Moan, Moan, Moan - 2011

[Lesley Cox]

Overnight and this morning we are having gale force north west winds, but cold when they're usually warm. All the lovely Titian-coloured leaved have been torn from the now quite large copper beech and are on top of my 48 trays of bulb seedlings (20 pots to a tray) so that it will take a whole day I should think, to remove them, otherwise the young bulbs as they emerge, and many already have, will be smothered. Other trays with herbaceous and shrubby plants are also covered so that's my work for the next day or two, hopefully before it rains again and turns the leaves to mush.

The power has been going off and on again all morning as well, leaving posts here half done and having to be redone. Went to put the kettle on but nothing happened. Some eucalyptus trees are down and branches broken from pines.

[angie]

Lesley hope there isn't to much damage. I am really used to high winds here and hate it.
Hope your power is back on.

Angie

[Brian Ellis]

How annoying Leslie, here we are having the central heating replaced and the engineers are switching off water, electrictity at various times, at least we get warning!

From Woottens this morning:

"we are now dispatching our sweat pea collections"

they must have been running around a lot!

[Tony Willis]

Brian even with all that sweat it seems a bit late.

I know that Monty Don recently said there was no point in autumn sowing something I always do.

Mine are now a metre high and in bud. I always buy the seeds from Matthewman Sweetpeas. !00% germination and superb varieties.

[Anthony Darby]

Jings, just seen the weather you've had on the news Lesley. Some people had lucky escapes!

[Brian Ellis]

Brian even with all that sweat it seems a bit late.

I know that Monty Don recently said there was no point in autumn sowing something I always do.

Mine are now a metre high and in bud. I always buy the seeds from Matthewman Sweetpeas. !00% germination and superb varieties.

I presume they are potted Tony.  Yes, I like Mathewman's I normally buy them at the Royal Norfolk Show after we have given their stand a gold medal!

[Tony Willis]

Brian even with all that sweat it seems a bit late.

I know that Monty Don recently said there was no point in autumn sowing something I always do.

Mine are now a metre high and in bud. I always buy the seeds from Matthewman Sweetpeas. !00% germination and superb varieties.

I presume they are potted Tony.  Yes, I like Mathewman's I normally buy them at the Royal Norfolk Show after we have given their stand a gold medal!

Do not know I got them in this thread as it should be happy!

I germinate them mid September on kitchen towel and then grow them in white plastic cups with a drainage hole cut in them(to save money). They sit on the unheated greenhouse floor until mid March when I plant them out at which time they are making strong growth. I try to get the first flowers by the start of June.

Picture from 11th June a couple of years ago.

[Maggi Young]

I can turn the sweet pea story into a moan... why have the boffins not yet come up with a working scent button for computers?
 It would be the single best advance in technology from the Forum's point of view 

[Roma]

OK if you could turn it off for the nasties and only use it for the sweet scents

[Maggi Young]

OK if you could turn it off for the nasties and only use it for the sweet scents

Yup, it will need to be optional! 

[Lesley Cox]

It's not as if we haven't been asking for it for a long time Maggi. With all the other stuff they can do, surely scent is very little to ask for.

Yes Anthony, the Otago Peninsula got it really badly, with trees down over the road out and that just a couple of days after it was closed for slips after the 150mm of rain we had in 36 hours. It's very sloppy here but the tree damage is not too bad, only pines and gums, nothing worthwhile. All firewood for next year.

Lovely afternoon yesterday and I worked madly on the leaf removal but today back to cold and damp, strong easterly wind, 7C at present.

[Anthony Darby]

Pines and gums firewood? Wouldn't like to see the inside of a chimney after pine logs have been burned!

[Lesley Cox]

Pines and gums firewood? Wouldn't like to see the inside of a chimney after pine logs have been burned!

All the time Anthony. Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus nitens. Our chimney hasn't been swept in the 11 years we've lived in this house.

[Anthony Darby]

Don't you get a build up of creosote in the chimney flue?

[ranunculus]

Don't you get a build up of creosote in the chimney flue?

This is all getting too personal for me I'm afraid!