Humph's Happy Horti-cult: harvesting, preserving, mulching, leaf-gathering, bulb-dibbing, seed catalogue-surfing and hunkering down for winter

[Lexilicious]

Following on from the original March to August thread. For all - whether still gardening through the winter or planning to sweep the shed, hibernate, sharpen the tools and get started again in the spring.

Happy gardening again!

I'm very behind with gardening as DS ended up in hospital last week and DD has a puking bug.

Gentle Otter, Real Seeds are worth a look as they grow varieties in a rainy bit of North Wales I think and you can seed save as no F1's . Also Moreveg are great value for things where you don't need many seeds. Molesseeds are good for quantity I think though never used them. Heard good things about Premier Seeds on EBay. Wilkinsons not bad, I find. Alan Roman is also supposed to be pretty good.

Hellebores and snowdrops sound lovely. I haven't got either, well a tiny clump of snowdrops that refuses to spread. But I'm going to the garden centre with DD and my neighbour tomorrow. We're buying flowers in memory of our cat who we kind of shared with our neighbour. She sadly had to be put to sleep last week. We want things that will flower at the beginning of February so might get some Hellebores and snowdrops- she was a Norwegian Forest cat so the snowdrops would be very fitting.

On a more cheerful note, DH has been fantastic today. I mentioned I wanted a Dicentra recently so he bought me two white and one pink. I was really pleased with those then a gorgeous orchid turned up in the post. He is in my very very good books !

I need to join the knackered lawn club, am trying not too look. Might get a box of grass seed when I next see some.

Lexi I'm starting tomatoes and aubergines tomorrow and have chilli seedlings through under lights in the garage which I've been given to try out. A new 12 x 10 greenhouse is coming this week which is for work and is going to be heated (can't quite believe my luck and have to pinch myself) and will be heated so I've got a watermelon germinated to try.

Agh, Wynken! Sounds as if gardening is the least of your priorities at the moment. Hope things are improving.

I love dicentra, but the white ones always seem less robust than the pink. I also have the yellow weed-y one growing on the path. Harrumph.

That's useful, thanks Maud. I'll think carefully where to put them so the pink one has maximum effect . I didn't realise they came in yellow.

DS is a lot better and DD seems a lot better than she was when she gave me a 3am wake up call so gardening is a very welcome distraction - well gardening and cheesecake!

Noticed there is a seed swap near me soon so thought I'd go along to that with some saved seed . Totally know the feeling about wanting spring to come now.

Glad your DS is on the mend Wynken. And your DD. What a week!

Went down to PILs today and discussed clematis. They pointed out that we should stick to later flowering ones for the rose walk, unless we want them blooming at the same time as the roses, which we probably mostly don't.

They had loads of seedling primroses I had my eye on, as well as a million different types of geranium. MIL has promised to bring some next time she comes as it was all frozen there today.

Whoops. I was being daft. The yellow weed is a corydalis - corydalis lutea.

Rotivating the new beds has ensured a MILLION tiny dandelion seedlings sprouting from all that chopped up dandelion root

Oooooops Humphrey! But you have reminded me that I need to get my mega vicious weedkiller ready in a spray bottle to whack my front garden when there are a couple of dry days forecast. Indeed this weekend might suffice...

Had an argument with DH about dandelions in the lawn. They don't bother him. They bother me. I think we should paint weedkiller on them. He says he won't. I won't as I am pg . I want HIM to do it.

Ooh, Humph. Is that the first announcement of your happy condition or have I missed something?

I hoick dandelions out of the mud lawn with a daisy-grubber. It's not too back-breaking if you have an upturned flower pot to sit on.

I got the DCs (plus a neighbour's DD) to clear the front garden in exchange for the last of the Brussels sprouts (which they ate raw). I think I got a good deal there. They collected all the leaves, cut down stems, and weeded the paving
Child exploitation is the future

Child labour = brilliant idea!

Only just pregnant Maud, not telling people in the real world yet. Am making the most of gardening time as I tend to get SPD quite badly at around six months.

A daisy grubber it is then. I always break them off though .

congrats humph! SPD or no, I'm sure you'll be blooming! (see what I did there, see, did ya?!)

Perhaps a bit nearer the time we could start helpfully to suggest names such as Flora or Basil?

