Self-isolation Activities

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, wiskerke said:

 

I'm rubbish at gardening. Besides this is all we have. But I do have a dibber!

Just never knew it was called a dibber. Thank you!

Dibber - only 474 x on Alamy.

 

wim

 

But you have covered every available mm with plants, a magnificent effort !

 

Perhaps you should investigate a Volkstuinen ?

 

Re Dibber, that reminds me of the time I tried to buy a Gimlet in France.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Bryan

[Allan Bell]

 

Went for my walk down to the river and along to the lock and back.  Blasted runners and cyclists are not adhering to the two meter rule, well some are but a lot do not. I am going to take a meter long pole next time and hold it out to the side so they will have to go around it. Should be a bit exciting as the tow path to the lock is about two meters wide so the runners and cyclists will have to go into the river to get round me.

 

I was just thinking that this is going to be the longest holiday I have ever had - and the cheapest.

 

Allan

 

 

 

[sb photos]

1 hour ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Went for my walk down to the river and along to the lock and back.  Blasted runners and cyclists are not adhering to the two meter rule, well some are but a lot do not. I am going to take a meter long pole next time and hold it out to the side so they will have to go around it. Should be a bit exciting as the tow path to the lock is about two meters wide so the runners and cyclists will have to go into the river to get round me.

 

 

I last walked only a few hundred yards on a local canal towpath a few weeks before the lockdown, and as it felt unsafe I exited ASAP. The CRT have since advised that you do not exercise on towpaths. Even though the light was not ideal, harsh and contrasty, I got the photo's I had been thinking about for some time. Yesterdays walk was 9.9 km on local footpaths across fields, country lanes, a B road the through a housing estate. On roads I would cross over if meeting another walker, preferring the road width than 2M. Easy now with minimal traffic.  I will record anything interesting I come across with a camera I rarely use now, a Nikon D7200 with its 16-85mm lens. Once I'm familiar with my RX100 MK7 that will probably end up as my walk about camera. Now for a tidy up I've been putting off for some time. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by sb photos

[BobD]

Laid a self levelling floor yesterday. That made me feel my age🥴

 

[geogphotos]

10 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

 

Re Dibber, that reminds me of the time I tried to buy a Gimlet in France.

 

Somehow that reminds me of trying to buy tampons in a pharmacy in Thailand a long time ago in 1986 when little English was spoken.

 

My wife was back in the hotel sick so it was down to me. 

 

I still cringe at the miming that I resorted to in the shop. 😗

 

Why we didn't think of getting the hotel to write it down for us in Thai I don't know. We were young and stupid. 

[spacecadet]

13 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

 

 

Re Dibber, that reminds me of the time I tried to buy a Gimlet in France.

[Bryan]

21 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Went for my walk down to the river and along to the lock and back.  Blasted runners and cyclists are not adhering to the two meter rule, well some are but a lot do not. I am going to take a meter long pole next time and hold it out to the side so they will have to go around it. Should be a bit exciting as the tow path to the lock is about two meters wide so the runners and cyclists will have to go into the river to get round me.

 

Allan

 

 

We have the coast to coast C2C cycle path running nearby, and it is seeing increased usage during lockdown. I'm a keen cyclist, but have been avoiding it of late as it is crowded by folk cycling too fast and not using a bell, people walking dogs that are not on a lead, or using a lead that is 10m long, sweaty runners who barge in and want to own the path, families occupying the entire width of the path etc etc. Confrontations are frequent. There needs to be rules of the path applied. Cyclists slow down and use a bell, all dogs on short leads, everyone keep left, runners only pass if there is ample room to do so etc. Proportional policing required, all offenders to be flogged.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Bryan

[Colblimp]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

We have the coast to coast C2C cycle path running nearby, and it is seeing increased usage during lockdown. I'm a keen cyclist, but have been avoiding it of late as it is crowded by folk cycling too fast and not using a bell, people walking dogs that are not on a lead, or using a lead that is 10m long, sweaty runners who barge in and want to own the path, families occupying the entire width of the path etc etc. Confrontations are frequent. There needs to be rules of the path applied. Cyclists slow down and use a bell, all dogs on short leads, everyone keep left, runners only pass if there is ample room to do so etc. Proportional policing required, all offenders to be flogged.

