Spring in the air! Time to think about the garden.

pinhedz wrote:Past tense?

Well I don't know if it's spring yet, but it sure ain't winter

eddie wrote: pavements (US trans: sidewalks)

Aus. trans: footpaths

Although it's flooding in the south of the state, it's been an unusually dry Wet Season here in North Queensland.

currently I have growing strawberries, potatoes , tomatoes .sweet corn , rhubarb , capsicum, water mellon , pumpkin and marrow

It will be 50 degrees F today. I have hope that spring will be here before too long. I'm still walking my dog about a mile and a half every day. I check the sunrise and the sunset every day in the paper. Today it rose at 7:20 and sets at 5:12. Much better so far than the dark days of December when it rose at 7:19 and set around 5:50

Doc, what are capsium and marrow?

blue moon wrote:

eddie wrote: pavements (US trans: sidewalks)

Aus. trans: footpaths

Although it's flooding in the south of the state, it's been an unusually dry Wet Season here in North Queensland.

lol, they call them pavements? They're sidewalks, they're MADE OUT OF pavement. brb calling cars "big metals" because thats what theyre made out of

silly limeys

Constance wrote:Doc, what are capsium and marrow?

Capsicum are I think members of the tomato family . They are sometimes called peppers , they can be yellow green or red, mine are green . Narrors are in the pumpkin family and they are similiar in appearance to large zucchini.

Paladin wrote:

blue moon wrote:

eddie wrote: pavements (US trans: sidewalks)

Aus. trans: footpaths

Although it's flooding in the south of the state, it's been an unusually dry Wet Season here in North Queensland.

lol, they call them pavements? They're sidewalks, they're MADE OUT OF pavement. brb calling cars "big metals" because thats what theyre made out of

silly limeys

'sidewalk'...you walk on your sides?


'footpath'...we use them as paths for our feet!

No, we don't walk on our sides...we walk on THE side...OF THE ROAD, where the sidewalks are

Paladin wrote:No, we don't walk on our sides...we walk on THE side...OF THE ROAD, where the sidewalks are

...ahh. Thanks for the clarification paladin.
...so is a sidewinder an old-fashioned watch?

Constance wrote:I check the sunrise and the sunset every day in the paper. Today it rose at 7:20 and sets at 5:12. Much better so far than the dark days of December when it rose at 7:19 and set around 5:50

In London:

SUNRISE: 7.22AM
SUNSET: 5.06PM

At work it's been absolutely freezing, with temperatures in the Aldgate booking hall colder than the street outside: all that Art Deco tiling and stone floor slabs, with the void of a Tube tunnel rather than solid earth beneath one's feet. The station is open to the elements at front and rear, so the wind chill factor is impressive too.

I've been on the 'dead late' shift all week. I've never been so cold in my life.

If I wore any more layers of clothing it would be impossible to bend at the waist.

Segovia
Sunrise: 7:14
Sunset: 17:43

similar to Constance's
Where do you live, Constance? (if you don't mind telling)

blue moon wrote:'sidewalk'...you walk on your sides?

eddie wrote:

Constance wrote:I check the sunrise and the sunset every day in the paper. Today it rose at 7:20 and sets at 5:12. Much better so far than the dark days of December when it rose at 7:19 and set around 5:50

In London:

SUNRISE: 7.22AM
SUNSET: 5.06PM

At work it's been absolutely freezing, with temperatures in the Aldgate booking hall colder than the street outside: all that Art Deco tiling and stone floor slabs, with the void of a Tube tunnel rather than solid earth beneath one's feet. The station is open to the elements at front and rear, so the wind chill factor is impressive too.

I've been on the 'dead late' shift all week. I've never been so cold in my life.

If I wore any more layers of clothing it would be impossible to bend at the waist.

Ed I'm sorry it's so cold for you! I hope the warm weather comes soon!

I made a mistake with the sunrise in my post. I said the sun rose at 7:20 which is much better than the latest sunrise at 7:19. Makes no sense. No, the sun is rising at about 6:57-8 and rises a minute or two earlier each day. I can definitely notice the difference when I have to get the big girls up at 6:15. The sun is setting at about 5:20.

When we switch the clocks to daylight saving time I will be happy. It will still be light at 6:30 in the evening. This will make a big difference for me. I've been having trouble at night. Not that I can't drive, but people behind me have been blaring their horn and flashing their lights to try to make me go faster. On Fridays I have to drive Elisabeth home from her guzheng lesson at 5:30. We take a highway that was never meant for fast cars. It's called the Taconic State PARKway. The cars zoom past me at incredible speeds. I can't believe there aren't multi-vehicle accidents. The harassing drivers are really getting to me. I have as bad or worse a time when I drive Julia home from a class at 6 pm on Monday. The ride goes through dark windey country roads and there is always someone tailgating me. It's really scary!

Ed, I think you should stay bundled up. That's awful that you have to up at night. It is so much colder here at night. When I have to let the dog in or out I catch the air and it is so freezing. But it has been in the high 40s when I walk the dog and I still wear a big insulated coat I bought from Lands' End last winter. Today I read that the warm spell is supposed to end today with the possibility of snow.

It's supppsed to Warm up again on Wednesday.

Today: A chance of snow showers, mainly before 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 36. North wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. North wind between 9 and 14 mph.

Sunday: A slight chance of snow showers after 1pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 28. Northwest wind between 14 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. West wind between 6 and 13 mph.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. West wind between 7 and 14 mph.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29.

