What I did today - 2019

[mrmauy]

Took some more cardboard to the plot and know I now need at least three times as much as I have

Sowed 10 telephone peas in toilet rolls with the "help" of darling daughter

[Bren In Pots]

Planted my Charlotte potatoes then moved the brassica cage to the next bed along for when my Kales ready to go in.

[happyhumph]

Yesterday and continuing today - clearing out my large front border. Tried having as a herbaceous border but just don't have time to maintain, so turning over to shrubs. Lots of ivy and dead things, plus random things OH has dumped in there. Idea is to just have shrubs and how underneath to keep tidy.

[chillithyme]

Digging and weeding
A lot of rearranging and juggling seedlings on windowsill

[Lady BlackThumb]

Today I felt kind of under the weather (not sick enough to be properly sick, but sick enough to feel like shite) and melancholy, and the sky outside was that famous British "bright but grey like an artsy British Movie", ... so I sat outside, successfully cobbled together my first paper seedling pots, and pricked out some lettuce that sprouted in my little biscuit tray, and poked some cornflower and pak choi into seedling pots.

And sipped some oolong.

It did help cheer me up.

[Jay-ell]

Got it n from work and then popped into Dobbies. Didn't get anything but popped over to Cowells after and got 5 Tomato plants and 3 bags of shallots.

The compost Fairy dropped off 5 large garden bags of grass so I decided to take them to the plots and drop them off - just a quick visit.

Used some of the grass t mulch the overwintering alliums - of course I had to weed it first.

Decided to mulch the spring planted onion bed as well. Again weeds had to come out first then, as the bed wasn't full, in goes the golden gourmet, Meloine and Hermine shallots. Only then could I mulch it.

The broad beans were quicker to mulch as there was only half of one of the shorter beds. The pink berry/ lingo Berry bed was still weed free from a couple of weeks ago so was quick. The early potatoes were so quick (tip the bag out and spread it about).

Decided to spread some of it under the gallows I'm growing the beans up but for one thing the ground wasn't clear and for another the gallows were on a different bed. So cleared off the area for the gallows, dug in the holes to sink the bottom e d of the post into, dug the gallows out of the other bed move them across and burry them in I was finally able to mulch under them.

So 44 shallots planted, two gallows moved a big pile of weeds built up and six beds mulched - bit longer down the plot than I had originally thought.

[1Bee]

Worked my socks off on the plot from 9am - 1pm Tues. Really pleased with what was accomplished, although as usual it doesn't sound like much!

Planted out broad beans. Dug over a section and sowed second crop of peas. Pulled off the black plastic covering the potatoes on 3 beds and re-covered with fleece - the earlies are showing.

Sanded and painted the central section of a love seat I bought second hand for a song, and then assembled the whole thing. Only only bolt missing, which was probably because the cat kept playing with them while I was working on sections at home over winter.

Mowed some of the paths for the first time this season, being careful not to do it all, as I ended up in a lot of pain when I did that last year! Gathered up grass cuttings and used them to mulch the charlottes in the raised bed.

Built a wind break out of.... manure! My poor early peas are looking very unhappy, probably from the cold, so I wanted to add some protection but much is all I had.

The onions are sprouting nicely, but I'll leave the fleece on them until we're back from our long weekend away.

Cultivated some more of the megabed.

Sowed my pumpkins and squashes. Uchiki Kuri, Crown Prince, Rocket, Tromboncino, Rouge vif D'Etampes.

[Small pumpkin]

Moved my over wintered spuds out of little tunnel.
Planted my rooster spuds into 6 spud bags.
Pulled dead and bits that had broken in bad weather off the rhubarb.
Planted out some garlic and 2 varieties of turnip.
Washed inside of big tunnel cover.
Put cloche away, that's been protesting chillies and seedlings in the tunnel. They still have their fleece.

[Gillykat]

Not a lot today but lots planned for tomorrow

Today.....

Took 2 Ricinus communis plants that I had on my living room window up to allotment, potted on into bigger pots and left in greenhouse.

Moved stuff like geraniums and other hardy perennials out of greenhouse to make space for seed trays

Uncovered asparagus bed (sheltered under weed membrane) and continued to sieve soil and add it to the bed (almost done phew!)

Marked out veg beds to dig with pegs and twine and will make a start on them over the next few days.

Went around back of my new plot to check how strong sheds were (very!) - think I'll definitely keep them

[Bren In Pots]

Potted on toms, cucs and courgettes they're back on the bedroom window sills now.
Planted out peas I'd been eating as shoots they'd gone woody not expecting many peas but its better than putting them in the compost bin.

[muck lover]

I sowed carrots and turnips and put a cloche over. Also made my first ever r sowing of parsnips. Prepping the bed first took ages. And I planted out some leeks. They are on the small side but growing in such a tiny module I think they will do better in the ground.
I planted out some tomatoes and one cucumber plant into polytunnels. Watered polytunnels as well. I moved a giant net tunnel from old brsssica bed to new. The rods had all got disconnected and it was a pain putting them together again. At the end I had one section of a rod left over!!!! Not good but the thing is up and seems sturdy enough in a sheltered spot anyway.
All that doesn’t sounds like much but I worked for hours.

[the big lebowski]

today i planted my main crop potatos and set up an irrigation system for the whole bed , its an " E " shaped set up that is connected 50 liter water butt , so far so good ,ill keep you posted on how it works,cheers

p.s. also got abit sunburnt

[SarrissUK]

I've been to work, so until now all I've been able to do was to bring chillies with me to work to share with my new team. And tonight I won't spend half the evening sowing stuff when I should be working on my essay... so essay it is. /sigh

[muck lover]

I planted out maincrop potatoes finally. I’d left them in their net bags in the shed and they had sprouted. The sprouts had got hopelessly entangled in the net and several got amputated when I tried to get them out of the bag. I was cussing out loud so much I think I made the dog blush.
Anyway I planted some in a big tub and a few in a proper bed but most of them I’ve planted in an old compost heap which is in a suboptimal position regarding light ie. only a few hours of sun per day. BUT I ordered far too many seed potatoes and as I destroyed some of the sprouts I thought it was better than throwing them away. Anyway some potatoes accidently grew in an adjacent compost heap last year and whilst they weren’t spectacular I did get some potatoes.

[Gillykat]

Mostly at-home stuff today as will pop along to plot every morning over next few days before it gets too hot

Sowed tender seeds which will stay in house till big enuff to go in allotment greenhouse - cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, cucamelon.

Sorted through seeds to sow tomorrow at plot (peas, beans , sqiashes etc) and wrote up labels for them.