The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[sewer rat]

Strimmed the roadside verges, potted on 400 tomato plants, gave shed second coat of Cuprinol, sowed PSB and Borecole Black Tuscany (300 of each) in plugs, spent 2 hours watering, laid base wire for new fence, came home and have just sent out my first ever invoice for young plants

[heebiejeebie]

Planted peas and netted them. Must remember to take the net off when they flower! Planted broad beans (and nasturtiums) to take over when the overwintered ones are finished. Planted parsnips, more in hope than in expectation. Planted out lettuce seedlings. Moved netting from the onions (now quite big so hopefully the pidgeons can't do too much damage) to the lettuces.

Discussed with the neighbour which brassicas to go in which plot - decided on her romanesco first as the seedlings are big enough to go out now. Think my cabbage, swede and caulis need a bit longer in the plastic planthouse.

Forked over the bit of plot that the neighbour weeded and pulled out more bindweed roots. Pulled up the leaf beet that had overwintered as it was bolting. Gave the brassica beds some fish, blood & bonemeal then spent some time whacking big lumps into small lumps. Pulled up the remaining leeks and left them on the neighbour's doorstep.

Hoed between the tatties and JAs and the paths. Earthed up the tatties. Watered everything.

Knackered now

[Mrs Dobby]

I had to go back to work today, but Mr D has been busy down the plot sowing seeds, not fair, glorious weather and I'm stuck in work! Grr!

Mr D weeded most of both the plots, disturbed 2 ants nests on plot 2 (and put some organic ant powder down) planted out the rest of our onion seedlings, the spring onions seedlings that were module sown and then sowed 5 varieties of carrot, hes going to sow lettuce, radish, the germinated parsnips and some more carrots tomorrow! He also sowed into peat pots another batch of sweetcorn and 5 each of 4 varieties of squash / pumpkin. He's going to sow tomorrow into paper pots the rest of the broad beans, 2 types of dwarf french bean, some pots of herbs ready for planting out in the plot and another batch of sweetcorn! Oh, and he's attending the allotments annual committee meeting in the afternoon whilst I'm at work!

Cant wait for my next day off on Wednesday!

[Peter]

Too much waiting in for Free-Cycle "Takers"

But I did mow the lawns and prune all the stuff that tried to snag me or take my eyes out as I mowed.

[wellie]

I sowed another twenty-two hardy annuals late this afternoon, under the careful watch of Trousers with his glass of whisky....
Girls, just don't bother.... Boys are just a nuisance, and they distract you....

I can't tell you how many times he told me that my underwear was showing above my tracky-bottoms..... I'm BUSY, don't ya know?!
Give me strength........ Thankfully, he disappeared to watch sport and I was able to plant in peace. And now able to report 22 less plants in pots to water tomorrow....
Thank you for listening,

[TonyF]

Yesterday was a no gardening day. Friday I put in bits and bobs at chums and finished their first two compost bins - they have up to 50 people a week in their complex and have realised the value of composting and water saving systems.

Yesterday I had a day off, weather still very variable - down to town for the papers and magazines, nipped up to another village for honey and bread plus a long leasurely 10 euro lunch and then just read the papers and drank tea all afternoon, fussed the cat a bit, just walked round to check on the plants in the late evening.

Market day today so will try to get out in garden this afternoon.

[GeordieVik]

Yesterday was a lovely day here, so I planted out some young flower plants (petunia, stocks & lavatera) in the garden then headed up to the lottie.

Planted some dahlias and aquilegia there, moved the dalek to one side (I find it very difficult to stir the compost in situ in those bins), then re-filled it, adding some card, paper & grass cuttings.

Then I spent quite a while constructing a brassica frame to hang my fleece on to prevent caterpillar damage - working out how to attach it while still allowing easy access for planting & watering is quite another matter...

Vik

[TPeers]

Played 'guess the plant' with the seeds my daughter planted! She wants to plant a sink garden and, not unreasonably, want to do it all herself (she is ten) but when she sowed all her seeds she never labled them!

Potted on the lambs lettuce, pottered around generally and mumbled rude words at the asparagus which is still nowhere to be seen!

By the way GeordieVik, why have you got a picture of my cats? Your avatar looks exactly like Bourneville and Crunchy!

