The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[Flummery]

Today I potted on a few toms which were getting big. They're now in 5" pots. I picked all the dandelions for my St George's Day dandelion wine brew, then went around again digging the plants up! Whooped with delight to see that my climbing French beans had started to sprout. Went to T'ai Chi. Came home. Came on here.

Flum

[TonyF]

Had to stop at 7, still 30 degrees, too bloody hot to keep going tho had a break this afternoon to finish working on a Journal that I edit.

Been pottering all day. Put the matting and bark chips over the courgette and melon beds and got them planted. First two cucs and 6 toms in, moved a large wooden box to replant my JAs in, started on new beds and even got round to putting the netting over the fruit cage - surprisingly straight forward.

But by 7, a cold beer was calling so sat on the terrace for an hour with a book and just wound-down.

[Seabreeze]

The three bucket-loads of coal that I unearthed in the garden and put into the greenhouse to keep dry, have gone at last! When I put it on Freecycle saying it would be perfect for BBQ's I quite forgot that it might smoke! However, a guy in the village wanted it, so I couldn't deliver it quick enough...

Almost everything is planted out from the greenhouse now in preparation for my bird watching trip to the jungles Panama almost a week away! The sweet corn, and courgettes are out in the '3 sisters' bed... I have never grown these together before and I do hope they come up 'in sync'. The third sister hasn't been born yet... actually not even conceived, as I won't sow any French Beans (or whatever it's supposed to be) until I return home at the end of May.

The, impulse bought, nectarine tree is doing very well in its vast terracotta pot, now on the patio. There are loads of nectarinettes. I have had to thin some out, and there appear to be many more on the way.

Oh dear, fuchsia cuttings taken back in the winter (they DO say you can take them if you are careful) - well, let's just say that I despite some of them rooting just a little, I got tired of waiting, and chucked them in the compost!

Other than that, we had a few spots of rain today... shame we didn't get any more so I could stay in and watch re-runs of G World on Sky. The lovely Rachel, in all her gorgeousity, came up unexpectedly the other day. I didn't take in a word she said...

As for the the Piglet-style, parsnips-on-paper, propagating plan... well, they too will be joining the fated fuchsias if they don't get their act together soon. Or, maybe I have an even worse fate in store for them...
I will feed the little blighters to Robbie the 'patchwork' canary, who, this evening, duly delivered in his cage, we will be baby-minding for a friend until Friday.

Be careful out there...

K

[TonyF]

Should have added - yesterday morning while having brekkie two hoopoos were making a fuss of each other in the bean tree right next to the terrace - lovely sight first thing in the morning, beautiful markings.

[seasprout]

Wet Wet Wet

Got up and measured in my little rain gauge thingy, we have had 1 inch of rain since yesterday morning, and it's still coming down.

[heebiejeebie]

Have spent the past week looking for shoots of horsetail and digging them up with as much root as I can reach.

Allotment neighbour has finished off most of the weeding last weekend and everything (almost) is germinating in the plastic planthouse.

All the potato shoots are up now.

[Seabreeze]

All I have done so far today is to enjoy the rain.

Tony, it was a day very like today one April (misty), when I stood at the back door and a Hoopoe flew in around the garden. We get them annually at Portland, as they migrate through. We have had Bee-eater 'from the house' as well!

The first decent rain here for weeks overnight. Lucky as I'm on watering duty and opening and closing greeenhouse duty, for the neighbours.

[berksmike]

Been out doing odd jobs....The showers over the last couple of days seemed to have given the plants a big boost.

Been carefully feeding my two remaining marketmore cucumbers (lost 2 to wilt) and its beginning to pay off! Have got about 6 cucumbers similar to picture 1 about 2 in long.

Been hand pollinating my tomatillos (picture 2) in the greenhouse as not seen too many insects in there doing their job!!

Picture 3 is of my smallish garden plot... The bin in the top left is horseradish and my JAs can be seen heading sideward from the black tub...Have another tub with JAs in on patio.

[Mrs Dobby]

Got down to the plot with Mr D today, for the first time in a week! After all the rain over the past 2 days it seems like every weed seed in the world has decided to make a home on our beds and started to germinate, the beds looked green when we drove up, I wouldnt have minded if it had been things we'd planted, but weed seedlings!

