tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-501537159010846162024-03-13T09:11:06.402-07:00Dave the GardenerDave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-78945975482397463072012-09-06T13:33:00.003-07:002012-09-06T13:33:42.858-07:00Chilli TimeHere is this years batch of Spitfire Sauce - I usually have enough to make over 100 jars which I sell locally but due to lack of polytunnel this year, my chilli production has been seriously reduced. However, there are approximately 250 big red cayenne peppers in this batch - seeds'n'all <br />
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I still have a heap of Jalapeno Peppers which will be used to make a batch of Hurricane Sauce, which is also a hot chilli sauce but is more of a slow burn at the back of the throat compared to the instant hit of the Spitfire Sauce.Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-76622241097064988622012-09-03T15:35:00.000-07:002012-09-03T15:35:01.454-07:00Alness Show 2012Well, I managed to get some exhibits together for Alness Show and benched the on Saturday morning before heading off to work. In all I benched 9 exhibits and came away with 5 red cards and 3 blue ones, so I was very pleased, especially as these were basically the last of my show veg for the year. I got red cards for my Peas (which I was very pleased to win and even more pleased at the comments on how good they were from much more experienced growers than myself), <br />
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Runner Beans, (though there were a couple of iffy ones on my board if I do say so myself)<br />
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Broad Beans, <br />
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Potatoes (white) <br />
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and long beetroot.- which i somehow managed to miss taking a photo of.</div>
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I also won a red card for Sweet Peas (which I entered and staged on behalf of Scotsburn Garden - see my other blog). That's our entry at the rear (12 blooms)<br />
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I got blue cards for my parsnips (I did manage to get three that were okay), my potatoes (coloured) and my cauliflower.</div>
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There were some excellent exhibits at this show, just a few of which you can see below</div>
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Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-31404493219940658472012-08-31T13:40:00.003-07:002012-08-31T13:40:33.931-07:00Fangs for the memoryI'm off to Alness Show tomorrow so this evening I went to pull the last barrel of parsnips to try and get a set of three. Can you imagine how I felt when the first and third ones I pulled came out looking like this ?<br />
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Thankfully the other three gave me a set - not the best but they'll look okay on the bench.<br />
Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-57467887802371638502012-08-28T14:59:00.004-07:002012-08-28T14:59:39.455-07:00Strawberry GlutMy mate Simon has a lot of strawberries in his p/tunnel and I got a call saying to come and help myself as he had too many ! So yesterday evening I went over with the girls to p[ick a few. Well the girls abandoned me in favour of playing with the Wii, so I picked two large bowls - approx 8lbs.<br />
And tonight I have made a large batch of "no cook" strawberry jam and started two batches of Strawberry Gin which should be ready for the festive season.<br />
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Simon and Yvonne made this a coule of years ago and it was delish so a quick search on Googlr and up popped the recipe - dead simple - sugar, strawbs and cheap gin</div>
Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-15318039493195217012012-08-20T14:56:00.002-07:002012-08-20T14:56:56.520-07:00Tain Horticultural Show 2012Well, the show I started three years ago continues to get bigger and better, and in spite of the atrocious growing season, not only were entries up in both the veg and flower categories, our new photo competition proved a great success.<br />
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I did well too - in spite of not showing in as many categories, I still managed 13 x 1st, 2 x 2nd and 2 x 3rd, winning three trophies along the way. Here are some pics of the show with info on each, - first off some general shots just before judging started<br />
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These next two photos are of the winning sweet peas, exhibited by Sally Durham whose garden at Scotsburn is the subject of my other blog</div>
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The winning vase of Perennials from John Ross, Rogart</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobJatCBGd0UW1iseAHuyHnopUk7-mf4g9n-2k_G8GPdbN4uDloBzig4BSenFSoUX_OA2VwYu-aFoHTgt0xuvrg8uAPq8mqN9ohS5r6HwJg7NGhDXe8LVdSXvAr9iNW82RR_R5rKqyyIY/s1600/Horti+Show+2012+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobJatCBGd0UW1iseAHuyHnopUk7-mf4g9n-2k_G8GPdbN4uDloBzig4BSenFSoUX_OA2VwYu-aFoHTgt0xuvrg8uAPq8mqN9ohS5r6HwJg7NGhDXe8LVdSXvAr9iNW82RR_R5rKqyyIY/s320/Horti+Show+2012+040.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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George Pirie's Begonia which won both Best Pot Plant and Best in Show titles....</div>
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My winning collection of potatoes - from the top - Kestrel, BlueBelle, Sherine, Amour......</div>
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and coloured tatties, variety Amour......</div>
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Winning Peas, variety Show Perfection</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0F_PWNKZU5imZYeAwX20lKEEn7GaYtZuPcDSFM_8c3iFW1x1VcCYtSTCa4hdV6LH4y6joB-0sA1oyAh40aNdxfXsPpl_SL-dxJbkX8shdHOl14MLuEIwvcDFyyoHBVMWahISCXnlBYI/s1600/Horti+Show+2012+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0F_PWNKZU5imZYeAwX20lKEEn7GaYtZuPcDSFM_8c3iFW1x1VcCYtSTCa4hdV6LH4y6joB-0sA1oyAh40aNdxfXsPpl_SL-dxJbkX8shdHOl14MLuEIwvcDFyyoHBVMWahISCXnlBYI/s320/Horti+Show+2012+057.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Winning Broad Beans, variety Heathfield</div>
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Winning Onion from sets and Red Onions</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lhP6RkR-_pZ0G7FxfxKoQ8KaSwFUctfNcsQfEYk-dmLRrsk1PCt0cnJTLD-Gzumxxubnq1SoztlmYpqzaU7i-MdN3cwjog9TRa94q4gSKv-5AAUewhEuTywxA7frnwzCqe_Eo3AjhSs/s1600/Horti+Show+2012+060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lhP6RkR-_pZ0G7FxfxKoQ8KaSwFUctfNcsQfEYk-dmLRrsk1PCt0cnJTLD-Gzumxxubnq1SoztlmYpqzaU7i-MdN3cwjog9TRa94q4gSKv-5AAUewhEuTywxA7frnwzCqe_Eo3AjhSs/s320/Horti+Show+2012+060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ian Coghill from Caithness was rewarded with Best Veg Exhibit for these Kelsae onions</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlUJCFpIlp0uJPiDzcvh4IRMfQW5JAJZ4tzCHycl34Oi7mYW2D72tq0MMHsOo2dWlt4fyyCQoMb-XsOGh4OinTdys9JVFEsNkbzv1vJcb_6tCoNwMl8vvvTjlIMRkJO9vLHIqkRxnMu8/s1600/Horti+Show+2012+061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlUJCFpIlp0uJPiDzcvh4IRMfQW5JAJZ4tzCHycl34Oi7mYW2D72tq0MMHsOo2dWlt4fyyCQoMb-XsOGh4OinTdys9JVFEsNkbzv1vJcb_6tCoNwMl8vvvTjlIMRkJO9vLHIqkRxnMu8/s320/Horti+Show+2012+061.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My Blanch Leeks, variety Pendle Improved</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4QphTb7-jEo-gu7uDFaIdknKp4RL90uLk6TTbeDTNTIq2IQBWhzz9g-k_9bMpsnZw8IFPzxVtoK4y4XkK7f5zO3dm6FtRqYNn9r5HHDv7Td5VVJKMCR8yS2vJ6WLR0sDg8BhvAy0VdU/s1600/Horti+Show+2012+064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4QphTb7-jEo-gu7uDFaIdknKp4RL90uLk6TTbeDTNTIq2IQBWhzz9g-k_9bMpsnZw8IFPzxVtoK4y4XkK7f5zO3dm6FtRqYNn9r5HHDv7Td5VVJKMCR8yS2vJ6WLR0sDg8BhvAy0VdU/s320/Horti+Show+2012+064.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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Winning Potatoes (White) variety Sherine</div>
