Off On Holiday

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

After climbing up the side of Cauldron Snout

you are confronted by this, the 'Cow Green Reservoir.

http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/cowgreen.htm

MY WORK BOOK
See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Fri 27/02/2009 08:30
Fri 27/02/2009 08:55
25 minutes
1) Took across some hay.
2) Put out some minerals.
3) Checked and counted the sheep.

Checked round the greenhouses
Fri 27/02/2009 08:55
Fri 27/02/2009 09:00
5 minutes
Have a bonefire
Burn pile
Misc
Fri 27/02/2009 09:00
Fri 27/02/2009 10:00
1 hour
The neighbour just moved out and she left some rubbish to burn.

Clear up the mole hills
Tower cottage
Public Gardens
Fri 27/02/2009 10:00
Fri 27/02/2009 10:15
15 minutes
Also set another trap cos the one I have in keeps getting filled up.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Fri 27/02/2009 10:15
Fri 27/02/2009 10:35
20 minutes

Transplanting
Potting Shed
Fri 27/02/2009 10:35
Fri 27/02/2009 11:30
55 minutes
Pricked out stocks and mesembryanthemums. 1 tray of each.

Pruning
Iron gate rose beds
Main Garden
Fri 27/02/2009 11:30
Fri 27/02/2009 12:30
1 hour

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Fri 27/02/2009 12:30
Fri 27/02/2009 13:30
1 hour

Fetched a load of manure
Horse field
Misc
Fri 27/02/2009 13:30
Fri 27/02/2009 14:15
45 minutes

Forking
Iron gate rose beds
Main Garden
Fri 27/02/2009 14:15
Fri 27/02/2009 15:00
45 minutes
Forked in the manure.

Applying fertiliser
South Front Wall
Main Garden
Fri 27/02/2009 15:00
Fri 27/02/2009 15:30
30 minutes
Watering in miracle gro to the wall beds where the wallflowers are.

Applying fertiliser
North Front
Public Gardens
Fri 27/02/2009 15:30
Fri 27/02/2009 15:45
15 minutes
Watering in miracle gro to the troughs by the front door.

Planting
Veg Garden
Walled Garden
Fri 27/02/2009 15:45
Fri 27/02/2009 16:30
45 minutes
Planted the garlic

Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Fri 27/02/2009 16:30
Fri 27/02/2009 17:00
30 minutes


NOTE
1) Bob is on holiday from the garden next week so there won’t be any more entries to this blog for a few days

Memorial Garden Rose Beds.

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

Approaching Widdybank Farm,

a really idylic place by the river.

Cauldron Snout.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 5C
Temp High: 9C
Feels Like: 1 to 4C
Precipitation: 0 mm
Wind Speed: 43 mph
Wind Direction: W
UV Index: Low
Weather: Cloudy.

MY WORK BOOK

See to the bins
Hall
Thu 26/02/2009 08:30
Thu 26/02/2009 08:45
15 minutes
Put the black bins back and put out recycle tubs.

Fetch crib
Church
Misc
Thu 26/02/2009 08:45
Thu 26/02/2009 09:30
45 minutes
Went to fetch the crib from the church and put to store in the barn.

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Thu 26/02/2009 09:30
Thu 26/02/2009 09:45
15 minutes
Checked and counted the sheep

See to the greenhouses
Greenhouses
Greenhouse, Conservatory
Thu 26/02/2009 09:45
Thu 26/02/2009 10:00
15 minutes
1) Took off some dead leaves.
2) watered and staked the orchids.
3) checked round.
4) sprayed rubber plant against aphids.

Pruning
Memorial Garden
Walled Garden
Thu 26/02/2009 10:00
Thu 26/02/2009 10:30
30 minutes
Pruned the roses.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Thu 26/02/2009 10:30
Thu 26/02/2009 10:50
20 minutes

Pruning
Memorial Gardens
Walled Garden
Thu 26/02/2009 10:50
Thu 26/02/2009 12:20
1.5 hours
Finished pruning the roses.

Carting leaf mould
Memorial Gardens
Walled Garden
Thu 26/02/2009 12:15
Thu 26/02/2009 12:45
30 minutes
Fetched half a load of leaf mould from my pile in the woods. (Note 1)

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Thu 26/02/2009 12:45
Thu 26/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Carting manure
Horse field
Misc
Thu 26/02/2009 13:30
Thu 26/02/2009 14:00
30 minutes

Forking
Memorial Gardens
Walled Garden
Thu 26/02/2009 14:00
Thu 26/02/2009 15:00
1 hour Forking over one of the memorial beds

Shopping
Garden centre Misc
Thu 26/02/2009 15:00
Thu 26/02/2009 15:45
45 minutes
Went for some bone meal and pelleted chicken manure.