Euan. Short for Euonymus.
Gerry. Short for Geranium.
Daphne.
Clem(atis).
Mona (Monarda)

I will probably think up many many more... Unless you tell me to stop!!

This weekend I've been up in Norfolk at my grandparents' place. It is my birthday today and I plundered their woodland-type borders for snowdrops and aconites. Have put them into a pot now I'm home as I don't think I'll have their final site ready very soon. Birthday present from my mum was RHS membership... Yay! It's what I got her last year so we are sort of all square.

Uncovered my beans and peas from the fleece. Have lost maybe half my broad beans but the peas look good. I will just plant later varieties in the space left by the frozen-off ones I think.

Anyone grown 'imperata' Japanese blood grass before? I got some last year and it has all disappeared... I'm hoping it has just died back and will come up in the spring but if not it was a slightly expensive mistake.

There are the obvious planty names like Holly, Willow, Hazel, Rose, Daisy, marguerite.
I'm doing my planting plan this week, as I have vouchers to buy seeds. I love this time of year, when it's all verdant and beautiful, and no beasties yet to ruin it all.
I soaked some Brussels sprouts before washing properly to cook, and a good job too, I flushed out 2 slugs and a worm!

Love it.

Funnily enough I really want to call this one Rosamund but DH vetoed it as he had an unpleasant great aunt of the same name. Keep em coming.

Did yet more weeding today. I foresee much weeding in my future. Am def going for three sisters planting in one of the round beds, the others will be different squash and courgettes. Hopefully this will suppress the weeds a little.

Got a load of old paving slabs from my friends garden (along with their sink to put in an outside kitchen bit for when we butcher the pigs !) to go around the rectangular veg patch. Functional rather than beautiful.

Put in a load of lidl sea holly today.

Hello all - been away in the snowy alps for a week and looks like you've all been busy, especially Humphrey! Congratulations

Quite excited about starting some seeds off in the conservatory but we also still need to rebuild the veg plot after the snow disaster. Now it's all defrosted we've got no excuse really. Although DH and I did discuss a redesign of the netting to allow us to take the 'roof' off for the winter so we don't have a repeat collapse every time it snows.

Sally (Salvia)
Aggie (Agastache)
Helen (Helenium)
Sonny (Sunflower)
Marie (Marigold)
Ali (Allium)

the possibilities are endless...!

Still haven't started my tomatoes or got my seed-packets box in from the shed. Might bunk off work early today (not feeling very well anyway) and do that while it's light.

Had a bummer of a find yesterday in my larder cupboard where I keep my veg. I brought the garlic I grew last year in from the shed before the cold snap, and kept it in a tupperware box in the cupboard - wrong move. Half the bulbs have gone soggy rotten and half started sprouting. I had hoped to be self-sufficient in garlic this year but I don't think that's going to happen now. Still, I'll plant some of these (purple wight, so they're a spring planting variety anyway) and we'll see how they do.

A mountain of catalogues arrived today, it is pouring rain outside so the perfect weather for daydreaming about the garden to be.

The Real Seeds catalogue looks brilliant. Thank you.

Wynken's oca arrived today! Very exciting . When do they need planting?

Maud - I fully intend to dig up the rest of the jerusalem artichokes this weekend (it's on our very long list of garden jobs) so will hopefully get your batch off to you next week.

Humph, how about Oca for a name?
Or get more imaginative with e.g. Cain (cane)
Scarlett (emperor runner beans)
Nigella

Ooooh 'oca' is a great name... Ocarina? Or, in honour of the, ahem, season of conception, Galanthea? Narcissa?!

A happy Horti baby, how lovely ! Congratulations Humph [happy]

I can't quite remember when I started the Oca last year, probably around March. Did them in pots and put them out after the last frosts.

Lexi I feel your garlic pain. I left seed potatoes under the carport by accident and have list a fair few, that will teach me.

It's been an exciting gardening day here today as new greenhouse is going up and my first Thai long green aubergine germinated. I potted sone Chillis and an Ildi tomato .

Greenhouse! How exciting. I would love a greenhouse.

Thanks for your congratulations and all the names. Fabulous effort chaps. Am leaning towards Helen Ali or Tom (tomato) at the moment

Found our first goose egg, haven't cooked it yet. What does one do with a goose egg?