What I Did Today Archive 2011

[Florence Fennel]

Watered all the squashes. Potted up a calabrese to take to work for someone to try to grow in a bucket. Packed some sweet pea plants for someone else at work, who had planted sweet peas for her children and they've been eaten by slugs. Planted out the strawberries that arrived today. Said "hello" to the mums.

[rustylady]

Went to the lottie and dug up my first new potatoes. One plant of Rocket yielded 3 and a half pounds of spuds Also picked bored beans, peas, one courgette, a beetroot, some raspberries and lettuce.

[Suky]

Dug out a few unproductive strawberry plants from the square foot bed, weeded the sweetcorn, watered the greenhouse. Went to lotty and cut off the remaining Oskar peas, lifted the red onions and raked the bed down and added some chicken manure pellets. Planted out some celery and some leeks (not where the onions were but where the bored beans were), started to fit the new compost bin behind the shed but space is smaller in real life than in my mind
Sat in sun, drank coffee and admired my plot on which the committee comented that I had 'made good progress'. Cheeky beggars - 5 months from weed infested scrub to almost fully productive plot, think thats more than good progress

[Bren In Pots]

Dug up the last of the mooli that had gone to seed then anchored down some strawberry runners into inch plant pots.

[binley100]

Sowed beans, peas, kohl Rabi and turnips . Potted on some of my armpits (not a hairy one amongst them ) went to work via wilkinsons sale .......a couple of cloches and some seeds decided to come to work with me. and also dried some raspberries .

[Welsh Wizard]

Last few days I have:
Sprayed Bordeaux mix on tomatos and spuds: Blight season ahead!
Transplanted volunteer tomatoes to spare patches of ground.
Top dressed with Growmore fertilizer, in particular one bed which I have some pretty congested plantings. Sown cabbage, raddichio, lettuce, peas, radish and carrot.
Harvested more mangetout peas than ever before: a 18 foot row is currently providing a punnet a day,plus plenty that dont make it in the kitchen!
Cut a bundle of 10 ft hazel bean poles from the forest to support french beans that are really taking off. Mozzies ate me alive!
Picked strawberries and some delicious blackcurrants: a real revelation: proper ripe blackcurrants rock! My variety is Ben Nevis, rather large berries that were more like mini black grapes than the usual Ribes sourness. Will be propagating a whole load more in this Autumn!
Strawberries topdressed: bizarre, the best strawberries are growing in the cracks in my brickweave path: vigorous runners that escaped last year!
Broadbeans are a washout this year, blackflied to death. Picked baby carrot thinnings.
Foraged in forest, wild bilberries are in season now!

[JamesM]

Went outside to discover something or other has eaten away at my cucucmber leaves. Set a few beer traps (whilst thinking what a dreadful waste of beer) and crossed fingers the lants survive. They were decimated

[Florence Fennel]

Finally furtively furtled. Great temptation here to swear, but I'm not. One tiny potato on one plant, so watering and leaving for another flamin' fortnight.

[Newbie]

I haven't posted on here for a good few weeks so this is a bit of an update. Last week i had my parents come to stay for a week and they totally blitzed my garden, the weeded, pruned & dead headed all my flower beds, planted every seedling, shrub & plant i had waiting to the planted out on my patio (and there were a LOT!), they edged all the flower beds, weeded all the veg beds, planted out peas & french beans, pulled put dead peas, harvested 6.5lbs of red & black currants and Mam made us two summer puddings whilst i made 11 jars of jam with the rest. Since then i have been doing a LOT of watering. At least i should be able to stay on top of things now!

Parents, don't you just love 'em!

[Winged one]

I have been pottering in the back garden over the last while, just pulling the odd weed here, harvesting a cabbage there, and doling out lots of water before the butt runs out again.

But today, I had a day to myself and intended spending maybe 3 hours on the plot - I spent 8 hours there...

I cleared out 2 different beds, and dug them both over (clearing a lot of scutch and other types of roots as I went) and general top weeds. Planted a load of stuff (list below). Planted out the second pot of leeks (24, so now I have 50 planted out), 2 pumpkins and a winter squash and gave away my leftover brussels sprouts and 2 cabbage plants. Watered in everything, cleaned another area that i store things in, threw out lots of slug pellets, and harvested before I came hom,e to collapse in a heap!!#

Today's sowing included:
turnips, kohl rabi, swedes, radishes, beetroot, lettuce, corn salad, dwarf french beans, replacement broad beans, and a long row of peas.

Now, its definitely time to sleep before doing a load of sewing tomorrow.

[Snadger]

Weeding (forth bridge springs to mind) planting leeks harvesting tatties and onions......did I mention weeding?
Sunbathing, eating choritso and drinking fresh orange juice!

[bearded bloke]

Weeding,drinking tea,weeding,collected cat,drink tea,weeding,had lunch,drank tea,weeding,drink cider,dig spuds + shallots + garlic + carrots + picked bored beans,drink tea,weeding,drink cider,now off to cook dinner & drink wine

[reetnproper]

Weeding and not a lot else as it was too hot

Reet
x

[Loudbarker1]

Dug potatos: arran Pilot all gone so started on LAdy Christie. Also took a few Red Duke of York which taste really good.

Broad beans. Next week's will be the last - blackfly beginning to descend, but I have noticed sparrows feeding no them as well as Ladybirds and other usual inspect predators. Haven't seen that before. Red cabbage and black kale will replace.

Dug beetroot, carrots. Picked leaves off row of mixed salad a la Charles Dowling. We will see if they regrow as quickly as he says.

Picked goooseberries, red currents.

Transplanted PSB: traditional "late" and also Claret and Ruldolph. The "late" is miles ahead of the others, having been planted much earlier. The idea is that Rudolph will be harvested early, then traditional "late, then Claret last. We shall see. Three plants of each, and the late is much more shaded that the others. It's the only brasica the children eat (so far). All under fleece to defend against cabbage white etc.

Started sieving mature compost to remove unrotted bits and have rest ready for mulchng/spreading in the autumn. Eagerly helped by 3 children (daughter, son and niece) under 4, all on wiggly worm hunt. We found hundreds.

Watering of grow bag tomatos and cucumber. Also soft fruit, potatoes under plastic courgettes, and salad. Courgettes are fruiting really well.

General weeding and even a bit of general clearing. Mowed the lawn.

Next week must plant more beetroot, salad, finish compost and carry on weeding, clearing, watering. Slo need to layer tayberry tips for mother's garden.

[Two_Sheds]

- watered the plot again *yawn* The butts are empty again
- fed the toms & chillies with comfrey tea, then shut the gh door pronto
- planted out 3 rows of baby beetroot, & protected with mesh against sparrows
- planted out another 10 climbing French beans
- and sowed a row of optimistic dwarf Frenchies
- finally making progress at school: the couch & horsetail is in retreat & the wildflowers look stunning
- transplanted a few dozen sunflowers from lotty to school gardens