Forking
Memorial Gardens
Walled Garden
Thu 26/02/2009 15:45
Thu 26/02/2009 16:30
45 minutes
Finished off forking over the memorial garden rose beds.

Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed Potting
Thu 26/02/2009 16:30
Thu 26/02/2009 16:50
20 minutes

Office work
Home
Misc
Thu 26/02/2009 16:50
Thu 26/02/2009 17:00
10 minutes
Sent off for a tree and shrub catalogue.

NOTE
1) There are two rose beds in the memorial gardens so just for a bit of fun I’ve forked in some horse manure as with the rest of the rose beds and the other I’m going to top dress it with leaf mould and a dressing of pelleted chicken manure and bone meal, all forked in of course. The latter option being much easier than the first, especially as I didn’t HAVE to cart the leaf mould to apply the feed had I not wanted too. I just want to see if horse manure is as good as people say it is. It certainly needs to give better results to make it worthwhile all the extra time and effort it takes to apply it.


COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
Sara I think the rose borders would look much better planted up with perennials all flowing over the stone walk ways. You could still have some roses in there if you wanted.
EB I wish you were my boss as I’m sure the gardens would be far more interesting. I agree, six months of the year the rose garden is stark and even when in flower it never looks especially tidy and then you have all the usual black spot problems. I’ve seen them under planted with lavender and they look better for it.
Jeanette It sounds to me like you’re doing pretty much the right thing. I give ours a light prune in the summer after flowering. When people dead head roses they tend to go round snipping off each individual flower but I find the best way is to prune back the whole stem at one go about 2 or 3 buds down from the old flower which is sort of giving it a light prune. This is also the way to dead head Dahlia’s too, don’t just snip off the old flower or you end up with a lot of dead stalks.
The Weaver of Grass Spring did seem closer at the beginning of the week but it’s felt quite a bit colder today – the body warmer was back on! I don’t mind climbing roses too much. They aren’t so back breaking and they can look good trained on a wall or even left to ramble up in to a tree.

Orchid Tent.

I noticed this morning that a couple of the orchids are sending up flower spikes, one was so far advanced that it was in need of staking. I think this is best done sooner rather than later as I've actually broke one off in the past when it was almost ready to flower which was quite a nuisance. I'm no expert on orchids so the above is just my own feelings on the matter. I have noticed that they do like to be kept quite warm. I used to try and grow them just in the greenhouse but found they didn't so well and went almost yellow in the winter so I made this tent like contraption to house them in the winter. If you look at the first picture you will see three yellow strips running along the back and down the side. These stips are heated cables and go all the way round the sides and also on the bottom of the box. They are connected to a thermstat which is set to 25C and the orchids are now much happier.
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Here is a longer view of the tent open to give accesss to the plants.
And here it is closed up, I would sometimes like to climb in there myself and pull down the curtain on the cold and damp!

Forking The Rose Beds

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

High Force waterfall

Cronkley Farm

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 4C
Temp High: 11C
Feels Like: -1 to 7C
Precipitation: 0 mm
Wind Speed: 30 mph
Wind Direction: W
UV Index: Low
Weather: Increasing cloud.

MY WORK BOOK

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Wed 25/02/2009 08:30
Wed 25/02/2009 08:50
20 minutes
Checked and counted the sheep.

Pruning
Rose garden
Walled Garden
Wed 25/02/2009 08:50
Wed 25/02/2009 10:35
1.75 hours
Finished off pruning the roses in the rose garden.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Wed 25/02/2009 10:35
Wed 25/02/2009 10:55
20 minutes

Pruning
Rose garden
Walled Garden
Wed 25/02/2009 10:55
Wed 25/02/2009 12:45
110 minutes
Forking over the rose beds fetching and adding manure as I go.

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Wed 25/02/2009 12:45
Wed 25/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Forking
Rose Garden
Walled Garden
Wed 25/02/2009 13:30
Wed 25/02/2009 16:45
3.25 hours
Finished off forking over the rose beds.

Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Wed 25/02/2009 16:45
Wed 25/02/2009 17:00
15 minutes

See to the bins
Hall
Wed 25/02/2009 17:00
Wed 25/02/2009 17:15
15 minutes
Put out 3 black bins from the hall, 1 from Franks and 1 from Pumpend.


COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
Sara Knowing dogs I think they would either totally ignore it or do something really funny with the sheep. We have one dog that goes mad when she sees another dog on the TV yet the other two dogs don’t take the slightest bit of notice of anything that goes off on the TV.
EB I know y’all going to pull faces now but to be honest I can’t say I like roses very much. They just don’t do anything for me – except make me walk like a cripple. I don’t know the names of the ones growing at work, the ones in the rose garden are HT roses and by the look of them they are quite old. If I had to grow roses myself I would probably go more for the old English type.

Greenhouses

Today I will show some pics of the greenhouse, there is no special reason for this other than I’ve been asked a couple of questions about the greenhouses of late also I mentioned the other day that there is quite a bit of work you can be doing in the greenhouse if you have one.
This first picture is the cool part of the greenhouse, I keep this part about 5 degrees above freezing during the winter. At the moment there are mainly a few pot plants in to give a bit of colour but as things warm up these will be moved out in to the conservatory and this house will be used to bring on summer bedding plants and Tomatoes.

This house is the warm house and the temp is kept around 15C in here all through the winter. This is where I keep house plants that like a bit more heat. Later on these plants will also go in to the conservatory and I will grow melons and cucumbers in here, also the orchids will be in here too. At the moment they are in a heated propagator where I can keep the temps up around 25C.


I got my car back from the garage tonight, it’s been in to get a service and have the brakes done. Unfortunately I didn’t get the bill yet as they didn’t have it ready tonight when I went to pick it up. You probably wonder why that’s unfortunate but really I would rather know what the damage is than spend time guessing what it might be.

Chitting

I know I said that I would show you how I’m training the Quince tree but I will have to postpone that for a little while as I didn’t have time to get the pictures yet. With the weather being so nice I’ve been making the most of it and getting stuck in to pruning and tidying up the rose garden.

Instead of the tree training I will show you a couple of pics of the seed potatoes I have set out for chitting on the potting shed bench. By doing this your potatoes will have a head start when you plant them out. Early varieties will crop earlier and more heavily if chitted. You just need to set them out in a light, cool but frost free place a few weeks before planting.


Also here is a picture of what I think is a nice Primula that I have in a pot in the cool greenhouse.

Rose Pruning.

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

Wynch Bridge

Some Pennine art work.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 3C
Temp High: 12C
Feels Like: -1 to 9C
Precipitation: 0 mm
Wind Speed: 27 mph
Wind Direction: W
UV Index: Low
Weather: Bright and mild.

MY WORK BOOK
See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Tue 24/02/2009 08:30
Tue 24/02/2009 08:50
20 minutes
Took across some hay, checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouse work
Conservatory, Greenhouse
Tue 24/02/2009 08:50
Tue 24/02/2009 09:40
50 minutes
Watered all the plants with liquid feed.

Pruning
Rose Garden
Walled Garden
Tue 24/02/2009 09:40
Tue 24/02/2009 10:30
50 minutes
Made a start on pruning the roses.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Tue 24/02/2009 10:30
Tue 24/02/2009 10:45
15 minutes

Pruning
Rose Garden
Walled Garden
Tue 24/02/2009 10:45
Tue 24/02/2009 12:45
2 hours As well as pruning the roses I also top dressed the borders with manure and forked them over. (Note 1)

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Tue 24/02/2009 12:45
Tue 24/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Pruning
Rose Garden
Walled Garden
Tue 24/02/2009 13:30
Tue 24/02/2009 16:40
190 minutes
As before I also top dressed with manure and forked over the borders as I went.

Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Tue 24/02/2009 16:40
Tue 24/02/2009 17:00
20 minutes

NOTES
1) A woman in the village keeps a horse in one of the fields belonging to the estate so I fetch the manure from her with my tractor as and when I want it.

