What Preps are you doing this week? Part 9

[Nurseandy]

More of a psychological than a physical prep here - recent house move meant I lost my lovely large well established vegetable plot. Made & planted a few 6x3 ft raised beds here at New place & seedlings are coming through now. Won't be much food but mentally it helps.

[Arzosah]

I can understand the raised beds as a psychological prep. I've just spent an *hour* potting on 4 little pots of what were called Chinese Chives - they grow straight up like the chives we know and love - an hour! It was terrifying Cleaning new pots, cleaning crocks (landscaping slate) to go in the bottom, finding a compost bag in the garden that had mix I was prepared to bring into the house, finding a new drainage situation, and *then* repotting. That coconut fibre is a bit tricky, it goes everywhere when you turn it upside down

Courgettes can be counted a success (this lot may never grow to give courgettes, but I haven't given them anything to grow up etc, and they've been a bit fried in the sun. These chives look like they're going to be successful. The purslane may give me a single plant, so might the cornflowers. Everything else - kale, chard, American cress, rocket - nope. Though they could be grown as sprouts, I've sprouted things successfully to eat before now, and the coconut fibre could be good as a sprouting mat.

Next year - I'm buying in young kale and chard that will bolt and give me naturalised plants. I'll repeat the courgettes and chives though

[GillyBee]

Arsozah: Kale, chard, American Cress and Rocket are all good to sow now so you could try again. Chard, Rocket and American cress are happy after midsummer too.
Andy: Veg beds are like trees. The best time to plant one is years ago. The next best time is right now.

[jennyjj01]

Arsozah: Kale, chard, American Cress and Rocket are all good to sow now so you could try again. Chard, Rocket and American cress are happy after midsummer too.
Andy: Veg beds are like trees. The best time to plant one is years ago. The next best time is right now.

Seconded on the chard. I showed July 31 straight to bed and had huge crop

[jansman]

I have two days off now. Mainly because Thursday is for The True Anglers Pilgrimage to the river. After 50+ years, I am still like a child on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow I was going to catch up with firewood processing- just for a change and do some weeding, and fruit tree pruning.But , you know what? Stuff it! I am going to my favourite pig puddle, and am going to put a bend in the rod with some big carp.

I have just filled the car ( £1.93 per litre), and to be honest, I am making the most of my more distant fishing trips, as pretty soon it may be unaffordable ; work petrol being more important. Whilst at the station , I always pick up 20 kg of smokeless coal too. It’s supplied by our local coal merchant ( he’s a fair bloke) and at the moment, it’s holding at a fair price. I feel that I never can have enough fuel.

To conclude; my biggest prep this week is not giving a sh*t about life. And I am avoiding the news too.

[Arzosah]

Arsozah: Kale, chard, American Cress and Rocket are all good to sow now so you could try again. Chard, Rocket and American cress are happy after midsummer too.

Thanks for this, I was wondering about that. Trouble is, I'm away for almost 4 weeks, on an off, after July 25th - there just isn't time to get anything to any self-sustaining growth, not for me, and I need the prior time to prepare for the trips.

Still got the cornflowers to repot, and a perennial angelica to plant, and a lot of deeply rooted annual weeds to dig up, those are the priorities in terms of energy.

Like jansman, I'm making the most of the distant things, I do feel my longer distance stuff is coming to an end. Though I'm slightly terrified that the trips I've got planned through most of August are going to land me smack in this new wave of covid, after strong avoidance of it

[jansman]

Arsozah: Kale, chard, American Cress and Rocket are all good to sow now so you could try again. Chard, Rocket and American cress are happy after midsummer too.

Thanks for this, I was wondering about that. Trouble is, I'm away for almost 4 weeks, on an off, after July 25th - there just isn't time to get anything to any self-sustaining growth, not for me, and I need the prior time to prepare for the trips.

Still got the cornflowers to repot, and a perennial angelica to plant, and a lot of deeply rooted annual weeds to dig up, those are the priorities in terms of energy.

Like jansman, I'm making the most of the distant things, I do feel my longer distance stuff is coming to an end. Though I'm slightly terrified that the trips I've got planned through most of August are going to land me smack in this new wave of covid, after strong avoidance of it

Distance: My mum’s sister died recently. In the East Midlands. Mum lives in Cornwall. Whilst she is still a competent driver at 80, she is not well,and the journey is tough. I attended ,and represented her too. She didn’t have the stamina. However, one thing she did say; The fuel bill ,back and forth,with a week visiting family,would be £311. That was five weeks ago,and prices are higher now.

[Rusty74]

ebay plastic jerry cans came today so used the three blue ones for water and took one of the black ones to fill up with diesel,cried once it was full a few pennies off £50 for 25ltrs ,the other two will have to wait until i make some spare cash and picked up yet again another van load of logs,may go drive round tomorrow and see if i can womble some of the plaster board pallets and get ready to build another log shed

[diamond lil]

A psychological prep - first rose.

[Nurseandy]