Took some of the brassicas, onion seedlings, spring onion seedlings, the last of the banana shallot seedlings, the musselburgh leek seedlings and a few other bits n bobs and popped them into the unheated greenhouse to harden off a bit before planting them out next week (whilst I'm on holiday!)

Mr D hoed off all the beds, carefully getting between the rows of parsnips and onions, whilst I weeded the greenhouse, harvested some more radishes and then started to pull out goosegrass from in between the strawbs (some of which are flowering now!) and started to tackle the bindweed and mares tail that seems to be rife on the plot, even after double digging! Looks like bindweed is something we are going to be having an ongiong battle with, at least for the next year or two! However, there really isnt any comparison to how bad the weeds were and how poor the plot looked when we took it over, so at least we can take heart that its better than it was and shouldnt be too much of a problem as long as we can stay on top of it!

[pigletwillie]

I re-built a shed that was collected from a work colleague yesterday on plot one. This is now the tool shed leaving the shed on plot 2 as a proper "tea" hut.

Guttering was fixed to the shed taking the water into an Ibc and I also plumbed in overflow barrells making best use of space and resources.

Finally some parsnips in dunny rolls were planted out to finish a row. Tonight its pricking out of annual and pereniall flowers.

[veggieginger]

Today I escaped into the garden after work and planted some beetroot and carrot that I had grown in a 'nursery' pot (very long and big)

Did some weeding and watered everything - not lucky enough to have rain here yet

Everything seems to be doing well The egg shells I put down to deterr the slugs seem to be working.

[wellie]

Good job I looked at my calendar last evening, or I would have travelled all the way to Monmouth for no good reason, as my client's away.... so whoopee! I had today all to myself! Apart from meeting the gorgeous girly who I'm doing the wedding cake for. We met at a local garden centre, to sort out what we're going to plant in her garden for The Reception, which is all now a shocking two and a half weeks away! Good Job Jobbed.

When I returned home, I potted on all my autumn leeks 'Tornado' from their P40 trays, into individual pots. I also potted on the Celeriacs, as they're huge now, and I want them to continue to grow steadily. I decided it was too early yet to plant them out, even with protection, because they have a tendency to 'bolt' if planted out too early. I did, however, plant out all my sweetcorn plants, and, putting a tiny sprinkling of slug pellets around the stems, then covered each plant with a cut-off plastic drinks bottle, for extra protection.
But my day began way before all of the above..... collecting up every slug and snail that had "How Very Dare You" 'd to be there in the Potager.
You may not believe me, but I cross my heart, we're talking in excess of 300.
Empty coffee jar fill with rock salt and water, two of them, and everything from tiny black keel slugs to whopping great snails.
I really hate doing it, but you just have to.
I also sowed more Nasturtiums, Golden Beetroot, Bulls Blood Beetroot, Mangetout 'Delicata' for use as CCA saladings, Delicato Lettuce (red), oh and loads more that escapes me now with a glass to wind down with...!
A very productive and enjoyable day.
Thank you for listening,

[shirlthegirl43]

We got the greenhouse built and glazed!!! Thank you so much Madmax!!

Still have to finish securing it to the breezeblocks but otherwise done. Moved some of the plants out to the greenhouse as they have been hardening off for a few days and should be okay out there tonight - not due to get cold.

Also potted on the three surviving oaklets sent by TonyF - dheers Tony - they look quite happy now after their trip.

[has-bean]

Easy day today as at work. Earthed up first earlies for 2nd time they look fab - Premiere and also eathted up 2nd ear;ies a little. Then sat on wall with one of the old codgers and talkes about out grandads days for half an hour. Nice way tp pass the hour after tea

[madmax]

Almost finished Shirls greenhouse. Just the paving slabs to lay and the gravel on the inside and finish the mortar for the base. My mate Bob came round and helped me glaze the g/h. Thanks Bob! MK2 helped a bit as well...

Shirls has already started to fill it up with greenery!

And in between all this I fixed my Space Invaders cocktail table that Shirls plugged into a 240v UK supply and blew up - it runs off 110v! Blasting invaders with a pint of home brew sitting on it now and with the jukebox on! Just like in a pub!