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
Matron The water always reminds me of Guinness whenever I see it. Its very nice soft water to the touch too.
Red Clover I don’t have too much trouble getting the seeds to germinate (except for Jacaranda trees) I think the worse problem at this time of the year is damping off after the seeds have germinated. You can treat the compost to stop this but I can’t say it works that well so I tend to water very carefully and pick out the seedlings as soon as I can then there is no more trouble. The best way to get seeds to germinate is to do as it says on the packet if you have one. Its seems the fashion these days to cover the seeds with Vermiculite or similar but I never find any advantage to this and just used fine compost being very careful not to bury the seeds too deep, just a thin covering is all it takes.
Jeanette I thought just the same thing when you were getting ready for your spring too. I hope the weather keeps on getting better now, it’s been like spring today. I haven’t had my body warmer on all week and today I even took off my jacket. Of course after all those weeks on 2C max it now feels like a heat wave with temps of 12C although to you that would be cold no doubt.

Planting The Quince.

Today the weather was plenty good enough to plant the Quince tree that came the other week. I thought the boss might have let it grow as a tree in the open but it turns out he wants it training as an espalier against the west wall of the walled garden. So first of all I dug the square hole as is the fashion these days and then worked plenty of compost in to the bottom before positioning the tree.

The tree wants planting to the depth it was before being dug up at the nursery. If you can't see where that is then just be sure not to bury it so deep that the union where the tree was grafted to the root stock is buried. As a rough guide to getting the depth right I lay the spade across the hole to give me an idea of what the soil level will be when the hole is filled in.

Take a few minutes to look at the tree and work out which is its best side and how you plan on training the branches. Once you have it how you think is best stand back and take a long look. Its best to take your time and do the job right because the tree is going to be there for a long time.

Next you have to back fill the soil, I mix a good amount of compost in with the soil as I go and keep on firming with my foot. Keep checking the depth of the tree, if it looks like it's going in a bit deep just gently ease it up to the right level and then firm with the foot again. Keep doing this until you have all the soil back in around the tree and make one more check to be sure you haven't buried the join of the tree and root stock.

Tomorrow I will show you how to train the tree.

Bob.

Planting The Quince.

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

My first view of Middleton In Teesdale.

Not the best picture but it wasn't the best of days.

Low Force.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 4C
Temp High: 12C
Feels Like: 2 to 9C
Precipitation: 0 mm
Wind Speed: 30 mph
Wind Direction: NW
UV Index: Low
Weather: Bright and mild.

MY WORK BOOK
See to the logs and coal
Cellar
Hall
Mon 23/02/2009 08:50
Mon 23/02/2009 09:20
30 minutes
Took in 5 baskets of logs and 1 bucket of coal.

Took F's car to the garage
Private
Mon 23/02/2009 09:20
Mon 23/02/2009 10:00
40 minutes
Had to take Fs car to garage. The time I worked at the weekend will cover time spent away from work.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Mon 23/02/2009 10:00
Mon 23/02/2009 10:20
20 minutes

See to the greenhouses
Greenhouses
Greenhouse, Conservatory
Mon 23/02/2009 10:20
Mon 23/02/2009 11:00
40 minutes

Planting the Quince tree
West Wall
Walled Garden
Mon 23/02/2009 11:00
Mon 23/02/2009 12:45
1.75 hours
Also made a start on fixing the wires to the wall where the tree is to be trained as an espalier

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Mon 23/02/2009 12:45
Mon 23/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Finished wiring the west wall
West Wall
Walled Garden
Mon 23/02/2009 13:30
Mon 23/02/2009 15:00
1.5 hours
Finished wiring and tied in the Quince tree.

Renewed the ties on the Apricot tree
Conservatory
Mon 23/02/2009 15:00
Mon 23/02/2009 15:15
15 minutes
Some ties were cutting in to the wood so removed them and tied in with new string.

Sow seeds
Potting Shed
Mon 23/02/2009 15:15
Mon 23/02/2009 16:15
1 hour Sowed leeks, chilli peppers and cucumbers.

Sowed seeds
Veg Garden
Walled Garden
Mon 23/02/2009 16:15
Mon 23/02/2009 16:30
15 minutes
Sowed a row of radish under a cloche.

Cleaned and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Mon 23/02/2009 16:30
Mon 23/02/2009 16:45
15 minutes

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
salina Well I can’t say that any such occasion is harmonious, I usually end up feeling like I’ve been stitched up one way or another.
Jeanette Yes it’s much warmer now, no more ice to break, hopefully it will stay that way now. I thought I would give the menu a break, I don’t want to go getting the food police over excited.

