What I Did Today Archive 2008

[middlefield]

For only the second time this year I watered last night with the hose, and gave everything a good soak. Picked 27 little slugs from the courgettes and squash (grrrr) and, yet again, weeded.

Watched with fascination as a butterfly emerged and began to dry its wings, then our friendly neighbourhood robin popped-down and ate it!

[Flummery]

Planted out a few more spare tomatoes - in what used to be an overgrown flower bed. No room here for passengers!
Potted up 7 more tiny tomato seedlings from my greenhouse border. It's the one where the soil WASN'T changed this year and it's where the Sungold were. I am attempting to produce an unhybridised Sungold-flavoured tomato! These F2 generations are my first attempt and will get the taste test this autumn. Wish me luck!
Scraped the allotment paths to discourage the weeds. Came home - must make lunch!

[allotmentlady]

no slugs on our plot, i wonder where they have all gone to??? Sorted out iceberg lettuces...dug up first earlies......yummy, nothing like the first spud. Picked french beans and courgettes. Going back 2 night to water and sow seed.

[jackie j]

Went to Lottie had to pull my red onions and shallots as the leaves had complety died back some of them are ok the rest are soft and yucky.
Picked some more strawberrys and a big bag of broadbeans.
Came home cos too hot cooled off went into garden and potted on toms that I thought I had lost.
Have come inside and put fans on as its so hot.
Will have to go back to Lottie tonight to water.

[Winged one]

Last night I watered the garden - which took a lot of watering!! And harvested today's lunch.

I had planned on going to hte plot this morning on the way to work (the toddler spat up on me last night so I had to shower then, so no need in my mind to swim this morning) but the OH was very offputting about it - telling me to "go swim like a normal person" (not that I know too many of my own friends who swim at that hour - most are still comatose whatever I might get up to!!). However, he did promise to bring the toddler home tomorrow night from creche, so I get to go to the plot straight fom work for a few hours instead!! Plans are to dig out the last of the white sprouting brocolli, sow that row with peas, sow some carrots under fleece where I pulled the other PSB, plant out the climbing borlotti beans and give them some stakes to climb before netting them, quick weed and possibly water, and some harvesting before home for a stirfry of lots of our own veggies!!

[heebiejeebie]

Potted on some aubergine seedlings and (more!) tomato moneymaker seedlings.
Did 10 mins weeding.
Watered.

[pigletwillie]

A holiday is never easy to fit in with 4 plots, however tomorrow France beckons so....

Everywhere was watered and the good friends who are watering in our absence given a heads up on what and when. Typically the day before we go away the first mangetout are ready as are the first strawberries.

Eighty leeks were planted out as were follow on spinach and chard. Lots of lettuce varieties were module sown for succession as were dwarf French beans, coco bicolour and Mrs Lewis climbing french beans, golden sweet mangetout, spring onions and more broadies.

See you soon.

[pigletwillie]

A holiday is never easy to fit in with 4 plots, however tomorrow France beckons so....

Everywhere was watered and the good friends who are watering in our absence given a heads up on what and when. Typically the day before we go away the first mangetout are ready as are the first strawberries.

Eighty leeks were planted out as were follow on spinach and chard. Lots of lettuce varieties were module sown for succession as were dwarf French beans, coco bicolour and Mrs Lewis climbing french beans, golden sweet mangetout, spring onions and more broadies.

See you soon.

[shirlthegirl43]

Have a good holiday piggies

[Wren]

Yesterday harvested first pot of carrots and a clutch of new potatoes, today harvested first courgette I am rather chuffed with myself because i had a go at hand pollination and it produced a cracking courgette first time. Last year i lost quite a few too bad timing on behalf o the flowers opening.

Went to the garden center for some seed and took pity sorry on the last Beefsteak tomato plant they had left and brought it home. I was not aware they grow up to 8' tall This should be interesting.

Wren

[Claire72]

Bought some broccoli plants in homebase tonight so got them into the ground, also some courgettes that an elder at the church kindly gave me, then gave everything a water.
Fed the flowers with miracle gro, in the hope they will start to think about flowering soon, (although could do with the sunflowers getting a little bigger) Got Nasturtiums and marigolds in pots, grown from seed, the chickens had a munch on the nasturtiums before I lifted them to the windowsill, so they could do with all the help they can get!
Not sure if it is ok to use miracle gro on vegetables? will ask in one of the rooms
Potatoes are starting to come through, and everything else is looking healthy, although think the carrots have emigrated!!!

