What I Did Today Archive 2008

[selfheal]

just been on a slug/snail blitz and got a rather small collection: 2 decent sized snails (already in the container i used for collecting them in- easy prey!!!) 1 smallish slug and 5 teeny baby ones.

i think im quite lucky! thats the first blitz ive done! but i cant beleive those are the only culprits, im sure i'll find some more lurking tomorrow night.

i think my very healthy pond full of frogs and newts helps on that front, and lots of birds too! (maybe just maybe a hedgehog or two?!)

then came inside and gave my chillis and peppers a water, and used a paint brush to polinate my pepper flowers!

[Winged one]

Last night I mainly watered pots in the back garden, pulled a couple of mangetout to nibble before they got too big, and planted out the land cress into the garden.

The sweetcorn has almost all germinated in its pots, and there is a bit more spinach as well. The cos lettuce I sowed about 4 weeks ago should be ready for the plot in another couple of weeks, while the sowing of mixed salad I did 10 days ago is peeping through the compost. The borlotti beans look as though they burst through their compost with some force!! There was nothing there on Monday about 5.30pm (before the toddler got really sick) and last night they were 3 inches tall!! The pumpkins are almost ready to go into the ground and the leeks are starting to thicken up as well.

This morning, as I ran around getting me and the toddler ready for creche and work (now that she's well enough again!!) - I went outside and picked my lunch! 2 big handfuls of mixed salad leaves, a few basil leaves and a handful of mangetout - to go with 2 carrots, half a pepper, a stick of celery and a fistful of cherry toms from the shops. Now that's a Wellie-style salad bar lunch!!

I have also started collecting more coffee cups for a later infill planting of peas on the plot. Needed a caffeine boost this morning (the toddler woke every single hour last night) and will probably actually go for another shortly to keep my eyes open......

[Flummery]

Tied up the toms again in the greenhouse. My first to set fruit are Golden Sunrise - never grown these before. There is one Sungold following closely but the rest are only in flower. Potted on the odd Tom that will have to grow in a pot - there'll be several of these as I've run out of room! Just off to sow some Romanesco - also new to me. There's always something new to try.

Just got notification from Amazon that the book they've been trying to get hold of for me - breed your own vegetable varieties - is on its way. Rude sex down the allotments!

Edit - How could I forget? I furtled out nearly 1lb of Anya potatoes for tea from a pot with 3 in, which was started off early in the greenhouse. They are a Pink Fir Apple cross and you can see the parentage. They look like white fir cones.

[Mrs Dobby]

Got to the plot for 1030am, straight from the Dr's! Mr D started clearing the weeds from the large brassica bed on our original plot, then moved 7 gooseberry bushes from one side of it into a square area, so he could add 2 cross paths. He then cut wood and fitted it to edge the paths, set up the netting over the brassicas and watered everything.

I started by feeding all the toms and other plants in the greenhouses, then rotorvating 2 beds, then putting up 2 pea netting supports and a cane bean support, then planting the netting with heritage Carlin Peas and Heritage Purple Podded Peas, and the bean support in the center with Borlotti climbing beans. After that I planted out another 48 broad bean seedlings (24 were planned, and 24 were from a seed packet Mr D left outside that got wet in the rain the other night!), 12 Mini D'or french beans (and netted them against the wabbits) and another 2 double rows of peas, rondo and early onwards. Finally I planted out 2 chestnut squashes that we needed to get out, which are now happily sat in the end of a courgette bed.

We left the plot at 840pm, had a great day in glorious weather, got loads done and the plots are looking great, the first bed in our original plot that now has paths in to match the new plot looks brill, and once we've put in matching paths in the other beds it will look like one huge plot, all tied in together, all paths tidy and much easier to keep on top of the smaller beds!

Lee is going to continue with path laying tomorrow, and once I get home from tomorrows Managers Meeting, then I will be rushing down the plot to plant out some more brassica seedlings and sow some catch crops of more radishes, beetroot, spring onions and lettuce!

[heebiejeebie]

Weeded and weeded and weeded yesterday after work then planted a few lettuces in gaps by the beans and courgettes. Met neighbour- received marigolds and chives, gave away lettuces in exchange.

[Mrs Dobby]

Lee managed to get the last bit of the brassica bed weeded, and the last 2 paths put into that bed, then gave everything a good water yesterday, but by the time I got home it was tipping it down, so I was unable to get to the plot to do any sowing! Grr!

Both supposed to be working today, but Mr D has got a very bad back, so he isnt going in, a day of rest for his back with some gentle stretches methinks! I'm now working thru till next Tuesday, but may get chance to do a bit tomorrow night and Sunday / Monday nights with any luck!

[kentvegplot]

Yesterday started at 6am, potting on some chilies and tomatoes which I raised from cuttings (worked brilliantly, highly recommend it). Then put up the bean supports, and planted out all the beans (5 varieties). Put out two more gutters of peas and the purple podded peas went up on a wigwam. Need to get some more lettuce seed and beetroot in today.

