What I Did Today Archive 2008

[Mrs Dobby]

Got to the plot and planted out the first of the broad beans that have been growing in the unheated greenhouse, then went to the GC and bought more seeds and some more compost, so should now have enough to see us through the year!

Checked the chitting spuds and started to draw up the plans for where everything is going this year (along with Mr D), and deciding what is following what in each bed (definitely oging to get more than 1 crop per bed this year, so should double the harvest this year, last year being our first year of growing we didnt get the successional planting or follow on cropping sorted at all, this year we will!)!

Going to be digging over the 2 beds (5' by 14') for the 4 varieties of first early spuds this week and planting out, followed by another 4 beds to prepare for the 3 varieties of Second Earlies and 3 varieties of Maincrop spuds to go in at Easter! Cant wait to be eating new spuds!

[veg4681]

The heated propagator's conveyor belt is moving as I hoicked out all the germinated seedlings from the sowing tray. Only 7 days after sowing, repotted the Swiss Chards, Calabrese Sprouting Greens, Kale (Pentland Brig & Sutherland) into 3" pots, all seeds germinated despite risking sowing only 2-3 seeds per variety. Otherwise can't cope with surplus veggies and besides later sowing is also planned for these should the early sowing fails (if only to serve as a practice run).

As for Swiss Chard, didn't bother chucking away the weaker seedlings from each cluster just to see how they would develop/thrive as adults, might be interesting.

Also hoicked out the germinated Straightneck Yellow courgette from the tray but the Egyptian White still hadn't germinated but was relieved to find the seeds hadn't exactly rotted either seeing as I only have 2 seeds left .

Retrieved two mysterious pale seedlings from the recycled compost of the seeds that I had ditched after failure to germinate.

[TrishY]

I have been very busy writing an essay - well I did a bit. also went to poundstretcher and bought more raspberry and blackberry canes and a wisteria, on to woolies for half price blueberry and gooseberry and 'grow your own' film. went home and watched film. planted it all at lottie (weather's a bit windy) and put chooks to bed - good day

[Farmer_Gyles]

yesterday:
planted onion sets in small pots - get them started in the greenhouse, safe from birds, before planting out

today:
lifted weed sheeting and cleaned it off a bit
cleared weeds from main veggie patch, layed all the weed sheeting back again
dug up carrier bag full of carrots

[hawthorns]

been busy today.

sowed some tom thumb lettuce and red ruby cabbage into cells in the greenhouse

scarlet globe radish and bunching salad onions into trough outside

dug over the raised beds

[kenco]

Thanks for that Manda
kenco

[Flummery]

Yesterday I cooed over my little onions - came through in less than a week on the kitchen sill. Harvested spring cabbage, JAs, parsnips and used my last baby Bear pumpkin. Sowed some California Wonder peppers (thanks Hazel!)

[esrikandan]

Went to the allotment today and spent a good 3 hours with my little sis digging and weeding. Doesn't look like we did much though.

[pigletwillie]

The greenhouse called when I got home from work so I answered it and pricked out cauliflower, red cabbage, summer cabbage and various lettuce which will be a catch crop in the tunnel.

I also sowed broad beans in pots for planting out in March and sowed some rainbow chard.

Finally came in to make a commisioned triple tier chocolate birthday cake.

[Snadger]

Took the landie to the allotment as I've just rebuilt the carb and I wanted to see if it was ok. Fingers crossed, I had no bother with it! Unloaded the firewood from the pickup.........no wonder it was a bit sluggish on the way there when I had a look at the size of the pile of timber I unloaded!
Did a bit of carpet laying at the allotment! The strips of carpet I had on the paths were blown all over the place so I put them all back and knocked in net pegs on the corners to try and stop them taking off again!
Planted a large gooseberry bush that I have been given. I already have three gooseberry bushes but agreed to take this one as it is reputedly a red gooseberry! Same chap also gave me a bucket of sprouted Jerusalem Artichokes but I haven't decided where I'm going to plant em yet. The same person has recently had his shed burned down with everything in it. When I get a bit of time I intend sorting my seeds out and giving him any I have spare!
The allotments have been devastated by the recent high winds and there seems to be glass whereever you look. I patched up one greenhouse but have given up on another which has half the glass missing!

Harvested some swede,carrots,leeks and cabbage and left early as the wind had started to blow strongly again.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Don't seem to have been hit so badly by gales as some have further north, but it's been blustery at the Hill today nonetheless.

I planted out the crimson flowered broad beans, put a baton and some hooks up in the toolshed, dug in the last of the green manure and picked red cabbage, a parsnip and a couple of pak choi.

[Flummery]

Took part in a village event run by our Britain in Bloom committee (that includes me!) and most of the village groups took part. I asked the people from the allotments committee how the waiting list was doing. Was told if I would take a half plot I might get one at the end of March - the end of their letting year. Dead excitied! Hope it happens. Didn't get much else done as the day was taken up with putting out tables, putting away tables etc. Good result though!

[bwfc07]

Today on the lottie

Hi All
Now i've finally got here i can send a post
Well fellow allotmenteers i'am lee a new and want-to-be-grower
So after me acuireing a lottie and days upon days of clearing the place up todays been a day of sowing seeds YIPEEEEEEEE
i started off this morning a quick trip to B&Q get myself a few things but best of all a couple of nice little tomato & chilli propagators for the kitchen windowsill with some weird expanding compost pellets ....Then off to the lottie and when i got there after spending a few hours fixing the broken greenhouse windows weeks ago.. looks like it couldnt hold off the wind and blown a few purspex windows off again so i went and bought a new piece of purspex and some of them window clips.. back to the lottie again fixed the windows 2hours wasted and now its down to buisness....straight into my seed tin carrots.cabbage.caulis.and peas i've sown the carrot,caulis,cabbage into some large moduels as per pics(how small are these seeds or are my fingers to big ) and the peas into a old piece of guttering about 7foot long placed them all in my G/H i also transplanted my garlic from seed trays into pots (Pics) had a sweep up STILL cleaning up..... planted some fruit trees in my fruit bed well to be fruit bed blackcurrant,gooseberry,raspberry £1.99 ALDI bargain made sure all my tools where put away..had a quick look at my chilting potatoes portland javalin not so many sprouting though (any ideas y ?)
Then its off back home @ this time 16:40 long day it seams like .........and seeing as its 21:20 now and i've got to go to work in an hour i'am already looking forward to tomorrow ADDICTIVE or what?

[muckdiva]

Moved my asparagus seedlings from last year into bigger pots, they should be ready to plant out next season (a potato crop is going in the potential asparagus bed on the lottie to clear the ground of weeds this year). Then I went up to the allotment and finished clearing the mulch away and digging the 'roots' beds. The paths have finally been laid, which will make life so much easier.

Made the mistake of going to Tesco to buy a single item, but it's now so huge, I couldn't find anything, and left in disgust - trolled over to Sainsburys where I eyed up the Arran Victory spuds in their 'Heritage' range, but decided against buying them to plant as I'm already overspudded.

A productive day, all in all.

[MrsC]

was about to have 40 winks on the couch when my son decided he was going to prepare his part of the garden, well i had to join him, lots of digging and he came up with a very impressive plan!