Banana Plant Number Two - Winter protection - Cornwall

                           Musa enseti maurelii
                    O.k. Banana number two I'm coming to get you !

                 Being careful not to damage the beautiful leaves .

I carefully loosen the earth around the roots . It is mostly soft compost that I planted it in with back in the early summer time and it had the fresh compost that I gave it to over-winter in last autumn .

I get the wheelbarrow as close as I can to the rootball . I try to get as much of the earth and rootball as I can without damaging the roots if possible .

                                Done !   😜     That was one heavy beast ! 

I plant it up into a nice mix of fresh good quality compost and perlite and watered it in .

   This will give it a boost and it can be getting it's roots down and settling into it before the cold weather starts . 

I have old polystyrene packaging under and around the tubs . If we get an Arctic Blast or snow warning I will lash more polystyrene around the front . 

  There is light above through the clear plastic corrugated roof.

                                     Mission complete 🌴🐒💚

                               Musa basjoo - survived Storm Gorretti !

    Musa basjoo is staying out - I have a cloche to put over it , if need be .

                                       🍌🐒🌴

So then feeling very pleased with myself ..... I got a bit carried away with pruning overgrown bushes  .......and this is as far as I got !

                I'll come back to it tomorrow !

      Other news -  My Everlasting Onions arrived 🤩

                                       Beautifully packed !

    

                    Good root system .

I got them potted up into a better pot and clearly labelled them so no one will take them for spring onions . I want to build up a nice colony of these Everlasting Onions before we start taking them .

My Red Welsh Onion seeds also arrived and I have sown a first batch  . 

  These are also useful in that they clump up . I hope these will be successful . 

Tomorrow I must sort out some more Winter Lettuce seeds and get them started . 

 Lettuce Vailan didn't germinate.....very disappointed . Oh well ...If at first you don't succeed ...try again tomorrow . 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱

Off for our afternoon walk and a picnic now . I'll probably fall asleep in the car !

                                           Peace and Love 🕊️🤍

                                     See you tomorrow !

                                               love Debbie  💐x

Banana Plant Winter Care - Cornwall

 

A few more pics of our morning walk after a good breakfast .

            Didn't need a coat . Didn't need a jumper .  It was foggy but warm .

It is forecast to be warm all week  . Starting to get that Autumnal look with blackberries and silvery cobwebs glistening in the hedgerow 

.

    It soon cleared and after playing with other people's dogs ,chatting with friends and visitors along the way , we came home pleasantly tired .

 Soon revived with cups of tea , toast and orange marmalade .

  I decided to make a start bringing some of my more tender plants into their Winter shelter zones .

  Banoonaah number one - Musa ensete maurellii -  🐒🏝️🍌

 The one up on the bank .

                                    Bish ! Bash ! Bosh !

                              ......and into the wheelbarrow !

                       Then away to the woodshed ......

Where I pot it up in it's very large tub with some new compost mixed with perlite .

It is both standing on and surounded with polystyrene packaging and there is light coming in through the clear plastic corrugated roof .

  I just need to water it to settle it in . It now has some time to get it's roots down into the nice new compost before we go into Winter . 

 I don't cut leaves off , nor do I trim the roots . As we go into the colder months I hardly water it at all . I just keep it ticking over in a dormant state until late Spring .

                                    That just leaves these two .

       Musa basjoo - stays outside and I can throw a cloche over it if need be .

        

 ⭐ If you live up country , then you will have to bring this one under cover too .

   Best to see what people are doing where you are , but here in the far south west of Cornwall , Musa basjoo is fairly hardy .  It will get pretty tatty but it should recover .⭐  

This one will be next , but I just need to pace myself really and so I'll wait a few days to get my strength up again  .  Maybe tomorrow ..... see how I feel .

⭐ I forgot to say - useful tip ....after digging up your banana...dig out the hole nicely and put a bucket or large empty pot into the hole to keep it open . So it is an easier job to re-plant next year !   ⭐

             Off now for walk number two and a picnic .

                         " Everyday is a picnic day !"

                          Peace and love 🕊️🤍

                                          love Debbie 💐x

Morning Walk along the Cliffs

       Just sharing a little of our beautiful morning walk along the cliffs .  🤍

Vegetable Garden Update - end of September .