Those rules of the path could catch on, especially the flogging bit! 

[John Morrison]

One self-isolation activity I hadn't bargained on is saving money. No more take-away food; it's nearly all home-cooked. I'd forgotten just how nutritious boring a baked potato can be, and it's easy to classify a bowl of cornflakes as a meal!

 

No visits to the pub, just a few cans from the supermarket. The petrol gauge of my vehicle has remained 'half full' for a month. No 'impulse  buys', but just stocking up on the basics.

 

No new clothes; I buy my threads from charity shops (if you saw me, this would be obvious!).

 

Maybe I'm learning some valuable lessons about 'home economics. Or maybe, when the lockdown is over, I'll go on a massive spending spree. Who knows?

[John Morrison]

After the lockdown is over???

 

[gvallee]

42 minutes ago, John Morrison said:

One self-isolation activity I hadn't bargained on is saving money. No more take-away food; it's nearly all home-cooked. I'd forgotten just how nutritious boring a baked potato can be, and it's easy to classify a bowl of cornflakes as a meal!

 

No visits to the pub, just a few cans from the supermarket. The petrol gauge of my vehicle has remained 'half full' for a month. No 'impulse  buys', but just stocking up on the basics.

 

No new clothes; I buy my threads from charity shops (if you saw me, this would be obvious!).

 

Maybe I'm learning some valuable lessons about 'home economics. Or maybe, when the lockdown is over, I'll go on a massive spending spree. Who knows?

 

Husband: you know what's great about confinement? We don't spend any money.

Me: Click, add to cart.

 

(Not mine but can't share it here)

[Stokie]

On 12/04/2020 at 01:44, Bryan said:

 

I once used an expired Christmas tree to rod a drain, not to be recommended, as the branches sprang back into position as it was removed producing a shower of .......

Also remember when taking out the old Christmas tree to make sure it is narrower than the doorway, otherwise you end up with a pile of needles in the doorway!

 

John.

[Stokie]

On 11/04/2020 at 14:00, Thyrsis said:

 

We have a half acre plot so lots to compost! Two big containers made from pallets, one with fresh stuff rotting down and one with the previous year’s compost. That goes onto the vegetable beds along with some local manure and the rotting down stuff gets turned over into the empty side. 

Fascinating stuff eh?!

 

 

I'm a 3 bin man myself!

 

1 for new green stuff, 1 rotting away and ready for 'mining' and another for 'mined' compost.

 

In this case, once i've mined the middle bin I will turn the right hand bin's contents into the middle bin and start again. Fascinating - well maybe!

 

John.

 

[Thyrsis]

No images of our compost bins on Alamy! So here is our wisteria from a few years ago. Not quite out at the moment.

[Bryan]

Not to be outdone on the compost front, our bin is made from old wooden pallets held together by plastic ties. Fresh stuff goes in the left, and once a year the right is emptied and the LHS chucked across. We are fortunate in that the local riding stables provide a free suppy of horse muck/bedding which mixes with the vegetable remains from the garden. Getting allotment withdrawal symptoms as I write this, need to get out......

 

 

Or at home 

 

 

 

Making leaf mould

 

 

lovely stuff!

 

 

 

 

[aphperspective]

8 hours ago, Bryan said:

Not to be outdone on the compost front, our bin is made from old wooden pallets held together by plastic ties. Fresh stuff goes in the left, and once a year the right is emptied and the LHS chucked across. We are fortunate in that the local riding stables provide a free suppy of horse muck/bedding which mixes with the vegetable remains from the garden. Getting allotment withdrawal symptoms as I write this, need to get out......

 

 

Or at home 

 

 

 

Making leaf mould

 

 

lovely stuff!