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and winning French Beans, variety Prince</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgieFFNh2RpkHw1CHhAF_iz18lS34E9UPtL3yuHXQrmdd8ANylLkY7YcyH427lUSrTxZmNHUkwdCuLOnwhTGpl70mC-Qs9Po7jwLYwHhCXoaOMtX2iMCmHsH0z5B6-u8I4bYY2aDi6loE/s1600/Horti+Show+2012+058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgieFFNh2RpkHw1CHhAF_iz18lS34E9UPtL3yuHXQrmdd8ANylLkY7YcyH427lUSrTxZmNHUkwdCuLOnwhTGpl70mC-Qs9Po7jwLYwHhCXoaOMtX2iMCmHsH0z5B6-u8I4bYY2aDi6loE/s320/Horti+Show+2012+058.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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And in Any Other Veg - my winning Parsnips, variety Pinnacle, and second placed Long Beet.</div>
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And finally, a pic of all the trophy winners at this years show.</div>
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Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-71572925683679163782012-08-12T08:29:00.001-07:002012-08-12T08:29:03.647-07:00Tattie TimeWith the local show only a week ago, I took the time today to go through my show tatties and try and get some sort of order before I make my final selection and washand clean them on Thursday night in preparation for the bench.<br />
I cut the shaws (haulms if you live in the south) off last week and the bags have been left for a week to help the skins to set on the tatties.<br />
Anyway, as I was emptying the bags, any really small tubers were put to one side and this is what I was left with to consider....<br />
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From top to bottom we have BlueBelle, Kestrel, Casablanca, Sherine and Amour. The BlueBelle and Casablanca struggled to produce a reasonable number of suitable sized tubers but the rest were okay, and in addition the BlueBelle were the only variety to show any trace of scab. The star performer was Sherine. Anyway, aftre a further selection process, I arrived at my final numbers to choose from on Thursday night. I need a set of 4 white,a set of 4 coloured, and a collection, comprising 4 tubers each of 4 different varieties. This last concerns me a bit as to get an even set for the collection I may have to reduce tuber size from what I would like them to be but it is better to have a smaller better matched set than a collection where the tubers are of different sizes.</div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-58405992292329729402012-07-22T12:43:00.003-07:002012-07-22T12:43:28.649-07:00Sutherland Show 2012Sutherland Show took place yesterday and was blessed with the first good day of sun we have had in quite a while. I wnt over in the morning and although I had little of my own to bench in the Flower Show, with the help of a couple of the gardens I work in, I managed to take a few exhibits along. As a result, I came away with some cards which was a real bonus. I also caught up with some friends who I haven't seen since last years show season and that is always the best part. As you would imagine, the weather (or lack of good weather to be precise) was the main talking point, with quite a few veg showers bemoaning the poor size of their leeks and onions compared to other seasons. Anyway, here are a few pics I took on the day, with captions where appropriate....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIn0uojuYmfaaUcb_WTv9PM4BfVw0YxDevbHcdVjT1xfSqCVsddl_HhFddFbuit39_8psaiZafOA41118HqCvTwnzNDcoqu-j5Q-ibcz_P4WOPH2TAMNvB6vZzmIJpLWPAEJlMuMhyphenhyphenIBs/s1600/555837_210494579076219_1458477301_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIn0uojuYmfaaUcb_WTv9PM4BfVw0YxDevbHcdVjT1xfSqCVsddl_HhFddFbuit39_8psaiZafOA41118HqCvTwnzNDcoqu-j5Q-ibcz_P4WOPH2TAMNvB6vZzmIJpLWPAEJlMuMhyphenhyphenIBs/s320/555837_210494579076219_1458477301_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Top Tray won by Wattie McBeath from The Doll</div>
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And I got a second for this vase (alright I used a bucket !) of garden flowers - all from Scotsburn Garden, the subject of my other blog, where I work on Tuesdays. </div>
<br />Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-10984023142613452452012-07-22T10:07:00.003-07:002012-07-22T10:07:40.271-07:00Castle Garden JulyThought I'd post pics of some of the things growing at Ballone Castle in the courtyard garden at the moment.<br />
First offhere are the grapes growing in the greenhouse. Both vines are heavy with grapes and I've already thinned the bunches out once and cut back extraneous foliage - the next step will be the thinning of the actual bunches themselves<br />
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Outside we have some pretty impressive cardoon thistles that are between 7 and 8 ft tall and almost ready to produce their lovely purple flowers<br />
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And some striking red lilies...</div>
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And not to be outdone, the Rambling Rector Rose is giving it loads.....</div>
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As are the Floribunda roses......</div>
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As I was at Sutherland Show yesterday, I was working at the castle today. I trimmed the hedges in the courtyard garden and then picked in the region of 30 litres (don't ask me what weight but heavy enough) of goosegogs from 5 bushes -- there are another 5 green goosegog bushes to pick<br />
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and four red goosegog bushes too. </div>
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<br />Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-36213946769007433612012-07-17T15:18:00.003-07:002012-07-17T15:18:45.307-07:00Slow Slow Quick Quick SlowWell actully it more like slow slow, slow slow , slow ! I spent this evening pottering about with the veg, so I thought I'd put up another post to let you know how things are progressing,<br />
First off I lifted my Garlic this evening. It's not he best but as it for kitchen use it will be more than sufficient. It is now on a rack on the greenhouse floor to dry off. The variety is Thermidor and it cost me next to nothng for three large bulbs on E Bay last Autumn. I might try one of the better known varieties next year but we'll see how this variety tastes first.<br />
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I also extended the collars on my leeks - they now have a full 18" collar on them - this will last them til they are required for our local show on 18th August.</div>
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I weeded my onion sets and lifted any that were poor or had bolted -this has left me with only those below plus another 6 for showing so I hope they start to get a move on and bulb up soon</div>
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I am checking my first sowing of caulies every couple of days now - I have caulies tucked waway in all sorts of places, including two that are growing in the Victorian chimney pots that were rescued from the roof when we moved here.</div>
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Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I took a look at one bag of each of my 5 varieties of tatties. Casablanca, Sherine and BlueBelle had very small tubers which worries me slightly, but the Kestrel and Amour were better -here they are after a quick rinse under the tap - nice and clean, no sign of scab, just needing a bit more time....</div>
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Broad Beans are starting to form, as are the Fench Beans, tomatoes going well, beetroot quite a bit behind last year, peas in flower, runner beans climbing up their supports well, Kelasae onions very slow to start bulbing up in any meaningful way, and stump and long carrots are slow too. Parsnips seem to thriving if the top grpwth is anything to go by as are the long beet...</div>
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More to come from me on Sunday after our first local show up here - Sutherland County Show.</div>
