BC Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Today after scarifying the folks lawn (minus the collection box...to speed up the process) I "hoovered" up the moss with the lawnmower. Next job was to fit the recoil starter to the Howard and check the starter was engaging and turning the engine. I checked engine oil level which was fine and added some more petrol and the old girl fired up on the first pull...not bad for a circa 45 year old machine Although the new off market exhaust was only fitted with one stud she was much much quieter and in addition I was able to use the throttle lever to increase and decrease speed. That's the third time I have been over the garden now so I would hope that will be the last unless we get snow as has been forecasted for this coming week. The third or even fourth week is still in fine time in the North East of Scotland for planting tattie's since we can still get a ground frost until almost the first week of June. Managed to burn off the paint on the new exhaust but at least she is a lot quieter now...much to the delight of the neighbour's no doubt ;D Still some moisture in the ground and I will hose down the wheels in order to avoid any mess in getting her back inside to the garage. The finished result and well fine and dry really and not much mess to tidy up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Thats a cracking machine you got there Bill, it's done a lovely job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Well thanks Barry...much quicker and easier than digging by hand as well ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.watson Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Well thanks Barry...much quicker and easier than digging by hand as well ;D looks like the dreaded white stuff is making a return up your way this week bill. colder in essex next week to, its what we call the blackthorn winter. as soon as the blackthorn starts to flower, the wind turns and comes from the north/ north east. last year was the only year we did'nt seem to get it. hopefully this is a sign that the weather is returning to some sort of normality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Well this morning its back to rain Chris. Sleet and snow for later on in week but I suspect (and hope) it will not lie on lower ground. I have the week off from the 16th April and back to work [n Tuesday 24th April so I hope to get both gardens planted out then and a suntan into the bargain ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 Well I was kind of annoyed when this pile of cattle dung was delivered to the folks back garden the other day. I had rotovated it three times and phoned a younger pal of dad's to say the garden would not need digging. I said there was hardly any stones and he agreed but said no worms either and it needed some dung. I tried to put him off that idea saying "tattie" fertilizers would do fine...after all you don't see the big tattie farmers putting dung into drills anymore Anyway transpires he is away on holiday to Arran this coming week the same time I'm off so unless he comes next Monday he will not be getting any help from me during the day time the following week. I'm sure he means well but I could have done without the extra hassle. Woke up to a light covering of snow today so unlikely the ground would be dry enough to plant the tatties next week anyway....but I'm sure they will do far better sitting sprouting in their boxes ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Over the past couple of days I have planted begonia and dahlia tuber's and some sweet peas and various trays of other annuals. I'm a bit late this year but better late than never and I'm sure nature will take over and they will be ready for planting mid June when the danger of frosts are over. Temperature not high but pleasant at around 15 degrees C or around 58 degrees F in old money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.watson Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 i planted these winter pansys last october, and when the temp in feb dropped to minus 18 for a few nights i thought they had been done for, but i am really pleased with them now. i thought the windmill accross the road from my front door looked nice in the spring sun, so i snapped that to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Nice looking pansies Chris ;D ...and I assume that is a thatched roof ...something we never see up this way. That old windmill has a bit of character instead of the modern days ones I saw on Friday on the way to Elgin....I think these news ones are a blight on the landscape...but that's my opinion and I'm sure others may disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.watson Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Nice looking pansies Chris ;D ...and I assume that is a thatched roof ...something we never see up this way. That old windmill has a bit of character instead of the modern days ones I saw on Friday on the way to Elgin....I think these news ones are a blight on the landscape...but that's my opinion and I'm sure others may disagree. thanks bill, and yes it is a thatched roof. most villages in essex and suffolk have a selection of these cottages/houses.these are usually long straw thatch like mine, and into north suffolk and norfolk, they tend to be more reed thatch due to the availability of the reed from the amazing norfolk broads. mine is due for a re-thatch in the next 18 months, which should last another 25 to 30 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 12, 2012 Author Share Posted May 12, 2012 I dread to think of the cost Chris...not just the materials but it must be a fairly labor intensive job ( sorry skilled trade)...anyway pictures please these refurbishment really float my boat Anyway today after my only second weekend away from home this year due to the second successful North East Farm Model & Construction Show I was delighted to see the folks back garden planted with dad's desire to plant and watch "tatties" grow despite now at 82 he is not able to do much other than eat them....anyway I rotovated the back garden three times and his brother Jim (80 this month) and good friend George Simpson (coming on 70) planted the tatties and were nearly finished before I arrived in my working clothes so little point in changing and getting my "beets dirty" ;D ...any way Jim and Big Dode will be repaid for services rendered ...I work on the principal if you scratch your back...I'll scratch yours ;D Any way the "tattie dreels" skimming up at Kemay this afternoon Lots of spare seed for me in Drumoak but roll on the time and weather to get the ploughing done, drills up and compost in...have to do since its the BA working weekend and I'm on contact to cut some early silage ;D Can anyone guess the variety of seed potato's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MF-ROB Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Nice to see you have got your spuds in Bill my spuds are now up they were planted on st patricks day to this picture yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.watson Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 bill, the re-thatch should come in at about 9k, and it should take 2 men about a month