What I Did Today Archive 2008

[rustylady]

Went over today to do a quick pick. (Off from work, feeling pretty rough). Did quick pick and decided I was strong enough to go back and do some more. So dug Maris Peer Maincrop spuds, weeded last chance broad beans, picked sweetcorn and beans. Cut one more butternut squash (small but perfectly formed).

[Maffie]

Ive started digging beds ready for next year. Im progressing from container growing to proper beds for next season. Bit nervous about it all.

Will be positioning new composter later, grass is cut and tomatoes have been picked again!

[Wren]

Today from my kitchen garden i pulled a couple o decent size swedes, a large handful of runner beans , and some spinach. I did a half hour of hand weeding round the red cabbages .
We have had no real rain for a couple of weeks, the runner beans are still covered in masses of young beans so i gave them a good water with some liquid feed diluted just to give them a last push. I have been cropping them for two months now an still they keep coming thick an fast, but i figured it wouldn't hurt to give them a drenching and a feed to give them a last push into getting them last beans to a decent picking size before the frosts put a stop to it all.

The thing that is bugging me a bit is my swede's

I have had three half decent size swedes and four plants are left in the ground to grow on, but the swede's on the left plants are still very small!!

I don't understand why they are still small when i am cropping and eating from the same sowing, an they have all been treated the same and grown together , with good spaces between them!

Wren

[BrideXIII]

Set a couple of sweet potato's to sprout.
garlics are rooting so transfered to individual pots.
Bought in a load of pickiling onions and had the youngest brat help me peel and salt them ready for tomorrow............mmmmmmmmmmmmmm pickles

[sewer rat]

This week, I have started to remodel my polytunnel - am going to remove all the staging bar a 12ft section, install raised beds throughout and sort out and install all the various irrigation systems.
Stripped out the runner beans and dug over that section of the tunnel.
Started to lift my onions and put them on the drying racks.
Lifted all the remaining Lady Christl, King Edward and Charlotte potatoes.
Picked 20kg broad beans, 30kg purple top milans, 20kg mixed kale (red and green) and 40kg courgettes (green and yellow) for my colourful veg boxes.
Hand weeded 4 x 50m rows of PSB.

[pigletwillie]

Its all harvesting here. For once we are on top and have bottled 12 litres of pasta sauce 10 litres of passata, jared lots of sun dried tomatoes, made red tomato, plum and a spicy chutney, lots of sweet chilli sauce (brilliant recipe) and frozen stacks of stuff.

The sweet peppers are still coming in big numbers as are the tomatoes, raspberries and everbearer strawberries which leaves little time to get beds cleared and things tidied up somewhat, still, the weekend commeth.

[Flummery]

Got the dining table covered in seed pods! Loads of beans. Made damson and apple jam yesterday.

[Winged one]

I took advantage of the sunshine at lunchtime, and took off to the plot for about 90 minutes - lovely!!

I got a large bag of brussels sprouts (about 3 of the nets the supermarket sells) that were about to blow - too late for some already (I thought sprouts were a winter veg?!). I also got a couple of more shoots of PSB (again - this was for WINTER!), and a lot more shoots of calabrese (from the plants that are only still growing cos we didn't have time to pull 6 weeks ago!) - enough of that for at least 4 adults for dinner.

I also got the first of my second sowing of broad beans - a nice large handful of pods, as well as a reasonable handfull of baby peas and another of french beans. And I pulled a couple of pods of borlotti beans to cook sliced like runners, and a couple more borlottis that the beans had grown big inside them too - for the beans themselves. I am leaving most of those on the vines yet though, so that I can get lovely beans for drying for winter (well - it is looking like I'll have less and less fresh stuff, so need something to tide me over).

I dug another half row of potatoes (anya) and got a nice big bag of those to feed us for about a fortnight. There's still about 3 or 4 bags left to come, I reckon.

I pulled the 4 largest beetroot - which DH will be delighted with. And a couple of leeks to "see how they are doing!". The last thing I grabbed was a nice large sprig of rosemary, and 3 branches of tarragon to use over the weekend.

[pigletwillie]

I harvested a load of madiera maroon french beans for the HSL, borlotti beans for us and our first ever melon.

Twas grand.

[BrideXIII]

Ye Gods I feel all green today.

pickled the onions, first time ever, caught the bug and the kitchen now smells divine from a tomato chutney simmering down, and prepared some marrow for marrow, ginger and apple chutney tomorrow.

feels goooood!

[sewer rat]

Lifted another 3 rows (210m) of onions and put them on the drying racks - though if the forecast is right, they'll be in the tunnel tomorrow. Hoed first two rows of spring greens and first two rows of leeks - wish the veg grew at the same speed as weeds !!

[Newbie]

T'was dead pleased with myself this evening! Picked about 2lb of tomatoes (going to try making passata / tomato sauce thing, 2lb of french & runner beans, the last of the beetroot (going to be pickled), 2 sweetcorn cobs (having as part of tonight's tea) 2 huge cucumbers & 2 courgettes!

Any ideas on what to do with a cucumber / bean excess anyone!?

[BrideXIII]

T'was dead pleased with myself this evening! Picked about 2lb of tomatoes (going to try making passata / tomato sauce thing, 2lb of french & runner beans, the last of the beetroot (going to be pickled), 2 sweetcorn cobs (having as part of tonight's tea) 2 huge cucumbers & 2 courgettes!

Any ideas on what to do with a cucumber / bean excess anyone!?

whilst googling I did come across a recipe for pickling runner beans!! who knew?
courtesy of Delia

Spiced Pickled Runner Beans from Delia Online

[susieq100]

My mum makes kidney bean pickle (recipe is very similar to Delia's) and it is great. But how can you have a surplus - I just eat them. Twice a day if available - I like them cold in salad with vinaigrette or hot with gravy, they are great in an Italian tomato sauce - put a chunk of feta cheese in before you serve (to die for!!!). yesterday I went to the lottie and put down some more manure and cardboard on the bits that have been too hard and compacted to dig this summer (apparently it is the area where the lorry taking away waste drove back and fore). I forked and raked over the plot that I dug in July and planted out shallots (my first ever). Onion sets today? I also watered the pak choi that I have planted in the cold frame (bit of an experiment), but had to walk right across the site to fetch water. No rain lately and the water butt is empty.

[BrideXIII]

Marrow , apple and ginger chutney simmering on stove as I type.
onion sets arrived this morning, 100 white 100 red, no idea where I am going to fit them all.

sitting thinking about giving any left over lawn space over to more raised beds, means I won't have any 'garden' at all to speak of, but hey, the table and chairs can go on the patio.
first garlic bulb planted 3 days ago has a green shoot pushing through.