What I did today - 2019

[Jay-ell]

Another couple hours of digging. Very slow progress, as usual. The top two inches of soil seems to be more couch grass than soil. I'm tempted just to toss the whole lot, soil and all, rather than trying to remove the roots and save the soil.

Put all the couch grass into a black binbag, tie the top closed and put the bag in full sun for a month or lots. That will cook the grass killing it off.

[Bren In Pots]

Weeding, feeding and taking of more armpits from my toms. Re-homing self seeded Nasturtiums they do crop up in the wrong places.
Combined leaf mould in less bags now its reduced in size.

[bikermike]

Planted out beans #2 (previous eaten by [unknown pests - deer/mice/tigers])
Mowed the plot for the second time this year (yes the grass was 8' tall)
Watered, nematoded
Filled milk cartons with weed tea (planned to take marigolds, forgot, was going to not do it, then dropped the lid weight in the bin (a sledgehammer head) so had to reach in to get it, so once my hand was filthy i might as well finish).
Set up the greenhouse watering system
Planted out 2 of the three butternut squash i got from seeds at the back of the seed box
Harvested garlic, so we are now safe from vampires but at risk from frenchmen...

[Chestnut]

Bit of weeding and sowed some carrots.
Loud music emanating from across the road was quite offputting (‘resonant’ bass was causing mini earthquakes) so decided to head out to a local farm shop before coming home and making a batch of fruit pies for the freezer.

[ameno]

Put all the couch grass into a black binbag, tie the top closed and put the bag in full sun for a month or lots. That will cook the grass killing it off.

I might try that.
I started off putting all my perennial weed roots in a big barrel of water to drown them, but the barrel was filled a few weeks ago. Since then I've been laying them out on top of an old pallet to dry in the sun.
I've been concerned about trying to rescue as much soil as I can from the couch grass, but I don't think it's really worth the effort. I think I'll just cut the top couple inches as a couch grass turf and then kill it somehow (probably using your bin bag method), then just tip it all back on after the couch grass has rotted.

[Snoop Puss]

Late last night, tied up toms for first time, hoed around them, the Merveille de Piemonte beans and the squash and watered everything.

This morning, lamented the fact that a snail is avenging the death of the snail that I killed in revenge for it eating my courgette plant, hoed around the melons, whipped out some bindweed and earthed up a row of Vitabella potatoes and re-earthed up the Laurettes (mounds had collapsed a bit due to watering). Before that, yet more weeding. Ground now very hard and it's laborious work. Still, that's another bit less to do.

[Jay-ell]

With it being another rainy day decided not to go down to the plot as the greenhouse is watered and I won't be able to do much outside.

Mother wasn't convinced that it was going to rain but as a compromise I suggested visiting the garden centres (safe bet as it's unlikely that they'll have any veg plants worth buying)

As soon as we were in the first gc the rain came pouring down. As predicted no veg, but they did have half price chilli plants that were nice and healthy.

4 chilli plants later and we take advantage of a lull in the rain to go to the next gc for a cup of coffee and a cream scone.

Also got another chilli plant and 5 Cucumber plants.

Rainy days are expensive.

[ameno]

Planted out my replacement beans, after the original direct sown ones didn't come up. Hopefully the bean flies won't get these ones. Or the slugs.

Dug some more of my brassica bed. Very nearly finished now, just a tiny bit more to go.

It's not really gardening, but I also went and picked some green walnuts today, which I shall prepare tomorrow for making walnut wine.

[Snoop Puss]

Watered late last night, so not much to do today. Quick wander round, one snail found but no damage. Not much bindweed either. Tomatoes and cucurbits starting to grow at last now the nights are getting warmer.

[ameno]

Finished digging my brassica bed, dug in manure, and planted 9 calabrese and 13 Chinese cabbage. I've also got space for one more row, which I shall sow with some more beetroot.
Then I built some netting tunnels for them out of 1" blue plastic pipe and scaffold net. That should keep the birds and butterflies out.
I had all kinds of problems with caterpillars on my kale and broccoli last year. Not just small and large white, but also cabbage moth and at least two others I didn't recognize. Everything wanted a taste.

[Snoop Puss]

Did most of my watering and a load more weeding last night. It was too dark to see to water the potatoes (never very good at keeping the mounds intact) so did those and the lettuce this morning, inspected for snail damage and dispatched culprit.

[Jay-ell]

Yesterday I didn't go down to the plot due to the rain. Mr Delivery Man dropped off my new brushcutter/strimmer and I potted up the Chillies.

Today I was going to play with the brushcutter but when I got up this morning my back was out so that scuppered that idea.

I did take the Chillies and cucumbers down to the greenhouse. I realised on getting there that i had just enough spare dippers to plug the Chillies in, I was going to use capillary dippers and a bucket but this made it easier.

Heard an "oooooh strawberries" from my mother. This time she wasn't looking at the decoys. Some strawberries have slug damage but the birds haven't touched them yet. They have touched the red currants and the raspberries though.

[carolefu]

This afternoon, I gave my tomato plant a short back & sides - hopefully not too much. Thinned out the bean bed & continued on the elaborate net/string thin I am doing there. It might end up looking like an tatty spiders web, as long as fits the purpose. Done a little watering of the pots & the potato sacks. Speaking of potato sacks, the 1st earlies are at long last starting to flower. Woo! Hoo! And harvested some lettuce & rocket

[bramble]

Watered all tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse.
Did some more weeding outdoors.
Cut back the sweetpeas that were going to seed.
Dead headed my dahlias.
Dead headed the lillies.
Planted out a few late dahlia seedlings.
Split up all my garlic cloves and they are now in the freezer.

[Chestnut]

7 machine loads of washing - half day at work today, and this weather is absolutely fantastic for drying
It is rare that the washing machine is more of a rate limiting step than drying time!

Oh, and tidied up the tomatoes, washed a few pots and watered the stuff in the greenhouse and hardening off zone.