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 bought a fig tree from wilko, and a load of shallot sets.
I was out in the day nursery garden and as the DCs were clamouring for veg, I graciously pulled the last of the carrots for them, and let them eat them raw (after a bit of a rinse). My colleagues' faces were and one said "you can't let them eat those carrots, they're deformed !"
One of the DCs ran up, carrot in hand, to defend my choice "but they are so carroty can I have another one?"
I will admit to feeling a little smug at that point. Just wait till I bring in purple broccoli

I'm desperate to get to a poundland. We used to have one where we lived but moved . However I have heard a rumour there is now one not too far.

Maud my Grapevine from Wilkos has wax on from a quick look in the box. I think I'm going to leave it.

Bertha, probably best it you leave the fleece I think. If they do get frosted they'll grow again but it will set them right back.

Humph, my deepest sympathy on the morning sickness, it is vile. Fingers crossed it passes very soon. Been looking at my seed potatoes, Anya, Charlotte for a girl or Mara (ordered Mara de Bois). Alfred (planted my Mme Carriere recently !) for a boy.

Inmysparetime, I love smug gardening moment ! It's true though, homegrown carrots are just so carroty.

Bertha, that grow bag thing looks like a good idea, not seen that before.

My greenhouse, or Crystal Palace as my neighbour calls it, is glazed. Nasty moment when the ladder the guy was standing on broke but he's alright. Electrics are being done next week and I think I will sort gravel for the flooring . It just needs some plants in now!

DD has got her first choice of upper school thank goodness. They are trying to 'ground force' their grounds so I think I'll volunteer for that when she starts, will be a good way of getting to know people.

Hello, Issima. This is indeed an utterly lovely thread.

I'm just weighing up whether I'm keen enough to do some gardening this morning to go out in the drizzle. My rosa mundicolor arrived at 07.30 today and I turfed DH out of bed to get it as he was slightly more compos mentis awake than me. He stomped back to bed muttering "bloody plants".

::lightbulb moment::

I could use the time instead to go to the 99p Store.

I've been outside all morning and I am broken!!!

Planted three raspberries, one tayberry, two gooseberries, turfed out a load of pot bound mint and planted it along the side of a path, twelve lavender Munstead along the other path, moved some calendula which had self seeded in the autumn (!) and did a lot of digging, tamping down and placing paving slabs. I now have a path across the front of my house which the postie may thank me for, the beginnings of bee heaven, and the possibility of much soft fruit later this year or next.

I have also quite deliberately set up 'botanical celebrity death match - mint vs horsetail' so we shall see which invasive root system is bigger and badder.

My neck, shoulders, arse, back and hands aaache so bad but I feel very very happy as that's my first real gardening day of the year. There was even drizzle and I loved it because it cooled me down!

Yup, I'm glad I went out too. Planted the rosa mundicolor, refreshed the compost in several pots of lilies and planted up the latest pot, shifted a cistus that had outgrown its spot and moved the black iris to what I hope will be a more suitable place, dug out some of the surplus lamium and potted up some seedlings for the spring plant swap. I'm broken and I did less than Lexi!

Many thanks too to Wynken (or was it Bertha? excuse me as I am old anmd dotty) for the Jerusalem fartichokes. I could see DH struggling not to ask why the envelope was addressed to Maud. ::grin::

and another thing I did as I was going was put perennial weeds into a bucket (which I've had going since last year) that I'm hoping will make compost tea. Horsetail has lots of silica in its root which apparently is worth having, like the nitrogen in tap roots like dandelions. No idea what the wild-strawberry-a-like plant has to offer but it's in there too. It was green slime when I opened it this morning before putting that lot in but not smelly. I even put baby slugs into it with my bare hands! (couldn't do that with grown ones).

I forgot to say hello to Issima, apologies.

Sympathy to all broken people. I'm broken too but not sure what I've done. Possibly moving things into greenhouse yesterday . Whatever it was my back hurts. DS wanted to sow some flowers though so keen to capitalise on his enthusiasm we went out. Have taken cuttings of a climbing petunia that has survived several winters, sown Gazania, Coreopsis, Snap Dragon, Cherry Belle Rudbeckia, perennial sweet peas, crimson broad beans, peas, basil, rainbow chard and leeks. Also put together potting table and cold frame that came ages ago from Greenfingers sale.

I think Bertha is the JA lady, I'm Oca. Talking about which, I'm going to start in pots the next couple of weeks.

Anyone else growing Chillis this year ?

I'm growing chillies, I got last year's indoors before the frost so it's still growing, but I put a few extra seeds in the pot to be sure. The fig is in a bucket of water awaiting planting.

