s jobs from the A4 sheets was to clear out the side bed but keeping the gardening anarchy of courgettes, carrots, dahlias and whathaveyou. And what’s wrong with some gardening anarchy?
We’re now running for the shade!
It doesn’t take long for seeds to germinate in this weather. The above are from the mixed herb seed pack we bought from ebay and sowed on August 2nd, that’s been just a week! We kept the pots well misted/watered constantly especially in this heat. More on the seeds we bought here.
And this very odd photo above was taken about 11am this morning just after we watered a patch of grass that was looking well thirsty up near the house. If you look closely there are four cabbage white butterflies (we think, but we don’t know much about butterflies so it could have been any butterfly) who were in the process of jumping up and down and having a bit of a dance.
Or are they the Cottingley Fairies visiting London on the way down to the coast to have a break, who knows? #hallucinatinginlockdown #Isthelockdownoveryet?
We sowed some mixed climbing beans quite late on in the season as seeds were really hard to get as you can remember. We honestly thought we’d missed the boat with any form of beans as we didn’t have much success with any we planted prior to these.
The other week we noticed some lovely purple flowers on the plant which is not in the best place in the garden, up near the house. The seeds were from a “Climbing Bean Mixed Colours” pack we got mail order from Thompson & Morgan (have a butchers at their great gardening blog here) which contained: “‘Carminat’ – Fleshy purple pods with beige seeds, ‘Monte Cristo’ – Tender, bright green pods with white seeds and ‘Monte Gusto’ – Waxy, pale yellow pods with brown seeds.” It must be the Carminat and they are looking great. As long as we keep up the watering over the next few days and snip off any leaves from the Hydrangea which tend to hide any plants beside it we should be okay. We’ll keep you updated!
We’re on furlough again as from Monday for two weeks (at home) then a week’s holiday (at home) so expect more regular posts including (possibly): an hour by hour compost heap commentary and a live webcam on bin night plus other fascinating items. And talking of bins here’s a few brandling worms (aka Eisenia fetida) from a day or so ago in that alternative universe at the bottom of our garden. We looked in again today and there were loads more. The daily turning with a garden fork regime (and the daily scraping of the knuckles on the inside of the bin) plus the regular trips with the used teabags are working!
And as the weather is going to be very extreme tomorrow (There’s a load of Lidl’s finest economy ice lollies in the fridge as essential backup) here’s a very nice chilled tune from sir Was & Casper Clausen called Flyder on the No Label. Let’s say it’s “infectious, very infectious”! #lockdowngardening #gardeningasahelptosanityinlockdown
This post was written while listening to the excellent Rupie Edwards selection here:
It’s a double dose of DJ Frederick‘s radio projects over the shortwaves this weekend. This Saturday 8th of August 2020 there’s the 2019 remix broadcast of Free Radio Skybird via Radio Onda in Europe on 5940 kHz at 1800 UTC (1900 UK time.) Listen out for One Deck Pete’s Sounds of the shortwave at 24.50 minutes in. If you haven’t a shortwave radio set tune in here to experience the sound of shortwave on an online software defined radio or listen in studio quality audio via Radio Onda‘s website here.
On Sunday 9th August 2020 (and repeated the week after) at 2200 UTC (11pm UK time) on 3955 kHz via Channel 292 is Radio Lavalamp. The transmission will feature in One Deck Pete with a mix at 23 minutes in called The Purple Nucleus of Creation 002 featuring some great tunes from Drowsii, Nayl, Tabitha Project, Seventh Soul & Homayoun Shajarian and Camille Murray. Tune in to “Your ethereal shortwave music station” on 3955 kHz or this link here when the time is right! #Freeradioskybird #radiolavalamp #shortwavesnotdead
Here’s a pic of one of the courgette/zucchinni flowers yesterday. We’re keeping the plants well watered, feeding them weekly and finding anything that resembles finished compost at the bottom of the dalek bin and sticking it around the plant as mulch. We’ve just found out this tip online as well: “Don’t use a fertilizer too high in nitrogen; it will diminish your yield.” We didn’t know that! Know any more good tips?
