What I Did Today Archive 2008

[Winged one]

Not a lot to report yesterday - brought home and washed out the takeaway coffee cups for some peas (need the few remaining loo roll holders for parsnips!) and will sow some meteor in those tonight.

Had planned on taking today off, but big meeting this afternoon. Now stuck with dr's appointment in the morning tomorrow, but I might just throw my gear into the boot for when I am on the way home, and spend a couple of hours on the plot if the weather is fine - weeding, sowing, and tidying plastic. Saving the digging for friday as OH has agreed to come with me and I don't want tools visible in the car when I am parked out on the road in town early in the day tomorrow (the long handled ones and the wheelbarrow only fit in the back seat).

[Flummery]

First job was shopping - ASDA. The flower lady was re-stocking so I asked in my most polite voice what they usually did with the old tubs, and did they ever, for example, sell them? She said they send them back to be re-used but if I wanted I could have some. I decided not to spoil it for the rest of you by being greedy and so I came away with half a dozen brilliant tomato pots (which will do duty next spring as spud tubs!)

Potted up some Swiss chard - gave them a small pot each to grow on a bit before sending them out to the big, wide lottie. Sowed some nasturtiums. Went to the lottie just to tittivate the beds - random weed seedlings nipped in the bud! Earthed up the few spuds that were showing. Hung around the greenhouse for a bit - admiring the pricking out from earlier in the week - it's amazing how things pull their socks up when they get a bit of dirt of their own. Got excitied at the Rare Breed peas peeking out. Made biscuits. Can't put off the ironing any longer!

[Mrs Dobby]

Well, another full day at the plot today, and doesnt my back know about it! I'm on hols this week, so we've been catching up on planting, managed to get the last bed of maincrop spuds in today, followed by turning over another 15' by 5' bed for courgettes (12 planted out of 4 varieties), along with some catchcrop radishes and beetroot, which were then surrounded with perspex walls and draped in fleece, determined not to have the wabbits eat all the courgettes on plot 2, or to loose them to the frost this year!

After that was done we retired to the greenhouse and planted that up, 10 toms, 6 chillies, 2 aubergines, 2 cucumbers and 6 peppers, along with some more catchcrop lettuces and a few french marigolds to stop the whitefly being a problem in there!

After that a good water for both plots, and Mr D planted out another 12 brassica plantlets from the greenhouse at home, before covering with netting.

A full and productive day, and dont my aching bod just know it!

A day out tomorrow, then back to the plot on Friday for peas and beans planting and hopefully tackle one of the last big beds on plot 1 that needs to be dug over, ready for carrots and othr roots!

[Rich75]

concocted and experimental netting system up which to grow the melons.. though i'm slightly worried i've pinched out the wrong bit on them and they're now stunted. Attempting to plant broad beans but it just keeps tipping it down every 5 mins. and admiring the new flower buds on the tomato plants

[Ses]

Today I'm off sick from work so I pottered around in the garden a bit

Checked on my french beans... some bloody bird has bitten the leaves off one of them...grrrrr...going to have to find some netting to protect them

Then I planted some carrots in a big container.. some were already going so I started off the next lot for a bit of staggering.

Talked to my 2 (!) Sweetcorn shoots that have germinated, and asked them to kindly request that their brothers and sisters came alive, watered some things, planted some squash seeds in a seed tray...then felt too ill so I've come back inside to re-energise before sorting out my leggy parsnips and planting some more beetroot.

[jackie j]

Went to the Lottie planted main crop pots king edward, pea's i forgot to take note of what they were bought them loose, weeded cabbage patch, put more netting over early peas
Oh yeah PICKED RADDISHES not that im boasting !!!

[Arachne]

Today I got back from holiday to find that all the plants in the kitchen, on the tea-towels-with-ends-in-sink-of-water are flourishing, if a little hungry for light, and that everything except the dark opal basil in the greenhouse, on the actual bought-for-a-tenner-from-garden-centre watering mat has died due to the watering mat... umm... not doing what it says on the tin. At all.

No big problem, as because I didn't fully trust the watering mat to start with, I mainly put doubles of things, and what was left after I pricked-out healthiest specimens.

Oh, and the purple jalapenos that hadn't germinated, that I forgot about and left in the airing cupboard, germinated while I was away, and are unsurprisingly leggy. I suspect they're salvageable, going to prick-out-'n'-pot tomorrow morning, then put them in the greenhouse to get all the sunshine they could possibly want.

[heebiejeebie]

Potted on the tomatoes (5x arctic plenty and 4x gardeners' delight) and chili (anaheim - sowed 10 and only 1 germinated).

[Charles Hemingway]

Got my copy of GYO today just had a good read of it and got good tips for netting frames

[delnel]

Today, I gave up all hope of my strawberry seeds germinating, so I went out and bought 6 strawberry plants, which will hopefully not die on me.

[heebiejeebie]

More potting on: swede, brussels sprouts, leaf beet, basil, nasturtium, hollyhock, delphinium.
Sowed more chili seeds in the hope that warmer weather = better germination.
Planted out and fleeced a dozen cos lettuces.
Did a little bit of weeding around the potatoes.

[shirlthegirl43]

Put some twiggy branches of privet among the Alderman peas for them to climb. Finally got some more ground dug over ready to plant out beetroot, cauli, cabbage, calabrese and kohl rabi.

A friend came round and did a very good impression of a JCB and cleared a large area (for my garden) of nettles and weeds - now I just have to deep dig and rake over. I am blessed with lovely soil in my rather neglected for the last 15 years or so garden, so hopefully I will have better crops this year.

If only everything grew as easily as hairy bittercress!!!

[Salina]

sowed seeds..... runner beans, tomatoes, squash & flowers.
went to garden centre and bought lettuce plants & gro-bag.
planted 20 baby lollo rosso lettuces in the gro-bag.
re-potted strawberry plant.

[Mrs Dobby]

Mr D started to dig over last years brassica bed (lovely compacted soil with lots of grass on it atm) yesterday, whilst I erected 2 rows of pea / bean supports to join the other 2 that were already up, then planted out 2 rows each of two types of runner bean, 2 double rows of pea (early onwards), 2 types of dwarf french bean and 2 outdoor cucumbers (under cloches). Watered and fed the greenhouse, watered the courgettes under fleece on plot 2 (seem to be coming along well) and then put down some chicken manure pellets.

We're off to visit his folks today, so no allotmenteering (boo!), but Sunday I'm hoping to get some carrots into the part of the bed that Mr D dug over yesterday, and perhaps finish diggin the pea / bean bed and get another 2 support frames up and planted.

Broad beans and strawbs are now flowering, the rasps and blackcurrants seem to have flowering buds ready to burst open, and the toms seem to be coming on at a good rate of knots! Cant wait to be eating fresh fruit and veg straight from the plot!!

[Charles Hemingway]

watered weeded today also picked a nice spring cabbage for tomorows diner. shame I have to go to work tonight though