The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[Hazel at the Hill]

The steady heavy drizzle that came down all day stopped just in time to go to the Hill this evening.

• took 6 x 18" square slabs from the front garden to the Hill to put near the front of the plot to form a 'flower border'. Just need to work out the 'flower' bit.
• picked half a carrier bag of runners, a couple of turnips and a couple of lettuce
• marvelled at the growth in 48hrs just from a bit of rain
• marvelled EVEN MORE at the tomatoes which just look utterly fabulous after the blight scare a couple of weeks ago. Hurrah!

[Flummery]

Yesterday rained almost all day (in between the drizzle). Feeling a total fool I wandered down to neighbour's 4 doors away for whom I'd promised to water hanging baskets. Brazened it out. Watered in the rain. Came back, watered greenhouse - my first aubergine is now about 4" long - but still stick thin. Like a teenager! Picked toms, purple french climbing beans and pulled 3 kohl rabi for tea.

Spent most of the day indoors pursuing one of the alternative hobbies. Friend with a large hairy Old English Sheepdog type pooch gave him a bath, had him clipped and sent me the 'fleece' to spin. Got my first ball of 2 ply 'wool'. It's amazingly soft, better than many sheep fleeces I've used. Bit like alpaca. The aim is for me to make her a wooly hat!

Hoping to get a dry enough day today to lift a little more of the grass path in the front garden.

[momol]

Harvested 1 big bitter gourd, several korean squashes, a marketmore cucumber, a courgette, 2 romanian hot chillies, 1 fennel bulb and a whole basket of water cress.
Managed to liquid fertilized all the winter squashes. This afternoon will be picking the pears & removing more squashes old leaves ( to improve the air circulations ).

[moggssue]

Last night in the rain I harvested green beans, a courgette and the only two red cherry toms I have to go into the mackerel salad for dinner then pulled up a very blightly Big Boy tomato, destroyed it and checked and fed the rest of the toms which so far seem unaffected. Harvested more green beans and threw them in the freezer, then huddled indoors with a bottle of red wine!

[Madasafish]

Picked more SUngold tomatoes and 3 GDelight. looked at pears. caught another mouse.
Fed turkeys more sprouts: it's only about 14 weeks to xmas dinner...

[heebiejeebie]

Another 3 hours of... you guessed it... jungle clearance! Followed by the usual blog update.

The only veg I picked today was a few outer leaves for neighbour's guinea pigs who are spending their fortnight's hols with us. And our cats.

But the cabbages look FAB on the plot, there are a couple of mini caulis ready (i.e. big enough) and the caulis I planted out for a later crop are showing one or two small heads

[Two_Sheds]

Today I repaired the wind-damage...bean canes blown down, sunflowers demolished. This ain't funny any more. My sweetcorn and brussels are all loosened, so I need to earth them up tomorrow.
On the plus side, I picked chillie, beetroot, carrot, french beans, potatoes and made them into a warm salad. No lettuce...its bolted.

[wellie]

Trousers was persuaded to leave the GYO Forum 'long enough to take photos for our Virtual Show Entries', and has saved them in a separate file for later use.

As I type, I'm making a gorgeous Arrabiata Sauce for the freezer with very very ripe tomatoes, chillies, red onions and garlic - wot I grew.... all roasted in a hot oven for even more flavour. This growing thing is just great!

Dave 'next door but one' came in for a coffee to tell us of our Village Show at the weekend, we're not entering, we thought we'd go and pick up a few tips for the GYO Virtual Show 'standard-wise', so we know what kind of thing to enter?

Thank you for listening,

[Hazel at the Hill]

This evening I have made 'Marble cake - see recipe supplied' for the Hill Show on Sunday...If it is a DISASTER I still have time to have another crack at it!

Even if my veg entries are not up to the mark...how hard is it to make a cake.....I am now VERY WORRIED INDEED that the tin is not big enough (3 eggs, 12oz SR, 8oz sugar, 8oz butter) but have used the proscribed 8" tin....still think I should have used a deeper one...

Come back in an hour's time and see if my next entry is 'today I scraped cake mixture off the inside of the oven!'

Promise to post a piccy.....

[HappyMouffe]

Last night I picked lots of blackberries, harvested multicoloured carrots, harvested lettuce, hoed weeds and disturbed a tiny toad which was hiding under the courgette bush. I don't think the toad is quite big enough to feast on the mega slugs we have though.

OH completed scything down the long weeds on the new plot.

[heebiejeebie]

I have done enough clearing-of-jungle to reach the 20ft-high bramble stems, pull them down and pick the ripe berries . It was so overgrown in the far corner of the garden that even the birds couldn't reach. Apple and blackberry pie later today .

[kirsty b]

My sister came over today with her petrol strimmer and we went out to play with it for a bit.
Pulled out the blighted tomatoes and have put them in my oil drum ready for burning.
Strimmed the paths and cleared some other areas up. Got a roll of black plastic off freecycle the other day, so have covered the cleared area with this to prevent any weed regrowth in the meantime.
Picked more runner beans, found some un-blighted toms at t'other end of plot and picked a ripe one. Collected my eggs.
Came home for a bit of lunch and housework then going back down to weed fruit and brassica beds, sow spring cabbages and do some more tidying up.
And pick blackberries.
Brought my seed boxes home for sort out and plan to clean the greenhouse out this afternoon.

[Farmer_Gyles]

only work outside last few days has been watering stuff in the greenhouse
made a salad tuesday as planned, with home grown veggies
pork chops mash and home grown green beans yesterday (french beans?)
pie and chips today with home grown peas and runner beans
made first batch of plum jam today
tomorrow is another "home grown" salad
saturday i'm picking our first cauliflower ... cauliflower cheese, sausage and chips

kinda makes it all worthwhile
but i'm def gonna need a spare freezer next year .......

[sewer rat]

Today I pinched the growing tips from all my tomatoes in order to hasten ripening before I lose too many to blight, which is beginning to show on a few varieties.
I also lifted my garlic and strung it up in my store to dry - lifted and hung330 reasonable sized bulbs, but had quite a few that I binned as they had started to rot at the neck.

[scarey55]

Gave in and had to do housework today . Nice weather her for the past few days so: veg patch one house nill. Isn't someone's tag line "no woman ever died wishing she'd done more housework"?
Did fertilise melons though - got 2 very small (sub golf ball sized) quite excited.