Some Jobs For Week 8

Hello everyone. This week in UK and gardeners with a likewise climate can attend to the following work.
There is a lot of greenhouse work to be done with the sowing of half-hardy annuals such as antirrhinum, Begonia semperflorens, cosmea, lobelia, marigolds, nicotiana, and petunia to name but a few. If not already done you can now bring dahlia tubers out of store if you wish to increase your stock from cuttings. Place in a box and cover the tubers with peat or old compost and set out in a warm greenhouse and soon they will start to put out shoots for cuttings. This week is the time to make an early sowing of celery. If you aren’t able to maintain a temperature of between 16 to 18C during the germination period then this may be a job that is better left for a little while. Make a sowing of maincrop tomatoes for growing on in the greenhouse through the summer. If you have a warm sheltered place in the veg garden you can make a sowing of turnips. As with a lot of veg its better to make small sowings at regular intervals of about two weeks rather than one big sowing which will probably end up being mostly wasted. It’s now getting plenty late enough for buying and planting bare rooted shrubs and trees so if you plan on doing that this year be sure to give the job your full attention this week. Anyone who has grass to cut needs to get out the lawn mower and make sure everything is working as it should. This job should really have been done before now as the mower shops will already have plenty of work on servicing equipment so if you aren’t sure about the condition of your mower you need to check it out pretty darn quickly.
Bob.

Meet With The Boss.

MY WORK BOOK

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Fri 20/02/2009 08:30
Fri 20/02/2009 08:50
20 minutes
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.

Check round the greenhouses
Conservatory, Greenhouse
Fri 20/02/2009 08:50
Fri 20/02/2009 09:00
10 minutes

Fill the log box
Hall
Fri 20/02/2009 09:00
Fri 20/02/2009 09:30
30 minutes

Meet with the bosses
Hall
Misc
Fri 20/02/2009 09:30
Fri 20/02/2009 10:30
1 hour

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Fri 20/02/2009 10:30
Fri 20/02/2009 10:50
20 minutes

Digging
West shrub border
Walled Garden
Fri 20/02/2009 10:50
Fri 20/02/2009 12:45
115 minutes

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Fri 20/02/2009 12:45
Fri 20/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Digging
West shrub border
Walled Garden
Fri 20/02/2009 13:30
Fri 20/02/2009 16:45
3.25 hours

Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Fri 20/02/2009 16:45
Fri 20/02/2009 17:00
15 minutes

Peas, Beans & Beetroot.

Peas, Broad Beans and Beetroot growing on in the conservatory.

Hopefully these will provide an early crop after being planted out in the garden once the weather picks up.

Bindweed, Knotweed.

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

Looking back across the moors

The Hiking Gardener taking a rest at Blackton Bridge, 10 miles down, 11 more to go to camp.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 2C
Temp High: 9C
Feels Like: 3 to 6C
Precipitation: 2 mm
Wind Speed: 30 mph
Wind Direction: NW
UV Index: Low
Weather: Damp, grey and gloomy.

MY WORK BOOK

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Thu 19/02/2009 08:30
Thu 19/02/2009 08:50
20 minutes

Empty the mole trap
Tower cottage
Public Gardens
Thu 19/02/2009 08:50
Thu 19/02/2009 09:00
10 minutes

See to the greenhouses
Greenhouse Conservatory,
Thu 19/02/2009 09:00
Thu 19/02/2009 10:00
1 hour
Tidied up a few more plants, mostly Geraniums.

Digging
Fruit Garden
Walled Garden
Thu 19/02/2009 10:00
Thu 19/02/2009 10:30
30 minutes

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Thu 19/02/2009 10:30
Thu 19/02/2009 10:45
15 minutes

Digging
Fruit Garden
Walled Garden
Thu 19/02/2009 10:45
Thu 19/02/2009 12:45
2 hours
Carried on from where I left off yesterday.

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Thu 19/02/2009 12:45
Thu 19/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Digging
Fruit Garden
Walled Garden
Thu 19/02/2009 13:30
Thu 19/02/2009 16:00
2.5 hours
Finished off digging out the bindweed from the soft fruit garden. Also pruned the Gooseberries.

Cleaned and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Thu 19/02/2009 16:00
Thu 19/02/2009 16:20
20 minutes

Taking cuttings
Potting Shed
Thu 19/02/2009 16:20
Thu 19/02/2009 16:50
30 minutes
Took some Geranium and Busy Lizzie cuttings.

