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Archive for April, 2012

Fibre optics

April 29, 2012 at 2:20 pm · Filed under DIY ·Tagged Fibre optics, star field, stars

Just for fun (and the education) of the one-yet-to-be-born, I’m putting in a fibre optic ceiling with the constellations.

To do this, I’ve engaged the help of my friend Ben. He angled my projector at a mirror so we could get the constellations on the roof

And the marked up with pencil.

One marked, each one has to be drilled, the cross rubbed out and a fibre optic pushed UP so I can locate it. Next upstairs I push a thread DOWN and glue it into place. Then to finish each one is snipped to 1″ from the ceiling so it doesn’t Halo.

From on top of the roof

Underneath:

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Cherry plums split

April 29, 2012 at 8:18 am · Filed under Growing ·Tagged drought

Due to erratic watering, my cherry plums have split. Some of the harvest seems ok. When it finally stops raining I’ll remove the split fruit as the splits can let disease in.

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Drought continues

April 29, 2012 at 7:46 am · Filed under Misc ·Tagged drought, water conservation

As you can see, my garden is continuing to suffer from the drought and is quaking at its boots regarding a hosepipe ban.

The water companies are starting to wake up to the fact the water is not just running off the “parched land” and isn’t just being absorbed by plants.

My IBCs are full and the path is now 6″ under water.

All I need is a couple of fountains for a nice water feature.

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Soil shifting

April 28, 2012 at 3:31 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Ok, you’ve dug your path, you’ve piled up the soil, how do you remove it?

Most people would get a skip I guess. I on the other hand needed the soil down the scout hall to fill an old ditch so that our camp fire area is less dangerous.

The scouts hired a tipper lorry for £95 – which is the same cost as a ton of soil.

7 loads later with help from six adults and about 9 scouts (and one cub) all 10 tonnes were moved.

I can start to reclaim the front garden!

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Greenhouse ventilation

April 27, 2012 at 8:03 am · Filed under DIY ·Tagged Greenhouse

I’ve been worried about my greenhouse temps, but someone on one of my forums I frequent gave me the advice of propping it open with a bit of wood. The openers work fine, but I’m worried of them slipping and the resulting hard crash smashing glass, so this seems a top idea. The louvre on the opposite side is open and the roof panel on the opposite side ought to give a good stirring draught to clear the heat!

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Greenhouse temperatures!

April 25, 2012 at 4:50 pm · Filed under Growing

Even though it’s April and overcast, at some point my greenhouse appears to have got up to 42′C. This does not bode well for the hotter summer months, especially as its only got up to 16′c in the shade…

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Rain rain…

April 25, 2012 at 4:48 pm · Filed under Green Stuff

Despite the drought, the garden has gone from quagmire to swamp.

The area around the IBCs is so bad, it’s under water.

The trees are true swamp fashion. Underwater…

The grass? Underwater.

Sense the theme?

Now the rain is coming down in such a downpour, it’s overflowing the gutters.

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Fenced

April 22, 2012 at 6:34 pm · Filed under DIY ·Tagged Fence

Using the old fence, I did a bit of a rejig of the horizontal beams (removed the rotten one) and put on the nice new slats. Still need to gloss it, but looks good!

Potted up the chillies, tomatoes and other bits and bobs.

Wind got up and realised the greenhouse door wasn’t as secure as we’d thought. Fortunately I’d bought the exact same lock for another purpose a few weeks ago. It fit perfectly but incredibly fiddily!

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