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<br /></div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-62679288141616992922012-07-08T07:27:00.002-07:002012-07-08T07:27:24.543-07:00Veg and other stuffBeen really busy recently but still managed to get a bit of time to do some bits and pieces in the garden, so I thought I should update the blog with some piccies of what I've been up to and how some of the veg are doing (or not doing for that matter !)<br />
First off is the non-veg side of things. I have finished putting the kids summerhouse together and all that I need now is some dry weather to get it painted (apparently, according to my 4 year old daughter, "Aqua" is the in colour, so "Aqua" it has to be !!<br />
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Also awaiting a break in the weather is the decking which I threw together last Saturday night which still needs to be stained.<br />
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On the veg front, I am quite happy with how my Pendle leeks are doing. They have been outside for most of the season, in 25 litre tubs filled with JBA's Leek and Onion Compost and have really moved in the last month or so. They have 16" collars on them and are 7" in diameter currently. </div>
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However my Kelsae onions have been slow to start bulbing up and my Hercules and Centurion onion sets are still putting on green growth and showing very little incilation to bulb up at all !</div>
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The Cabbages and Caulies are looking nice and green and no signs of any pest damage (touch wood !), the peas have produced their first flowers, the French Beans have started to flower (in 5litre pots in the greenhouse), the Cedrico toms have set their first fruits, and the Parsnips have a top growth of about 2ft</div>
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However, my carrots (both long and stump) are still slow, although they have come on a bit.... but not enough. And the same can be said for my Pablo beetroot - miles behind where I was with this last year. I am also happy with the size of the top groth on my long beet but the centre ribs of the leaves are looking more orangey red than dark red and this is something I will have to google or seek advice abuot on the NVS Forum as I have little or next to no knowledge about these plants. Anyway, will get some more piccies this week and give a fuller pictirial update then.</div>
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<br />Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-60673890594433093412012-06-25T12:01:00.000-07:002012-06-25T12:01:01.299-07:00Has Summer arrived ?According to the weather forecast up here, we are to see a mini heatwave this week - this could last all of three days ! I hope we do see some sun, as the veg certainly could do with it. First up is a shot of the greenhouse floor<br />
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The floor of my 8 x 6 is currently home to what remain of my Kelsae, bought as plugs from Mr Fothergills - nowhere near as large as some of the onions my friends in the NVS have but as I have never tried large onions before, we'll see how they do now that the longest day has passed and they should satrt to bulb up. These will over the next few days, all find their way out of their 5 litre pots and into the 25 litre tubs that three are in already (the red tubs at the back of the photo.It ios also a temporary home for another six chilli plants though these will be going into the house as soon as I can get some more pretty bowls to hide the pots - wife's orders!<br />
My six Cedrico have strated to put on a spurt - not before time - and will hopefully keep spurting as the root system gets larger.. There are also a coule of caulies that are yet to be planted out - ned to get some space for them somewhere, but it ain't easy now.<br />
Also in the greenhouse are my French Beans which are also getting a spurt on......<br />
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Outside, in the barrels we have the parsnips, foliage is about 12" high</div>
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the long carrots, whose foliage is a disappointing 7" high</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AY6iiUaGJwF9VUYU0oVh6l98TefZMSoZsmBYzUDNelR0xQY__2VFVjjVKVzhZMK3M-p26vp5ZeqnnuxWUIjJLE459f2ahi5FrgpJ04brJpA_MLJwTQrgMIuEdfZIVuJDMlBHgJCy5cM/s1600/DSC_1941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AY6iiUaGJwF9VUYU0oVh6l98TefZMSoZsmBYzUDNelR0xQY__2VFVjjVKVzhZMK3M-p26vp5ZeqnnuxWUIjJLE459f2ahi5FrgpJ04brJpA_MLJwTQrgMIuEdfZIVuJDMlBHgJCy5cM/s320/DSC_1941.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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and the long beet, one of which has bolted, so was removed. This only leaves me 4 but these are an experiment this year. If any make it to a showit will be a miracle!</div>
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Having said that, the one that had bolted had a tap root of exactly 15".......</div>
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Next are my spuds - all looking good and the foliage is supported as it is just about 2 ft high and was beginning to flop over the edges of the beds. These have had their first spray of Bayer's Dithane replacement as I received a text late last week from Blightwatch advising of a Smith Period for my postcode/</div>
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And the apple tree isn't in the middle of the bed, there are two beds, one either side of the apple tree.<br />
Now we have my leeks - these have been outside for what seems like an age, throughout all the crap weather but they are still looking okay to my untrained eye. I loosened the collars at the weekend as the plants are starting to put on some girth now - the collars are 16" from soil level.<br />
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And here is one of my caulies - remeber I said I was running out of room - I have 4 in the ground, two more in old victorian chimney stacks (as pictured) and the rest will be going from 5 litre pots into 25 litre tubs shortly.<br />
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Finally we have the stump carrots - way behind where they were last year, the foliage is only about 12" high on the best of them. </div>
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So that's it for now - feel free to pass comment / judgement :)</div>
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<br />Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-26363293511530188762012-06-10T07:34:00.001-07:002012-06-10T07:34:10.418-07:00It's June for Chrissake !!WTF is happening with the weather - one day of scorching sun, getting my hopes up for a decent spell of warm weather, then the next three or four days seem to consist of torrential rain and cold north easterly winds. It's no wonder most of my veg is way behind where it was at this stage last year.<br />
Anyway, managed to scrounge a few hours away from the girls this morning so I cut the grass and thought I'd have a look at the wooden childs summerhouse I was given recently -without any insructions. It is built up on a platform so I need to get the platform set in the ground first then the summerhouse will be assembled on top of that - but there are bound to be some readjustments made as I go. <br />
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Anyway, it's a good job that I love my daughters as much as I do as they have started a bird"hotel" in the garden to encourage our feathered friends to visit. This is in itself, not a problem but when the feathered friends start to investigate my veg, it does become a problem.<br />
I do not know ehich particular variety of bird has taken a liking to my veg as we have about 25 species regularly visiting (everything from seagulls to wrens) but my money is on the sparrows being responsible for this....<br />
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This is what is lect of my first sowing of Show Perfection Peas which I was given by Ian Stocks at the NVS Scottish Branch seminar. So taday I have planted out some replacements and sown another batch. This is what the peas above should have been like by now..</div>
