Team Work

Ady had a new helper today when spraying a few of the weedy paths in the college. Usually accompanied by Graham, Callum put on the BananaMan suit and learnt how to apply weed killing chemicals next to grass. Using a large board, Callum placed it on the edge of the path to protect the grass, being careful not to tread on any area that had been sprayed.

After A Rain Break

For the second year running rain has interrupted the cutting of the yew hedge columns in the Provost's garden. Kieron started trimming the columns on Wednesday, but by midday on Thursday had got soaked from a continuous heavy downpour and was unable to finish them all. The sun returned today so was able to finish them all, as well as the small curved yew hedge by the Provost's lodgings, maybe next year we will get a few dry days and complete the task uninterrupted.

The Mist Unit

With September fast approaching, the month we start taking cuttings, it is time to give the mist unit in the greenhouse a deep clean.
The top layer of dirty sand is removed and the water pipes lifted in order to clean them thoroughly. Ali mixes a bucket of hot water with Jeyes Fluid, rubber gloves on and armed with a scrubbing brush, begins to remove all the dirt and grime that has built up over the last twelve months.

The mist unit nozzles are removed and allowed to soak in the Jeyes Fluid mix before being washed off with clean water and replaced. (The pictures above and below show the nozzles before and after their deep clean).

The wooden surround is scrubbed until all the algae has been removed and hosed down until clean, then allowed to dry. Whilst all the pieces of the unit are drying, an inch of new sand is placed in the unit to cover the under soil heating cables. A kettle of boiling water is poured through the hose, that connects the tap to the water pipes, to remove any algae that may have built up in the hose during the hot summer.

Once all the pieces are reconnected, the mist unit is tested and is now ready for the many hundreds of cuttings that are about to be taken.

4 Tonne Bags and 2 Wheelbarrows

Ady, Callum and Ali have spent the day working in the Provost's rose garden. The Geranium 'Brookside' and 'A.T Johnson' have finished flowering and flopped all over the grass paths and borders, so needed to be cut back. The numerous weeds were dug up, expired rose flowers removed and the soil moved back away from the metal edging until finally, with 4 tonne bags and 2 wheelbarrows filled, their work is finished.

A New Path

The path that runs along the top of the banks, in the front quadrangle, is having a new top layer of hoggin. With the plants tied up off the path, the area is clear for the machinery to start carving away at the old path. The new hoggin is spread over the old, disturbed path, then levelled by rake, finally being compacted by a roller and wacker plate.

Now that the work on the path is complete, the string and wooden stakes that have supported the plants are removed and allowed to fall back over the path.

Painting

Bindweed is a trumpet flowered, twining, choking weed, that smothers the plants it climbs. It has become a problem in a few areas of the college, notably in two of our borders, in one of the Cassan Building borders and the other, in the Provost's Lodging border. Very difficult to eradicate, Ali spent three hours painting the numerous leaves with a mixture of Glyphosate, a weedkiller and washing up liquid. Why washing up liquid? Adding it to the weedkiller helps it to stick to the leaves and prevent run off on to other plants.

painting bindweed

Path Preparation

On Monday morning the path that runs on the terrace above the banks is going to be replaced with a new hoggin path. Ali spent the day cutting back and tying back the plants that overhang the paths edge.

The Lavender caused the biggest headache as it spreads over the path's edge by some two to three feet. Unable to cut the plants back, as they do not break, regrow, easily from old wood, they had to be tied back, being very careful not to snap them. By the end of the day the path was ready for its refurbishment next week.