[jackie j]

Today along with my sister I went to my nieces house to do her garden as she never gets the time what with a toddler who wants mummy all the time.
The ground is full of tree roots and ivy roots it was so hard to dig, it really needs all of it taking out manure and compost putting in and starting again, anyhow we put in some instant plants for now taking cuttings where we could and new ones everywhere else.
When I came away it was looking so much better.
She has a fantastic view from her garden all across the bay of Torbay.

[Mrs Dobby]

Day off today, so down at the plot for 10 am, and didnt come home until it had gotten too dark to see any more!

We've managed to move some 8' by 1' reinforced concrete pavers from the back of our first plot into the bean bed to act as paths, cleared the last but 3 bed and dug out another cross path, rotorvated the last bed on the new plot, fitted cardboard and planted brassicas into it, then erected a frame and covered it with netting, plus planted out another 12 cabbages into the existing brassica beds, given everything a good feed and water, sideshooted the toms in all 3 greenhouses and had a thoroughly enjoyable day (even if we are both knackered!)

There's now only 3 beds left to clear (all about 8' by 6') and another 2 paths to put in (edge and line ready for barking up when more bark chippings arrive!), then the strawberry bed to sort out (its full of rasps and weeds - tho we did have the first strawb from it today, shared in a kiss!), and then the plots should be looking good! On holiday the week after next for 2 weeks, so we're planning on having the plots totally sorted and be able to have a good relax!

Cucumbers now have cukes on them, we've 4 tomato plants with trusses of toms on them, the first courgettes are nearing edible size and the mange tout is producing, as are the broad beans! Late sowings of peas and beans that went in last week are also now showing! The grapevine has LOADS of small grapes on it, looks like we're gonna have some crops this year!

[Winged one]

Went over to the plot en route home last night - took an hour and a quarter to get only half the distance to the house (while OH and he toddler only took 45 mins all the way - different road). Oh well, despite the "light precipitation" being more like a flood, I enjoyed my hour and a half there.

I pulled up the last of the white sprouting brocolli plants (will move them to common copmposting area next time as it was too wet) and decided that the carrots will go there after all as it needs quite a dig-over.

So instead, I pulled the weed suppressant membrane off the area I was going to use for carrots (main old brassica bed) and planted my borlotti beans (6 4" pots at 3 to a pot) up canes there. I finished off the double row with some dwarf french bean seeds (sprite). There is still a space covered there which I will use for another row of peas.

Apart from that, and pulling a few weeds, putting out slug pellets and coffee grounds, and adding my office compost caddy and 3 bags of coffee into the composter, replacing a net that had blown off and watering in the new plants (soil was actually quite dry there despite me being soaked) - I mainly harvested.

I got enough peas for all 3 of us to have a serving, and enough broad beans for 2 nights of dinners (it just got too wet so I only took the ones getting really big - must get the rest next week and freeze a few). I got 2 heads of lettuce that were small but just about to bolt (almost all has bolted now of the winter sown), but there was one head of perfect proportions that I did take as well. 2 more onions just to keep us going. And a quick littel furtle under the new potatoes - I only took 2 (1 each for OH and me) but they are a good size so we'll probbaly have a decent root around on our next visit.

Squelched home, where OH had the dinner ready (ah, bless him!!) - chilli saussies, tom and chilli sauce, and the last of the tagliatelle. And the toddler SOUND asleep in bed (2 hours ahead of previous night sleeptime!).

[Flummery]

Yesterday I snuck through the village with a scalpel, paint brush and small glass jar. I took some pollen from some of my Lancashire Lad peas and came home and 'assaulted' some Oregon Sugar Pod with it. Fiddly little job and due to my ineptitude I suspect that some of the Oregons I tried to pollinate were probably already self pollinated by the time I got to them. I took smaller and smaller buds to try it with and I think the last 2 probably worked. I intend to have another go in a few days when I hope a few more buds will be at the receptive stage. Tied a bit of ribbon onto the 'done' ones so I can recognise them and not spoil the experiment by eating them! I hope eventually to produce a pure-breeding purple mangetout of my own selection. Only time will tell!

Today I took the last of my yin-yang beans and a couple more types of climbing french round to my Ma's and put up a bean frame and planted them out for her. Good deed for the day accomplished. Can now be naughty again!