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Elsewhere, the Broad Beans, courtesy of Frank Taylor also NVS, are slowly starting to grow away ....</div>
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and to complete the lugumes, here are my Runner Beans (self saved Stenner seed) followed by my French Beans (again from Ian Stocks reselection). The latter will remain in pots in the greenhouse until we get some decent weather forecasts</div>
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My show spuds are looking reasonable too at the moment,,,,</div>
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The photo show the bed with BlueBelle and Amour, I also have Kestrel, Sherine and Casablanca. They all seem to be doing well although I did receive two text warnings yesterday for Blight in my postcode from "Blightwatch"so tomorrow I will make a trip to the local GC and invest in some Bayer Fruit and Vegetable Disease Control which helps counteract blight.<br />
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As I said earlier, this mixed up weather has put a lot of things behind the stage of growth where I would have expected them to be by now and have started to feed my brassicas (Cauliflower and cabbages) with Chempak No 2 High Nitrogen Feed once a week to try and boost thier growth a bit. (Cabbages on rhs, two of my caulies on lhs of photo)</div>
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Now my root crops. Again after a slow (very very slow start, I am beginning to see a bit of growth, so first are my stump carrots......</div>
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followed by my long carrots (of which 20% of the stations had to be resown).....<br />
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Parsnips seem to be doing okay though.....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMk5RBH-TV6abPI-dpZB0gTiOBWsPlQ-Jnb-DrCkL1XFDHRd_FLsC1qVvPJfuEZ_ms3weAz3ozfvhgkqfc0qW-DxmcSE376KANld0tLbFAwvTS1uVN2dIjbwrq0Xly70_lHIr5M1Ru2VM/s1600/DSC_1822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMk5RBH-TV6abPI-dpZB0gTiOBWsPlQ-Jnb-DrCkL1XFDHRd_FLsC1qVvPJfuEZ_ms3weAz3ozfvhgkqfc0qW-DxmcSE376KANld0tLbFAwvTS1uVN2dIjbwrq0Xly70_lHIr5M1Ru2VM/s320/DSC_1822.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And so does the long beet (though not having grown this before, I'm not sure if they are behind where they could normally be expected at this stage of the season)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwGZoLTnLbbiZZXUGqryleMqHVrJPghnZlvDYYb7IpCwz9gAhnT0zAsY_NYs2M6I6FKSaQY6OaHsNLm3Q_bRFmFV3pr_nPpmdScgWM9n1O-nzitVoc1Q3AJE4-px-FvjTh6sXJ28vpiQ/s1600/DSC_1821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwGZoLTnLbbiZZXUGqryleMqHVrJPghnZlvDYYb7IpCwz9gAhnT0zAsY_NYs2M6I6FKSaQY6OaHsNLm3Q_bRFmFV3pr_nPpmdScgWM9n1O-nzitVoc1Q3AJE4-px-FvjTh6sXJ28vpiQ/s320/DSC_1821.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now, on the subject of my daughters bird hotel, I am normally quite ken on keeping the sand from the tops of my plants, but with the garden occassionally looking like a scene from Alfred Hotchcocks movie, the tops of my barrels have now become sand baths for the little feathered beasts too. !<br />
Now we have my onions and garlic. The first shot shows my Hercules onion sets and Garlic Thermidor, the following shot is of the stray elephant garlic plant that I had forgotten about and nearly cocvered with a growing box.<br />
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I am also trying some Kelsae onions this year - these were bought as plug plants from Mr Fothergills and are now in 5 litre pots but the best ten or so will be shortly moved into the same type of tubs as my leeks are in - 25 litre animal mineral lick tubs - of which I have a never ending supply.</div>
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And as for the leeks that I was given by Helen Vincent (another NVS member), here they are being modelled by my youngest daughter Niamh,</div>
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And finally my tomatoes are now in their final positions - in bottomless flower buckets and grow bags. I only have six plants this year and am already wishing I hadn't deceided to take a year off from the polytunnel as I just do not have enough room at home. These are way behind last years and whilst I know that over the next coming month or six weeks a lot of my stuff will catch up with those of growers further south, as we have up to 23 hours daylight on the longest day :) , it is frustrating to read other blogs and see people with not only fruits on the plants but also picking fruit from their plants already!</div>
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So that's where I am at the moment. Hopefully we will eventaully se an improvement in the weather and things will start to grow but for the moment it is just a case of grin and bear it !!<br />
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<br /></div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-36674641339564346532012-05-26T13:22:00.000-07:002012-05-26T13:22:31.818-07:00Veg UpdateWith a lot of othet things eating into my time recently, I haven't got round to updating the picture as regards my show veg - that and the fact that until this week, when the weather has improved beyond all recognition, that not a lot had moved since my last update way back when.<br />
So here goes.<br />
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First off is the long beet - I wasn't planning on growing these as they are notoriously fickle creatures to grow well but as I was gifted some seeds I thought I'd have a go. They are growing in a barrel with 5 stations bored and filled with the prescribed compost mix.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5PG79WWA_27xEsFfh-lR9WteZ3Y-LCC8bsStZdOPPNYsuHV6HI65134UbW5bxSOMEFsRB_byTVDBXRnTEmbCih7MP3jpDOozgMTofWzUOXvLG3BERQNbhXKhjRB7fAM9NC7fp9AIw4I/s1600/Nursery+Sports,+Scotsburn+Horse+Trials,+Show+Veg+115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5PG79WWA_27xEsFfh-lR9WteZ3Y-LCC8bsStZdOPPNYsuHV6HI65134UbW5bxSOMEFsRB_byTVDBXRnTEmbCih7MP3jpDOozgMTofWzUOXvLG3BERQNbhXKhjRB7fAM9NC7fp9AIw4I/s320/Nursery+Sports,+Scotsburn+Horse+Trials,+Show+Veg+115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next are the long Carrots - these were slow to get going and the germination rate wasn't the best, and I had to resow two stations out of the 10 I have - again at 5 stations per barrel.</div>
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And to complete my barrels, I have two barrels of Parsnips. These have really started to grow away this week with the arrival of the warmer weather and are looking quite strong and healthy so far.<br />
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Myt atties have finally emerged from the JBA compost mix (with the exception of Sherine which was planted a week later due to my giving away too many of my polypots to a new grower and leaving myself short. I have 10 bags each of Sherine, Amour, Kestrel , BlueBelle and Casablanca but as with most things , these are about three weeks behind this same point last year due to the crap weather in April and most of this month. Pictured is a bag of Kestrel...<br />
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My Kelsae onions, bought from Mr Fothergills have started to grow away stronly now having bee a bit slow to get going. These started in 3" pots, then into 1 litre pots, then a select few were potted into 5 litre pots and there will be one more cull when the creme de la creme will go into the 25 litre mineral lick tubs I have.<br />
My Hercules onion sets and Garlic are looking nice and healthy too.<br />
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With the arrival of the good weather, I have also got my Show Perfection peas out, as well as my French Beans - both lots of reselected seed courtesy on Ian Stocks of the NVS. I have also plantd out my runner beans. These are from self saved seed off the Stenner plants I grew last season. And the final plants being grown from reselected home grown seed (rhough not necessarily my home) are the Heathfield Broad Beans which I got from Frank Taylor, also of the NVS. Pics below</div>