Oh, and I left the tap running from the water butt for two hours, when I forget I had left it filling the water can

[middlefield]

I managed to remember to take my camera down to the plot last night - so I've updated the blog.

It was a beautiful evening for gardening, and I got another five or six buckets of small weeds out, everything is looking really well at the moment. First early potatoes aren't far from flowering, peas and mange tout have loved the rain this week and the brussells planted last weekend have taken really well.

There is still lots to go in though - and I know from my own cost last year not to get complacent with the weeding

[Flummery]

Yesterday I planted out my purple sprouts and scarlet kale under an anti-pigeon cage at the allotment. Weeded, hoed the paths, then earned major brownie points by planting up Ma's window boxes and tubs with busy lizzies and lobelia. Planted some toms in her little back garden too. One day I'll be a little old lady and I'm training the younger generation up!

[Winged one]

This morning, I did a quick foray into the back garden and made lunch. When I arrived at work, I ordered (another) batch of seeds in the T&M half price sale (I did this only a couple of weeks ago too - but forgot broad and french beans and herbs, so added a few more "want to haves" as well - sterling/euro being such good value at the miinute!!). Over lunchtime (after nibbling my various leaves and pods over emails), I nipped out to the plot.

Pulled a small bucket's worth of weeds (tiddlers, but they'll be big next week).

Covered the broad beans and raspberries with net (and recovered the peas). Damn - just remembered that I meant to use my last net to cover the peas at the back end cos they were being eaten - will go back on Monday lunch to do that (away this weekend).

Pulled the sideshoots off a lot of the tomatoes (left some that are still very small for another day when not so rushed).

Admired the great growth after the rain this week - beans are settled in already, cabbages are getting HUGE (oops, I need to fiinish the spring ones first - maybe I should have put more calabrese than cabbages after all in the summer bed....), tomatoes are getting nicely bushy and the onions are swelling beautifully.

Harvested: 2 cabbages and a handful of onions for MIL (in return for beds this weekend)
3 onions, handful of broad beans and handful of peas for us (onions to last a few nights, peas and beans will be tonight's dinner before hitting the road - oh yum)

Have to water the mini greenhouse tonight before we go, and probably add some mangetout to tonight's haul for the plates.

[KellsSimon]

I transplanted many lettuce and american land cress, to fill the spaces where my spinach has bolted and where the beans havn't grown yet. Also picked some rocket to go with dinner, but soon there will be more to harvest!
Did some worrying about courgette plants (yelow and floppy), and hand hoed between the rows to keep them clean. also saw that my Pac choi has germinated. Woo Hoo! only took a week and saw the first bit of green above the ground on my potatoes. Still no sign of my celariac though...

[Two_Sheds]

well, it's still raining. I haven't seen the sun for a month . So today I am sewing, not sowing.

[shirlthegirl43]

Planted some Golden Wonder tatties where I had given up on the asparagus bed (yes they are late but I forgot I had them). Found 2 asparagus crowns with minor signs of life so they have been replanted in a huge tubtrug - hope they like it better than the bed they had! The marvellous Madmax finished the last bit of the designated Veg Patch (which used to be the bramble and nettle wilderness. Might post piccies tomorrow if we get the cauli and cabbages planted out. Have the first pods appearing on the Alderman peas, first flowers on the purple podded mangetout and the Canoe peas are starting to get hold of the netting and make progress. Direct sowed some Boltardy beetroot (thanks GYO). Think I might as well give up on the tomatoes, peppers and chillies this year, they are not thriving at all. Won't try fibre pots for them next year as they don't seem to like them.

[heebiejeebie]

Cut some hedges, pulled up some brambles...

Potted on the cabbages Copenhagen Market and cauliflower Grafitti into 5" pots, and two tomato moneymaker then ran out of pots. Again.

Weeded part of the near plot - the paths between the beds are a disgrace. I've been looking at them and thinking, "I don't have time to make a real impact on those weeds, I need to come back with the proper fork and do it all at once." However, I've decided that if I spend 10 minutes weeding every time I'm there I'll probably get it done well enough.

Mentally made some plans for permanent raised beds in the near plot with membrane & bark chips on the paths

Decided to offer my spare seedlings (wtf am I going to do with 30 tomato plants and 60 lettuces?) to someone on freecycle.

[Cloud]

Planted some Golden Wonder tatties where I had given up on the asparagus bed (yes they are late but I forgot I had them). Found 2 asparagus crowns with minor signs of life so they have been replanted in a huge tubtrug - hope they like it better than the bed they had! The marvellous Madmax finished the last bit of the designated Veg Patch (which used to be the bramble and nettle wilderness. Might post piccies tomorrow if we get the cauli and cabbages planted out. Have the first pods appearing on the Alderman peas, first flowers on the purple podded mangetout and the Canoe peas are starting to get hold of the netting and make progress. Direct sowed some Boltardy beetroot (thanks GYO). Think I might as well give up on the tomatoes, peppers and chillies this year, they are not thriving at all. Won't try fibre pots for them next year as they don't seem to like them.

I grew Golden Wonder last year disappointing harvest.great tasting spuds and keep forever!!