See to the bins
Hall
Thu 19/02/2009 16:50
Thu 19/02/2009 17:00
10 minutes
There was nothing to put out so just returned Franks green bin.

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
Sara Posting the pics of the trail brings it all back to me, its tough walking the trail and even tougher being away from your family but there is something very special about doing it.
Jeanette I met up with Vicki two days walk further along the trail from the Tan Hill Inn. I already pruned the Fuchsia’s this Year but I will see if I can find the old pics for you sometime.
The Weaver of Grass Ha ha – you’re right about that, it’s far easier to get rid of Japanese Knotweed than bindweed. What I’m doing is just a gesture and I realise that. The only way to beat it is to spend all summer spaying everything in the soft fruit garden with Roundup. I don’t think that would go down to well in the big house though. I really feel for that poor farmer, what with his sweet treat ration, having to dig out the bindweed and losing the glass from the tractor cab in all that cold weather LOL!!

Bindweed & Raspberries.

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

The Tan Hill Inn, this day was going to be one of none stop rain, thankfully after my night indoors I at least started the day dry.

God's Bridge.

A natural rock bridge close by the A66 trans Pennine trunk road.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 1C
Temp High: 11C
Feels Like: -1 to 9C
Precipitation: 2 mm
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind Direction: NW
UV Index: Low
Weather: Damp, grey and gloomy.

MY WORK BOOK

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Wed 18/02/2009 08:30
Wed 18/02/2009 08:45
15 minutes

Dead head the Pansies
Anywhere
Wed 18/02/2009 08:45
Wed 18/02/2009 09:05
20 minutes

See to the greenhouses
Greenhouse
Wed 18/02/2009 09:05
Wed 18/02/2009 10:05
1 hour
1) Moved the Peas and Bean in to the conservatory.
2) Pruned the Fuchsia’s.

See to the logs and coal
Cellar
Hall
Wed 18/02/2009 10:05
Wed 18/02/2009 10:35
30 minutes
Took in 4 baskets of logs and 1 bucket of coal.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Wed 18/02/2009 10:30
Wed 18/02/2009 10:50
20 minutes

Digging
Fruit Plot
Walled Garden
Wed 18/02/2009 10:50
Wed 18/02/2009 12:50
2 hours
Forking out Bindweed in the Raspberries.

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Wed 18/02/2009 12:45
Wed 18/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Digging
Fruit Plot
Walled Garden
Wed 18/02/2009 13:30
Wed 18/02/2009 16:30
3 hours

Clean and put away the tools
Potting shed
Wed 18/02/2009 16:30
Wed 18/02/2009 16:45
15 minutes

See to the bins
Hall
Misc
Wed 18/02/2009 16:45
Wed 18/02/2009 17:00
15 minutes
Put out Franks green bin.

NOTES
1) Spent all day forking out Bindweed from amongst the Raspberries. They are really bad and every year have a go at digging out as much as I can. The conditions are not good for doing it at the moment but I’m worried that if I wait for the conditions to improve there will be too many other jobs to do so it will get missed. Anyway if I bend my back again today it will snap in too. Below is SOME of the bindweed I dug out today.


COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
Sara I should think you would get a mole trap from the farm store where you went the other day, I’m sure the dogs would love another visit.
EB Unfortunately I can’t show pictures of the gardens on here but what I do for people who are interested is send a few pics by email so if you would like that send me an address to the address in my profile and I will pick a few pics of the grounds and house to show you. The Conservatory is an old Victorian one as is the greenhouse. The conservatory is not in such good order and has been neglected by the owners, the greenhouse is okay though. I have two forms of heating for the greenhouse but none for the conservatory although I do sneak a bit in when it’s extremely cold. The greenhouse is in two part and I have an electric heater for each part. One half is kept from freezing and the other half is kept between 10C and 15C. If it’s really cold as with these past few weeks I have a propane heater for the warmer half of the house as this maintains the higher temperature better.
salina I’m only busy at work, I’m quite lazy at home I’m afraid to say.
Kimmie Ha ha – I know what you mean about the mice, they always seem to find nice warm places to go and die just so they can stink the place out better.

Tan Hill Inn

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY
Looking back to Keld.

Approaching the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in England. I got a room here for the night to try and dry out some of my thing.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 5C
Temp High: 12C
Feels Like: 5 to 8C
Precipitation: 0 mm
Wind Speed: 27 mph
Wind Direction: NW
UV Index: Low
Weather: Dry and bright.

