What I Did Today Archive 2008

[Flummery]

Got together another half a dozen packages of seeds for people here. Doesn't look like I'll get another digging seession down the plot - the plasteres are still here. Still, good excuse to stay in for 6 hours and steam me Christmas pudding!

[BrideXIII]

took up the patio slabs, and dug out 10 inches deep of topsoil to go on the brassica bed.
re-laid the slabs in situ, then moved the greenhouse and contents onto them, battened down et al.
Divided brassica bed into 2 3x4 beds and put boards down in between so i have room to work the beds, and shifted all the soil over, plus put together the strawberry beds at one end.
all nicely dug over and raked fine.removed a ton of flint and rubble which i hid under the big bush at the end of the garden

knackered now.

[bobleponge]

Sent all my seeds and cuttings promised to everyone.
Transplanted the last of my errant raspberry canes to my newly formed raspberry bed.
Noticed lots of growth on my winter onions. Dug an enlarged area for my comfrey plants, took cuttings from the existing plants and put them into the greenhouse.
Extended my central path another 8 feet or so, more gravel from the large pile removed.

Now sat in evening sunshine with a cold one, looking at my hound who is making "walkies" eyes at me.

[porridgemaker]

Potted 3 apple cuces in a large plastic container, it is ridiculously cold and windy here so I wrapped some plastic wrap around bamboo to protect them a little. I managed to take some black and white currant cuttings from a farm.Tied my seckel pear tree to a postto stop it blowing over, tied boysenberry canes to the veranda, they are flowering, so pretty! Blasted aphids on the young black current bush's leaves with the hose and did the same for my bolting celery.

[Two_Sheds]

It's been reet windy, so I collected another 3 binliners full of leaves for leafmould

[aylithuk]

Planted my 'The Sutton' Broadbeans

Cleared out my 'shed' and cut up my old wooden bed into slats ready for
some possible rised beds in the spring.

Warmed up my Roses and Japanese Maple with Fleece around the containers

Had some fun weeding

[Newbie]

Weeded and generally tidied up the large flower bed, dug up the tubers of the big orange pompom flower thing that i can't remember the name of at the moment (doh!), and then ferried 10 barrow loads of bark chippings onto the bed & raked them over. Looks a million times better & tidier but i am POOPED!

Still to do....

Dig over new flower bed
Plant new flower bed
Edge the lawns for the last time
Edge the veg beds for the last time
Weed Veg beds
Move all the large pots.

Hopefully it will stay nice tomorrow & i'll make inroads on the "to do" list!

[Snadger]

Intended doing a bit of bricklaying today building a cold frame from some breeze blocks I dug up on my plot whilst re designing it. Weather put the block on that though.
Arrived this morning to find the baths and sinks at the bottom of allotments frozen over! Expected to have to melt the ice on my chooks water but surprisingly at the top of my allotment the water wasn't frozen. Another strange anomoly was that even though the water containers on the ground were not frozen, a dish I had on a table to allow my new chooks to get water away from the rest.........was frozen! Curioser and curioser!
Cleaned chooks out, collected 6 eggs, gave them some bread,corn and cabbage leaves.

Collected four barrowloads of fresh horse manure from gate entrance as no one seemed to want it. Tipped it in the trench I had dug for my legumes next year.
Started to clear area for cold frame of manure which I shovelled onto a single empty bed.
Lit my wood burning stove in the greenhouse and managed to raise the temp from 40 deg to 70 deg in no time at all.
Split a few wooden window frames (good fire fodder) to release the glass to help glaze my most recent greenhouse. Greenhouse had no glass when I got it but I've managed to scrounge enough from old window frames etc to probably, eventually get it fully glazed.
Reminds me that I need to buy a glass cutter as most glass will need cutting to fit.
Gave another plotholder a hand to shift his shed. Bitter cold all day so was glad of the heat from the woodburner.

[Gro-Bag]

Nine bin-bags of leaves gathered up off what I laughingly call the lawn. Pretty parky - some tiny snow chrystals in the air. Stowed em away (leaves) out of sight under some big shrubs, then headed back inside to thaw out. Turned around to admire my achievements - but the lawn still seemed to be covered in leaves. Oh well. Lots more leaf-mould in a year or two anyway.

[BrideXIII]

stripped back the cardboard on all the beds, and lay down the chicken poop, recovered and will now leave until spring.

now i just have to tidy up all the mess i have made so i can have the patio back

[porridgemaker]

Weeded around garlic and cauli's and planted broccoli in the space this provided. Re-potted aubergines(egg and florence), peppers and cape gooseberries. Went to biff a cherryplum cutting and was astounded to find it had roots.....just it sits next to a blueberry cutting which in the last 5 months has grown no leaves, produced two flowers, and is STILLrootless. Needless to say I popped the darling cherry plum right back were it was. Fun. Free tree!

[jackie j]

Cleared up and bagged some leaves now have three bags rotting down. Planted 50 broad bean seeds must get some more. Planted 10 Jermor shallots again must get more that makes 20 so far. Found the victoria rhubarb that I thought I had lost and planted one temperly early and two strawberry rhubarb. Moved some more strawberry plants. Cut down some sunflowers. Meteor peas are up as are all the other onions and garlic planted a while back.

[crazy_red]

Potted up pre-sprouted garlic and peas. Put some in coldframe and some in greenhouse to see if there's a big difference in their survival rate. Went to buy new broadbean seeds, cos first lot I did turned up their toes. Now defrosting

[perkin]

Checked out my broad beans. They're on my windowsill planted in loo roll tubes and covered with clingfilm to keep moist. All have germinated! Hurrah!

[zazen999]

Since last post:
planted out peas, broadies and lettuces.
dug over new rasp bed and heeled in rasps and a gooseberry.
bought new seed box - it has 4 compartments - one for root, fruit, leaf and flower.
upended potato pots grown from peelings, a good result from stuff that I would normally throw away.
gazed sorrowfully at lettuces that all but one got eaten by slugs.
planted out another set of garlic for the trial.