 

I made a start replenishing the earth on this bed . Nothing that I planted here did very well .  Shallots , Runner beans , Sweetcorn ....total fail ! 

I'm glad I grew lots of French beans in another bed which were successful thankfully .

  Strange clusters of miniature Sweetcorn cobs !

 These were the "Swift" variety . I'm sure they were not meant to be like these .

        Leeks, Parsley and Rhubarb are doing o.k. at the far end of the bed .

This was the spent compost from the Tomato plants in the greenhouse .

      I had to save some of this compost to earth up the potatoes in tubs , but as we go into winter I will keep topping up this bed with the usual leaves , grass clippings

etc.

This is the second lot of "spuds in tubs" and they are looking promising .

                  I think this will be the last time of earthing up .

Meanwhile in the shed .....

  Babbington Leeks are fast asleep . Egyptian Walking Onions are racing away !

I planted them all at the same time . I will be giving the Egyptian onions to anyone who'd like some in the village and the Wild Babbington Leeks will go into the hedgerow .....that's if they ever come up !  

  I can't find potato onions for sale at a sensible price anywhere , but I have found some "everlasting onion" plants and a packet of Red Welsh Onion seeds which I want to get going somewhere in the vegetable garden . 

  I have not had any success growing proper onions for several years now , so I mostly grow Leeks instead ...but I would like some of these perennial onions that keep multiplying or bunching as they say  .

Winter Lettuce "vailan " several weeks later ..... nothing ,very disappointing .

I have not grown this variety before . I should be seeing a few little shoots coming up by now .  I'll sow some more , but I think I'll go back to my old reliable favourite "Parris Island Romaine " and "Winter Density " .

             Everything else is looking fine on the shed bench .

                           And all is well in the greenhouse .

                              Hope you're having a great weekend !

                             Peace and Love 🕊️🤍

                               

                                        love Debbie  💐x

We had some Rain !

 The flowers in the garden are starting to take off now we have had some rain .

The sweet peas long finished during the drought , but the Cosmos survived and are putting on a nice show of flowers !  

     ☀️    A lovely sunny morning . I got a big basketful of laundry dry on the line .

We had the velux window above the stairs replaced . The window fitter did a brilliant job  .

            

     ........ and now it's raining ...and we don't have to worry about that rickety old window !   🌦️🌧️

Picked a lovely lot of apples and ripped my left big toe on a vicious bramble ...don't look too close ...oh my goodness did it bleed !  ☺️

                                        All fer now 

                               Peace and Love 🤍🕊️

                                         Debbie 💐x

 

Another Day in the Greenhouse 🪾

 Four little cuttings of quite a rare or at least a quite hard to find plant .

Found nice person selling cuttings at a very reasonable price , very happy me !

 Irresistibly fascinating 🧐. Extraordinarily weird 🥸 - Euphorbia platyclada .

  Madagascar is it's natural habitat . Sub-tropical and tropical dry forests . Perfectly camouflaged to look like dried up vegetation and sticks lying amongst the rocks on the woodland floor .

Anyway .....

I have potted them up in a mixture of potting compost , grit and perlite .

I have no idea how fast or slow growing they might be .

I'll be watching closely for signs of new growth .

They don't have leaves .

They do have tiny ,very simple flowers that are typical of most Euphorbias . I look forward to seeing it in bloom .

👿Also like all Euporbias - it has a poisonous , milky looking , caustic sticky sap and great care should be made in handling it .Wear gloves and do not touch eyes ...if it does come into contact with eyes ...seek medical attention immediately !👿

Apart from that , it just looks like a bunch of dead sticks ! 😀  🪾

Allow cuttings to callous over before potting them up .

Of course it is more commonly known as the Dead Stick Plant  . 

              Please ignore this label !

It is a succulent ,  not a cactus  !   I have to make another label !

So , I am left thinking .....how would I know if these cuttings don't take ? 🤔🤣

             Watch this space ! 😀 

                                   Peace and Love    🕊️🤍

                   Make it a great weekend !  Love Debbie 💐x

                                               🌤️