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And finally, the leeks that I was given by Helen Vincent, also of tyhe NVS, are in their large mineral lick buckets and outside. Now I have never tried to grow these for show so this year is very much a trial run, although given the quality of Helens leeks, I feel duty (and honour) bound to do my utmost to bench a decent set at one of my planned shows this year.</div>
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Over and above the following, my first sowing of Cauliflower Raleigh are in, the second to be planted out next week, when the third is potted on, my Cabbage Liberator are in and my Cedrico toms will be planted into bottomless buckets and growbags shortly.</div>
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I think that's it for now. Will try and update on a more regular basis now that things are starting to grow !!</div>
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<br /></div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-42311977178451689482012-04-30T16:33:00.002-07:002012-04-30T16:33:14.559-07:00Castle Garden updateAnother update from one of my work gardens. This is Ballone Castle which is where I spend my Saturdays. Although the weather has been pretty crap, there always seems to be plenty to keep me occupied. <br />
Pictured below are the raised beds which were constructed for Lachie's parents. One thing to note is that nothing, and I mean nothing is ever straight forward here. "We'll build a couple of raised beds for my mum and dad" he said. No bother, nice and easy, 8 lengths of timber, some long screws, a pile of manure, some topsoil and Bob's your Uncle I thought. - NO!<br />
Lachie drew up a rough plan of what he wanted and here is the result. Two beds, shaped like an abstract thistle leaf (this matches a lot of the design features in both the castle itself, and his parents house at the back of the castle.<br />
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These have still to be planted up but are filled with well rotted horse manure with some really nice topsoil - planting to commence soon (weather dependent of course!)<br />
With the weather being really good this weekend, I managed to get the tatties planted. These are not in the veg patch at the castle but in a veg plot at the farm at the end of the track. There are two first earlies, Arran Pilot and Swift, and the maincrop is Desiree.<br />
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Back at the castle, the greenhouse is beginning to fill up with veg seeds of all sorts as well as a lot of sweet peas.</div>
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The greenhouse is also home to two grapevines, one white and one black, and these are really starting to motor on now<br />
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And not to be outdone, the fig tree is also bursting with fresh growth - hopefully we'll get a nice crop again.<br />
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The greenhouse is situated against one wall of the Courtyard Garden, which when viewed from above (ie from the castle), is laid out in a pictish / celtic design (copied from a local standing stone) with the pattern being formed by Laurel, Escallonia and Olearia hedges. These also form a lot of small beds which are home to a lot of bulbs and perennials. It is also home to a dozen aple trees and about 24 gooseberry bushes. (they like gooseberries a lot)</div>
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Next job is to finish preparing the veg plot which is on the foreshore below the castle. I managed to spray off a goodly area where I shall be planting a rosa rugosa hedge as well as a decorative hedge of Globe Artichokes, and sprayed the pathways and also the stone wall (built from stones dug out of the veg patch - more on this when it is in a reasonable photographic state !!<br />
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.<br />Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-62629683977342183082012-04-19T13:00:00.001-07:002012-04-19T13:02:34.497-07:00My Thursday GardenContinuing my update on the various gardens I look after, here is a short bit about the garden I look after on a Thursday each week. It's at Mounteagle Estate, near Fearn - see link for holiday cottage lets!<br />
It has been pretty wet this week as the following photo shows - this is a trench I opened in prparation for planting first early tatties, but as you can see, the tubers don't need chits, they need water wings !<br />
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The owners have just had a wood pellet burner installed to trun the hot water and central heating for the two letting houses and the big house and this entailed a tracked digger going through the garden and digging a track for the pipework. As you can see, this made a bit of a mess at the bottom of the fruit and veg area.</div>
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This will be levelled, raked etc and resown with grass but again, we are at the mercy of the weather, and it hasn't been kind. However, the onion sets are in - 50 each of Red Baron, Centurion F1 and Stuttgarter Giant. In addition I have got the root bed sown with 3 rows of Parnip Gladiator, 7 rows of Autumn King 2 and 7 rows of Early Nantes 5.<br />
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In the fruit cage, I have tidied up the strawberry beds and planted a load of runners to replace the three year old plants.<br />
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I have also managed to get the greenhouse cleared and eadied for this years tomatoes. <br />
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Normally, there would be a lot of seed trays in here by now but there is an ongoing rodent problem, which cost over 100 very young sweet peas their lives , so any seeds are now resident.in the potting shed.<br />
Elsewhere in the garden, the pear tree is in blossom......<br />
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And the apple tree isn't too far behind it.....</div>
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And to finish, here are some general views of the garden - the tall tree is a Euchryphia, which looks as though it will be putting on a tremendous display this year if the number of young buds I can see is anything to go by.<br />
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<br /></div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-54254643901329550792012-04-18T16:36:00.004-07:002012-04-18T16:36:31.834-07:00Christmas Tree updateYes, I know it's only April, but today I had my first full day in the forest for ages. Lesley had two foresters in for two weeks and they crown lifted all the Spruce in the largest paddock. However, they did not cut down any scrub or any other trees that would either <br />
1. interfere with the growth of the Nordmann pine christmas trees or<br />
2. iinterfere with the harvesting of the said trees <br />
Nor did they spread the Spruce branches round the bases of the christmas trees - they said it would take too long - no shit Sherlock, that's the slowest part of the operaion. Anyway, having had a good look at their work, I too have decided that it would be too time consuming to spread the already cut branches out so I just set about clearing and scrub from the christmas trees, removing any double leaders and clearing any scrub or self seeded trees from the access avenues between the rows. The first picture shows an avenue with scrub intact. By scrub I am referring to all sorts - gorse, alder, willow, self seeded spruce, self seeded pine and even some sycamore which have been planted but have sent out either branches or new growth in the wrong direction.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6H27lsNgC-iezo1ur37vWVN7UoXKNnzDTha2-IPgws6KPLWn7mFIxR5EiW4T19tjAOSZfe3JdUpuQipAZImWxXZMytLqmh3saV8MMlvM2EuTWXoSAkPpORFiCeR9Wxcv5nPkhAycdjGY/s1600/sCOTSBURN+aPRIL+ETC+131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6H27lsNgC-iezo1ur37vWVN7UoXKNnzDTha2-IPgws6KPLWn7mFIxR5EiW4T19tjAOSZfe3JdUpuQipAZImWxXZMytLqmh3saV8MMlvM2EuTWXoSAkPpORFiCeR9Wxcv5nPkhAycdjGY/s320/sCOTSBURN+aPRIL+ETC+131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After clearing, this is what it looks like from bottom to top</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlGMFNEbmmqCrPdgpyMCPevnVIVo1kiNtiZsT7xpW9Hr3IpjXZzYvETNE4nfZFGwBgbvKrDTPwQ5QLP9qwxEhEDvHGCLk4mogrEEi6wJxH8n3MUXtPzxj4SxRzrbpX-kc2gfeJ4ynfFc/s1600/sCOTSBURN+aPRIL+ETC+127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlGMFNEbmmqCrPdgpyMCPevnVIVo1kiNtiZsT7xpW9Hr3IpjXZzYvETNE4nfZFGwBgbvKrDTPwQ5QLP9qwxEhEDvHGCLk4mogrEEi6wJxH8n3MUXtPzxj4SxRzrbpX-kc2gfeJ4ynfFc/s320/sCOTSBURN+aPRIL+ETC+127.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As well as that, today, as Lesley was away, I fed her horses. She had 5 warmbloods but one is off to a trial home down in England-shire, but here are the two remaining youngsters - ain't they pretty!</div>
