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May
7th May.
Fig 1 shows plants potted into their
10” pots with several not quite ready for their final move. I have put
three canes into these large pots ready to train the stems and guide
them were I need them once they are a bit taller .Protectors have been
fitted to the tall canes while some of the canes are a bit short these
can be changed for longer if required when plants have got some height .
After selecting shoots hopefully facing the correct direction the
unwanted shoots have been removed and inserted in multipurpose mixed
with sharp sand 50 /50 mix . Fig 2.
I have placed these under the bench and if they root can be used for new
plants/tubers for next year. Fig 2 also shows the small cutting tubers
and the others which have grown on well and have been potted into 5”
pots and I will grow these to produce tubers for next year. I still have
some cutting tubers just coming through and will pot these on when
required. Last year the Central section of the Begonia Society visited
Vibrex Nursery in
Warwickshire and whilst walking round noticed I they had several
cuttings per pot so that’s what I have done and only one label is then
required at this stage . I am keeping an eye on my single stem plants
for the restricted class and have potted some of them into their final
7” pots. On a couple of single stem plants I have started to remove some
flower buds.
This year at the National I want to enter the class with a cut
bloom and a pot plant so I will have to decide what plants to use for
this and fix some sort of label so I don’t forget for what they are
being grown.
A quick report on a few things mentioned in last month’s diary. The
re-potted maples have gone outside Fig 3
and appear to be growing well this move giving the Broad beans and peas
in the greenhouse more room and should be picking in a few weeks. The
tomatoes look ok with the first truss starting to set .
14th May Fig 4 shows
the centre bench with the 10” pots the side bench with the 7 “pots
restricted and the end with last year’s cuttings all growing well. I
have a few more plants to move into the 7”& 10” pots when their ready..
22nd May. I still have some cutting tubers coming
through and pot these on as required. All other plants are now in their
final pots 10” for the multi-stemmed and 7” for the restricted class
Fig 5. As soon as I pick the peas and
beans I will install my temporary staging and get the 7” pots moved out
as space is getting a bit tight as you can see. There are about 30
plants in 7” pots for cut blooms and restricted classes and 20 potted in
10” for the multi stemmed classes. I don’t think I will try growing any
more veg in the 10ft x 8 ft green house as I would have liked to have
moved all the plants in the 7” pots out of the large house by now. Not
sure if I will get 30 x 7” pots in the 10 x 8 I will soon find out. The
peas and beans should be picked soon as their progress can be seen from
Fig 6 and
Fig 7. We had a picking on 24th May which I
enjoyed with some new potatoes and bacon. Fig 8
shows the tomatoes doing well and I have started to feed these.
It’s getting warmer outside as well as in the green house with the fish
feeding well Fig 9. Although, as we
know fishes immune system starts slower than parasites these become
active early in the season. I did have a problem with parasites which I
needed to treat the water several times with Malachite and formalin. At
present all is well but keeping in mind not feeding too much as at this
time of year the filter system can easily be overloaded causing ammonia
levels to rise giving even more problems. Regular checking of pond water
quality is a good way to keep on top of things.
Whilst speaking to Terry Carr last weekend regarding Shrewsbury Flower
Show he commented that I had missed at the Central Area meeting which
I was unable to attend on the 10th May a very funny interesting talk. |