Terry

[sewer rat]

Today it was blowing a gale up here so didn't venture outside the tunnel much as the field was being blown all over Easter Ross.
Potted on my heritage tomatoes (Thank You again Bramble), sowed 450 cabbages, 450 sprouts, 400 courgettes and 125 cucumbers for myself. Sorted out seeds, watered everything thoroughly, shifted plants about so it'll be easier to load them onto trolleys on Tuesday night, came home, produced monthly newsletter for gardening club, tidied house (it's amazing how much mess I can make on my own when Maggie and Iona go away for a few days), came on Vine and now having coffee and toasted cheese before I go to bed.

[wellie]

Well, today, I planted out tiny little seedlings of Black Turtle Beans between the Sweetcorn plants and popped a 'pop' bottle over each to make sure they are cozy and warm for a while yet..... They are dwarf bush beans, rather than climbing beans, and there's a huge root depth that they can 'tap into', so I'm rather hoping that we'll get a good crop off them for drying later in the season.

I planted four Butternut Squash plants, two Sweet Dumplings and two Borlotti climbing beans and five Franchi big flat-podded yellow french climbing beans, three black sunflower seedlings, four more pot marigolds, some silver cineraria, a few white alyssum and completely SHED-loads more to speak of.
More importantly, I collected up probably in the region of twenty or so slugs'n'snails for my 'Sluggery', which is a polite way of saying that I've killed them.... Sorry.....

And I tried desperately to inspect my cat's left paw, all day, without success. She's limping AND one of her eyes is weeping green goo.
And she's just got a tick or two and feeling really 'Mumsy'. She'll have to be really 'Trousers' tomorrow, as I've got to go do more for The Wedding Garden tomorrow in anticipation of Saturday...

But you know what really 'blew my frock up today?' I actually got round to starting off my FlowerPotPerson's 'other half'..... which meant a quick sex change for Flobalob.
So...... MRS. Flobalob has 'scrubbed up well' and the NEW Flowerpot person is now MR. Flobalob.
Honestly, shut your eyes for a moment, and Wellie will pull the rug from under your toes to surprise you....!
If you want proof, it's only a click away.....
And seeing as Trousers and I are so WAY apart on choosing first names for Mr. and Mrs. Flob, why on earth wouldn't you want to have YOUR say?!
Have a look.....

[heebiejeebie]

It's raining!! I might get the grass seed down today.

[LostthePlot]

Rescued a perennial walflower from the 'hospital' section at our local B&Q. Was £5.00 reduced to 50p! All it needs is some TLC and it will be a great plant. I love getting plants from this section in the Garden Centre bit and bringing them back to life. Not veg orientated I know, but I thought I'd pass this tip on as something useful?

[heebiejeebie]

The rain has prompted rampant regrowth of horsetail, so the grass seed isn't down yet.

Instead, after the weeding I pricked out seedlings of gardeners' delight tomato and ice king lettuce into modules, morning glory into 3" pots.

Sowed some more ice king and red salad lettuce seeds, swede, snowball cauli, broad beans, nasturtium and sunflower into modules. Beans and nasturtiums one per module, everything else 2 (ish) per module for thinning later. The plastic planthouse is full again .

Chatted to neighbour and plans to have raised beds or growbag supports made by her OH are underway

[Pyewacket]

What I Did Today

I didnt do anything today as it was raining all day. Weather has cleared up now but too late to go down to the allotment.
Yesterday I dug over a whole new section of the allotment and sowed some green manure, I think it's called Phacelia? anyway it has lovely blue flowers and bees love it. Also planted out 4 Russian Black tomatoes and sowed some tagetaes seed around them. Mulched everything with some lovely organic compost from my local amenity tip. Also planted some peas in a section of guttering. My mum and I looked liked a comedy duo carrying said guttering accross the allotments to the communtiy polytunnel.
Went to local nursery and bought 3 marrows, 1 pumpkin and 6 sweetcorn plants. My allotment neighbour very kindly gave me a spare courgette plant.
Does anyone know what bird sounds like 'Chif-Chaf Chif-Chaf' repeated, the nature reserve behind my allotment was ringing with their song yesterday.

Pyewacket

[Flummery]

Hi Pyewacket - the bird is actually called a chiff chaff. Does what it says on the tin, so to speak. Today I planted out my marrow and some pot marigolds, nasturtiums and pak choi. No rain!