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First up is Rosetti......</div>
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Followed by Jas....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3Ko9GJF-ZEiPSreGnwmIAj7CRUU6ukhRsfqm4jPlrbocVfozB1G758ONideRl85ACdZCUBoyKjuB4BmxjfnZaACOOoSm96esi0haD93dNcF_wQQq-rOc3TrxlnEEsUTxByIw6hBQGB0/s1600/sCOTSBURN+aPRIL+ETC+146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3Ko9GJF-ZEiPSreGnwmIAj7CRUU6ukhRsfqm4jPlrbocVfozB1G758ONideRl85ACdZCUBoyKjuB4BmxjfnZaACOOoSm96esi0haD93dNcF_wQQq-rOc3TrxlnEEsUTxByIw6hBQGB0/s320/sCOTSBURN+aPRIL+ETC+146.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-45502642507808945542012-04-15T07:30:00.001-07:002012-04-15T07:30:59.273-07:00Well, it's been a while since I last posted so I thought it was time for an update. It's been very busy at the various gardens that I work in and I'll try and update you on these next weekend but ths entry will just cover my own stuff.<br />
Despite the horrible weather, snow, sleet, a lot of hailstones, cold winds, frost etc, my show parsnips(variety Pinnacle) are just beginning to set their first true leaves<br />
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My long carrots (New Red Intermediate Reselected) are also just showing</div>
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And the first of the Long Beet are making an appearance</div>
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Elsewhere, I have my Hercules onion sets planted out. I have these in one of my beds alongside my garlic, as well as another 6 in a box filled with JBA's leek/onion compost.<br />
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I also "found" an Elephant Garlic growing beside my onion set box, so it was lucky it wasn'y buried under a barrel or the set box !<br />
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In the greenhouse, I have potted on my cabbage Liberator into 3" pots. I transplant the seedlings from the cell pack into the pots and more or less plant it so that only the leaves are above the level of the compost - this gives a sturdier plant awith less chance of a twisted stalk later in life.</div>
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My Cedrico tomatoes are starting to gropw away now - in fact since taking this photo this morning, they too have been potted on into 3" pots, again planted deep as the young plants will produce more roots under the compost making for stronger sturdier plants in later life.<br />
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The Basket of Fire Chillies that I am growing for the Gardening Club class at the local show are doing well, and will be distributed for members to grow on at home next month.</div>
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I have started sowing 4 cauliflowers, variety Raleigh, at weekly intervals and the first 4 have now germinated. this is slightly earlier than advised by Jim Pearson at the NVS Scottish Branch seminar but the growing season up here is shorter and I hope to have some for a couple of early shows.too.<br />
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I have also sown some Savoy Cabbage - a variety called Tundra that I have grown before and some Kale called Winterbor. I last grew this variety when I was running a veg box scheme and it performed really well and stood through really hard winters</div>
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And lastly, in the greenhouse, the leeks that I was sent by Helen V of the NVS all the way from Hampshire, are growing well and are now in 5 litre pots filled with JBA's leek / onion compost.</div>
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Jobs for the coming week inclide planting out my eating onion sets (Stuttgarter Giant and Centurion) the first sowing of Beetroot Pablo, and of Frank Taylor's Broad Beans, and starting to get my potatoes sorted and planted into their polypots, I am using JBA's ready mixed potato compost this year - here's hoping that the label that Iain has put on the bags is accurate !!<br />
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That's it for now, though I'm sure as the weather improves, I'll have more to update - including hopefully the germination of my stumps.<br />
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<br />Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-72850667078164046982012-03-11T15:01:00.001-07:002012-03-11T15:04:42.428-07:00'Snip 'SnipWith Maggie off running the Inverness Half Marathon today, I got back out into the garden to get some more jobs done as it's getting close to that manic time of year.<br />
After topping up and levelling all the barrels, I cored out the two for the parsnips and filled them with the mix. That leaves me three for my long carrots (though I may be tempted to have two for long carrots and one for long beets.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Hl8Ju9QVME3P5dcCj1xwG9r8sxSp5PNuoi9MtseSbh00uVQwmekLjwBgWmPmHb5pg4EnRNr_nhgQ9mgR3kMyQTC9oIgejaz3OOv2PG0yqk-1yfgTpnjoCLiYkfwNwMifpR-drwKt6QE/s1600/DSC_0936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Hl8Ju9QVME3P5dcCj1xwG9r8sxSp5PNuoi9MtseSbh00uVQwmekLjwBgWmPmHb5pg4EnRNr_nhgQ9mgR3kMyQTC9oIgejaz3OOv2PG0yqk-1yfgTpnjoCLiYkfwNwMifpR-drwKt6QE/s320/DSC_0936.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Each barrel has 5 stations and are now just patiently awaiting the parsnip seed to germinate. Now on opening my packet of Pinnacle, I discovered that my 'snip seed has a blue seed dressing coating the seed. This is a bit disconcerting as last year, a lot of growers who had ordered Vento onion seed found their seed also had a blue coating and this definitely had an adverse effect on their germination rates. Anyhow, we shall have to wait and see. Last year my snip seeds took forever to germinate, so here's hoping they are slightly quicker of the mark this year. I have set them to chit about a fortnight earlier than last year in the hope of getting slightly bigger specimens this year. Last year was very much a last minute dash as I wasn't planning on growing snips but was sent a packet of Albion in error and told to keep it. This year I won't have any excuses. Anyway, they are set out on damp kitchen roll in a clear plastic container (with lid) on the kitchen worktop, immediately above the boiler. I shall start checking them daily in about 5 days for the appearance of the radicle and then start to sow them at this point.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The onion sets (of which I have over 150) are all well-rooted in their cells, though some of the sets have pushed themselves out of the compost - something I have heard blackbirds getting the blame for previously. So if you go out one morning and your stes are lying on their sides, don't automatically start swearing at the birds - try shouting at yer onions instead !</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My sers will be planted wherever there is space, although the Hercules sets will be in a designated bed alongside my garlic, which I have to say is looking pretty healthy at the moment.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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After messing about with my "fussy veg" ( a term coined by my daughter) I started back on the garden itself, by strting to edge the lawns, and extracting nettles, creeping buttercup and willowherb from the borders - sounds easy until you try and do this without disturbing the masses of spring bulbs that are through. - slowly slowly catchy monkey is definitely the only way to get this job done.<br />
