The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[Pottypotter]

Probably going to regret it in the morning but just spent 4 hours digging and weeding

[sewer rat]

Managed (but only just) to hang the doors on my tunnel. Weather was appalling all day - driving rain, cold, and so windy that I was blown off my feet twice - well once actually, the second occassion I was blown off the ladder.
Was planniing on visiting a local farmers market tomorrow but will be going back to battle the elements again - they are forecasting snow for Monday - up to 30cm in the North of Scotland !

[johnty greentoes]

2 pics tell the story of my day

[kirsty b]

Busy and productive day today.
Got the fruit bed extended and the redcurrants now moved to what will be their permanent homes.
Planted out the garlic and some of my 'Electric' onions that have been overwintering in large wooden boxes.
Acquired via freecycle 4m2 clear perspex which we are going to use tomorrow to make the greenhouse watertight. And just in time too as the weather is due to turn!
Pricked out the following seedlings into pots: 6 Roma toms, 3 Tumbler toms, 2 Supersteaks, Marjoram, Thyme. Potted up 2 more Big Jims, out of the 5 I sowed, I have had 3 casualties due to seed casings getting stuck, but still have 7 plants in total.
Sowed 8 Marmande toms, 2 Butternut and 2 Courgette.
Also got hold of about 100 various sized plant pots and trays via freecycle, planning to share them with my sister though.
Kirsty

[Flummery]

Just come in from giving my greenhouse a right good seeing to with ***** Fluid (other cleaning products are available!) and I think I could become a ***** Junkie! I have a spinning wheel and the ***** must share an ingredient with sheep dip because it reminds me of raw fleece.

Tidied up the strawberry patch, fed, top-dressed with home made compost. Looks rather nice now. Off to make lunch. The weather looks iffy - high wind and overcast - so that might be it for the day. If it keeps reasonable I will get a few more early spuds in. Got to be up and doing - weather expected to break. Gosh I love gardening!

Flum

[Mrs Dobby]

Woke up to find a grey sky, which cleared by about 10am, just as we were heading to the plot!

Got out of the car to a warm day, with a bit of wind, and sunshine, perfect conditions!

Mr D set about continuing to dig the beds on plot no2, I finished cutting the edges on the other beds on plot no2, then Miss D and I started to uncover the other 2 beds that were still covered on plot no1!

As we removed the weed control fabric it was evident that we had missed some of the weed roots when these beds were double dug, so I set to digging the 15 or so dandelions, about a dozen couch and a bit of ground elder out of the 2 beds (one bed is 30' by 9', the other one is 9' by 18', both of which are split down the middle by an 18" path). The roots were very deep, so I ended up turning over both of the beds to about 12" depth, removing anything that was growing, down to a depth of about 2'6", which included a few spuds that were just breaking the surface (on the end Mr D had double dug, and missed them! lol!).

Half way through digging the first of these 2 beds it started raining, and after stopping to take shelter and have a brew it lessened to a fine windborn drizzle, so I decided to press on and finish turning over the 2 beds, as any weeds growing would have had to stay there until next week as it looks like I wont be able to get back to the plot for about 9 days, and Mr D is doing overtime most of the week, so he wont get back until next Sunday!

So, an hour later, with the wind picking up, the temperature dropping, and my fleece soaking through to my skin we finished, picked a bit more rhubarb for another crumble tonight, and came home to warm up!

Now going to go and propogate a few more seeds, pot on the toms that are now 14" tall, and generally potter about for a bit before a nice tea, a hot bath and glass of something cold!

Hope everyone elses day was as productive as ours!

[wellie]

I took 'The Bull by the Horns' this morning, not understanding why the Cucuzzi seeds STILL haven't germinated, so very carefully peeled apart the seed-casing, only to find there wasn't anything viable inside....
So will 'start again' tomorrow!
My 'Sweet Dumplings' have started growing (and with a comment like that from me, I'm grateful for LJ's timely 'moderating' last week, meaning that no-one will be able to take that further and 'chat about it'...!
And I had a 'suntanning session' in the grown-up-girls-greenhouse, out of that biting wind, it was just GORGEOUS potting on the squashes, chillies and celeriac.
Thank you for listening,

[Bex]

today I went to wyevale to buy a bag of straw and a bag of manure as I've yet to source a local supply. We then went to the lottie to plant asparagus which I'd put in a bucket of damp compost since it arrived on monday, i think it liked the bucket as it had started to sprout. I planted it according to last month magazine but I added a thick layer of straw to try and protect against the cold snap that is supposed to arrive in the next couple of days.

I did notice today that my broad beans are flowering, isn't it too early?

[TonyF]

First time this year for a bonfire so had my half yearly burn up - times are restricted here, no bonfires between mid-May and mid-October so making the best of it.

Managed to dig over a small rose bed and get the bark chips put down - then into the fruit cage for a quick prune of some straggly bits and managed to get the new raspberries in without too much of a problem.

More seeds in - broad beans and four lots of flowers, going big on climbers this year, want to see how they cope with the terrace and climbing up through the taller shrubs.

And then ........... rugby all afternoon ish.

[Peter]

Mowed the lawn.

Aren't the side effects of antibiotics wonderful?

[Norm]

Today I managed to get the last of the fence posts in around the growing space on the lotti (25' x 90') so I get what I grow, not thumper and his mates. Topped up the parafin in the heaters, planted some pink fur apples in tubs, checked on the veg seedlings, fed the grape vine and the strawbs, aquired a load of 90mm plastic pipe for the new polytunnel (I like home made tunnels), then went home to watch Wales reminding England not to be cocky when they come to Cardiff in the 6 Nations. stwffia 'r Saesneg

[Snadger]

Highlight of today was my first pan of broth cooked at the allotment on my home made wood burning stove, with veggies I had gathered from the allotment. It was so good I took a photo!

Potatoe, leek, carrot and turnip, with a bit of smokey bacon! Yum!!!

I was so pleased with results, after taking photo I made another batch of leek and potatoe with added milk! Also yummy!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Went down the Hill with Billy Scarecrow and concluded that I'll have to do a mark II version. Tied him with a neckscarf a post anyway - looks like he's on a gibbet. Will scare local youth, but not pigeons I suspect.
Sowed a short row of turnip.
Mooched about bemoaning forthcoming wintery weather
Did a dance on finding good pea and broad bean germination from the second lot of both that I sowed in Feb
Worked out how many seed potatoes I still need to buy
Came home and painted the fence and bought the brassica and pea seedlings in to the kitchen.

[Norm]

Nice one Snadger, tomorrow I will be driving up the road to Newcastle for a bowl of broth, after I've finished driving trains at Shildon Railway Museum (Sorry, Locomotion)

[GeordieVik]

OH & I made it up to the lottie yesterday, to get some work done before the arctic freeze sets in, having left little'un with my parents.

Took one of those plastic 'shed boxes' up so I have somewhere to stash a few tools (no shed on there, and no room for one now!)

He built me another 2 raised beds while I put nails into another 3 to tie my square foot grids wires to. Then I forked the new beds over, did a bit of weeding, & admired my garlic (all of it eventually came through after all,despite its slow start).

Doesn't sound like much, but we were up there for 2 hours, braving cold wiond and driving rain for some of it.

My back's stiff now, taking it easy today I think.

Vik