Sunday 22 June 2008

garden woes

having  just spent  15  minutes  trying  to add a pic,  i have  given up. so i will  sort  that  out another  time.  i havent  posted  lately,  not  felt  very  well.   my  ankle  appears  to  be  trying  to grow  to  be a football.  lol         took mum  out on wednesday  and  had  hairs  done,  i am  more  of a polish  these  days        lol.  apart from that,  not a lot of interest  has  happened.    today,we  have  had  the  worse  winds i can  ever  remember  having  in june,   played  havoc  with  my  hanging  baskets,  a lot of the petunias  and  fuschias  have  snapped  off.  all part of the joys  of  gardening.

  i  grow a  lot of soft  fruit, raspberries,redcurrants,blackcurrants,gooseberries,  plums,pears,  and  an old apple tree  that  last year  produced  more  apples  than  was  good  for  it,  still  got  several  bags  of  frozen  apple  slices  in  freezer.  i  usually  fill  one  freezer  with  fruit,   i  also  have a few  strawberry  plants  in a trough,used  to have  a  huge  strawberry  patch   but  i  dug  them  up,  had  got  old.        so    soon  be  busy   picking  them  hey??     wrongggggg        firstly,  gooseberries.   although  i did   spray against  it,they have  all  got mildew  bad.  so  bad  there  won't  be  any worth  picking,  also  bloody  gooseberry sawfly  have  eaten  most  of  the leaves.   rather  think   i shall be  cutting  the bushes   back  hard  very  soon.   need  a  good  prune.    redcurrants.   one  large  bush         and  was  full  of  fruit.   WAS.   we  have a lot  of  woodpigeons around  here           and  this  year  for  the first time   ever       they  have   stripped   the  redcurrants        green          not  even  fit  yet          the  lot  gone.   and  i put a net  over  the  bush.   that is  bad  enough          but  all  3  blackcurrant  bushes  have  suffered  the same  fate,    stripped bare.    why  the  pigeons are  attacking  them this year  i have  no idea.   plum  tree  is  bare,  very  few  fruit  set      and  those  that  did  have  also  been  eaten,  i  got   7  pears  on  2  trees,  lol        and  the  apple  tree  didnt  hardly  set  any apples  at  all.  the  only  fruit  i have  got  coming  are  raspberries,  and  i have  netted  them  over.    thrush   still  gets  under for  a  few  lol.  but  i dont  mind  that.  so        my  freezer  empty          luckily  a  friend  has   bought  us  a  load  of strawberries          and  i  have  frozen  them     for  jam.   yes i  do  make  my own  lol          and  have  found  that  i  prefer  using  frozen  fruit,  i  just  pop  a  bag  in  the pan  and  leave  to  thaw  out  naturally.   the  fruit  is  starting  to already  break down,  and  no  water  is  needed           result   is   3  nice  jars  of  homemade  strawberry  jam  on thursday.  with  a  lot  more  to come.       

so,just  in case  anyone  thought  i never  get  problems  in  my  garden,   and  that  everything  is  always  so  perfect,    this  puts  things  in  perspective  lol.   yes,my  flowers  are  doing  well,   shame  about  the  rest  of  it.   

  just  add  that  i  asked  mums  visitor  not  to  come  this   past  thursday,  she  was  very  tired  after  having  hair  done,  and  i had  an upset  stomach.   which  i didn't  want  her  to  catch.  mum  really  has  had  awful  pain  again  with  toe  and  arthritis  in  knees         maybe  if  we  get  some  decent  weather   she  will  feel  better.        as  we  all will.    take  care  all

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Mort...... a whole freezer full of fruit - wow!!!     What a shame its not going to be the same this year eh ?   Your strawberry jam sounds delicious - my favourite :o) think of me when you tuck into it ....lol......you know i can't eat it, cos i am on a diet ....lol......  
The wind here has been awful and broken some of my plants too.   Hope your ankle gets better soon, you need to rest it, keep it elevated when you are sitting,  Sorry to hear Mum not feeling good...... we all need sunshine eh ?
Big Love, Jaynee X

Anonymous said...

Homemade jam?? OMG I'd be in HEAVEN!! I am sorry the birds are eating all of your fruit. Shows how good it all is, huh? I wish they'd leave it alone. You go through all that to plant it and don't get any. Not fair.
Sorry you and your Mum aren't feeling well. I hope you both feel better this upcoming week. Weather is HOT here...so enjoy it if your weather is cooler.
Have a good day sweetie...
Love ya, Pam xoxox

Anonymous said...

Get that ankle looked at Mort and get some treatment.  Sorry to hear about all the troubles with your fruit.  All you grow sounds lovely. We only have one plum tree these days and in the Spring it was absolutely smothered in blossom but on inspecting it a couple of days ago, about three small fruits - nothing at all, I think the frost did for them all.  The winds have been horrendous here today as well, they even slammed our windows shut.  Lovely and warm and bright sun but the winds were gale force.  Hope your Mum feels better soon.  Lol, at the hair - polish.  Mike is the same.

Anonymous said...

