The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[Hazel at the Hill]

Got carried away at the Hill tonight and:

• dug up half the remaining row of rocket early spuds - they are the size of CANNONBALLS!
• constructed a sturdy pole and netting 'tent' for a late sowing of peas
• sowed peas
• sowed sungold french bean
• sowed two rows of Wellies Black Turtle beans
• picked a bag of peas
• picked a bowl of gooseberries

Have made some abbey crunch biscuits - in the oven - and THAT lot is why I am only just about to put pork chop and home veg on the plate for dinner....

[heebiejeebie]

Trimmed some stuff in the garden. Removed sawfly larvae which are capable of stripping leaves to the veins in minutes. Had a flashback to those pretty yellow beasties I saw on the same part of the same plant a while ago...

Transplanted lettuce Ice King onto spaces left by cropped Red Salad Bowl. No reason other than " 's wot I got left"

Discouraged a moggy (mine) from fertilising the peas.

[moggssue]

Yesterday revelled in being able to get out in the sunshine after work. Picked and ate four strawberries and a small lettuce to add to today's lunch, sowed the last of my carrots and dwarf french beans, planted out my Igloo caulis into their final spots, had a hunt for caterpillars on my brassicas (no sign so far) and slugs on everything (hundreds so far) and finally sowed a few more Igloo caulis with fingers crossed for a very late crop. Fairly happy at the sudden progress of most of my crops, with baby broads, peas, beans, tomatoes and brassicas all looking happy at last - thank you sunshine!

[Flummery]

Had friends round for lunch. Salad of home grown leaves, spring onions, nasturtium leaves and flowers, pot marigold flowers, borage flowers, day lily petals - ahh. It looked good enough to eat! Brie, strawb and tayberry salad (thanks for the idea MoM!) caramelised onion, courgette and goats' cheese tart (veg home grown of course) and a dish of new potaotes. Wonderful (oh and prawns and smoked salmon but I don't grow my own!)

Planted out spring onions from modules.

[pigletwillie]

Today I have been mostly lazy, I have sown some cabage seeds, some globe artichokes then lit the log fire and slobbed on the sofa to watch a black and white film.

[heebiejeebie]

Went round to the lottie "just for a look" and came back with a small just-hearting-up pointy cabbage and a handful of broccoli to go with dinner.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Going to the Hill 'just for a look'.....

....expect me back at dusk!

[pigletwillie]

I finally got off the sofa and put 7lb of red currants through the steam juicer and then made the clear juice into red currant jelly.

[Sebbster]

Harvest more new pots, broccoli, carrots and broads.

Happy time at the lottie, crushed some cwf eggs along with a few caterpillars. Threw some slugs and snails away, (trust me a long way) and stepped on some slug eggs. Found some of the small 1/2cm critters on my pots though, they seem to be doing the damage, probably lost 25% of what I harvested today as ruined.

Runners forming, loads of broads left and choc spot not making much difference to them. Since taking the central stem of the 12 broccoli plants I have, I got so many side shoots I'm going to be feeding the whole town soon.

Nite

[wellie]

Loaded up JLO with seedlings to plant at the Lottie. Then realised that I'd also need brassica collars, netting, slug-unfriendlies, bulb planter, radio, huge long tape measure, home-made 'planting distance' stick, fork, spade, rake, fertiliser, fondue set, teasmade and cuddly toy.....!
Eventually got there at Eleven and left at Five.
A brisk breeze all day, so no anticipated weedkilling done. Shame.
Did get all Brassicas planted, along with some donated Leeks, spare Borlotti Beans from home, and completely nothing else that I'd planned.
Probably spent a little too much time getting to know the other Lottie Plottie Peeps? But that was great fun, and not a moments' regret.
There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and I'm much much browner than a berry this evening.
Thank you for listening.

[Farmer_Gyles]

have now settled into routine of an hour or so every day outside - making steady progress - not always enthusiastic, but getting there

yesterday fixed old strimmer and got rid of some weeds - but spent more time feeding the line than actually strimming so gonna get new strimmer soon

today had old friend over to pick up some tips - he's been growing his own for 30 years - was encouraging to know i've got most things right and not doing badly with the rest
bit more weed clearance

[Mrs Dobby]

I'm stocktaking my branch this week, so been mad busy, but we did manage to get down the plot for a look-see yesterday, and ended up coming home with 2 lettuce, 4 courgettes, 3 tomatoes, a cauli, some broccolli spears (was absolutely gorgeous too), a turnip, about a lb of rasps (the early ones are almost finished here now, but lots of autumn fruiting growing away like mad!), about 1lb of mange tout and about 1/2lb of bored beans!

The red onions are almost ready to harvest, leeks are growing away well (tho are getting nibbled a bit by the wabbits, as are the pickling onions, methinks a trip down there tonight for the pot!), lots more lettuce nearing picking size, sweetcorn is now at 3' tall, fartichokes at 8'tall, more cabbages, broccolli and cauli are pproaching ripeness, the brassicas that got munched a week ago seem to be recovering well inside Fort Tescos, lots more rhubarb ready to harvest, peas are podding up nicely (tried a few small purple podded ones, simply divine!), pumpkins and squash have fruits on about half of them, lots of green toms in the greenhouse, along with chillies and peppers, and the aubergines are also fruiting up nicely! Lots of blackcurants ready to harvest, along with the cherries in the front garden!

Tatties haulms have now all died back, feels much too early to me, as they were only planted in late March, and were maincrops, but we'll be a digging them up to see what we've got (if anything) hopefully either over the weekend oor on Tuesday, weather permitting!

All in all not too bad, tho a lot of weeding is going to be needed again!

Off tomorrow, but not sure if we can get down to the plot, some friends are taking us out to the flix to see the new HP film (early in the morning, as its cheaper then! ), with any luck we'll make it down to the plot afterwards!

[heebiejeebie]

Just went round the garden and lottie looking at stuff - found more sawfly larvae and removed them and the new lily by the apple tree had a couple of scarlet lily beetles munching away at it. One of my caulis has blown but the rest look fine. The romanesco looks less healthy - plenty of developing heads but all going brown. Maybe they prefer drier weather.

Right - I'm off for a weekend working on my other hobby

[graham1968]

bad day today just got back from lottie and have had to destroy all my onions due to a eel worm there was lots off ppl chuntering and puling of onions going on but me cucumber bush is coming on nice seems it ment to be a climbing one it dont want to climb but never mind all veg looks ok

[Farmer_Gyles]

went lawnmower shop to look at strimmers - tempted by ryobi petrol strimmer that takes a fixed blade as well ...... cuts through anything, even legs ...

went B&Q to see if they had anything similar / cheaper - came away with pots and slug pellets
stopped at mates place for cuppa then came home

potted big toms into 12" pots, baby toms into 6" pots
potted 8 peppers into 6" pots (still got a dozen or so spare if anyone wants any?)
watered everything
gave up on strimming, used a few watering cans of weedol instead

tonight gonna set up the drip feeder bottles to keep the tomatoes wet while i'm away for the weekend!