What I Did Today Archive - 2010

[binley100]

Emptied the dalek at home into bags and took it to lottie to fill the bean trenches.
Helped a neighbour prune a rather overgrown plum tree.
Dug a big hole and planted the preformed pond that we'd been given . Dug and filled bean trenches. Forked over the bed where the courgettes and squashes are going.
Also walked the dog, hung out the washing and fetched it in when dry, swept floors, walked to as*a and back to get butties at lunchtime and cooked a roast dinner.
I'll sleep tonight.

[Jeanied]

Visited allotment - very sunny and very cold wind - ground still frozen a few inches down so no digging today! Picked a good double handful of PSB and got dismayed at the damage done by pigeons to all my cabbages and caulis.

[solway cropper]

A beautiful early spring day meant that I could spend all day in the garden. Prepared an asparagus bed by digging out the soil to a spade depth then breaking up the subsoil. I added a layer of part rotted seaweed and covered that with soil then added a layer of well-rotted compost and more soil. It’s only 6 foot by 3 foot but it should accommodate the 10 crowns I orded in T&Ms free postage weekend. Before I plant them out I’ll add a good sprinkle of BFB and try to be patient!!

Also sowed leeks, carrots and more broad beans in tubs in the greenhouse. It really feels like spring could be just around the corner (famous last words)

[elsie-scot]

Braved cold hands and nose to continue the destoning effort, a third of a barrow left to do and that is only the first of the 1m squared beds destoned! Gathered and washed some seaweed and got onto the bed.

[Newbie]

Came back from jollidays to find that the waterbutt attached to my greenhouse has died a death with the cold winter - the bottom has split right off it. Well looks like i'm on the look out for a new one - they're so darned expensive too! Also whilst perusing the garden i discovered that something is starting to strip bark of my three 3yr old apple trees - looks like i'm also on the look out for tree guards. I presume it's rabbits doing the damage but it does go up to thigh height.

[Dave & Kate N Wales]

popped to Aldi where the water butts that are on offer were flying out and bought hubby a sieve as he only has a homemade one that's not very good. This afternoon we cut up the perspex we have been given to make a lid for an old coldframe that was minus a lid that we had been given last autumn. Made use of it straight away to start off some lettuces and spinach, sowed 4 type of lettuce - Romaine ballon, little gem, year round lettuce and icebegs, had very poor success last year for some resaon they just didn't germiate. This year they are in the coldframe and have debris shield over them for when the lid comes off to stop the slugs and caterpillars. Also planted some spinach and some spinach beet and hubby planted some more spring onions as well as doing lots of little jobs in between entertaining the kids. Made some fairy cakes with 2yr old

[gilwrig]

me and the hubby built some frames for the sweet peas which have ended up looking like goal posts... why is pea and bean netting such bright green.. looks nasty.

[Topcat36]

Sorted out my new greenhouse ( it's only a £30 one from wilkos but it does the job) then spent the day tidying the borders , potted up a spring tub for the front of the house. Had a rumage through my seed box and found i had misplaced loads of seeds i collected last year, now need to go search the garage for them. Was hoping to sow some seeds but ran out of time . If it stays dry i should be able to get the lawn cut . Then went in and made a rice pudding a perfect end to a perfect day.

[sewer rat]

Had a full-ish day at my own place today - lifted and stacked the 200 or so tyres that I grow my courgettes in - they are now stacked in a double row, 5 high along one side of the tunnel to form a windbreak of sorts. Dismantled the 5 x 75m rows of pea netting, stacked the posts, and rolled up the wire netting, rotavated and destoned both sides of the polytunnel (that is, either side of the central path), sowed 70 pots of leeks (approx 25 - 30 seeds per 1 litre pot), sorted out all my plant labels ready for the GC order for young plants - lost my wedding ring searched everywhere, but it could be anywhere, so unless a miracle happens, it's a goner).
Had a look at my winter and savoy cabbages, and my PSB - all gone. I guess that being completely buried for the guts of 2 whole months under the snow didn't agree with the cabbages, and the PSB and what was left of the kale has been eaten by everything that eats green stuff as it was the only green stuff visible above a field of white !!

[Bex]

Had a busy weekend.

Saturday - Dug over 2/3 of Number Two allotment, got about a quarter left to dig but this is covered with the rubbish I cleared. I've got a day off later in the month this will be used ferry rubbish to the tip I can then clear the remaining quarter.

Sunday - Number 1 allotment - Planted 12 asparagus crowns in well manured bed that I prepared a few weeks ago, covered in fleece to keep the frost off (hopefully). Planted a braeburn apple tree that I got from Aldi for £3.99. Planted a bed of Turbo onion sets and a bag of Red Sun Shallots. I also planted a short row each of Autumn king and chantenay (sp) carrots, match lettuce, white gem parsnip, calebrese, and broccoli raab (60 day) all under cloches.

[jackyspratty]

On friday I ordered some root trainers as a birthday treat to myself!! Cleared front garden of all shrubs that are well past there best, filled council garden waste bin!
Sunday went to lotty 2, still no sign of a manure delivery! No one there to ask, covered ground with tarp and cardboard. Went to lotty 1, we dug over 3 beds and manured the remaining ones, redid paths with chippings. Discovered some spinach sprouting in a row which we thought we had lost last year ( a nice surprise!). Moved the compo tumbler to my house as lotty 1 now has a central compo system in place.

Today woke up a wee bit stiff! But happy! Checked out the polytunnel, found the pots we sowed with leeks, spring onion and lettuce are all completely frozen (Are they knackered do you think? Sowed them 2 weeks ago and no sign of life?)

Lovely sunny day today. Might potter outside again

[COMPOST CORNER]

Taking advantage of an unforeseen day off I have today sown the following:

Tomatoes:
Sungold
Sungella
Gold Nugget
Borghese
Ildi

Cucumber:
Melonie
Emilie



Spring onion:
While Lisbon
Toga

And more surprisinly, my 2010 garden record is up to date!!

This afternoon I have sown herb
Coriander
Thyme
Chives
Basil Sweet Genoves and Lime Mrs Burns

[elsie-scot]

Feeling a bit achey after todays efforts.
Finished bed 1 - last of the destoning, topped with own compost, just need to add a couple bags of soil
Marked off area for bed 2
Pruned some bushes with hope of moving compost bin there, but discovered a bit too much of a slope, moved bin a little (managing to spill contents everywhere)
Planted 5 raspberry redsetter canes
Tried to dig out a small bush/tree that is dead but gave up.
Put potatoes in trays for chitting, they've already got themselves started
Planted some shallots that were hiding with potatoes into pots in GH

[Newbie]

Today i potted on my San Marzano & Red Cherry tomato seedlings and sowed seeds of teasel, dwarf cosmos, basil, costoluto tomato, dwarf sweet peas & tall sweet peas. All are inside in either the heated propagator or on the windowsill sealed in sandwich bags.

[janeyo]

Planted out 8 asparagus crowns grown from seed (defo not dead as I feared).
Very pleased with myself as did them properly, dug the trench and put some sand in.. maybe this year they will actually grow and not rot!

Started to rain so had to come in

pulled the ast of the leeks at nanna's garden, and told the PSB to hurry up.