Still in the Greenhouse

 

Taking me longer than I thought !  I'm still clearing out the Tomato plants , pulling out the "grow pot-bags" , tipping out the spent compost and folding and putting them away for another year . 

It's a job that I had thought would only take me ten minutes . I've been up in the greenhouse for most of the morning .

 It's been a horrible mucky task and my back is telling me to stop now , after my spine injury last year and a week in hospital , I really don't want that to happen again .

Ricardo will wheel this down to one of the vegetable beds for me , I'll spread it all out and let the worms do the work for me .

               One odd shaped cucumber for sandwiches !

I finished off greenhouse operations with a bit of a sweep and that's my lot for today !

         Ricardo has done a great job of cutting the grass in the meadow .

We've had a few hefty rain showers over night . The water-barrels are full and the grass is growing away fast again after the long dry summer  . 

               It's sunny and breezy today 🌤️hope you are having a great week .

                              Peace and Love 🕊️🤍

                                            love Debbie 💐x

                               

🌿Another Day in the Greenhouse 🌵🌿

 It is so refreshing to be able to see into my greenhouse now the tomato plants have been cleared from the bench !

              Leuchtenbergia principis    and hang on ....have a look at the label ...

                  Passiflora manicata the one with a lovely red flowers  .

I want to train it horizontaly along the greenhouse window . I need to fix up some support for it . I think it should be o.k and look great there  . It will need a much bigger pot eventually .  I'm still thinking about it . It might be a better idea to put it into a tub below the bench , and have it grow up through the bench and then fix up some horizontal support .

  Anyway , that's a Turmeric plant next to it . I think both of these will die back and go dormant over the Winter months .

   ⭐  Bowiea volubilis - her tiny star flowers now forming little cone shaped seed pods .⭐

                                 Another Cucumber swelling up !

                            I will be clearing under the bench next. 

            All is well in the greenhouse .🌵🌿

I am off to pull out the lawnmower and tidy the labyrinth .  

                     Make it a great weekend !

                                   Peace and Love 🕊️🤍

                                            love Debbie 💐x

Goodbye Tomato Plants

 

                      Today's the day ! Out with the Tomato plants !

Time to make space for all my cacti and other plants . Growing on the bench but below the tomato plants , they have all been nicely shaded from this summer's hot sun .

I gave them all a little drink and enjoyed looking closer at them all .

          Especially this Maihueniopsis clavarioides .

Another very precious one I bought from Mr Pilbeam of "Connoisseur Cacti " .

   Mine must be more than ten years now .

  It is extrememy slow growing and perfectly hidden in amongst the rocks .

It comes from very high altitude regions of Argentina . Has a large tap root and is a creeping form . 

I have yet to see it bloom . I think it has large yellow flowers .

I need to make a new plant label for it .

Lophophora williamsii also has a long tap root and it looks as if I missed this one blooming under all the tomato plants ! 

                 New plant labels all round I think . I can't even read this one ! 

                               Anyone know what this one is ?  

                    Haworthia truncata is a fascinating plant .

                     It is beginning to put up flower buds !

Tomorrow I will clear the remaining parts of the tomato plants under the bench .

I'm going to leave the Cucumbers for a bit longer as they are still producing fruits .

  Room on the bench for my Pelargoniums / Geraniums now and I am starting to bring in some of my more tender plants .

Start gathering fleece and newspapers ready to cover things on cold nights .

                  Cheerio fer now !  Peace and Love 🕊️🤍

                             Make it a great weekend !

                                        Love Debbie 💐x

      

Autumn has Arrived 🍂🍃🍁

Well it certainly is "back to school after the Summer holibobs" kind of weather !

                                      The fog has returned !

              ..... and the puddle where I wash my muddy wellies .

              I need to start wearing my wellies now ! Need new socks !

 Are you all wearing your new ( or hand me down ) winter school uniforms and your new slightly bigger shoes to allow for growing ?

    Did your mum sew name tags in everything ? Dinner money and tuck money or a lovely new trendy lunch box maybe ? 

