What I Did Today Archive 2009

[Florence Fennel]

Picked some beans and a cauli this morning, blanched and in freezer, then had to do housework or watch the rain because it's lashed it down all day today. Wish I had a greenhouse to escape to.

[susieq100]

Yesterday it rained (again!) but on Friday I dragged OH down to the plot and he did some controlled destruction along the boundary of my plot. I'm at the very end next to a wild place so the docks, nettles, teazles etc keep encroaching. Well they won't now .. or at least not for a while. Whilst he was doing that, I dug out proper paths between the beds and laid down cardboard and covered with wood chips. (One of the plot holders is a tree surgeon and he brings loads of bark chips and just dumps them around the site for anyone to use). We lifted the garlic - in the end it was quite a disappointing crop - 5 fabulous bulbs as big as a man's fist and the others were pathetic and hardly grew at all. They stank the car out on the way home and they were in the boot! I also cut 2 small cauli (my first this year) as they were turning a little brown and had cauli cheese for lunch!! A good morning's work.

[Two_Sheds]

A dry day, way-hey!
- sowed Purple Haze carrots
- sowed Mooli
- harvested dry broad bean seeds.... a carrier bag full
- harvested Viola seeds
- harvested a handful of chickpeas
- dug up 2 carrier bags of onions (mostly picklers)
- weeded for 5 hours, including a stubborn area of bindweed

[wellie]

Here at 'The Funny Farm', we've had our first DRY DAY for a long time, and dry enough for me to weedkill the veggie beds that I wanted to. And because I love my cat so much, I've had to work the weedkilling in to correspond with not getting it on her paws till it's dried................................

Day before yesterday, I managed to get her 'interested' in my largest whicker basket trug, and I placed a cushion in it, and put it in the draughty dutch greenhouse.
Thankfully, she slept in it ALL morning today, and Wellie got every single bit of weedkilling done that she had to do. So I'm thrilled......
You see, if it were as easy as JUST growing fruit and vegetables, I'd be happy - but when you've got other things, like a bloke, a cat, neighbours, and actually, the latest of my nightmares - a fox that insists on cr@pping right where you don't want it to - it ends up 'moving the goalposts' rather a lot.

BUT! Because I cut back half of the Autumn Bliss Raspberries, and left the other half to grow for later (!) I've kind of given myself a staggered crop of raspberries this year (Smug Tart, obviously!......)
And whereas YOU gorgeous people are harvestomg all of your fantastic shallots, onions and garlic, I am very definitely NOT, because the bed is way too weedy.

I think that this year I should be very grateful if I manage to grow anything. And next year, I shall try much harder.

Thank you for listening. X.

[maytreefrannie]

I cut the yellow, withered broad bean stalks and put most over to the compost bin - taking off any remaining beans, enough for a small portion each at dinner tonight. I left the roots in the ground.

They'd been shading the squash recently, bending over in their witheringness even though they had supports. The squash hasn't yet flowered and I believe it needs to fruit by July - correct me please, anyone who knows. Apart from that, the squash look good (in other words, leafy).

Also, I fed the tomatoes and peppers, and one rather sad looking courgette which was recently planted out after being forgotten and left too long in a too-small pot.

And of course, the always-always-weeding. I did some of that, though not enough!

[SlugLobber]

Well, after some neglect in the garden of late, I did the following yesterday...

-trimmed back foliage on the tomatoes and squash
-harvested tomatoes and fed them
-harvested 3 tubs worth of spuds, Desiree and Kestrel (what do I do with all those spudaters?)
-harvested climbing French bean, plus the last of the onions, leaving only the seeding onion
-collected the Rocket seeds
-decided to have a go at sowing some VERY late parsnip and Swede.
-harvested some Paris Market carrots - they've done very well and were freebies, so quite chuffed with those
-harvested yet more courgettes!
-stringed and froze some runner beans
-trimmed some battered foliage on the climbing and runner beans
-fed my hanging baskets!

Can you tell I had half a day in the garden and no electricity???

[Florence Fennel]

On leave from work for 2 weeks, so a dedicated gardener for most of that time. Cleared peas and the supports, harvested beetroot, ground is now clear while I think what to put in it. Cut back all strawberry foliage, will feed tomorrow.

[taff]

Finally!! It's dry!! so....
Cut off all viable tomatoes in the greenhouse and strung them up to ripen, swept it, re-jigged it and put in all the chillis, peppers and aubergines. Shut the door on them so they can be boiled alive. Chopped up the tomato rootballs and put them on the compost. Also de-foliated one of the croockneck squashes quite a bit as the main stem has split, and it's rotting underneath.
Took most of the leaves off the outdoor toms that remain without blight.
Cut all the runners off the pumpkins, picked off a few little ones to give the other ones chance to grow bigger [hopefully]
Shook the sweetcorn to pollinate it.
Picked anything that looked edible, but think I went way overboard with the french beans, so will probably leave them to dry and shell.
Collected some borage seeds. Squished butterfly eggs, and liberated some caterpillars from the greenhouse. Strangely enough, they don't fly as well as their parents did

[falkon]

It was sunny day today. so all plants were thirsty...
- Prepared 3 beds for sowing
- sowed mooli
- sowed beetroots
- sowed french breakfast raddish

[Newbie]

A couple of my strings supporting my GH tomatoes had snapped during the night so i had to re-string them up first thing, minimal damage done thank fully. Later in the afternoon once work was done i set to the veg beds which were a bit neglected due to the rain we've had all week. Cut down the peas & took down their supports, pulled out the basil which was going to seed & had a good old weed. Harvested the first of my carrots, a great big bunch of stubby fatties - really pleased! Also harvested courgette, cucumber, french beans, few peas, cherry tomatoes, a large colander of spuds and the last of my onions. Also sowed a row of beetroot (not sure if too late for these) and of Pak Choi and planted out the last of my leeks. Potted up chocolate cosmos plants that arrived through the post this morning (GW Offer) and pruned my chilli plants which had gone all droopy at the ends despite not lacking water, gave everything a good feed & water too. Plenty more to do over the weekend too!

[solway cropper]

Our village shop closes next week so I got a small chest freezer from them for forty quid. Re-jigged the utility room to make space for it so now all I have to do is grow enough fruit and veg to fill it. OH is not going to be happy when I dig up a bit more lawn.

[gojiberry]

Weeding, weeding and more weeding. Managed to find the sprout plants which are 18" tall but I could hardly seed them for the mares tail. Pricked out 3 trays of romaine lettuce. Am going to sort through the seeds this afternoon and sow some spring cabbage.

Ian

[Two_Sheds]

- lots of weeding
- put lots of canes in amongst my "dwarf" French beans: 3' tall and still climbing
- moved all the stuff from old lotty to new lotty
- put the blue shed on a popular online auction site
- dug Pink Fir spuds (lovely, no slug damage at all)
- found a blue Orfe in my water butt ... not seen him since I put him in. I think he ate his brother though
- replaced dead lobelia with live fuchsias in hanging baskets
- planted out some flowers & stuff at home (too hot to do much)

[Newbie]

moved all the pots off & weeded the patio & Path, then weed killered it. Still need to fill all the gaps between the flags with sand/cement mixture - too hot and too tired for that today.

[maytreefrannie]

Made some jars of courgette and apply chutney.