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Garden work again

Spent all my spare time in the garden again today. Seems strange to be out there in the sweltering sun in October but at least it gives me the chance to do what I need to do without getting soaked.

Finished off cutting back all the bushes and the trees at the back. Will leave the brambles till next week and there is space in the composters and bins.

Of course then I got soaked because I’ve then cleaned the drains and the water intakes to the water butts today. They always get clogged up with leaves no matter what you use to stop it. The mesh that stops the leaves clogging up the pipe intake gets clogged so the water doesn’t get in anyway. There must be a better way. Anyway, I’m all ready now to collect all the water although in the UK it doesn’t take that long and I go easily do five times the amount. I’ll add some more barrels when I get some cash.

If that wasn’t enough water I also moved the Cattails from the metal bin to a plastic bin. Wet earth is heavy. I’m now wondering if the metal had something to do with how well they grew. About a dozen big ones in an ordinary old style bin. We will see how they grow next year. I’ve taken two of them to experiment with.

Another year of failure for my grape. Not even little nodules like last year. I’ve cut it back and am routing it up along the greenhouse for next year and I’m planning to do a better job with the watering this year. Earlier this year I thought I had killed it with drought and then, when I discovered it shrivelling up, a monsoon that seemed to drown it. But it recovered, a bit, and sprouted again. So fingers crossed for next year.

My mushrooms failed again. Nothing seemed to happen with them at all. The soil lies damp, as requested, at the bottom of the box and not one little mushroom.

On the plus side I seem to have grown a new species of some algae. I found it in a pot by the mushrooms. I have no idea what it is but I’m hoping I can use it to feed the hungry, power my, as yet untested, algae powered car and algae powered generator. Fingers crossed this could be the breakthrough we are looking for.

Another year adds data that shows the plants that don’t need help do way better than the ones that do in my garden.

6 comments to Garden work again

  • Kenneth Eames

    SD, Give your Grape vine a good six inch covering of well rotted compost and a light watering whilst the warm weather continues. Less water in the Winter. Give your mushrooms a further chance keep them covered with a sack to keep the light out. A good soaking may stimulate fruiting. Do you see any mycelium within the box? The mycelium is like white threads throughout the compost. If there is mycelium, then they will probably appear some time. Some times they do this. Do not despair, keep going. Kenneth Eames.

  • Skean Dhude

    Ken,

    Ooops. Got a good soaking last night but the compost is already in place. I put that on everything.

    I’ll give that a try with the mushrooms. I was going to compost them.

  • fred

    You’re not planning on a little wine-making are you? It could be a money spinner – Chateau Dhude.

  • Kenneth Eames

    Do you use lime in your compost and Have you put lime on your garden at all? What is your soil like? Is it clay? I’m sorry to ask so much but need to know to help you. Have you tested the soil for acid or alkaline? Personally, I am a great believer in tons of compost (literally). I was never successful until I absolutely covered the ground with compost and leaf mould. If you can scrounge the autumn leaves and put them in plastic bags, punch holes in the bags with a garden fork,fill with leaves and tie the top. Leave for 13 or 14 months. Good leafmould. Kenneth Eames.

  • Skean Dhude

    Fred,

    You don’t make much wine from a bunch of very small grapes. Maybe one day.

    Ken,

    I don’t use lime at all normally. The soil is not clay but it isn’t great either. It has been mixed with compost over the last few years. I’m looking at doing that with the leaves but at the moment I just put them, and the rest in a recycling bin which I let stuff rot in. Full of many garden scraps.

  • Kenneth Eames

    Catails contain ten times the starch of an equal amount of potatoes. In early spring pick and peel new shoots and cook or eat raw. Harvest young flower heads, boil and eat like corn on the cob, or pickle them. Collect early summer pollen in a bag and cook with other flours. Contains protein and vitamins. Kenneth Eames.