Yesterday, took delivery of a rather nice stout coffin of a box from
Spalding B & S. In it was a small lemon tree - smaller than I'd
anticipated, and without any of the lemons I was expecting from the
catalogue illustration. (Yes, after I placed the order I bought two
lemon trees from a stallholder in Norwich, one with a basket full of
lemons, and the other, smaller one, with a few small ones. OK,
Spalding's offering wasn't dear, but the smaller one with lemons was
cheaper...).

Potted the lemon on in a slightly larger pot, with citrus compost. It
now graces the bathroom windowsill. I was expecting the compost to be
gritty, but it was very much like peat.

There were three small blueberry bushes, different varieties, which have
been potted-on in small planters, and these will be replaced with larger
ones when the blueberries are bigger.

Had to go inside and find a straw hat.

Three Solanum something-or-other - muricatum - melon plums?
Honeydew-shaped fruit (but smaller!) which taste of melon (allegedly).
Not potted these on yet.

Potted a bare-root persimmon for planting out later. Neighbour wheeled a
barrowload of bonfire material past - I pounced...

....acquired two tatty but usable planters and some paeony tubers.

Did some weeding.

Now, if I'd known quite how enthusiastic the autumn-fruiting (golden)
raspberry was going to be, I'd never have bought another one - little
canelets pushing-up everywhere! The summer one (red) is much more
subdued - for the present, anyway.

Anyone want some pretty bittercress plants before I pull them all up?
(Dream on!)

Now, I've got to find places for all sorts of other fruit, red and
blackcurrants, goosegogs, more raspberries, and they've got to be
somewhere I can net...

I've to finish the line of (scaffold) poles so I can plant the other
Chinese Gooseberry, and strain some fencing wire between poles, on which
to fan and espalier train a fruiting hedge. Grapes and Chinese goosegogs
will sprawl along the top at a height of around seven feet.

Thanks again to Anne J, who sent me a substantial hop crown this week.
Not only will this place be freezered with fruit come autumn, but it'll
be brewed with beer innit.

There will be pics...

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

In article ,
Rusty_Hinge wrote:

Three Solanum something-or-other - muricatum - melon plums?
Honeydew-shaped fruit (but smaller!) which taste of melon (allegedly).
Not potted these on yet.

Attractive flowers, too. Apparently, they are seriously poisonous
while unripe.

Anyone want some pretty bittercress plants before I pull them all up?
(Dream on!)

I have plenty ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from contains these words:
In article ,
Rusty_Hinge wrote:

Three Solanum something-or-other - muricatum - melon plums?
Honeydew-shaped fruit (but smaller!) which taste of melon (allegedly).
Not potted these on yet.

Attractive flowers, too. Apparently, they are seriously poisonous
while unripe.

Thanks for that - you'd expect Spalding Bulbs to make that quite clear...

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

It certainly has, and I am now knackered having spent the day shifting
compost. I have lost track of how many barrow loads I have dug out of the
heap and spread on the borders. The most arduous task was carting compost up
to the terraces. The soil up there is very poor and quickly dries out in
summer so I decided to mulch them well. Trouble is there are 31 uneven steps
up to the top terrace where I started. That made the bottom one (only 12
steps) a pleasure.

Mike

My day has been good and bad. Yesterday I heard what sounded like a
shout / brief scream at the bottom of my drive but was busy and didn't
hear anything else so ignored it. This morning I discovered that the
heavy granite gate post has broken and fallen over taking the gate with it.

I can only surmise the shout I'd heard yesterday was someone being
knocked flying or having their foot broken. Based on the rarity of
visitors here and the day of week, it seems likely the victim was a
Jehovah's Witness. So, good news and bad news. The gate likely saved me
from another encounter with those horrible people but I've spent all
morning fixing up the gate. I wonder if they will take it as a warning
from God not to bother me?

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
My day has been good and bad. Yesterday I heard what sounded like a shout
/ brief scream at the bottom of my drive but was busy and didn't hear
anything else so ignored it. This morning I discovered that the heavy
granite gate post has broken and fallen over taking the gate with it.

I can only surmise the shout I'd heard yesterday was someone being knocked
flying or having their foot broken. Based on the rarity of visitors here
and the day of week, it seems likely the victim was a Jehovah's Witness.
So, good news and bad news. The gate likely saved me from another
encounter with those horrible people but I've spent all morning fixing up
the gate. I wonder if they will take it as a warning from God not to
bother me?

Q. How do you confuse A Jehovahs Witness?
A. Say "come in"

mark

In article ,
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message

Three Solanum something-or-other - muricatum - melon plums?
Honeydew-shaped fruit (but smaller!) which taste of melon (allegedly).
Not potted these on yet.

Attractive flowers, too. Apparently, they are seriously poisonous
while unripe.

Thanks for that - you'd expect Spalding Bulbs to make that quite clear...

Actually, I take it back - I haven't a clue whether it is or not.
I had got it confused with Solanum laciniatum.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from David in Normandy contains these words:

I can only surmise the shout I'd heard yesterday was someone being
knocked flying or having their foot broken. Based on the rarity of
visitors here and the day of week, it seems likely the victim was a
Jehovah's Witness. So, good news and bad news. The gate likely saved me
from another encounter with those horrible people but I've spent all
morning fixing up the gate. I wonder if they will take it as a warning
from God not to bother me?

