The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[heebiejeebie]

Yesterday I picked 2 small caulis and 2 tiny ones that were starting to blow, 2 marrows and some leaf beet. Made cheesy veg (now in freezer). Also picked a couple of dozen apples from the tree using my new telescopic picker and made apple cake. Will take the rest in to work and give them away.

Got japanese onion sets from Wilko. Think I'll plant them in part of this year's potato bed, after digging in some ash as recommended by a neighbour. That still leaves room for the kale to be transplanted from its current location. The small caulis both had clubroot in the next bed though so maybe I should leave the kale where it is or just transplant every other plant to see how it fares. I tidied up the leaf beet - some of the outer leaves had rust so I picked and binned anything that didn't look green and fresh.

The leeks are doing well but the garlic seems to be going brown at the tips so I might make another garlic bed just in case there's something wrong with it.

Today I dug over the potato/bonfire bed and the cauli bed and pulled out anything that shouldn't be there - bindweed, bramble, stones, lost potatoes... then covered as much as I could with all the cardboard I've been saving. I'll plant through it. Weeded the leeks & garlic and asparagus beds.

[rutters]

when do you expect the Broad beans/Jap onions to be harvestable?

cheers

[momol]

Pull out the last 2 remaining cucumber vines, remove and killed the bitter gourd vine, while weeding found some 3 medium size Yokohama squashes... yeahhhh, hoooooooera they might made it on time.
Pruned and dug up the romanian hot chillie for over wintering, dug up some of the mustard and cleared the bed for the winter kale ( nero di toscano, collards & raggged jack ).
Harvested some several more korean squashes, 1 more cougette, a big bunch of basil leaves ( will freeze them for winter use ). Has ordered some seeds and mushrooms spawn from seed of italia. this afternoon, will be planting out the winter kale if the weather is allowing.

Momol

[scared55]

Dug out for the second 6m x 2m bed in the south potager. Endless fun!

[Vegmonkey]

Watered my new turf...woo hoo! I hope it doesn't die. Admired the courgettes growing, i am going to find it difficult not to let them grow massive! Binned the blackfly infested bean plants, watered everything else like mad. Decided to plant some more lettuce, spring onions and turnip this weekend.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Besides noticing how early it is getting dark now, when I went to the Hill tonight I:

• picked a modest bag of runner beans - they are running (haha!) out of steam now, but will have cropped for about 5 wks
• did a dance at noticing FIRST COURGETTE with flower
• staked up two of the sweetcorn which were looking distinctly rocky - hope the one is ok, it had blown over. Tassles going brown on them now - will check for ripeness when it is not too dark to see
• rifled through the acres of butternut squash foliage to see if we have any flowers/fruit yet. Possibly - couldn't see wot with it being best part of dark by then

Came home to string and salt the runner beans - container now full so into the garage for the long winter days.....
Also put some cream on ugly welts that have come up on my forearms.... this also happened earlier in the year so must be reacting to something on the plot....??

[Sebbster]

Planted out a couple of rows of Bright yellow Chard and watered thoroughly, including everything else.

Now have Sprouts, Kale, Chard, Swede, Turnip which are my winter veg. Spring cabbage might get planted out this weekend but I want to put up a net for these first. Carrots germinated now and although germination not great, will get a good supply to save.

Must dig up grown carrots, getting some damage underground so will store in sand once lifted.

[Madasafish]

Sowed winter lettuce in greenhouse.
2 turkey poults now 7 weeks old have been placed in outside living accomodation worthy of a 5 star hotel complete with overflowing food bowls and an ample supply of grass.
They don't like the cold... and told me so -- volubly. I told them to shut up and put them in their hotel suite andd shut the door. This has continued for some 2 days...and as the weather has warmed up, and they have become accustomed to the cold.. they have stopped complaining too much.
As I write they are practising takeoffs and landings... it is claimed they can reach 30lbs and 30mph in flight.

Guided missile statistics..