Friday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

What was I talking about! In my first post I had the sunset time a whole hour wrong for December. In December it set at 4:50!

Vera, I live 46 miles north of Manhattan. It is still somewhat country with cows and farms but there has been so much growth from when I moved up here in 1985. New houses. I am treated like an old-timer in the shops and by service people. The new house moms pick their kids up at school in high heels and makeup.

When I first moved up here there were about 3 intrepid commuters who took the diesel train into Manhattan for a 2 hour trip. Now the electric train gets there in 1 1/2 hours and there are more than a hundred commuters. When I need to get to the city I drive. Without traffic it talkes just under 1 1/2 hours.

Alright! Let's try to get this right! From today's paper (Saturday):

Sunrise: 6:56
Sunset: 5:25

It is slightly snowing outside. You can hardly see it. Too cold to go our with the dog today. High 39 (not awful. Someone with more stamina would go out today).

^

The inevitable has happened and I'm coming down with a cold. This is really very annoying because I have six days leave from Tuesday and I'd hoped to complete the opus magnum. The last thing I need at this stage is a bad cold.

Two of the four gateline staff at Aldgate have already booked off sick. Anwar appears to have winter vomiting sickness, while Basil (mysteriously) has been hiccuping for two days straight:

- Train to Victoria? (hic). Platform One (hic) Nine Minutes (hic).

The Accident & Emergency Dept. at the Royal London Hospital has prescribed tablets which make it dangerous to drive or operate machinery. They cause drowsiness too- but that would be nothing unusual as far as Basil is concerned.

Management, naturally, are highly displeased. Perhaps I should book off sick too? That would really set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Sunrise: 6.30
Sunset: 7.30

It's noon right now, and the temperature is 37 celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit).
The peculiar thing is that it was FOGGY this morning. Very strange.

Constance, there were two days last week where I didn't walk the dog at 6.30pm because it was just tooo hot.
Eddie...I hope the cold is a minor one.

Shreddie Mercury wrote:

blue moon wrote:

Paladin wrote:No, we don't walk on our sides...we walk on THE side...OF THE ROAD, where the sidewalks are

...ahh. Thanks for the clarification paladin.
...so is a sidewinder an old-fashioned watch?

(a sidewinder is also a snake...I know)

Digested read: Gardening at Longmeadow by Monty Don

John Crace

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 18 March 2012 17.59 GMT


All-weather guy ? Monty Don. Illustration: Matt Blease

I first saw this garden on a dank autumnal day in 1991. It was piled high with rubble and weeds, and there was nothing to suggest that one day it would be filled with lustily growing plants, or that two million women from the shires would tune in to Gardeners' World each Friday to swoon at me running my fingers, scored with decades of Herefordshire loam, through my tangled, wayward curls.


Gardening at Longmeadow
by Monty Don

Every year, I have an almost tangible sense of renewal in January. I can feel the light seeping back into the Jewel Garden as the snowdrops emerge and the days stretch out, longer minute by minute. But generally speaking, there's sod all going on, so I'll fill up the chapter with some stuff about cavolo nero and leeks.

February is my favourite month of the year and, if I listen carefully when I wake, I can hear the faint chattering of birds that heralds the first sounds of spring. On some days, I even like to sit outside and lean against a tree moodily while my photograph is taken. But beware! February can still be very cold, and it's vital to keep your tenderest plants well-wrapped in their fleeces. Otherwise, there's still next to nothing going on, but I can do a bit of digging if I'm bored.

As I get older, March has become my favourite month as there is a real sense of vibrant growth in the air. The stigmata on the trees are beginning to heal from their annual pruning – a necessary task that causes me far more pain than them – and I can start planting my cheerful bedding in the greenhouse. It's also the time of year when my favourite flower of all appears: the gentle primrose, a plant as common and as humble as myself.

On reflection, April is my favourite month. It is a time of intense activity, and I feel possessed by the garden. The longer evenings, warmed by the first genuine heat of the sun, are an ideal time to get my Jewel Garden, Coppice, Courtyard, Soft Fruit Garden, Walled Garden, Vegetable Garden and Writing Garden in order. Not to mention give the cricket pitch its first mow of the year. I guess some of you won't be quite so busy.

There can be no more jubilant time in the calendar than May. Everything is bursting with life. Alliums, aquilegias ... I could go on through the plant alphabet. So I will. June and July are also months of intense joy, months that answer the questions that the rest of the year poses. Not least: "What shall I do with all the creepy-crawlies that are eating all my plants?" I cannot condone killing aphids. They have as much right to life as any of us. Much better to join them in group therapy and work out a way we can share all the bounties nature has to offer.

I have come to appreciate August and September for their subtlety. Many gardeners think there is not much going on at these times, but a closer relationship with your lawn and a chance to smell the wild comfrey can be far more rewarding than a fortnight in your villa in Tuscany. Which is why I haven't taken a summer holiday for years.

October, November and December used to fill me with dread. I could physically feel the closing-in of winter, a sense of impending horticultural anti-matter, but since I've been on Gardeners' World, I've realised that things aren't so bleak and that it's never quite as dark outside as you think it is if you get the garden lighting right. And there's lots to do, like picking the rotten apples off the ground and sweeping up leaves. Best of all, it's a time to think ahead, to plan what I'm going to do with all the cash I've made from people buying this book as a Christmas present.

Digested read, digested: Quietly flows the Don.

^ Oh dear! Crace not a Monty fan, then? Oh dear oh lor oh dear

It is autumn here and spring and summer vegetables are finishing up.