Your favourite old pencil case with some new pencils, rubber, felt tip pens , compass and protractor set ? Satchel or backpack ? P.E Kit + plimsolls  , recorder ,violin or guitar maybe ? A pocket full of sweeties ?   Signed permission slip to go see the Bayeux Tapestry ?   😄

Yes , the fog has returned . It's not cold though , still quite mild .

Not such a good apple harvest this year , but these Russet Apples are looking good and are my favourite . Taste like honey .

               The Christmas potatoes are coming on in leaps and bounds !

It was very windy the other day and the beans did not like it ! Still a few more beans to come though .

              Lots of sparkling cobwebs everywhere .

              Lovely Hops this year ! I will pick these for a sleep pillow .

 One very important Autumn job - we had the chimney swept .

 The sweep will be coming back to put up a new cowl as this one has holes in it !

I'm surprised it didn't come off during Storm Gorretti !  ⛈️🌩️🌩️🌧️😱

We are clearing brambles today and a rose that has got a bit out of control !

        All fer now !   Hope your walk to school is not too far or puddley !

                              Make it a great day !

                                        Peace and Love 🕊️🤍

 

                                                 love Debbie 💐x

 

Back to School , Autumn Term

 Yes ,"our lot" go back tomorrow . I had to do a few minor repairs to this school blazer .  It hadn't been ripped in action exactly ; the lining had been machine stitched too close to the edge and the silk lining seams had simply come apart . This made it very awkward to stitch , since I could not get my hand underneath the lining .

        I am not feeling very well today , no gardening . 

               Happy to sit back on my bed and get this done .

I tried my best with this repair operation and on returning it , the owner said he was very happy . 😄 

So then we took our picnic over to Helston Boating Lake Coronation Park . We sat and watched hundreds of swallows swooping across the lake . It is very humid and misty and I wouldn't be surprised if we hear some thunder later .

                            Peace and Love 🕊️🤍

                                    love Debbie 💐x

Allium ampeloprasum var . babingtonii 🧅 Allium x cepa var viviparum bulbiferum or proliferum 🧅

 

             Allium ampeloprasum -the ancient wild leek -

    More commonly known here , as the Cornish Leek .

 Found growing around ancient settlements , Cornish Hedges and meadows . Pops up where ever it pleases  . Here it is in my garden !

 It propagates itself by the whole stalk collapsing down under the weight of the bulbils / tiny baby onions which form at the top of a very long stalk . About four foot tall / 1m or thereabouts . This one is taller than me , I'm 5ft 2" .

   So down they fall to the ground , some distance from the mother plant  , where they all then take root  .  🧅🧅🧅

Today I'm busy propagating Cornish Leeks and Egyptian Onions .

Cornish Leeks - Allium ampeloprasum var . babingtonii  - so much easier to call them Cornish or Wild Leeks .....and they do grow in other parts of the U.K too .

Not rare , but sometimes hard to find .

Today I have harvested mine ....also my Egyptian Walking Onions , which are a similar thing . A perennial onion , a useful thing to have in a spare corner of the vegetable garden .  It is good to have some perennial vegetables , just in case . 

 Not as good as modern varieties , but edible and we really shouldn't let them die out .

        

 So off to the shed we go !

I grow them because they fascinate me  .

At this time of the year the bulbils are just about ready and easy to simply pop away from the tops .

           I make up a few labels . Pencil is the best thing to use . It lasts .

       Cornish Leeks- Wild Leeks - Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii

    Look at this ! Some of the bulbils have tiny shoots already !

 I pop in one or two per cell ......

          ......and cover very lightly with a mixture of compost and perlite .

    I'm not going to water these for a couple of days , just incase I have damaged them as I pulled them apart . Very important not to damage the base plate , where the new roots come from . I just need to be sure they have calloused over so they don't rot .

     Right I have to get back to it ! Cheerio for now !

                               The Sun is shining !   ☀️

                           Peace and Love 💐Debbie x