What I Did Today Archive 2009

[Mrs Dobby]

Didnt manage to make it to the plot today, rainy weather and other stuff to do, so we're hoping to get most of Saturday down there!

Did manage to go shopping, then meet up with our fellow beekeepers to check the girls in our first hive on the other loal allotment, on arriving it was to find Dave corralling yet another swarm, so after he had it in a box, we offered to get our other assembled hive if he needed somewhere for it to go, which he did! Pat and Colin (plot neighbours and fellow beekeepers to be in our apiary) zoomed off to fetch the hive from our plot whilst we fed the first colony, girls all doing well, even bringing in some pollen!

Once Pat and Colin got back we set up our second hive and shook the swarm into it, before setting up a feeder and feeding them!

Looks like we now may have 2 fully functioning hives to move to the apiary on our plot in the next few weeks!

Hopefully we'll manage to get some growing done as well as all the beekeeping! Lol!

[Two_Sheds]

Gales and cold yesterday, very warm (close) and sunny spells today.

- planted out Cosse Violette, Serbian & Mr Brooks Blue frenchies
- direct sowed Double Standard sweetcorn (it's been rubbish, just wanted to use up end of a pack)
- all my Swift have failed, so at least I'll have something
- planted out the last 6 celeriac (did really well in modules)
- weeding, weeding, weeding
- picked a bag of broadies and one pea
- picked 2 sweet peas
- picked lots of lettuces - they're huge
- dedicated a whole plastic greenhouse to just 3 tomato plants
- so had to plant out 2 trays of Double Standard sweetcorn
- planted out home-raised Anchusa and Dahlias in another patch of dug-up lawn
- fed the tomatoes and chillies
- pricked out Mystery Seedlings (prob. nicotiana, but no idea if dwarf or tall)

[Sonata]

Didn't do that much today.

Sorted out the seedlings that need repotting (but didn't actually repot any).
Picked up a cat poo in my oriental brassicas bed, cursed lots. Had to throw one of the chinese cabbages as the cat had shredded it covering it's business.
Dead headed the roses that needed doing - got a whole bucketful! Realised just how HUGE some of the roses out the front are, probably 10-15cm across!
Had a dig around in my wormery - am worried as I can't find any worms!
Picked some spinach tops for my dinner - ate it on the grass.
Gave my friend a pot of komatsuna I'd grown for her, and a chilli seedling.
Took pics of various plants and flowers.
Noticed a flower on my maris piper spuds and a flower bud on my marketmore cucumber. Loads on the runners.

[greenwitch]

Today has been productive in the garden at my house, me and my kids planted out onto the veg patch the psb that i grew in doors from seed, also we planted out the sweetcorn and pumpkins which we grew in the same way, veg patch is looking full now.
Greenwitch
xxx

[sewer rat]

Box day today, so after trip to local organic wholesaler to collect fruit and cheese, boxes will contain some or all of the following - potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, spinach, lettuce, chives, fennel, cabbage, kale, salad leaves, radish.
Yesterday I planted out 350 celery plants, 400 celeriac plants and 100 Florence Fennel at the hotel walled garden.

[Newbie]

Yesterday i edged the last shrub bed & gave it a good old weed, also sprayed the climbing rose at the back of the bed as it was absolutley crawling with greenfly. Planted out 4 red cabbage & 8 broccolli plants (2 varieties), have 7 left over - i really do need to get to grips with my seed sowing! I also planted out 8 climbing french bean plants (2 varieties), need to get more really long canes so i can plant the rest out. Harvested 3 sticks of rhubarb, gave everything a good water.

[taff]

Cut the grass, mulched the beans/corn/courgettes with it. Emptied the dalek and chucked it in the main bin, daleks are more trouble than they're worth...
Planted out aubergine, sunflowers, corn, will plant out beans later on when it's cooler, bought 7 strawberry plants, never grown them before, and another tomato[I know, I know, when you have 60-odd, you don't really need more but I'm stupid, what can I say?] but it was a heritage type, so i thought I'd give it a go.

The tip about mulching stops the cats pooing? It only works when the grass is still green

[janeyo]

Planted out my minipops last night when itw was cooler. Sprayed the beans with soapy wayer as they had blackflies, then hosed off. None there today thank goodness.

