What I Did Today Archive 2009

[sewer rat]

Today was the first milestone in the reclamation of the 2.5 acre walled garden that has suffered from over twenty years of neglect - I finished clearing and digging over the first long border - 200 sq metres. This includes pruning and training the various fruit trees and roses back against the wall and removing countless barrowloads of nettle, ground elder and brambles, as well as leaving some of the more desirable plants - shrub roses, silver pear tree, hemerocallis, pulmonaria, oriental poppies and paoenies in situ, as well as lifting and dividing many huge clumps of daffodil bulbs. Next wednesday I start on the small border in front of the old summerhouse which was (and will be again we hope) filled with old gallica and moss roses.
Then I went to my place and lifted 50kg Rooster tatties and picked some fresh walnuts.

[Bigmallly]

Where do you strart, this weather is crazy. Was raking leaves up @ 7am this morning, 3 bags full. Pulled the last of the geraniums & salvia out of the borders & hoed over them. Started to empty one of the compost bins into the raised beds. Had enough after an hour & half so have come in for a coffee before I go back out. Hope you have a productive day.

[StephenH]

Planted my garlic cloves (Marco) the other day. Today I might gather some more leaves for the leafmould bin, since the ones I filled it with a week or two ago have already sunk a bit, even though I compacted them as well as I could, so I may as well keep on topping it up while there are leaves around.
In the Nov. issue of the magazine there is a reader's letter accompanied by a photo of wine bottles used, up-ended, to line paths. I might do the same with beer bottles to line my beds in the front garden, so I'll start collecting them. Might stick the first few in the ground today.

[Bex]

My son Joshua and I have had quite a productive afternoon, we sowed 3 beds of autumn mix green manure. Sowed a tray of April cabbage and half tray of Arctic Kind lettuce. Sowed a bed 2 x 10ft rows of Feltham First peas. Checked the brocolli raab seedlings that were just starting to poke through and something has pulled them all out and just left them on the soil, what would do this?

Also dug a compost trench where my beans are to go next year and half filled it with kitchen scraps.

[bubblewrap]

Harvested the last of my butternut squashes took plants out and dug over patch.

Started to "tart up" shed (it will have stripes)

[Snadger]

Today I bought a 1948 Grey Fergie tractor in good condition! Fred Dibner eat your heart out!

[bubblewrap]

Today I bought a 1948 Grey Fergie tractor in good condition! Fred Dibner eat your heart out!

You mean one of these Snadger?
http://www.britishtaxdiscs.co.uk/ima...%20tractor.jpg

[binley100]

Finished building my wildlife hotel, now it just needs some guests. Finished surrounding new beds we've created with chicken wire to keep out those pesky rabbits. Made space to create one more bed which will be the last one cos then we,ve pretty much run out of room. Just left with the pond to create and finish off verandah (not as posh as it sounds!)then I think we've pretty much sorted out our plot. Can't wait to get those beds filled with all that lovely veg!!!!!!!1

[Snadger]

You mean one of these Snadger?
http://www.britishtaxdiscs.co.uk/ima...%20tractor.jpg

Exactly the model I bought BW ........a TED20 petrol parrafin. No lighting kit on mine yet,but their will be. It's even got a cigarette lighter fitted to the dash so I can plug a flashing light in when travelling on dual carriageways........... I also got the flashing light with it!

[Seamus]

wrecked

been out all day planting a beech hedge along the side of the house, am absolutly wrecked, will be planted on the couch watching the f1 tommorow for the day wit glass of wine in hand, he,he !!

[solway cropper]

Snadge, I'm so envious. I first drove on the road in an ancient David Brown petrol/paraffin tractor in 1966 and have driven the grey fergies and always promised myself if I ever won the lottery I buy a field and a little tractor. Are you going to be ploughing the lottie to save all that digging

[susieq100]

Went to the plot and took down the last of the climbing frenchies and dug in the remainder of the plants. I picked some beans off them - they have been cropping since the end of June! Planted out the last of the onion sets, tidied up some of the paths (the tree surgeon had delivered a pile of chipped tree waste) and cleaned out the shed! Not properly cleaned out, but at least you can see what's inside it now and get in there with all the stuff! I was going to go down this morning with OH to cut back the bramble bushes - looking at the weather that is not going to happen now.

[wellie]

Now that the pods are suitably red and pale greenly marbled, I've picked our Borlotti Beans off the wigwams, and harvested a bowlful of Rasps. It's great to be back home!

[Newbie]

Staked & tied up my PSB plants that had blown over in the wind we've had the past few days, picked PSB, Chard, the last sweet Peppers and some cherry Toms.

[binley100]

I finished off my wildlife tower . Raked the debris off the area where my final bed will be and covered it with cardboard. Then returned my neighbours hen to its coop and patched up the chicken wire where something (possibly a stoat) had bitten through and stole the other bird.