What I did today - 2019

[bikermike]

Cleared one bed (it had been left all last year), painted the wood for the new sides with wood preservative, planted garlic and broad beans, and some fried egg plant seeds as green manure. Did a bit more clearing and pottering in the greenhouse. Drank tea

[muckdiva]

Made Earthbabe’s Special Green Tomato Chutney (taste tested and now know why it is called ‘special’) - thanks Earthbabe...wherever you are

Started packing up seeds ready to send for the circles

Picked loads of runner beans - too soggy for any gardening

[chillithyme]

Getting rid of tomatoes with blight that were making the kitchen stink.
Planting up winter bedding
Placing winter plants in pots ready to plant in the next day or so
Bought a heap of spring flowering bulbs, have to work out the layering/lasagna method, first time planting this way in pots

[lolie]

Planted some flower seeds which arrived in the mail and used my last potato bag to plant some Desiree seed potatoes. I think I should probably order some more potato bags.

I didn't get to the garden centre on the weekend so I'm totally out of potting mix and compost for the moment. I've also only got a couple of empty pots left, so I should probably get there before the tomatoes and capsicums need potting on.

[muck lover]

Miserable rain which only the fungi liked but I took the hound for a walk anyway.
When I got home some perennial plant plugs (geum and pyrethrum) had arrived so out into the garden I went. Potted up the plugs and mixed a bit of compost for another day. Then I decided to move a load of compost onto my vacated pumpkin patch- must decide what to grow there next year. I ordered heat treated onion sets as last year every single red onion bolted. If this doesn’t work I’m giving up.
I then messed about a bit bringing pumpkins inside the house. I had had them in the polytunnel supposedly drying out but they were wet with condensation which I’m betting is really bad for them. They are ‘decorating’ the kitchen windowsill now. Anyone attempting to make them into a lantern will see the wrong end of the pumpkin knife as they are strictly for culinary use.
Then I hung out with the chickens and photographed more fungi.

[bramble]

Spent the afternoon tidying the garden.
Took all my containers and pots of daffodils out from under the balcony where they were stored over the summer.
Topped up the soil and watered them well.
Cut down the dead foliage on my pots of lilys and stowed thrm under the balcony where the daffs were.
Took out the last of the sweetpeas.
Dead headed the dahlias which are still growing well.
Took out some of the tomato plants from the greenhouse which have finished fruiting.
Did a bit of weeding and then it started to rain which put an end to the work.

[lolie]

Transplanted one of the white cherry tomato seedlings into the main raised bed. I was going to pot on all the tomatoes and plant them out in a few weeks but I'm sick of looking at the empty space which should really be full of green at this time of year.

At least I have a few back ups if this turns out to be a mistake.

Put the lawnmower out the front, which means that at least some of the "lawn" will get mowed later when the dew dries off.

Edit, Got the front lawn and nature strip mowed - which is about a third of what needs doing. Hope to get the rest done before the end of the week.

[lolie]

Hilled up two bag of potatoes for the final time. Netted the baby bok choi and pak choy (can't believe I actually got this done before the white butterfly onslaught). Pulled out the remaining radishes because I'm not going to eat them.

The weather hasn't cleared enough to mow so I just transplanted a zucchini seedling into the main raised bed. I hope it wasn't a big mistake. I've only had two zucchini seeds germinate this year and one got eaten by slugs the same day it emerged.

[Small pumpkin]

Lots more shredding & covered the rhubarb with manure.

[burnie]

Just deep cleaned the greenhouse inside and out with j's fluid, now everything stinks, but the glass does look nice and shiny after a blast with the hose pipe. Time to start drawing up plans for next years planting as it's only 10 weeks to Boxing Day and the traditional day for planting Onion seeds lol.

[Bren In Pots]

Removed a cuc and a couple of courgettes that have finished. Weeded in and around herb pots and sinks, then pulled out more self seeded oregano.

[lolie]

Put a couple of capsicum plants in a "nursery" bed. They're not big enough to put in their final pots yet so I've planted them pots and all in a raised bed to encourage root growth and given them a feed of liquid fertiliser.

I feel a bit happier now that I've been able to transplant a couple of things to the main raised bed, but there's still a long way to go.

Mowed the back but haven't done any edging yet. I have no idea when it will get done. I still need to mow the side and the side nature strip this week if the wind doesn't scuttle that plan.

[burnie]

Put a couple of capsicum plants in a "nursery" bed. They're not big enough to put in their final pots yet so I've planted them pots and all in a raised bed to encourage root growth and given them a feed of liquid fertiliser.

I feel a bit happier now that I've been able to transplant a couple of things to the main raised bed, but there's still a long way to go.

Mowed the back but haven't done any edging yet. I have no idea when it will get done. I still need to mow the side and the side nature strip this week if the wind doesn't scuttle that plan.

Lolie, what sort of temperatures do you get in your summer, do you have to shade plants from the sun?

[lolie]

Lolie, what sort of temperatures do you get in your summer, do you have to shade plants from the sun?

During the worst of summer we get heatwaves of 40C plus. Even without those extremes, we get a lot of days of mid to high 30s and a lot of nights where it doesn't drop below 20C.

I do tend to shade my veggies for part of the day when the heat is extreme, but towards the end of a heat wave there isn't a lot you can do - there's enough stored heat radiating back on them that shade only does so much.

One of the most maddening things about the heat is how it affects pollination and fruit set. If night time temperatures are too high then often no fruit will set until they drop a bit.

As you can imagine, we water frequently. Unfortunately, keeping our plants well hydrated means that a sudden downpour can make fruit split. This is something which affects commercial growers a lot, too. I'm determined to get tarps to cover my tomato beds during downpours this summer.

[burnie]

Well that's all my apple trees chopped down and the wood is on the village bonfire for Guy Fawkes, sad really, but all three had canker as well as the scab problem. Just got the roots to deal with now lol.