Well done on the overwintering Inmysparetime. I nearly managed to overwinter one but DH chucked it on the compost. He does make good compost though so am letting him off. I've got some little ones on the go including a Dorset Naga. Not actually sure why I'm growing one as I don't like chillis that blow your head off...

Put chillies in a bottle of olive oil, then the chillies last ages and the oil is spicy but not "blow your head off" spicy.

Ooooooo, that is a great idea, thanks. I've a feeling growing them could get addictive.

Maud - artichokes need to go in fairly promptly as starting to sprout already. Hope they arrived safe and sound and weren't too knocked about en-route.

I over-wintered a chilli in the conservatory although it's not showing any signs of life yet so it may have passed. Will give a while yet though just in case. Started some chilli seeds (cayenne pepper, think they came free in something) off earlier this week too.

Planning to get the oca in a big pot this week Wynken - do I need to keep them in the conservatory for a bit or can the pot go straight out?

I am broken too but only because we went to Peterborough and back today for a family 90th. That's a long time in the car. Would've preferred to be broken by gardening too hard than sitting for too long. We drove right past a Poundland in the centre of Peterborough. Didn't think DH would approve if I asked him to pull over though so I just looked at it longingly...

Not that I ever usually cry wolf or anything but I have properly hurt my arm from digging. Got that sort of RSI tennis elbow kind of strain in the forearm, and slight pain all the way up and across my shoulders. Got diagnosed hyper mobile recently so should have known to be more careful.

Also got a couple of chillies indoors. No fruit since the end of summer but lots of strong bushy-out growth and even the occasional flower which I've rubbed the stamens etc together to see if I can artificially inseminate (or whatever it's called for plants). No luck though.

It's raining outside but I really want to do the rest of my jobs from yesterday. I have an iPad and coffee in bed, am going to browse the RHS seed collection instead... For now.

Lex, spotted this and thought it may be of interest to you.

Morning all!

I borrowed Anna Pavord's book on plant combinations from the library yesterday. So far, I've only flicked through the pictures but they are gorgeous. I highly recommend it.

If anyone's thinking of ordering bedding plants, D T Brown is offering £5 off some packs of petunias, geraniums, verbena etc if you quote code DWEBFL5. I may have a little seed-shop later as I discovered yesterday that some moisture must have crept into the tin in which I store seeds and lots had gone mouldy.

why thank you! that's just my kind of book! It's all more and more temptation though. I just wish I had the space for that many nectariferous things. And drought tolerant, and weed suppressing...

Humph, can I recommend this garden stool for you if SPD strikes? I used it today while potting up strawberries as my back was strained from yesterday (not hurt, just weary) and it really helped.

Did some good pottering this morning in the pouring rain (love it!) and got my asparagus in their planter and lots of tidying.

Arf at deformed carrots! Such a shame all supermarket fruit/veg is so uniform nowadays that people don't know that's not natural.

Lexi your garden sounds heavenly!

Have discovered a poundland 20 mins from me so depending on energy I am going to get there this week or next and buy some more lovely gardening stuff.

Got more horse pooh today. Happy . Although have to go back to the horse pooh pile as forgot to take money for the honesty box with me and am feeling guilty for not leaving my 20p! Think I'll go back for another load soon and leave 50p to include interest.

My water butt doesn't work. Sob. Please post helpful advice on my other thread.

And horse poo for 20p? I am envious.

is the catcher level with the top of the butt? is the connector too bent, so water has to go uphill between the downpipe and the butt? is there something stuck somewhere?

We have £500 of shed arriving some time this week... I am thinking about getting a larger water butt for next to the house and using my slimline one off the shed. Have enough spare guttering to do it I think.

Can I join you - looks like a great thread and I am a total gardening obsessive as of about a year ago! Feel like there is so much to learn but enjoying every minute of it and can't wait to get back in there when it get's just that bit warmer...

The major issue in my lovely little garden is screening as we are overlooked by our neighbours windows. All my plants were new in last year so I am having to wait for my bit of privacy probably for a few years yet.

If anyone has any good and instant ideas for screening/privacy let me know

hello there surviving winter. I am a newbie gardener too although I have had mine for about three years now. It is lovely having a garden

Thanks for the stool info - it looks very useful. Am feeling generally better this week.

DH had been busy, he has bought about ten large pots to go along our boring stone wall. We will put in some box balls we have coming along but these won't be ready for about three years, so am looking for suggestions for planting in the meantime.

Hello Percy Throwers.

I dug out two hydrangeas today to get ready for these high maintenance lovelies. Anyway the roots were so gnarled that the fork snapped in two with no warning. I did a comedy fall. The fork was only two years old as well. Bastard fork makers.

I made free with the poultry manure as well, and I'm sure I can still smell it lingering around me.