at most. when it is underway, hopefully next winter or early spring, i will post you up some pics as it progresses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Nice looking sheltered spot you look to have there Robert for your tatties...out of interest what variety are they I'm glad the folks spuds are in but George Simpson aka Big Dod made the drills 24 inches wide much to my disgust. Had he made them wider i.e. 28 inches wide I could have rotovated easily in between with the Howard 350 and furred up with the ridger causing a lot less work but I assume Big Dod will be out to see to them since he visits his brother and another friend Geordie Walker at Kemnay on a regular basis. I have still to dig my veggie patch to plant some of the remaining seed from the folks but when I spoke to my 87 year old uncle on Saturday he told me I was in fine time yet. I had to ask why and he said well when farm workers moved to a new "fee" it was on the 28th of May and the 30th of November and if they moved in the Spring they would not plant their tatties until they moved into there new farm cottage / house. Whether that is right or not I don't really know since my uncle can get confused at times. Anyway unless the ground at Drumoak is dry enough for digging over the next few evenings I'm sure you will be eating new potatoes before mine are even planted. I have a working weekend with tractor and mower next weekend so no time then for gardening....it my yearly tractor time to play time :ha ha!: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 bill, the re-thatch should come in at about 9k, and it should take 2 men about a month at most. when it is underway, hopefully next winter or early spring, i will post you up some pics as it progresses. I actually thought it might be more Chris but if it lasts 20 to 25 years well that isn't a lot if you break it down by year. I certainly would like to see pictures since totally different to up here in the North East of Scotland.......its a case of replacing cracked slates or cracked Marley roof tiles ;D ...the thing that is the problem with the Marley tiles is moss but I won't have any of the cowboy traders that come around offering to jet wash the tiles since I'm sure they would break more as they walk on the tiles without any safety harness etc... I have heard of attaching a copper wire on the ridge of the roof and this will help remove the moss ..some sort of chemical reaction I'm told but chemistry was never of any interest to me at school...some folk may think I'm a bitty mad but I'm certainly not a mad scientist ;D ...I wonder if I have enough copper wire in my garage to do the job myself ...true Aberdonian...why pay someone else if you can do it yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MF-ROB Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Well i had them covered in straw and a cover on them to keep frost off them ive planted Pinks this year so will see how the turn out but for the rest on my plants there still in the green house but they really need to be out but the weather is so cold and wet like today its blowing a gale and rain all day. my plan was to plant this weekend but thats it out the window :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.watson Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I actually thought it might be more Chris but if it lasts 20 to 25 years well that isn't a lot if you break it down by year. I certainly would like to see pictures since totally different to up here in the North East of Scotland.......its a case of replacing cracked slates or cracked Marley roof tiles ;D ...the thing that is the problem with the Marley tiles is moss but I won't have any of the cowboy traders that come around offering to jet wash the tiles since I'm sure they would break more as they walk on the tiles without any safety harness etc... I have heard of attaching a copper wire on the ridge of the roof and this will help remove the moss ..some sort of chemical reaction I'm told but chemistry was never of any interest to me at school...some folk may think I'm a bitty mad but I'm certainly not a mad scientist ;D ...I wonder if I have enough copper wire in my garage to do the job myself ...true Aberdonian...why pay someone else if you can do it yourself unfortunately bill, if we had any copper wire on our roofs around here at the moment the travelling entropeneurs[gypsies]would have it away. a lot of church lead has been had away around here to recently. six months ago i was on the phone to a farmer mate of mine and the line went dead. it turns out they had the phone lines away from the lane where his farm is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Well i had them covered in straw and a cover on them to keep frost off them ive planted Pinks this year so will see how the turn out but for the rest on my plants there still in the green house but they really need to be out but the weather is so cold and wet like today its blowing a gale and rain all day. my plan was to plant this weekend but thats it out the window :'( When you say Pinks Robert..is that "Kerrs Pink" or "Pink Fir Apple" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 unfortunately bill, if we had any copper wire on our roofs around here at the moment the travelling entropeneurs[gypsies]would have it away. a lot of church lead has been had away around here to recently. six months ago i was on the phone to a farmer mate of mine and the line went dead. it turns out they had the phone lines away from the lane where his farm is. You call them that Chris...we call them "minkers" and we doubt their parentage too ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MF-ROB Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 When you say Pinks Robert..is that "Kerrs Pink" or "Pink Fir Apple" Kerrs pinks Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 A fine tasting tattie Robert bit so are Pink Fir Apple if they are par boiled and them placed in the oven with some onions for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 An unexpected holiday due to discovering a leaking hot water tank last night....all fixed now and not a leaking tank but a slack stop cock...strange but hey ho now fixed. Anyway today I took the chance to get on in the greenhouse and garden. Never remember being so late in getting the garden dug as this year but doing it in stages and well skinning up fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.watson Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 looks like you have the ideal soil bill for spring digging, coming down a treat ready for planting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 Yes Chris but I have never dug so late in the past 25 years I have lived here...never mind the seed are well sprouted and I hope to get them in this week before an away weekend at our local vintage tractor working weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 Digging all now completed juts hope it is dry enough later on this afternoon to get the drills up and compost in Got some dahlia seedlings into boxes as well Other seeds which will require box up over the next week or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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