I get on quite well with out local JWs, and if you tell them exactly
where you stand, and that your boots are set in concrete, they are
perfectly happy just to pass the time of day.

As one of the pair said a couple of weeks ago (after he had been
standing beside the road for half an hour - "She can talk for
England..."

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

The message
from "mark" contains these words:

Q. How do you confuse A Jehovahs Witness?
A. Say "come in"

When I had the smallholding I did so regularly - once a month. There was
tea and chat, one of my cheeses to try perhaps, but no God.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

"Rusty_Hinge" wrote ((snip))...
Yesterday, took delivery of a rather nice stout coffin of a box from
Spalding B & S. In it was a small lemon tree - smaller than I'd
anticipated, and without any of the lemons I was expecting from the
catalogue illustration. (Yes, after I placed the order I bought two
lemon trees from a stallholder in Norwich, one with a basket full of
lemons, and the other, smaller one, with a few small ones. OK,
Spalding's offering wasn't dear, but the smaller one with lemons was
cheaper...).

Potted the lemon on in a slightly larger pot, with citrus compost. It
now graces the bathroom windowsill. I was expecting the compost to be
gritty, but it was very much like peat.

Our Citrus trees went outside against their S. facing wall today and will
only go back inside if there is a frost forecast.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

The message
from contains these words:
In article ,
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message

Three Solanum something-or-other - muricatum - melon plums?
Honeydew-shaped fruit (but smaller!) which taste of melon (allegedly).
Not potted these on yet.

Attractive flowers, too. Apparently, they are seriously poisonous
while unripe.

Thanks for that - you'd expect Spalding Bulbs to make that quite clear...

Actually, I take it back - I haven't a clue whether it is or not.
I had got it confused with Solanum laciniatum.

I'll have to try one then...

....grone

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:
"Rusty_Hinge" wrote ((snip))...

Yesterday, took delivery of a rather nice stout coffin of a box from
Spalding B & S. In it was a small lemon tree - smaller than I'd
anticipated, and without any of the lemons I was expecting from the
catalogue illustration. (Yes, after I placed the order I bought two
lemon trees from a stallholder in Norwich, one with a basket full of
lemons, and the other, smaller one, with a few small ones. OK,
Spalding's offering wasn't dear, but the smaller one with lemons was
cheaper...).

Potted the lemon on in a slightly larger pot, with citrus compost. It
now graces the bathroom windowsill. I was expecting the compost to be
gritty, but it was very much like peat.

Our Citrus trees went outside against their S. facing wall today and will
only go back inside if there is a frost forecast.

Mine are staying out too - FTTB.

There'll be a greenhouse soon.

I've been telling myself that all winter, but it's too lazy to get up
and build itself.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

In article ,
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from "mark" contains these words:

Q. How do you confuse A Jehovahs Witness?
A. Say "come in"

When I had the smallholding I did so regularly - once a month. There was
tea and chat, one of my cheeses to try perhaps, but no God.

You can confuse that sort of person by quoting the bible at them ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from contains these words:
In article ,
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message

Three Solanum something-or-other - muricatum - melon plums?
Honeydew-shaped fruit (but smaller!) which taste of melon (allegedly).
Not potted these on yet.

Attractive flowers, too. Apparently, they are seriously poisonous
while unripe.

Thanks for that - you'd expect Spalding Bulbs to make that quite
clear...

Actually, I take it back - I haven't a clue whether it is or not.
I had got it confused with Solanum laciniatum.

I'll have to try one then...

...grone

Don't bother. Flowers are quite nice (deeper purple than many Solanum, and
fairly large), but the fruits are a waste of time. You can't eat them until
they are ready to fall off the plant (which they do and then new plants come
up everywhere), make a mess of the path, and get all over the soles of your
shoes. And the taste? Nothing to write home about. And they are more full
of seeds than tomatoes.

--
Jeff

On 16 Mar, 09:29, "Jeff Layman" wrote:
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from contains these words:
In article ,
Rusty_Hinge * wrote:
The message

Three Solanum something-or-other - muricatum - melon plums?
Honeydew-shaped fruit (but smaller!) which taste of melon (allegedly).
Not potted these on yet.

Attractive flowers, too. *Apparently, they are seriously poisonous
while unripe.

Thanks for that - you'd expect Spalding Bulbs to make that quite
clear...

Actually, I take it back - I haven't a clue whether it is or not.
I had got it confused with Solanum laciniatum.

I'll have to try one then...

...grone

Don't bother. *Flowers are quite nice (deeper purple than many Solanum, and
fairly large), but the fruits are a waste of time. *You can't eat them until
they are ready to fall off the plant (which they do and then new plants come
up everywhere), make a mess of the path, and get all over the soles of your
shoes. *And the taste? Nothing to write home about. *And they are more full
of seeds than tomatoes.

--
Jeff- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I've been growing them now for 4 years, very few seed in the fruit
which get to about hens egg size,
Taste nothing to rave about, but interesting.
They take very easily from cuttings.
In New Zeland they grow them as acomercial crop and have several named
varieties which I presume are much more fruitfull than the ones I
have.
David Hill