Moved everything about in the greenhouse to make more room. Brought the strawbs out. Potted on the cucumbers, some peppers, aubergines and chillis. Tied in the tomatoes and tied some to the greenhouse as getting so big. More have toms on today I notice

[Meschuee]

I've planted the climbing French beans, "Sultana", against their wigwam; germinated "Blue Lake" French beans in the heated propagator and potted them and they're in the greenhouse. The pattie-pan squash in their pots are out in the sun hardening-off. The spinach is doing well and I ate some for lunch today. I see there are gooseberries on the bush planted last year.

I watered the leek bed early this morning and gave the onions I moved a drink, too. Did some pruning of various bushes dotted about the vegetable garden.

Penny

[Newbie]

Planted out 7 Sweetcorn (all that germinated out of 12), & 4 Chinese Kale plants, Planted out Tomato & Sweet pepper into grow bags in GH, re-shuffled everything in GH & had a little tidy (was in dire need!), watered everything that needed it, set the cucumbers, courgettes, squash, & pumpkin outside for their first night outside the GH.

[sewer rat]

Thoroughly drenched everything in the polytunnel first thing then went to posh walled garden and weeded all morning. Then off to my "work in progress" walled garden at Rhynie Farm - strimmed the "proper" veg patch and rotavated about a third of it - serious sweat on, and probably feel the effects of the sun on my back tonight.
Back to my own place, too hot to water the tunnel, so need to go back out tonight before I go to work at ten o'clock.
Made up large veg box for a raffle prize at Scotsburn Horse Trials which are tomorrow.

[wellie]

With a hot weekend forecast, and a busy week next week, I spent most of today 'potting on':
Courgettes, Coleslaw Cabbage, Purple Sprouting, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, Cucumber, Beefsteak Tomatoes.....
It would be quicker to say "What DIDN'T I pot on into bigger pots with fresh compost"!!
And watered, fed and watered everything - obviously! That way, it gives me an extra couple of weeks to get my planting plot sorted, without stuff in pots suffering from drought and lack of nutrients.

I also took the very sensible advice of Joy Larkcom, and when pinching out the 'armpits' of my cordon tomato plants, I put them into pots to root, to make extra plants for free - so giving me a later crop of tomatoes to harvest, if I should so need them.
(Wellie - get a life Luv?)
Thank you for listening again. X

[COMPOST CORNER]

Last couple of days I have potted on Sungold, Roma, Tumbling Tom red and Shirley Toms to final morrisons flower buckets/ hanging basket as appropriate.
Tidied GH.
Put stuff out to harden off.
Planted out Celery, leeks and one patty pan squash in raised bed, using a ring culture pot to keep squash off soil and allow for good watering at roots. Might as well give it a try, no need for it for tom's as I'm not using grow bags this year.

[Lemon]

Mucked out chicken house.
Climbed into run and poo-picked and removed straw.
Swept poopy-patio.
Poo-picked the lawn and raked bark chips back into borders.
Turned compost in 3/4 full dalek as best I could. Emptied other dalek into that one to fill it and topped with some soil from ground. Will leave alone til Autumn.
Watered veg beds and admired the fat swollen radishes, the leafy chinese brassicas and the huge leaved spinach which is beginning to bolt - looking forward to picking and eating that soon!
Got cross with the chicken for eating the potato leaves in the roll-down compost bag!
Dismayed to find slugs have decapitated Kale di Toscana seedlings! Pesky b@@@@@s!

Looking forward to sowing crops under pea-pergola tomorrow. Undecided what they'll be.

[susieq100]

It was hot yesterday! Went to the allotment and hoed and weeded. Planted out some dwarf French beans that I started in the GH. Put them in the bed next to the dwarf beans that I planted out a month ago (under a poly mini-tunnel) but that are not happy! They are yellowish, instead of a nice healthy green. I think it is the newspaper pots I grew them in; I did not remove the newspaper when planting, just left it as I figured it would rot gradually! Planted out some beetroot grown in modules and 4 romanesco that were hiding at the back of the beetroot module tray! Put some marigold plants in the veggie bed where the carrots are - I'm hoping that these will keep away the dreaded carrot fly! Ate 2 strawberries and took 1 home for OH.