[Fluffywelshsheep]

( didn't like that idea much , so dug my way out ...hehehe....

So how does this make you feel, do you still feel that you have missed something, is this the reason why you still dig !!! hehe

Nothing done here in ways are gardenning just bit of work (which is guess it good) not much rain around where i was but their was some sleet pretending to be snow around here.

It's typical tomatoes and pumpkins sitting on my breakfast bar and it starts to snow, I can't even put them in the greenhouse cos it is not been clean or cleared yet of the other winters items that you chuck in it when you get caught in a rainstome over the winter. It a very small greenhouse i think about 4 x 6 foot which isn't big at all

hope everyone is doing fine
Linz the working one who is fed up with it already lol still have a couple of week of it to go, untill the next lot   

[rustyme]

I didn't stay long enough for the Psychoanalysis , I managed to escape  Like people that climb mountains or go potholing , I dig because it's there.....
       The weather is really horrible here at times .... howling wind , rain sleet and a touch of snow here and there . But so far it is only in short blasts , then it goes a bit calm and dry before the next batch. But it is cold......They are saying it is going to be like this till Tuesday !!!! So I am glad I don't have anything sown as yet ....Don't work too hard Linz , and keep warm, spring will soon appear !!!! well maybe ?

[Fluffywelshsheep]

it's just one of them jobs that isn't finished until it is finished, So just do what dorry say (finding nemo) 'Just keep swimin, just keep swimmin'

[Guy]

dont worry linz - the weather will soon turn and you can be out and about again!!
carefull with that pickaxe Russ , that jarring aint 'alf painful. weve had a really bitter wind here today , really cutting
managed to chop loads of logs though , which are now happily "roasting on an open fire" (which in turn is roasting the dogs lying in front of it aaaaahhhhhhhh )
 10 spuds now showing through in the "tunnel" -cucumbers ,alas , now seem to have given up the ghost , although they are now back in the propagator to warm their bottoms - personally i believe its Lindas fault for not going along with my ideas
we also managed to get  two rows of 1st early spuds into the garden , they are "home guard" - stupid boy!!!! - i used scaffolding planks to walk on the tilled ground in between the spud rows which made it really easy and spaced them apart perfectly - although a gust of wind  nearly blew me into the greenhouse - "dont panic !"

[rustyme]

yep ... your right mate .. the jarring goes through my whole body ...tip to toe... I really do hate it , the only problem is I have to give it a good old swing to get the pick down into the hard ground. It is just a matter of luck if I hit a big stone or not !!!
       Those poor ole cucumbers ... warming their bums ? they don't like it up 'em ..they don't like it up 'em  Mr Mainwearing !!!!
       I will start with my spuds as soon as this cold spell has gone. My old planks I used to have, gave up the ghost ...rotted to nothing . So will have to get something again , I may make a string ladder type of thing . Just loads of 2"x1"x12" with a hole each end , then thread some thin rope through the holes and knot it to kep the 2"x1"s an inch or so apart . Then when I want to walk on the ground just roll it out ..instant path .  Keep warm .....

[Guy]

like that idea of the instant path  , v. ingeneous , you weren't a producer on "blue peter" were you?

[rustyme]

lol.. I prefered Magpie when I were a lad ....( the sound of the Hovis music plays - oh sod it not that again ... .  I actually nicked the idea from a type of rope ladder looking thing, with metal rungs, used in deserts to get vehicles  out of soft deep sand. Just have 4 , drive onto 2 of them then move the other 2 to the front and drive on them ..and so on ..then when you are out of the sh--sand just roll them up and chuck em in the back .. I always think out of the box , I see something and think how could I use that idea ? Maaaaaaaagpieieieieie, one for sorrow, two for joy, three fo----oh goddddd must go and take me pills...