More on growing them here. #zucchinniinlockdown
Gardening is a funny old game, you could be doing it for a fair few years but that don’t stop you from messing up and/or not getting things right. We have our moments with peas and never get much joy growing coriander as it always bolts, never mind what variety.
We’re giving it another chance after having to succumb to buying (with heads hung down in shame) some coriander leaves from the local shop the other day. Straight after, we looked on ebay and got one of those mixed herb packs for a couple of quid, which had small amounts of parsley, basil, chives and coriander seeds. We received them through the post yesterday so in the afternoon some potting compost was procured, a few old pots which once had some stuff that failed were washed out, and seeds sown. The pots are now on the kitchen windowsill, finger’s crossed!
And do know what? We’ve actually found a cabbage in the garden that may be fit for eating (in a month or two). Now there’s a result!
This post was written whilst listening to:
#saveonthewire #athomehesagardener #lockdowngardening
It’s a Thursday night and it was still 20 odd degrees outside a couple of hours ago when we gave the raised beds a watering, not the best time to do it we know but the plants are parched and have you seen the weather forecast for tomorrow? They’re going to need all the water they can get. On the way back and forth to fill up the watering can we passed this sad cabbage (above) and for weeks we’ve been thinking it’s on its last legs but it seems to keep going.
As we keep saying, it’s been a mad old year with the COVID19 lockdown but it’s forced us to grow more stuff in the garden and even given us time to give the plants a bit of TLC as we couldn’t go out anywhere. The raised beds have turned into a jungle and there’s a good bit of garden anarchy going on elsewhere, dahlia’s partnered with cabbages and a courgette/zucchinni plonked next to the silver birch we found in a carrier bag in the street three years ago (here) and more self-seeded nasturtiums than anyone could ever wish for.
The other day we picked a few green potatoes where the sun had got at them thus making them non-edible. We thought we’d throw them on the compost heap then thought of all the times we’ve pulled up sprouting potato skins from the beds and remembered a tip from Bob Flowerdew where he sticks weeds, potato skins and anything that may sprout again into a bucket of water. Then when the stuff is beyond redemption he sticks the mush into the compost bin. We’re giving it a try too, that bucket alongside the comfrey liquid on the go is making it a place of strange smells at the bottom of the garden! #lockdowngardening #dontsmellthosebuckets
And news just in…
https://soundcloud.com/thisisamusicshow/this-is-a-music-show-075
https://soundcloud.com/thisisamusicshow/this-is-a-music-show-074
This blog post has been written whilst listening to this week’s This is a music show. We love the intro, over Max Greger and his orchestra’s Never Can Say Goodbye we hear Your Host with “Lot’s of different countries (played this week) including Germany, Brazil, The Cayman islands, Haiti, France…” Great stuff!
And we also love this tune by The (Fabulous) Wailers from Seattle (not Kingston, JA.) that was played at the beginning. That’s what’s great about the show, there’s always something great that you’d never heard before. Big shout to Your Host!
On a gardening note, we nipped out to the raised beds this morning to thin out the carrots (below) as it’s a bit of a jungle out there. We’re proud as punch as these were put in at the start of lockdown. We also found out the hard way that it was tons easier pulling out the carrots in the beds with the bought multi-purpose compost in them rather than the ones with London clay. We will rectify that come the spring!
We reckon that the carrots we pulled this morning were the early nantes free with Kitchen Garden magazine pre-lockdown in January. We’ll be getting some of them next year for sure. Anyone else having a bit of success with their veg? Do send us your pics! onedeck (@) gmail (.) com.
And on that note we have to say goodbye even if we can’t, we have gardening to do and the odd sunny interval to enjoy! #classiclockdowneweather #gardeninginlockdown
Weeds up to me knees 