MY WORK BOOK


See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Tue 17/02/2009 08:30
Tue 17/02/2009 08:45
15 minutes
Checked and counted the sheep

See to the greenhouses
Greenhouse & Conservatory
Indoors
Tue 17/02/2009 08:45
Tue 17/02/2009 10:30
1.75 hours
1) Did some potting up.
2) Took off some dead leaves.
3) Took some cuttings off a couple of Geraniums
4) Sprayed Geraniums with a fungicide

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Tue 17/02/2009 10:30
Tue 17/02/2009 10:45
15 minutes

Digging
Veg Garden
Walled Garden
Tue 17/02/2009 10:45
Tue 17/02/2009 12:45
2 hours

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Tue 17/02/2009 12:45
Tue 17/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Digging
Veg Garden
Walled Garden
Tue 17/02/2009 13:30
Tue 17/02/2009 16:45
3.25 hours
Dug out the bean trench and between one row of Raspberries

Clean and put away the tools
Potting shed
Indoors
Tue 17/02/2009 16:45
Tue 17/02/2009 17:00
15 minutes

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
Sara Yes for sure I caught a mole, I caught one last week as well in the same trap. I found this picture of the sort of trap I use and if you don’t believe me I will try and find the last mole for you and take a picture of that too.

Annie Wicking Yes the moors are a great place, no one to bother you.
EB That’s the trouble with them, they’re harmless enough and do a good job in some respects and I just remove the mole hills for a while in the hope they will go somewhere else but when the boss starts saying something I have to do something about it.
The Weaver of Grass I don’t usually have much trouble catching moles, sometimes they fill the trap a few times but eventually they slip up. I only catch them if my job depends on it as I don’t really like to kill things. When me and my mate were kids we used to go round farms trapping moles, they gave us 10 pence a mole. We only caught them in winter so every night after school we would set off in the dark walking round all the farms looking if our traps had been sprung. Then on weekends we would move the traps as that’s when we could see them properly. We never missed a day checking the traps.
Keld is a nice place and in the past I’ve always stopped at the farm there as its a nice place to camp but this time I had to press on to Tan Hill as the next day to Middleton was a long one as it was.

Repairing Lawns.

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

Which Way?

East Gill Force, Keld.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: 4C
Temp High: 11C
Feels Like: -1 to 7C
Precipitation: 0 mm
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind Direction: NW
UV Index: Low
Weather: Dry and bright.

MY WORK BOOK

Seeing to the sheep
Field
Misc
Mon 16/02/2009 08:30
Mon 16/02/2009 08:50
20 minutes
1) Took across some hay
2) Put out some minerals.
3) Checked and counted the sheep.

Moving plants.
Greenhouse & Conservatory
Indoors
Mon 16/02/2009 08:50
Mon 16/02/2009 10:00
70 minutes
Fill log box
Hall
Misc
Mon 16/02/2009 10:00
Mon 16/02/2009 10:40
40 minutes
Took in 8 baskets of logs.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Mon 16/02/2009 10:40
Mon 16/02/2009 11:00
20 minutes
Empty and reset the mole trap
Tower cottage
Public Gardens
Mon 16/02/2009 11:00
Mon 16/02/2009 11:15
15 minutes

Harrow the gravel
North Front
Public Gardens
Mon 16/02/2009 11:15
Mon 16/02/2009 11:55
40 minutes

Remove the mole hills
Tower cottage
Public Gardens
Mon 16/02/2009 11:55
Mon 16/02/2009 12:15
20 minutes

Put the grass right outside our window
Garage Lawn
Public Gardens
Mon 16/02/2009 12:15
Mon 16/02/2009 12:45
30 minutes

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Mon 16/02/2009 12:45
Mon 16/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Put the grass right
Office Lawn
Public Gardens
Mon 16/02/2009 13:30
Mon 16/02/2009 14:30
1 hour

Prune the roses on the east wall
Long Dahlia Border
Walled Garden
Mon 16/02/2009 14:30
Mon 16/02/2009 15:00
30 minutes

Digging
Long Dahlia Border
Walled Garden
Mon 16/02/2009 15:00
Mon 16/02/2009 16:45
1.75 hours

Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Indoors
Mon 16/02/2009 16:45
Mon 16/02/2009 17:00
15 minutes

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED
Annie Wicking I’m afraid that the other day I was joking with you all, the picture was an old one I had saved and it was just meant to be a fun thing with the shark.
Matron Someone sent me the pic years ago and when I saw your garden I couldn’t resist using it.
EB I can’t really say about the flood in the picture because as I say it was just a fun thing I had and not really from around here.
The Weaver of Grass I don’t know if there are minerals in the snow or not, I suppose there will be stuff in it that it collected on its way to earth.
Jeanette There are no doubt some that would welcome the flood and the shark, at least they would probably still have a home even if it were a bit wet.