Picked all pears, picking seeds of giant white nicotiana. (5-6 feet tall)

[Farmer_Gyles]

picked first celery - and ate it - nice!
picked another pound of runners and half pound of french beans
picked first sweetcorn and frozen it - bits had been eaten where i'd peeled back leaves couple of weeks back to check if it was ready so i cut those off
planted out more celery and lettuce
pulled up some weeds
cut the grass and topped up the compost bin
picked and ate one more strawberry - would be nice next year if i had loads of strawberries rather than just one or two at a time!

[momol]

Picked all of the birds left over grapes They have eaten almost 3/4 of them in within 3 days, now I don't have enough ripe grapes for my raisin plan.
Sow some mache/ lambs lettuce, sow some polish yellow radish ( seeds just arrived this morning, the radish looks beautiful ) , sow some chrysanthemun, plant out some 8 collards ( morris heading and southern georgian ) in their final position, fertilized pak soy and friends with mix dry chicken and cow manure, harvested 1 huge chinese mustard plant ( weight just over 1 kg , cooked it in stir fry, taste very nice and not bitter at all ).
Weeded a bit and found some 3 wax gourds ranging from the size of grape fruit to melon... yippy a succes for my first attemp )

Momol

[rutters]

when do you expect to be eating the lambs lettuce? Do you grow it outside?

cheers

[Salina]

mowed the lawn
started strimming a huge patch of overgrown lawn
cut most of the hedge
started planting hedge clippings (laurel)
transplanted turnip seedlings into big tub
put baby strawberry plants into bigger pots
put young tomato plants into bigger pots
harvested a few baby courgettes (they were yummy! )

[Winged one]

On saturday (have been away since so no grapes - awww), the 3 of us went to hte plot. Toddler had lots of fun diggin in the onion patch and putting onions harvested into the produce bag for bringing home to dry out. Also harvested the last of the garlic. Harvest also included the very last of the brocolli, a cauliflower, some spring onions and a couple of peas and mangetout.

OH then dug over the onion bed, and we planted the brassica plants for spring - 2 types of cabbage, a purple and a white brocolli and some cauliflowers (15 of each, we must be mad). Weeded a bit and put up loads more netting. Found that under the weeds, there may be a few french bean plants growing (sowed seeds in late July) and also some carrots (ditto). The late July sown peas are growing, but no signs of flowers yet.

OH went back later in the day and sprayed the unproductive area (as in, still covered in weeds) with weedkiller. To be covered with plastic and dug over as time allows.

This weekend, we must move the herbs that don't die over winter to the plot (rosemary bush, tiny bay tree, tarragon, sage, thyme and oregano) - some die back but regrow every year and builders will just stomp on them. Will harvest last cabbage, and poss another cauli, last of lettuce and spring onions, maybe get a few more peas - all from the plot. And the last of the french beans should be coming off the plants in garden too, as well as the last few cherry toms. I can see the proper sized toms not reaching proper size or redness before said builder arrive, so anticipating a day of green tomato chutney making.

Oh, and gave my aunt and uncle (theoretically using some of plot but not really) a plait of onions and some garlic. Uncle offered some autumn fruiting raspberry canes, so will get those in a couple of weeks.

[pigletwillie]

On the plot I harvested razzers, a big punnet of strawbs, lots of beans, a bag of small beetroot to pickle as baby beets, courgettes and a bunch of mixed flowers for Karen.

On the construction side, 2 raised beds went in on plot 2, with 2 more to follow when the ground is clear of parsnips, gladioli and dahlias.

The late sown peas are now flowering and were well watered to prevent mildew taking a hold.

At home 7 1/2 pints of courgette soup were made with most going into the freezer for winter use.

[Flummery]

Spent the last couple of session in the garden clearing off 'finished' pea vines and corn stalks. Found a few more squashes under the debris. Also had a few sessions of collecting caterpillars from the brassicas and taking them to the front garden to the 'excarnation platform' - the top of the gate post support. They soon disappear - either eaten by birds or off on a fruitless search for brassicas in the front garden.
Also been making crab apple and damson chutney, damson jam and bramble and apple jelly. All rellies callled in to provide empty jars!