What I Did Today Archive 2008

[Rhona]

Planted some winter salad - mainly organic corn salad; did a lot of clearing; watched next door's little girl knock one my remaining ripening tomatoes onto the ground (oh well, at least she's interested - her war cry is "What have you got to eat in your garden?" and then eats anything she can find); getting garlic ready but a bit early for me yet.

[greenfingers007]

Planted 100 Radr Onion's only got 200 more to go over this week.

[SlugLobber]

Yesterday nearly killed me! I did the following:

Weeded 3 flower beds
Planted out fresh winter pansies x 24
Planted 21 Tulip bulbs and 21 snowdrops
Sowed some Sweetpea (unknown variety as I collected the seed from a stray plant)
Dug a ditch!
Moved the kale to the sunny spot formerly occupied by a spud plant
Harvested the last of the autumn spuds and recycled the compost in hanging baskets
Made up hanging baskets of hyacinths, ivy and pansies.
Watered my onion sets (and other baskets and overwintering seeds).

I am back at work today, for a rest, thank God!

ETA: I forgot that I pruned some roses and cleared some mystery (but very pretty) dead flowers from the damp course! I also cleared brambles from around the gas meter.

[Winged one]

Yesterday I spent a few minutes on the plot. OH spent all day at work, only getting home about 4pm, so time was not on my side. And we won't be there next weekend at all, so as I had to get fleece and it was as easy to go and get the one roll off the plot where it's not being used, as go to the DIY store and buy some for home (poor spuds in sacks looking shook), that's what I did. (Staying in my good casual boots as I was NOT working there at that hour - I still had to do some paid work stuff as well which meant a trip to coffee shop out of toddler's eyeline).

While I was there, I also gathered a bag of beans (borlotti, broad and a couple of french), a handful of peas, a couple of handfuls of calabrese sprouts, 5 radishes and the first 2 tiny ears of corn. On the way back to the car, I also chopped 3 stalks of thistley things that are very popular for flower arranging (they've got beautiful heads on them) that I am going to dry in the shed and use over the Christmas period for my own flower arrangements.

Then I went off and did my work and had a nice coffee in peace. When I got home, I put the fleece around the poor spuds, and watered the spuds, tomatoes and courgette plant. And then finished up the housework, had dinner and flopped for half an hour knitting and perusing the October GYO before bed. (And also realised thye November one should be in shops already - how is time flying so FAST???!!!!)

[KellsSimon]

yesterday I looked on in despair...

[Kayt]

Don't despair. Have a cup of coffee, bar of chocolate, make a plan and deal with one area at a time. You will get there. I took on a 160' x 16' plot that was 90% coverered in 8' high brambles a year ago. It is now fairly cleared, have been given a shed and feel I'm winning.

[Two_Sheds]

I took some cuttings, like Toby Buckland told us on Gardener's World: 12 violas and 12 pelargoniums. Free plants for next year

* update: the violas all died from greenfly attack. Little b'stards

[zazen999]

Sunday: visited Chatsworth - well worth a visit whilst the sculptures are up.
Trip to lottie to clear out the blighty toms [they all went bad] and bring home for the brown bin collection, brought back potatoes to last the next months or so, and harvested loads more calabrese/romanesco.

Yesterday: listed every seed packet for this/next year and whittled my box down - so loads more seeds to add to the travelling seed swap, whereever they are at the moment.

potted up my 2 comfrey root cuttings

[Marthaclematis]

We cut the grass for the first time since late August (ooops) and it was really LUSH. Gorgeous. Perhaps its because we ignored it, then all that rain followed by late summer sun. Then again I have done a lot of scarifying this year and I have scattered a lot of seed too. Either way, its certainly paid off. I now know what to do for the future and can't wait for next year's 'lawn' (maybe we will be able to call it a 'lawn' by then).

[BrideXIII]

I am getting withdrawal symptoms due to being stuck in the house with the builders, but my strawberry runners arrived this morning from Coomber ( thankyou again!) so I had the perfect excuse to rush out and get them into their cold frame
as soon as they have shifted all the rubbish of my slabs and compost bags, I can get back to putting the paths down.

[Bren In Pots]

Picked the last of my runner beans this morning, there's some for dinner tonight then I'll freeze the rest.

[Hazlerigg]

Lifted about 5 sq ms of paving slabs surrounding my greenhouse cos 'she who must be obeyed' says I'm stealing too much of the lawn to make raised beds ! Was greeted with an horrendous network of horsetail roots ! Took the advice posted on this site to pick away at it bit by bit rather than try to remove all of it as that would take for ever. The soil is very heavy compacted clay full of bricks, stones, glass and slates ! Took a while but now I have a brand new bed which should be ready for next year once the added manure rots down.

[Two_Sheds]

Weeded out another 5 bucketfuls
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planted out 6 Offenham cabbages & 2 dozen Winter Lisbon spring onions

[Rodley]

Sowed turnips (as per french seed packet) and lettuce (Arctic King) under a cloche. I wouldn't have sown turnips in the UK at this time of the year. It will be interesting to see if we get a crop.

Started rotovating a new area of "lawn" that had been killed by glyphosate a couple of months ago to extend the potager. Rather slow progress as we found lots of large false acacia roots of 2 trees that blew down a couple of years agp. Thank goodness my better half is good with a spade! However, we will have to carry on removing these roots tomorrow! The soil in this new part of the veg patch looks to be good unlike much of the existing veg garden.

[sewer rat]

This morning I did some catch up on my paperwork, then went and weeded another 100m of my leeks, then this afternoon I went to one of my part time jobs and finished weeding and tidying up the second bed in the walled garden and started on the bed along wall number 3.
Got talking to the managers wife and I can help myself to their chillies and their pears - more chutney and sauces coming on methinks.
This evening I gave a talk to the WI in a local village about my business and growing veg. Went well and I sold some veg and quite a few jars of chutneys, jellies and pickles