Busy People.

Have you noticed that these days everyone is too busy? Some are 'too busy' to even be polite it seems.

We often hear of people talk about renewable energy, unlike energy time is not renewable, time is a precious thing in limited supply So tell me....

Well, whatever you do besure to make time for your family and friends.
Bob.

Water Problems.

Yesterday I posted a picture of the thaw such as it is so today I'm going to recommend you take a visit to Matron's blog and see what its gone and done to her garden. Here is the link to it http://veggies-only.blogspot.com/ As you will see its not much good for gardening in although from what Matron says Buddy has been getting in some practise for next years Dancing On Ice TV show. Anyway go take a look for yourselves, its the post for February 12th. Of course, as bad as it might seem its not half as bad as it is here up in the north of the country, just take a look at the picture below to see the situation on our road afternoon!

(Click to enlarge)

The Thaw

The Thaw

Quince Arrives

Today I took delivery of the new Quince tree that I ordered from Blackmoor Nurseries http://www.blackmoor.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=418 Everything arrived in good order as can be expected from this company. The important thing with any living plants is to unpack it straight away and if the roots of trees are dry stand them in a bucket of water for a while. In this case it wasn't needed as the roots were still damp.

The unboxed tree, the plastic bag helped to keep the roots moist.
Had the weather been right for planting I would have done so straight away but the ground still had a covering of snow and ice so I planted it up in to a pot for safe keeping until the weather is right for planting.
This variety is a Meeches Prolific and has "beautiful flowers and large pear shaped fruits. Makes delicious jellies and pie fillings when combined with apples or jelly or marmalade when used on their own. Pick fruits in October. Self-fertile".

More Pennine Wet.

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURE FOR TODAY

More wetness, this time on the Cheviot Hills.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
Temp Low: -4C
Temp High: 2C
Feels Like: -7 to 0C
Precipitation: 3 mm
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind Direction: NW
UV Index: Low
Weather: Overcast with snow.

MY WORK BOOK

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Thu 12/02/2009 08:30
Thu 12/02/2009 09:00
30 minutes
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
3) Removed the ice from the water trough.

Checked round the greenhouses
Greenhouse & Conservatory
Indoors
Thu 12/02/2009 09:00
Thu 12/02/2009 09:30
30 minutes
Did some watering.

Cleaning
Home
Misc
Thu 12/02/2009 09:30
Thu 12/02/2009 10:30
1 hour
Removed another set of brass door fittings and cleaned up.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Thu 12/02/2009 10:30
Thu 12/02/2009 11:00
30 minutes

See to the bin Hall
Misc
Thu 12/02/2009 10:50
Thu 12/02/2009 11:10
20 minutes
Put the black bins back

Cleaning
Home
Misc
Thu 12/02/2009 11:10
Thu 12/02/2009 12:45
95 minutes
Removed, cleaned and refitted the rest of the brass door fittings.

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Thu 12/02/2009 12:45
Thu 12/02/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Tidying up
Greenhouse
Indoors
Thu 12/02/2009 13:30
Thu 12/02/2009 16:45
3.25 hours
Had a good clear out in the greenhouse. Tidied up all the plants and cleared out under the benches and scrubbed the floor.

See to the bins
Hall
Misc
Thu 12/02/2009 16:45
Thu 12/02/2009 17:00
15 minutes
Put out the recycle tubs.

Water Path!

MY PENNINE WAY PICTURES FOR TODAY

Here are some more reality pictures for you

It wasn't just feet that were forever wet.

Even when you thought you were on solid ground you coudn't rely on it, below is one such trap. The ground was so boggy that this particular stone had sunk in to the mud, you couldn't tell until you stood on it and then you find you can't walk on water by which time your leg is in two feet of water and you're fast on your way to being a sorry heap on the ground wondering where the ground went.

Water path!