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</div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-86095901517308253042012-03-04T09:12:00.000-08:002012-03-04T09:12:49.172-08:00A day in my own gardenAfter a slightly slow start this morning (this working as doorman at weekends as well as gardening and forestry 6 days a week is beginning to tire me out) I set to my own garden. Now you might think that with me being a gardener to trade, my garden is immaculate - nothing could be further from the truth - after working in other peoples gardens all week, the last thing I feel like doing is gardening on my day off. However, having been all but ignored for several years, it has got into such a state that I decided (actually , truth be told, my daughters decided) that I should do something about it this year. So we had a massive bonfire as I set about hacking back the shrubs and trees - the fire was lit at 11am and is still burning now at 5pm. I then started dismantling the fences that marked out the borders and the paths and cut up the posts for the woodburner. In between times I pottered about in the greenhouse, drank copious cups of coffee and smoked a few ciggies.<br />
I also thougt that I should really start to wash out the sheep and cattle mineral buckets that myself and Hoss (a fellow member of the NVS) will be using to grow our large onions in this year. So I set them all out and got the hose out - what a job ! <br />
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The tubs, each of which holds 22 litres of compost, needed several washes and a good scrub - in fact there are still 5 that will need to be re-visited during the week. Then I will give them all a good final scrub with a solution of Jeyes Fluid to kill off any nasties.<br />
I also cut the top and bottom of another blue barrel, ready for filling with sand this week and made up another 75litres of my carrot mix. FinallyI weighed out the Vitax Q4 and Calcified Seaweed for another 75 litre mix and made up a litre of SB Plant Invigorator for delivering to another new show grower locally later this week.Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-20663247918036021952012-03-02T13:27:00.000-08:002012-03-02T13:27:13.840-08:00Walled Garden Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally reached the footbridge at the entrance to my Friday garden today, so here are a couple of pics to show what difference there is from when I started a few weeks ago.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Above is the view that you get now when you cross the bridge to enter the garden, and below is what you see when you look along the ditch-side wall..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below is the view from the first corner of the path - any big heaps of scrub / brush are what has been removed and is awaiting burning, Currently there are 5 very large burn heaps!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1pr3_k4oJgsgj97Ten6HzMUEPn2mqm9ZlBg5Kr4K-rtU98HZQoPsdnJRvWayKbd8IHFU1rV6LwgoXGGPICXL4c0hBB02dFgC0-bnT_FBoQgbUnTP_yCrjyyVP_kXhklaEWT4xEcneJo/s1600/DSC_0888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1pr3_k4oJgsgj97Ten6HzMUEPn2mqm9ZlBg5Kr4K-rtU98HZQoPsdnJRvWayKbd8IHFU1rV6LwgoXGGPICXL4c0hBB02dFgC0-bnT_FBoQgbUnTP_yCrjyyVP_kXhklaEWT4xEcneJo/s320/DSC_0888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This next photo shows the view from the corner where the greenhouse used to be, looking up towards the footbridge - you could see the bridge if it wasn't for two of the large piles of brush /scrub./</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I finished the day in search of the plum tree - but it ain't there - though I think it was at one time as there is a large and decidedly dead tree lurking in the middle of all this hawthorn / blackthorn - this is what I will be clearing next.......</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, I have also been asked to resurrect the border that runs up the side of the drive. It was apparentlyput in six years ago and then neglected due to the arrival of children etc. It is 45m long and varying in width from about 6 ft to 4 ft. There are some plants in situ - I spotted hemerocallis, pampas grass & lupins amongst all the couch grass and daffodils. So if it's dry next Friday I might make a start on this too. Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the border in question, taken from either end.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's it for tonight. Later.................</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-26576934511824322332012-03-01T13:24:00.000-08:002012-03-01T13:24:08.635-08:00Onion Sets and Show TattiesGot my show tubers delivered today from JBA, including the Casablanca that I omitted in error from my original order (Thanks Iain and II haven't forgotten I owe you a cuppa). I am only growing 50 bags so I have ten tubers each of NVS Sherine, NVS Amour, Csablanca, Kestrel and Blue Belle - these are now sitting in egg tryas in my greenhouse to start the chitting progress. I intend to grow these in Iain's potato mix this year so it will be interesting to see how they get on.<br />
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Started some of my onion sets away this week - the varieties are Centurion, which I have grown for the last three years, and Stuttgarter Giant which I haven't tried before but one of my clients grows every year and gets huge bulbs. Anyway, there are just over 50 of each and these are now snuggled up in 10-cell packs filled with last years tattie mix with a bit of Vitax Q4 added. I am still waiting for my Hercules sets to arrive - hopefully soon and that will be all my onion sets for this year, though I have also oredered some Kelsae plants from Mr Fothergills too.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the chilli front, all the Numex Big Jim have germinated, most of the Ring of Fire are through but only a couple of the Basket of Fire are through - should be mostly germinated by Sunday I hope.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Filled another barrel with sand - that's four filled, two to go, but they should be done by Monday night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Was speaking to a chap locally who is interested in growing for show and got to talking about different things, so I'm going to pop up and see him this week, take hime some New Red Intermediate (Reselected) seed and a spray bottle of made up SB Plant Invigorator. He is growing Robinsons Mammoth onions from seed but thinks they are a bit pale, and has St Valery for his long carrots (hence the NRI seed). He is also growing Parsnips and Long Beet, so we should have lots to talk about. He has also said I can use his electric mixer to make up my mixes if I want - I have already started but there's quite a bit still to do so I may well take him up on that offer.</div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-65466571487309167472012-02-24T09:29:00.000-08:002012-02-24T09:29:16.639-08:00Walled Garden ProgressA couple of Fridays ago I started on the clearance of a walled garden that had been a wee bit neglected - there are some piccies of it before I started. Well today was the third Friday I have been there so I thought I'd show you how the clearance was going, so here are some pics I took this afternoon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45N63tRKDgFIobdYLPoKoLE9HECJB2UKgb7DYupxSaaemQK1iacaG9hrmPw3xrOBNNxkIPD9aWTzLYER_KB0aydCQd_G4-EF80ZXleAMvvcx_B6WPmMmciI8d6VVmasZdxGY2bxzk9AQ/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45N63tRKDgFIobdYLPoKoLE9HECJB2UKgb7DYupxSaaemQK1iacaG9hrmPw3xrOBNNxkIPD9aWTzLYER_KB0aydCQd_G4-EF80ZXleAMvvcx_B6WPmMmciI8d6VVmasZdxGY2bxzk9AQ/s400/019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxw3-lYnrczgVt0QqpccjsSE_WwLjdpt9PT7SjIJZf94vHHRYSiFx8UwyWwbGAz66qk6u1AaQjbk8l7FBTd0mtBqK-nshzFvjgYHh-VQ5hYXjHyBXdrTGs38HKY6sqc9VGgS1NBLMVC4/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxw3-lYnrczgVt0QqpccjsSE_WwLjdpt9PT7SjIJZf94vHHRYSiFx8UwyWwbGAz66qk6u1AaQjbk8l7FBTd0mtBqK-nshzFvjgYHh-VQ5hYXjHyBXdrTGs38HKY6sqc9VGgS1NBLMVC4/s400/020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaBQaIv-VmTfADzRnVPvC3mMoM9iHzrOqEcYOWV3Rxc3W4F37RnIXScrpAQwZJSbaUthsg6ZzV6RTx32bOPoLRQ16DOarK6awqCHJX1Y2DgwnkhfKpbnt6PuvVVdHt909SBFBafBsezQ/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaBQaIv-VmTfADzRnVPvC3mMoM9iHzrOqEcYOWV3Rxc3W4F37RnIXScrpAQwZJSbaUthsg6ZzV6RTx32bOPoLRQ16DOarK6awqCHJX1Y2DgwnkhfKpbnt6PuvVVdHt909SBFBafBsezQ/s400/021.