The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[TonyF]

Weather here is still foul to changable and ground is sopping wet.

Went to look at chum (1) and (2)'s gardens yesterday but did virtually nothing.

Spent all gardening time today harvesting and tidying cherry tress and soft fruit bushes.

[heebiejeebie]

Planted a dozen lettuce "ice king" and several nasturtium and sunflower to fill up gaps. Neighbour (with whom I share the lottie) has some aubergine plants to go in but resisted planting them as I think her young son would like the honour.

[denise]

I went to Ryton Gardens today which was so inspiring - both for the displays they have there and to see that the plants they are planting out are the same size as mine - i thought I was so far behind.
They have a new garden under construction 'Biodynamic Garden ' which will include moon planting due to be finished in July
Hubby came with me and he now knows that i am talking sense most of the time, when it comes to gardening anyway.
So no gardening as such but lots of reassurance that I am doing Ok - so i will carry on bucking the trend on the lotty with my beds and 'crazy' ideas. I will also try harder to resist pouring weed killer over 1/2 the plot which i could have done easily last week.

[noidea]

Well...

I thinned out the radish, lettuce, beetroot and pak choi in the raised bed for the last time (hopefully)... gave the sweetcorn in the greenhouse a talking to then ranted at the greenfly on the straws. They didn't listen so I sprayed them with soapy water.

Sowed more lettuce, pak choi, spring onions, and transplanted an emergency broad bean. Learning fast that gardening with an extremely excited 3 year old means extras are always needed.

Let the kids thin the carrots in the Ikea bag a bit more and they were very happy to have tiny carrots with tortillas for dinner. Not a balanced meal but there you are.

Discovered my tatties were a goner but took pics of the two cherry tom sized ones to prove that I can grow something.

Shouted at aubergine in a motherly manner before allowing it near anything else after it trying to introduce greenfly to my toms.

Found a small greenfly on my basil and not sure what to do as whenever i get them wet they die.... must ponder that one.

Sprayed a few things with seaweed and looked lovingly at allotments online again.

Freaked out realising that you can hardly see out the window in the kids room (now known as the cucumber factory) and we already have 30 odd babies. Thought they were meant to be really hard to grow??? Surely there is something wrong there!

Oh and the pepper plants have flowers forming!

C x

[pigletwillie]

A quick water before the sun gets too hot and now its off to Barnsdale for a look see.

[poozie]

First time I have done anywork at allotment due to my health but yesterday I weeded out my onions and garlic (and harvested a few- ones my dog knocked over) whilst Ian (hubbie) strimmed down weeds. Although strimming has its uses he soon switched to my manual hedging shears (free with a magazine subscription) which did the job quicker and quieter.

I had a shock because i saw a fellow allotmenteer appearing to potter around naked. I thought the old bugger was starkers but Ian said that the old guy was lobster pink and was wearing matching shorts. His eyesight was better than mine........phew!

Before I left I sowed a short row of beetroot.

Today we shall put up canes for beans, net some cabbages and strawberries (probably a bit late for cabbages), sort out water butts and plant melons in greenhouse. Thats if Ian recovers from his hangover.

[SuzieP]

A day of firsts for me yesterday - I picked my first crop of peas yum yum, cut the comfrey and started fermenting for liquid gold, dug my first lot of potatoes (Orla - lovely size new potatoes) then came home to find hubby had bought some

[seasprout]

Sunday.

What a scorcher outside, I'm off to Barnsdale now for a look see. (dejavu)..?
Apparently its a veg weekend... you get to look around the out of bounds area around the allotment.

And I'm taking my camera.

[heebiejeebie]

Measured up for custom built planters for the side of the house (my next project). Now for the timber...
Planted 4 mystery beans (from a mate) in a planter on the terrace.
Continued spraying aphids with soapy water and pulling up horsetail. I am winning both wars!
Got the deckchair out and fell asleep in the shade

[Kimbo]

Today,usual routine of checking broad beans for blackfly (seem to be winning with the soapy water and nipping out growing tips), checked for slugs/snail damage (none since putting down organic pellets).

Then I went to argos to buy a new strimmer (got a 600w one and what a beast, now I can strim between the raised beds quickly and right down to the ground with no trouble at all).

Came home strimmed grass, moved courgette plants (in pots) out of the greenhouses and into the garden.

Planted out my first lot of minipop sweetcorn and some saxa radishes that I had started off in a tray (as raised bed wasnt ready).

Moved some more of the containers about (I am runnin gout of space).

I hope to get my triangle shaped bed finally dug out (started this last year but never finished it) sometime this week as I have some more compost and some topsoil coming on thursday.

Later on today I am going to order my first proper greenhouse 6 x 12ft, cant wait.

[rustylady]

Went to the lottie, picked 3 plastic tubs full of strawberries and cut off runners - I really don't need any more strawberry plants. Planted out french beans, weeded, got bitten by a blackberry and bled (not much, but I need sympathy). Sweetcorn (Minipop) is looking OK and is actually growing. Courgettes are still alive (best I can say about them at the moment). Potatoes are looking good, so are shallots and white onions, red ones are sulking. Weeds are growing faster than I can cope with them at the moment.

[pigletwillie]

We went to Barnsdale this morning, its got lots of good ideas and the gardens are lovely. I suggest visiting early as it gets crowded later in the day.

A trip via a local nursery saw Piglette very happy and me £45 lighter in the pocket but we did come away with a David Austin rambling rose for the plot.

After dropping that hoard off our daughter and I hit the plot and harvested new potatoes, radish, numerous types of salad leaves, scallies and baby beetroot for a corking goats cheese salad. Now we are fed, Piglette is planting in the beds and I am sowing seeds for succession and sorting out squash and pumpkins ready to go to the plots next week.

[wellie]

Trousers and I, driving back from 'Dog Sitting' spotted a yellow sign in Lydney saying Garden Open. Teas. Well, there we go then.... and it was a fabulous garden, and tea was great, with homemade sponge cake being Trousers's absolute fave!
Dogsitting this weekend. I love these two dogs, but remind me not to get a dog. My cat wouldn't approve, and neither would I, or Trousers.
So that's sorted then!
Oh, it's good to be home! Cream Crackered as we are.....but have updated the 'you know what' for you all tonight!
Wishing you all a lovely week,
Thank you for listening,

[Snadger]

Finally got round to picking the rhubarb and making one litre of rhubarb schnapps with vodka and one litre with gin!
Had a day in the lottie constructing my carrot growing frame of enviromesh over my raised bed! Carrots all sown 13 rows of Autumn king, 6 rows of Chanteney red cored, 6 rows of early Nantes and 5 rows of Danvers!
Put a few water retaining granules in the drills to see if I can stop the carrots splitting like they did last year.
Anyway, they're all tucked up in there enviromesh cocoon and hopefully I should get some edible carrots this year!

[Percy T]

well the plan was to spend three hours down on the plot today but in all proberly spent about 40 mins however did manage to get some more lettice in, twenty odd beetroot and water all my little babies.

didnt even get round to spraying the blackfly on my mock orange or watering my babies at home.

long story dont ask.

but................... thanks to a piece of good luck may be able to get down on the plot for couple of hours tomorrow and again on Tues. fingers crossed.