 

 

 

 

Found this Guy very interesting Bryan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LH6-w57Slw

 

[Marianne]

There was a coyote at the end of my street as I was walking around twilight, so now I'm taking my two walks a day in the late morning and mid-afternoon. We live on a main road within walking distance to town, but we have a huge herd of deer that regularly run through our yard, sometimes to scary and startling effect, and various rabbits (though fewer bunnies since a bobcat was seen two doors down last summer). One surviving pair of rabbits and their offspring lived under a large bush in our yard last year. 

 

I was going to turn the compost pile today but it was pouring, so I just printed out a new recipe for orange cranberry bread. We were going to make Swedish meatballs (using cranberries instead of lingonberries, since they don't sell the latter near us) but hubs decided to make regular spaghetti & meatballs instead, so I'm about to bake some bread. The cinnamon coffee cake I made last week was delish and we had no trouble eating all 15 servings before it went stale.

 

I have not gotten on a scale since this started and luckily my sweatpants fit fine. I

 

Should take some pix as I bake but I don't need to wash my hands many extra times (before touching camera with sticky fingers for each stage, again to go back to the food so 2 x ?  )

My hands look 20 years older than I do despite liberal amounts of hand cream. Trying different hand creams to see which works best is another leisure activity LOL. So far no recommendations. 

[wiskerke]

17 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

We have the coast to coast C2C cycle path running nearby, and it is seeing increased usage during lockdown. I'm a keen cyclist, but have been avoiding it of late as it is crowded by folk cycling too fast and not using a bell, people walking dogs that are not on a lead, or using a lead that is 10m long, sweaty runners who barge in and want to own the path, families occupying the entire width of the path etc etc. Confrontations are frequent. There needs to be rules of the path applied. Cyclists slow down and use a bell, all dogs on short leads, everyone keep left, runners only pass if there is ample room to do so etc. Proportional policing required, all offenders to be flogged.

 

UK solution from 1901.

Solution from Texas (ok a bit predictable).

But not that uncommon : velodog. More here in the online bicycle museum.

There was a time ca. 1880 that bicycle manufacturers gave away for free one of those with the purchase of a bike.

Although Smith and Wesson may have done the opposite.

These being free giveaways may be urban legends though.

 

A squirt gun maybe? I know that one dates back to 1880 as well, but here's is a more modern approach.

 

wim

 

[Marianne]

10 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

No images of our compost bins on Alamy! So here is our wisteria from a few years ago. Not quite out at the moment.

 

So jealous. The guys that cut our grass decided to help out and cut my wisteria back. It had taken 5 years to bloom and was amazing. My husband and I had even built a trellis for it using bent wood branches that had fallen in our yard. The guys cut it back in the fall without asking me  - that was 4 years ago and it hasn't bloomed since. Wisteria is my absolute favorite.

[spacecadet]

15 hours ago, Marianne said:

touching camera with sticky fingers

Just put the camera in a plastic bag, poke the lens out of the open end and fix it with an elastic band.

[Bryan]

20 hours ago, aphperspective said:

Found this Guy very interesting Bryan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LH6-w57Slw

 

 

Thanks for the link Andy. Some folk on our allotment site are big fans of his, but I'm not entirely sure. Great if your plot has good soil to begin with, but maybe not so clever if, like me, you are dealing with clay and stones. Also we grow a stack of staples, e.g. spuds and onions, and raised beds are wasteful of space. Further I inherited some raised beds at my last allotment where somebody had used old timber to make the beds. I found that the walls of the beds became safe havens for Mare's Tail and other troublsome perennial weeds, while the beds dried out more quickly than the main plot. I eventually  removed them all.  We do grow strawberries in a raised bed, so horses for courses maybe. 