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At the moment it is all about clearing the scrub and trying to see what there is in the garden that is worth saving, as well as collecting lots of old plant labels from the ground to get an idea of what was in the garden previously. Among discoveries so far are a witch hazel, paper bark maple, various viburnum, assorted mahonia, monkey puzzle tree, three flowering currants (two white, one pink), numerous roses, wisteria, lilac, japanese quince, choisya and loads of bulbs. The main problem is finding an area to make a burn pile - I now have three large piles awaiting the lighter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-82359368990282187332012-02-22T11:02:00.000-08:002012-02-22T11:02:06.621-08:00First sow your seed...Well, that's the start of the season proper for me. Tonight after I got home from work, plugged in the heated propogator, set the thermostat at 22 degrees, soaked the capillary matting and sowed my first seeds.<br />
The local show has a class just for members of the local gardening club, which this year is to grow a chilli plant in a pot - the variety being Basket of Fire. I have agreed to start these off and grow them on until the 9th April when the plants will be distributed to the members for them to grow on or kill as they see fit, until the show on 18th August. So tonight my first seeds sown were 50 x Basket of Fire chillies.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAwCfkoCN7Bc8ie-N0k5FqWski_1837bxAVRRs89lQsCSwaX_fZtwcY-XR18yA5F1GEkyqsCg7lk5bAY-dr0brTLsDiPbeaffew9cK7VhKdGr9mWC0EB9F5gJ4xR1eEnFmcV5NCFmv3s/s1600/Basket+of+Fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAwCfkoCN7Bc8ie-N0k5FqWski_1837bxAVRRs89lQsCSwaX_fZtwcY-XR18yA5F1GEkyqsCg7lk5bAY-dr0brTLsDiPbeaffew9cK7VhKdGr9mWC0EB9F5gJ4xR1eEnFmcV5NCFmv3s/s1600/Basket+of+Fire.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> When I ordered the Basket of Fire seeds, I received a free packet of seeds for Chilli Numex Big Jim, so these were next on the list. These will be grown on in my greenhouse - either the plants are huge or the guy in the photo has tiny paws.....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMWOI2OvqyFNrgTp6PySUnvMaIML_1AXL_LXkgEolJU_pJpHWhOVQ3tpk7oeEYv-vlifo4iSx_lpn7k1Cg2CqKGeoluGMDz3HFJ4Iid_RMTfLJjU6w9anMWB7kDXGYSC7zX-zpa9KSyE/s1600/Big+Jim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMWOI2OvqyFNrgTp6PySUnvMaIML_1AXL_LXkgEolJU_pJpHWhOVQ3tpk7oeEYv-vlifo4iSx_lpn7k1Cg2CqKGeoluGMDz3HFJ4Iid_RMTfLJjU6w9anMWB7kDXGYSC7zX-zpa9KSyE/s1600/Big+Jim.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally on the chilli front, I sowed my own chillies - Ring of Fire which I purchased from Shelleys Seeds. Again these will be grown in pots.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWN_LR7oKSjtdwoRMzC0-W5JVvQ7I4v8N1mlvOIOfcd4VaB5ei1KCT9mai2dFcHWYY5UvEcp3CRReLb4M18_TW2_WjfAAhvrFA1JGKU5pYMBbnL5IaGZeavENI3Fpj9jKBMrekJlMR5w/s1600/ring+of+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWN_LR7oKSjtdwoRMzC0-W5JVvQ7I4v8N1mlvOIOfcd4VaB5ei1KCT9mai2dFcHWYY5UvEcp3CRReLb4M18_TW2_WjfAAhvrFA1JGKU5pYMBbnL5IaGZeavENI3Fpj9jKBMrekJlMR5w/s320/ring+of+fire.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
And just before it got too dark to see the seeds, I sowed four pots of Lyon Prizetaker for culinary leeks.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcOQ_xmb2mfGyeZwwwiBWG7P_wKraUwxWSguKOe68d9GuWEW5XgIyyixwxfMBnKT6J2oJcC0cKuSkFAFfO9tGoR_pcteOK18qKDEd6AH-1e_poC5lMf9pYUhxlV4dLwHMFDEzctaN6b8/s1600/Leeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcOQ_xmb2mfGyeZwwwiBWG7P_wKraUwxWSguKOe68d9GuWEW5XgIyyixwxfMBnKT6J2oJcC0cKuSkFAFfO9tGoR_pcteOK18qKDEd6AH-1e_poC5lMf9pYUhxlV4dLwHMFDEzctaN6b8/s1600/Leeks.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I know everyone has different methods, but for what it's worth, here is how I sow my culinary leeks.<br />
Fill a 1 litre pot with compost, soak it from the bottom and leave to drain. Take a pinch of leek seeds (my pinch equates to about 25 seeds) and sprinkle as evenly as possible on the surface. Cover with a fine layer of compost et voila ! Not terribly scientific I know but this is the method I used when I was growing about 3000 leeks per year so it had to be quick. When planting time comes, knock the clump from the pot, cut the roots back to about 2", seperate the plants and place into pre-dibbed holes, water in and that's it.<br />
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</div>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-80792890030755815872012-02-15T13:51:00.000-08:002012-02-15T13:51:16.700-08:00Seeds have arrived - plus two trial packs for me to tryMy package of seeds from Shelleys Seeds arrived today, accompanied by the handwritten note from James wishing me luck for the coming season. Also included are two trial packs.<br />
The first is Shallot Zebrune, also known as ‘Cuisse de Poulet du Poitou’, this is a heritage variety of torpedo-shaped, brownish pink-skinned bulbs from seed, popular for gourmet cooking and stores well - so that covers the kitchen shallots this year.<br />
The second is Carrot Match F1. This is described on Medwyn's website as being from the same stable as Gringo with excellent potential and similar in shape to Sweet Candle, with a good skin finish and good stump end - so looks like I might have to cobble together another carrot box to see what I can do with them.<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">.</span>Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50153715901084616.post-77412611145675333712012-02-13T09:25:00.000-08:002012-02-13T09:25:01.746-08:00Tain Show - Changes AfootFollowing the first meeting of the show committe last week, I have started to update / rewrite the schedule. We have decided that we should now have open and novice classes, novice being anyoone who hasn't previously won a red card in a particular section - eg if an exhibitor has won a cut flower class they would have to enter any cut flower class in the open section, but if the same exhibitor entered a class in the veg section where they had not previously won a class, they could enter as a novice. I know this might sound confusing but we need to be sure not to alienate all our locals who I think were a little daunted by some of the flowers and veg that were benched at last years show. It might lead to chaos on the day but hopefully we will have enough time to work through any potential difficulties that might arise. <br />
We have dropped a couple of sections too - Floral Art (three entries in the first year, only two last year) and Best Kept Garden competition (three entries last year, four the year before) and also dropped a few classes - mainly from the vegetable classes - radishes (only 1 entry last year - me !) chillies (last two years, only 1 entry - me!, sweet peppers -last two years, only one entry - me!), truss red tomatoes (last year, only one entry - me|) Parsley plant in a pot (no entries last year, one the previous year). And tweaked some others - only one cabbage class instead of one for pointed and one for round, but callling for two specimens of the same variety and ditto with cauliflower - two specimens now required. We are also droppping the Garden News Top Vase and Top Tray -the Top Tray will now be replaced with a 6 x 1 Collection.<br />
The Kids classes have been decided, we are introducing a Photographic Competition and the Gardeners Club Competition this year will be for the best Pot Grown Chilli -variety Basket of Fire, which I start next week in my heated propogator and grow on until the April meeting when the plants will be passed out to members.Dave Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11797772427782373692noreply@blogger.com0