[Guy]

oh dear !! never mind russ , the pills should last some time i think 
have planted on another 2o strawberry plants today - these are now snug and warm in the p-tunnel. the first of the radish are through also , and..........we have managed to salvage two of the cucumbers!! hussar , although it is still early days!! the log pile has also received a new roof , since the last one blew off

[Guy]

a beautiful day today - nice and warm , with a good wind to dry things out - we have got the next batch of spuds in (charlottes) and have also covered the new raised bed area with cloches to help them dry out before attempting more digging on them after the last attempt. i have also received notification of my transfer to another store which is much closer to me , thus saving on the travelling time - this will give me loads of more time to work here!!! - my boss couldnt quite grasp the reason for me wanting to move stores , and just looked at me as if i were slightly deranged when i discussed it with him!! but at last it has happened  (well from monday anyway)- just in time for the clocks to change too - even more time!! 

[rustyme]

yep .. I think the weather has been much the same here as you've had Guy . It has gone a bit cloudy and cold now though since about 4 this afternoon.  Well done with getting some more spuds in ...The ground is drying out well here too now , at last .
    Good news about the transfer too eh ... well done... as you say more time from now on to do all those jobs that you haven't done so far that you should have done....errrrr maybe not so good after all ....? Oh well, congratulations anyway mate .....
    I have been digging away as normal here ... the plot is very nearly done now. The pick axing is the pain still ... so much stone comes out it is unbelievable , still it will come in handy up on the track . The weather is meant to be getting warmer again now , over the next week anyway, what we will get after that is anyones guess ?  Fingers crossed , the temp will rise enough for the grass to start moving again , I can ease up feeding the horses then . From what the chap who I get my haylage from was saying today the cost of hay/haylage/straw is going to be through the roof next year....so be warned everyone.

[rustyme]

at last ...this time I really have done the last of the digging on the veggie plot . All that remains now is to do the pick axing of the newly dug stuff . What that is , is I have dug down about 6" or so and then I hit a layer of stone . This I have to break up with the pick , remove all the stones and then replace the top soil and sow with seeds...So still plenty to do but it is only a triangle going from nothing one end to 6' the other end and 60' long. The comfrey bed is really in need of a good clean up now , and now that the comfrey is growing away well I can see where to dig out all the grass etc., without digging up the plants. The comfrey bed will have to be enlarged as well now , that is really hard going as it is all undug ground full of stone, but with that I can just do a 2'x15'  strip across the bed each day . That will just be an on going thing throughout the year. Really good thing comfrey ...it will provide anywhere from 50-100 tons of plant material (for either feed for stock, compost heap or liquid feed for veggies) per acre, per year . I would recommend getting Lawrence D Hills book on Comfrey, he covers just about everything you could think of including all the information an all varieties of comfrey with all the good and bad points . I grow the bocking 14 type, very consistant and sterile so no seeding everywhere. From 50 plants I got about 500lbs of feed for the horses last year , that was 5 cuts giving about 2lb per plant per cut, and off the top of my head I think comfrey is about 22% protein , so very worth while as a free feed supply.

[hebber]

Where did you get your comfrey from?  Did you sow it from seeds?  I got a couple of roots off e-bay, which is obviously not going to produce very much.

[rustyme]

I got my first 5 root cutting portions from chase organics . I cut these in half to give me 10 root cuttings and then each year I just dig up a plant and take a couple of the long thick roots and cut them into sections to plant again.  The only way to propagate bocking 14 is by root cuttings as the plant is sterile , seeds will not germinate . If you dig up a plant you will see a big bunch of roots , on a big plant , these can give a large amount of cuttings , so 5 root cuttings after a year will produce say 20-50 more root cuttings each . So you would have between 100-250 plants the second year. Each of these will provide as many (20-50) root cuttings again , so plant numbers can increase by huge amounts. By using the plants to provide cuttings , they won't produce maximum amounts of leaf growth . However, they will still give a fair crop, just try to give them as much manure as you can .
 
cheers

Russ

[Rosemary]

We've done the same as Russ but on a smaller scale. Marvellous stuff, comfrey.

We have it growing wild around here and we did take the elaves from that before ours grew.

[Guy]

[/img]

Hussar - got the picture thing working!!!! - welcome to my world - a close up of this years purple sprouting