[Robert M Estall]

Both my father in Canada and father-in-law in St Albans were keen gardeners and had clay and stone soil. They struggled a big part of their lives and managed to grow stuff against the odds. I have had a patch of rich river-bottom dark soil and struggled against weeds for years because I didn't put the time in. I do have the time now but don't grow staples. Potatoes and Carrots? No, so cheap and plentiful in the market. Sweet corn (it's always over-ripe and rubbish in the shops) runner beens (just about ripe) young broad beans, small corvettes. It's not about saving money, it's about providing the table with something better than you can buy from the shops. Raised beds: why on earth would you? Most years I have hundreds of wonderful pears, last year I had perhaps a dozen. The trees are nicely in blossom now, no frost please! Champion autumn Raspberry patch which is a happy accident. They just grow and grow in completely the wrong conditions. If I had crap soil, I think I would just grow fruit and grass and put up a greenhouse.

[aphperspective]

I suppose there are a million ways to grow veg, everybody does it their way. I'm starting from scratch on his ground. Brand new garden covered in weeds, stones and at least 3 old willow tree stumps and its on the site of an old forge (lots of clinker, bits of iron etc) so the first year is going to be a struggle, thankfully i'm retired so i don't have that weekend blitz to do it all in. The climate down here in West Cork is mild and damp (my neighbour grows a banana tree so that tells you how little frost we get. One thing i have had allot of success with is growing carrots in pots, 1 10" pot gets me about 50 carrots, harvest the whole pot each time stops the horrid carrot root fly. 

[Bryan]

6 hours ago, aphperspective said:

I suppose there are a million ways to grow veg, everybody does it their way. I'm starting from scratch on his ground. Brand new garden covered in weeds, stones and at least 3 old willow tree stumps and its on the site of an old forge (lots of clinker, bits of iron etc) so the first year is going to be a struggle, thankfully i'm retired so i don't have that weekend blitz to do it all in. The climate down here in West Cork is mild and damp (my neighbour grows a banana tree so that tells you how little frost we get. One thing i have had allot of success with is growing carrots in pots, 1 10" pot gets me about 50 carrots, harvest the whole pot each time stops the horrid carrot root fly. 

Good to hear of your success with the carrots, I had given up on them until last year when I grew them in shallow troughs around the top of the compost bin and that seemed to raise them above the firing line for the fly. A fellow gardener had some success companion planting with Marigolds, not entirely fly free, but she got a decent crop and  I intend to use both methods this year. There is nothing like fresh young carrots straight from ground to pot! 

 

Home grown tomatoes are another crop which tastes so much nicer than shop bought and there are now reliable outdoor varieties that will grow in our climate, e.g. Tumbler and Red Alert. Having said that, we lost some young Tom's to frost in the greenhouse yesterday evening, so care required. Fortunately back up supplies already through on the windowsill.

 

You can turn the stone to advantage by digging it out and using it to provide drainage, ideally building a drain to take the water away, or by digging soak aways. I'm on my 4th allotment and I've had to do remedial work on all of them. I like to think that I've left them all in a better state then when I started. Coincidentally our gardens are  also on the site of an old ironworks, so clinker etc is still being uncovered. 

 

Finally some words of wisdom from my grandfather, "Muck is the gardener" you can improve the worst of soils by adding well rotted manure.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Bryan

[aphperspective]

I'm surrounded by farmer friends so muck is no issue plus after every storm i get loads of seaweed from the beach about 200yds away. Agree with the carrots and toms nothing better than homegrown, i grow cucumber across the roof of my green house so the fruits hang straight down. Going back to the carrots i got a piece of ply marked out a grid 1" about a foot square, lay a 10" pot over it and draw round. Cut out the circle slightly undersize so it just fits inside the pot. Drill through the all the intersections of the grid with 6mm drill, fill the pot up to the brim, use the template to firm down the compost. Sow a seed through each hole  and sprinkle compost on top, firm again. Carrots all centered and pot full when ready to crop. 3 pots give me all the carrots i need with rotation and all grown on a shelf in the greenhouse. (Works with Parsnips a treat just sow in every other hole to give 2" centres.)

Andy.