What I Did Today Archive 2008

[kirsty b]

Carried on digging the bed where I'm moving the blackcurrants to, to give them some more room.
Pricked out All Year Round caulis, sowed some red cabbage (Kalibos), pinched out tips of overwintering sweet peas. Also sowed some leeks.
Fed chooks and let them out to roam for a while and collected 10 eggs.

[phil the shed]

damn!!!
bu**er had to work again today
next time im' off it'll be raining you watch
hope you all had a good day
bah humbug

[Winged one]

Went to the lottie for the first time since 1st Jan. (OH was laughing before we ever left the house as I had converted leftover chick casserole into chick and veg soup for the flask - he reckons we are becoming a stereotype!!).

OH dug over the space for 1st early spuds which was really lovely and crumbly soil and the couch grass seemed to have mainly died off after strimming, roundup and covered for winter treatment.

I weeded the overwintered bed, of peas, broad beans and all year round lettuce. All doing well and I should be getting some early salad leaves in a few weeks time. Sowed an extra row of peas there too yesterday.

OH also dug over the space where we had spuds last year, followed by carrots and french beans (neither of those second crops actually cropped though). Which he said was much harder to dig considering that it HAD been worked last year and the other part hadn't been.

The toddler mainly sat on the rug, ate her soup and crackers, raided the bag and found other goodies, kept taking off her wellies and socks cos she was "too warm", and then needed them back on as she came over to explore our labours. She also did some of her own digging, and weed pulling, and sowed a few peas for me too (last few in the drill) which got her very excited.

Next time, we will remember a radio, but it was very pleasant up there (and quiet too - very few others around). Bit disheartening to come out and find that someone had bashed into my boot (of the car), but we decided that we were happy we weren't in it, the damage wasn't terrible (yes a dent but not through the paintwork) and that at least it was my little runabout rather than OH's big car that would cost a fortune to fix and really upset him.

Came home and lavished some loving words on the seedlings on the windowledge, which the toddler is also fascinated by. And put the seed spuds out to chit in the upstairs bedroom.

Must go off this week and get some second early seed - blight resistant - and possibly go back to Lidl for a pear tree for the back end of the plot (at €6.49 it would be great value even if I only got a few pears off it).

OOh, I forgot to add that when I got home (with a big bunch of parsley as nothing else ready to harvest yet), I planted the creeping rosemary bush into the raised border in the back garden and also the little upright rosemary cutting (twas for eating but it sat in the glass of water so long that it sprouted itself) from the bush on the plot into the back garden.

[Flummery]

I emptied a dalek compost bin onto the veg plot and the rhubarb patch and moved the bin to the space now notable for its lack of pampas grass. Two more to go. Tame blackbird followed me round scoffing worms.

[SunnyD]

Last night I planted two 24-module trays of Onion seeds 'Ailsa Craig', and two 24-module trays of Leek seeds 'Musselburgh'. Also 6 Aubergine 'Black Beauty' seeds.

I also looked at my potatoes and hoped that they were chitting at the right speed, as it's my first time with spuds so I'm a bit clueless

Last year I grew 'Stuttgarter' onions from sets, so the seeds are an experiment! I will supplement them with some red onions from sets, so if it's a disaster I won't mind so much

The same variety of leeks did really well last year (I only pulled the last few up two weeks ago), so hopefully they will have the same level of success this time round

The Aubergine is a complete experiment - I've never grown it before and almost never buy it, so again, if they don't work I won't be too traumatised!

[smallblueplanet]

.....The Aubergine is a complete experiment - I've never grown it before and almost never buy it, so again, if they don't work I won't be too traumatised!

They like hot, moist conditions, but if you're not too successful with Black Beauty try again with a smaller fruiting variety.

[kallista2]

As we all are I am inspired by this lovely weather and have been getting out into the greenhouse preparing everything for the seeds and the growing season. Have planted my tomato sub arctic and my hot mexican chillis. Need to put the broad beans in yet so will sign off. Speak to you all again soon

[kentvegplot]

Found it hard to concentrate today,so gave myself an hour off and planted some seeds - chillies, heritage lettuce seed, some flowers and a few more cauli seeds as the first lot look a bit sad. All now inside in the heated prop - it's way too cold in the greenhouse overnight, even with the heater going (down to about -6 here last night)

[cede]

well i had great hopes for this afternoon. had hoped to sort out the strawberry bed but when i got to the plot at 2.30pm the whole thing was still frozen rock solid apart from one corner! said corner was the one that i had been leaving till last because it was the "heap" it's been there two years. i thought that it hadn't rotted at all so was intending to cart the whole lot down to the tip. but to my delight, except the very top layer, the whole thing has become lovely compost! i did manage to dig up one very small toad who instantly tried to dive back in to the soil which was very comical (even to me a total renophobe!). he must have been at least a foot down in the soil and so rather surprised by me and the freezing february day.

[Farmer_Gyles]

yesterday:
took dog for very very long walk
cleared out greenhouse, tidied up pots and trays etc
moved a dalek, leaving the compost where it is for now, ready to be dug in later
tidied up some of the weed sheeting where it was flapping around
filled a large dip in the veggie patch with used compost etc from old pots etc

today:
sorted all my seeds out
sorted all my seed trays and plug inserts
pricked out pepper seedlings and transplanted into plug trays
sowed tomatoes (3 varieties), spinach, cauliflower (2 varieties), red cabbage, sprouts, peppers all in plugs
sowed 28 peas in toilet roll tubes
sowed 10 broad beens in 2" pots
sowed a long "trough" tub with garlic and another with spring onion
and sowed some cress on some tissue on a saucer cos i fancy egg and cress sarnies sometime soon!

tomorrow:
ummm .... bit of clearing the garden cos the doggy found the pile of weeds and sticks and dragged them all over the garden ..........

[Waffler]

Yesterday:
sorted through my seeds - much 'ooh'ing and 'ah'ing ensued;
planned my veg patch for the year;
went for a 'stick walk' (when you gather sticks and wood for the fire.)

Today:
spent an enjoyable afternoon cutting back dead growth in the garden, and pruning buddleia and roses.

Tomorrow...
the aim is to spend lots of time outside before the weather turns on Wednesday.

[pigletwillie]

Got home from work and after modding went into the greenhouse. i pricked out

Floridity F1 tomato
Bloody butcher tomato
Farmers long aubergine

Saw that the salad stuff for planting in the tunnel is up as are the brassicas. A pot of bluse de solaise, one of musselborough and one of Autumn giant leeks were sown and put on the kitchen work surface.

[zazen999]

Moved sprouted seeds to pots; carrots, tomatoes and coriander.

Too cold to do anything else. Didn't rise above zero all day.

[pigletwillie]

Whhooohooo, work now donr till Sunday night. Sowed some early nobs (maximus) and when watering in the heated greenhouse found that the spinach had germinated as had the red salad bowl.

The tomatoes and peppers are all growing very slowly in the 10 degree heat, no legginess or yellowing,they will need potting on in about 2-3 weeks.

[momol]

My spinach has germinated, the last 2 has finally pop up, now I know they just won't germinate at the same time! I finally potted my Nicola potato seeds as the shoot has reach 5cm and start to form some small green leaves. Will be sowing some Jalapeno chili today plus some more herbs and aubergine.
The Narciscus at the front garden has been blooming merrily luckily the frost didn't harm them at all.