The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[bramble]

The best day weatherwise that we had so far this year. Real speing with the sunshine, birds singing and daffs fluttering in the breeze.
Planted out four red currant bushes. Planted out onions and garlic that were in pots in the greenhouse. Dug a bed for my Hurst greenshaft peas that i started in the greenhouse four weeks .Hoed my autumn sown onions. Potted on some tomato and pepper plants that needed bigger pots.
All in all a very productive day.

[TonyF]

No gardening as such yesterday - went off to the local town for a bit of a spend up. Bought some odd plants and seeds, non-edibles tho, but did manage to to get three more raspberry bushes, which are supposed to fruit in succession, one for June, July and August.

Called in to see friends who are gardiens and gardeners at a huge estate a few kilometers away from me - they're the only other people I know here who I'd call really proper gardeners. Their greenhouse is groaning with stuff and came away with 4 pots of tomatoes (all the packet ends dropped into large pots) for me to pot on, will keep some and pass on to other people who I know, one couple just building house and wife wants a garden, other couple with a big gite business who have asked me to do their veggie plot for them.

Off to get bags of potting compost this morning and order the boards for the new raised beds, if the weather is as good as yesterday will be gardening until lateish today.

TTFN

[Flummery]

Just put in 4 short rows (5 tubers to a row) of Arran pilot. My veg patch is the bottom end of a long garden so if there's a frost after they're through (WHEN! not if) I can nip out in the evening and tuck them up under fleece.

By the way, does anyone else use a bulb planter to plant their spuds? I've always done it but got some old fahsioned (practically neolithic!) looks from the old chaps on the allotment I used to have. I make a shallow (3") trench just chipping with my spade then go along with the bulb planter and drop the spuds down the holes. This means I can get them down to a good depth without having to dig a deep trench. OK- Bone lazy, I admit it! But it works.

[Hans Mum]

thanks for that flummery, i got a bulb planter last week as i thought it could be used to plant spuds, as i said yesterday had my appendix out so digging is not for me at the moment, glad someone is on the same wavelength as me

[Mrs Dobby]

Today I had to go for a meeting with my Area Manager before I could join Mr D on the plot, was in with him for 2 hours, got a 'Good' rating, he's very pleased with me and my store, which is great, as he is the sort of boss who doesnt give out compliments easily! Seems that only 3 of 23 got G ratings, one did better with a High, and everyone else did worse, oops!

Got down to the plot after that, Mr D was just finishing digging over one of the beds on plot2, so we had some lunch and a brew, then he started on digging a second bed, I raked over the first one and removed the weeds he'd missed, then I 'cut' the bed edges with a spade, at present there's going to be 11 beds on plot no2, none of which we have edging boards for, so we are planning on just digging them into raised beds and leaving compacted paths between them, so by cutting the edges it means theres a clear demarkation line to match the string boundary markings for each bed!

It started to rain at 4pm, horrible soaking rain, the type that seeps through your clothes to leave you cold and wet, so we harvested some Rhubarb for a bit of rhubarb crumble and custard for afters with tea, then packed up and came home!

Both off at the weekend, but the forecast doesnt look too promising, and we've Miss D with us, so may not get too much done, but we will try our best!

[shirlthegirl43]

Having a bad health period just now so not much gardening done.

At 11 am I sowed a new tray of pea sprouts and had a quiet moment in memory of SuperSprout who I never met but felt I was 'getting to know'.

Updated my notes on what has been sown and what has appeared. Checked the seed box and panicked about what I haven't got planted yet - then put it to the back of my mind as I just don't have the energy.

[keeperofthecorn]

Today I came straight to my house from working a night shift, to find that my drive was buried entirely up to the front door in five tons of mushroom compost. At first I thought i was halucinating as the day before I had seen a poodle on roller skates ( which, incidentally turned out to be real).
Also the landslide of MC , turned out to be real. So, i spent several hours
with a shovel trying to make inroads. Not 'snowed in', but 'mushroom composted out' of my house. It seems like lovely stuff. and i am sure it will do my veg a world of good. So now i am laying in bed groaning, dreaming of rows of veg. Gathering my strength again and hoping it does not rain tomorrow. as I dont know if the local council will prosecute me for allowing liquid manure to run down my drive and interfer with the local buses on the public highway( it is Norfolk after all). "she who shovels and runs away, lives to shovel another day". Hope my post person has wellies other wise i might be a bit light in the post department. Happy gardening everyone.

[willowstar]

today I sowed four varieties of beetroot into single cell trays, I also planted up a lovely spring display in a old bath for a neglected spot in the garden and I am currently soaking some peas to plant in pots tomorrow morning. I potted on some pepper and chilli plants into my newspaper pots that I am really pleased with...and just generally enjoyed being outside with the daffs waving and everything coming into bud.

[clarelouise4]

Today OH said I had to rest because I'd hurt my back (7 hours at the lottie over the last two days!!) so I planted some more seedlings instead - I need more windowsills !!

Yesterday I got two rows of Maris Bard planted and some more soil turned over ready for shallots and carrots.

Clare

[pigletwillie]

A bonus day today, went to the plots with a trailer full of 12 year old vintage manure, really crumbly stuff and filled two raised beds, transfered some frog spawn from the home pond to the lottie wildlife pond and watched a man with a tractor first mow and then plough our new plot.

I can now plant out our orchard next week just in time as the trees are all in bud.

[Snadger]

Just got back from alottment. Went with the intention of lighting my wood burning stove, having a brew and basically warming the greenhouse up, stoking the stove up with timber so that it would burn for a while and then leaving to watch the match on tele. While it was nice and warm in greenhouse I decided to pot on some mixed sunflowers, gather and top and tail some leeks and spring cabbage from my old plot!
It was quite pleasant sitting there with the heat from the stove. Also handy for burning the roots of the spring cabbage in case there were clubroot spores. Composted leek tops and tails!

Now all I need is for the toon to win the game as I tuck into my kebab and sup my four pack!

[Carrot]

I took out the last Brussels sprouts plants and dug the bed thoroughly. There are still the plenty of overwitnering caulis, purple sprouting broccoli and kale 'Ragged Jack' plants left, but I need the space, so hopefully they will be "spent" soon and can come out. We also forked loads of manure from the field next door onto the allotment, for use next year.

[roitelet]

Potted up Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, Basil and pricked out some pretty stuff. Started on my Soaker pots, bunged up the holes in the bottom and made a start on the wooden lids, they will be finished tomorrow. Drilled some holes in a couple of old tin baths to grow the lettice in. I am NOT watering Geraniums in pots this year or anything else I can't eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Peter]

100% full again

Plot 2 gave up on Tuesday.
Five rod available.
I have now let 2a and 2b, both two and a half rod.
One completely new tenant and the other the son of current plotholders.

Still have a waiting list of four.

[TonyF]

Excellent day yesterday - glorious sunshine again so making the best of it.

Potted up 79 tomato plants, great little job. Day before another chum gave me some Castor Oil Plant seeds - very toxic if you eat them - and put a few in pots so see what happens to them and voila, another chum turned up and gave me another lot of the same tho different colours apparently.

Managed to work out how to move the strawberry bed and pruned the thornless blackberries again to start them as cordons, all tied in now.

Major part of the afternoon was raking leaves into leaf mould bins - it's lovely having a wood to play in but the leaves are a right pain in the bum until I get them all raked up and put to some use.

Not gardening today as have to take chum to Bergerac airport but weather forcast for Saturday and Sunday is set really fair so hopefully another few days of good gardening.

I post what I did yesterday rather than what I did today - I'm too knackered in the evenings to send anything other than quick messages.