Six on Saturday: Happy Dance and COVID Challenges

This has not been a good week and to top it off all the photographs I took earlier this morning are still stuck in my gmail send box. Late this afternoon, I finally found a work around by sending the photos via Yahoo and they sent within mintues! So much for getting up early to prepare my six on Saturday post

1. Potatoes

Gnome planted the first potatoes. Put crock in the bottom, then six inches of medium quality compost and then covered with another six inches. We have many more chitted spuds but we only have two bags of compost but as we are now shielding and won’t go out and, there is no prospect of getting any bags delivered, we can’t commit to more than one pot right now. I am gutted because each large pot needs 75l of compost.

2. Hibiscus Troubles

The humidity over the last week has been problematic. Some, days the clouds descendend and we were enveloped in mizzle. Everything you touched was wet. Even when the sun breaks through everything is still wet and you can feel the droplets of water heavy in the air.

This has led to certain garden challenges, especially on my hibiscus. I removed the affected areas and then sprayed the rest of the plants with Rose Clear fungal. Not that I think it will do any good but I had to do something.

3. Queen of the Night Cuttings

My once beautiful Queen of the night is beyond redemption. I’ve tried everything and now just need to accept it is pot bound. I cut it right back. I too took cuttings which I will plant later today. And then we just need some hefty muscle to upend the pot so we can empty.

4. Bromeliads hApPy DaNcE

While out for a walk, I found these purple Bromeliad dumped on the land by the rubbish bins. (unlike the UK we don’t have personal dustbins or collection there are several huge bins dotted about which are emptied weekly). It’s amazing what you find there. It’s almost like a mini recycling centre.

I already have several Bromeliad as they grow well in my garden, and I’ve already found a space.

5. Nettle Fertilizer

Another ‘find’ happy dance: growing on a plot just up the road, were nettles! The following day I was back with a shopping bag and secateurs. Just a shame I forgot my gardening gloves.

when I got home I chopped it up, filled a bucket with water. The other pot is only tiny and has been steeping for a couple of weeks. Today, I took a photo and noticed all the water was gone. The flipping bucket had a small crack in the bottom!

6. Irrigation System – Work in Progress

We are revamping the raised vegetable bed. I managed to paint half the concrete bricks before the damp weather set in. The other half will have to wait. And we moved the stepping stones.

We then turned our attention to the irrigation system.

We bought all the pipe, but then discovered we did not have enough drippers, pegs and stop ends. Easy, we’d go back to the local shop all masked up and buy some more along with another few bags of compost, and numerous other sundry bits and bobs. Famous last words. Nope, to our horror, we discovered last week Portugal was named the worst in the world over the last 14 days for COVID infections and deaths in the WORLD!!! – people are dropping like flies. Time to retreat and stay away from shops etc.

In the meantime, we are trying to straighten the curly pipe using rocks.

I pleaded with the shop to deliver as we were high risk, but they were already a member of staff down and could not help. I am now trying to locate products online.

If you enjoy gardening why not check out the Propagator’s blog and other Six on Saturday bloggers?

Pssst … if you are interested in nature I have created a MEME called Wild Wednesday. Why not join me?