What I did today - 2019

[Small pumpkin]

Another mostly chilli day.
Made chilli powder, pollinated chillies, fed chillies and everything else.

[Gillykat]

Today I am celebrating I know it's not seed-sowing related etc.....but I had to tell somebody!!!!!!!

For the past couple of months Neil has been debating the pros and cons of moving back to Tyneside. At first I thought yeah, perhaps but this past fortnight I've actually felt quite upset about having to give up my allotment and saying goodbye to any dreams of having chickens Plus I felt VERY stressed out at the thought of living in a built up area surrounded by chavs again (I was attacked twice years ago when out birdwatching - they stole my bins and scope).

Yesterday Neil came home from work and told me he'd changed his mind about moving after talking to a maintenance guy who'd done that (left Gateshead to live in Northumberland then moved back to Gateshead - said it was the worst decision he'd ever made!).

Wooohoooo I can keep my lottie, get my girlies - I'm SO happy I could bounce!

[Bren In Pots]

Pulled out some bolted lettuce then planted salad bowl lettuce in a different bed then some going in a trough.

[ameno]

Had to put guy ropes on my runner bean frames, as they had collapsed slightly in the 50mph winds of the last two days.
Also weeded under the swede and broccoli netting.
Filled the weed barrel with a pile of perennial weeds I had been saving.
Finally, I dug out some more bindweed from where the willows used to be. Done about half of it now

[SarrissUK]

Yesterday after work there was a skip next to where I had parked and it was full of HUGE pieces of cardboard, so I knocked on the door to ask if I could take the cardboard. She looked at me funny, but was pleased I wanted it, as it was so windy and she was worried it would all blow away. I tucked it all in my van.
Then a friend asked if I can move stuff for her this weekend, so I needed to empty the van, so I had to go up to the allotment in the very strong winds today. I waited and waited because the winds were due to die down at 8pm, but at 7pm they were still as strong, so I went up there anyway. It was interesting to put the cardboard down, and try to get the pallets on top without them flying off!! LOL
I'll be back up there tomorrow to pick blackberries - my goodness they are good this year!

[bikermike]

Wasn't planning to go to the plot, but got a message that some sheds had been bugled, so i popped over. Picked 4 (count 'em, four) courgettes and some peas, and parsnip seeds...

[bario1]

Had an hour at the plot before work.

Fed the toms in the tunnel - lots of green ones, not many red
Picked the last of the broad beans and pulled up the plants, they were sprawling across the beds, other crops and paths, covered in rust and generally annoying me... not 'bean' a great year for broadies.
Weeded where the beans had bean and in amongst the leeks and gladioli.
Planted out four dwarf French bean plants - maybe they'll come good, you never know!
Sowed a tray of Spring greens to overwinter.
Tied in a couple of sunflowers.
Dug up a potato plant - Anya - some useable spuds there, great!
Picked a cucumber, a courgette and some tomatoes.
Pulled up armfuls of weeds from my asparagus bed and the surrounding paths - mainly oxalis and marestail.
Pulled up some calendula and composted, along with some grass clippings, kitchen waste and some oversized courgettes.
Weeded the bog garden, and on and around blueberry mountain.
Cut the tops of the spuds in one bed, they looked a bit blighty.

[bramble]

Took a lot of leaves from the bottom of my tomato plants.
Fed and watered thrm as well.
Dead headed the sweetpeas and dahlias.
Lots of weeding as they are growing like steam since we had the rainy weather.
Picked lots of wild black berries in between the showers.
Started saving and drying some seeds.

[ameno]

The first female flower opened on my squashes today, so I tried to pollinate it. The flower was full of water from all the rain. I don't think it's going to take...

[1Bee]

Accepted that I was going to get wet and muddy no matter what and spent a happy hour and a half lifting the brassica tunnel net, weeding, feeding, de-slugging and reinforcing and replacing the net. Big job, done.

Everything is now under the heading of "pre-holiday gardening". Forked some nicely composted manure onto the bed where the onions were and covered with black plastic. This will be the potato bed next year. We get our manure very fresh and raw, and I've stored this pile under plastic for 6 months or so and it's LOVELY. Nice to know it really does mature.

I've got half a day or so I can throw at it on Friday when I hope to clear the finished peas and broad beans, tip out some compost and cover the empty space.

[Bren In Pots]

Nothing outdoors it's rained all day here. Have picked some GH toms but that's it.

[ameno]

Pollinated one of my squash flowers.
I went out in the pouring rain last night and put plastic bags over one female and two male flowers that looked like they would open very soon, to protect them from the rain. This morning, they were open and still nice and dry, with plenty of pollen on the male flowers, so I pollinated and re-covered the female flower.

[ameno]

Fed some stuff at the allotment
Weeded the strawberry bed
Dug out some more bindweed from where the willows were. Less than a metre to go, now.

[veggiechicken]

I intended to pick a few pears in Bed 28 - that's all.

However, I was sidetracked into cutting back the forsythia, cotoneaster and berberis that are alongside the pear as some of the fruits were lost amongst the shrubbery.
There were a lot of brambles in amongst the shrubs and I wanted to dig them out. To do that, I had to pull up the montbretia and ivy that were covering the ground beneath and find a few pears that had fallen off.
Then I decided to cut the leaves off the montbretia for the chook run (they lurve montbretia). The bulbs were for the garden waste bin. However, since the mound of prunings was growing - and there were too many for the bins (which were already full) a bonfire was required. The bonfire site is at the other end of the garden so I had to barrow the prunings down there.

Eventually, I picked a few pears and took them back to the house to ripen. My coffee was cold by the time I returned.

[elsie-scot]

Removed some brambles, nettles and excess ivy from wild corner. Gave some support to floppy fuchsia by tying into tree/ivy.

Moved crocosmia, goldenrod and anthemis tictoria (sp?) to cleared corner. I know not really plant moving time but I move things whenever and it usually works.

Cleared some ferns.

Hard physical work but enjoyable.