You need to get that ankle looked it's getting worse not better, can't the Doc. give you some diretucs for it,. Love summer fruits not so good at making jam, I just stand at the bush and eat them lol. Regards to Mum and hope she feels better soon and you of course.

Take care

Yasmin
xx

Anonymous said...

i`m going to the same as the previous people.............get your ankle looked at....
or else we`ll all gang up on you ....  :P
seriously though please get it looked at.....
sue xx

Anonymous said...

All that fruit.  Jam sounds wonderful.  Better get your ankle tended to so you can keep up your hobbies Mort.
Hugs, Joyce

Anonymous said...

What a shame Mort..but as you say..that's the pleasure????? of gardening. my garden is very tiny so don't have any fruit at all however my Brother in law has a couple of allotments which fortunately are just an extension of his own garden and he has qite alot of fruits etc. will have to ask him how tey are doing. We had that really gale force winds over the weekend. It was the open Gardens weekend in the village about 12 gardens were open I think Saturday mostly rain ! but yesterday was nice and fine so hopefully some people came and enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately most garden here are set on hillsides so not suitable for Mary and I to visit and less they supply a chair lift and I havn't heard of any as yet !!   Hope this week will be a better ne for both you and Mum  Love  Sybil xx

Anonymous said...

I hope your garden does better our growing season is just starting I think , first time gardner here lol
hugs
Sherry

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe you aired your garden deficiences ;-0. That was me, the one thinking you were perfect Garden Man!

I hope you & your Mother are feeling better now. ~Mary

Anonymous said...

I would be so lucky to be half the gardner you are dear friend. Keeping you and your mom in my prayers on the smoke your both feeling better soon. I noticed there are not a lot of crab apples in the trees this year myself. The deer tend to love eating them. I might have to find something else to put out for them close to fall. On the other hand my flower garden is taking off with all the recent rain we've had here in NY. Your in my thoughts dear friend! (Hugs) Indigo

Anonymous said...

Oh sweetie pie, I hate It when you are not well. My fav other man should be swinging from the chandeliers....or nearly! lol. Pretty flaming awful about the garden. I love strawberry jam. might need to pop In for a wee peice! lol. Hope your mum and you both get some relief from all this flippin pain. Give me a shout If you get stuck adding the pics and If I can't do it I will ask another! lol. Stay well and happy my lamb. Love Pam xx

Anonymous said...

so very sorry you and mum having a hard time with pain. you both so brave.  
your fruit sounds lovely. it is hard work and then theres the bugs. i keep saying i will attempt to grow some you mentioned. having a stuggle with my plants i do have. th e wax begonias wer e damaged badly by the last storm but the greenery is a joy to my heart  lol   so glad to hear from you again!  best wishes and tons of love to you and MUM    june

Anonymous said...

Hey Mort, I didn't know you posted.  Sorry about all that fruit.  What a waste except for the goosberries.  My mom and Iused to go pick wild goosberries.  They are so sour and the vines so stickery.  And then the big disappointment, that pie was the sourest pie I could ever imagine and I watched her put lots of sugar in it.  That was crossed off my list of good pie.  Lucy

Anonymous said...

I think any friend of Pam's must be a nice person so I popped in to say hello! I love to garden and I am sorry about your fruit- I have ground squirrels that eat any thing not put in containers! I am growing my tomatoes in a bathtub this year. So far so good. Any berries usually go to the birds because I encourage them to visit. One thing I have noticed, in the circle of j-landers I enjoy, is an underlying llness or pain and yet a love for people, pets and plants. I hope to continue reading Caring and Sharing. Thank you and be well. Dannelle (from the mountains of Southern California)  

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear your mum is suffering and that your not very well xx  That's terrible what's happening in the garden but at least the raspberries are surviving :o)  I love raspberries me ;)  So raspberry jam for me Morton.  Thanks mate x  I'm just being cheeky aren't i lol

Jenny

http://journals.aol.co.uk/Jmoqueen/MyLife

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Today i booked a cottage in North Norfolk for our summer hols just 4 miles from Kings Lynn.  I have never been so far north in Norfolk before.  My Dad came from Fleggburgh and g'dad worked in Yarmouth.
Jenny <><

Anonymous said...

Wow the wind must be terrible.  Also sounds like you are fighting a good battle but losing on the fruit.  Great of a friend to give bring the strawberries.  You still appear to have a lot of pep with all the problems.  Hope Mum lights up soon, and the gout eases.
Take care over there.
Jack

Anonymous said...

Hi Mort,
Strawberry jam sounds wonderful.  A friend of mine used to make it and it was delicious.  I have problems with our peach tree also.  This year I am going to try a netting.  Hope your ankle feels better soon.
Kelly

Anonymous said...

Mort I'm so sorry that you and your Mom are in so much pain. You were making me hungry talking about all that fruit. How sad that you aren't going to be able to fill your freezer. I have some strawberries in the freezer I need to make jam out of. Take care.
Debbie

Anonymous said...

I hope by now you and your Mum are feeling lots better ~ like you we have had some very strong winds knocking the apples off the trees ~ sorry it is causing havoc in your garden ~ Ally x