What I did today 2012-2014

[Grandy]

A lovely day in the garden today.

Planted out:
6 x Cabbage Red Drumhead
4 x Spinach Emilia F1
40 x Leek Jolant
30 x Onion Paris Silverskin
9 x Sweet Corn Kelvedon Glory F1

Also waiting on some more peas, the Celery to get a little big bigger and some PSB.

[StephenH]

What I did yesterday: it was the last day of a period of annual leave, so I made the most of it. In the morning, I completed my second compost heap of the year (strated only on Monday) by going out on my bike with the trailer on the back and collecting weeds from beside local footpaths - mainly nettles, thistles, cow-parsley, goose-grass and bracken (the last-named being fairly high in carbon, thus providing structure to the heap). I fluffed it up with the fork, and left it to start rotting. It was, I decided, wet enough not to need watering.
The first heap of the year, which I completed a week or two ago, is rotting away like billy-o, and was good 'n' hot, so I gave it a turn while I was there, forking it all out onto the ground in front of the bin, then forking it all back again, trying to put the less-rotted stuff from the top of the heap into the middle. Forking hard work, but worth it.
In the late afternoon and early evening, by which time the weather had improved to sunny and warm, I was over at the lotty, planting three courgette plants (variety 'Zucchini', according to the seed packet, but that's just the Italian and American name for courgettes in general), digging and weeding a small plot in front of the polytunnel and to the right of the door, and half-burying there a large flower-pot which I had earlier, at home, filled with multi-purpose compost and transplanted some strawberries into. It is, of course, completely the wrong time of year to transplant things, but they may survive, though doubtless they'll wilt for a bit. In the rest of the bed, I sowed two rows of mixed lettuce seeds, free with the June mag. Gave everything a thorough soaking with the hose, and did some weeding inside the tunnel, and scattered slug bait hither and yon.

Interesting recipe I've just come across online, as a result of googling 'Zucchini' to check that it is indeed the American/Italian for 'courgette', as I said above. Since I tend, like most people, to have the darn things coming out of my ears at the height of the harvesting season, the more ways of cooking them, the better.

[Yorkshire.Dave]

As my polytunnel is buried 1ft underground with a sunken path I was having trouble getting into it as I am 6ft 3 so I have just dug out a rectangle shaped hole on the outside of the tunnel so I can step into the hole before entering the polytunnel :-) Now the outside is the same depth as the inside....

[darcyvuqua]

Nothing absolutely nothing





Yet!

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Having done all the fun stuff I can do for the moment (ie planting) I did some weeding around the veggies for a couple of hours.

And not just aimless pushing a hoe around the dirt stuff, either! No; we're talking proper down-on-your-knees, hand-to-hand combat stuff here, pulling tiny weed seedlings out by the roots.

I have to say that for very little physical effort it's made an enormous difference and it looks truly magnificent at the moment. I've put down some mulch, but deep down I know it's going to be so disappointing when I come back after a weekend away to find it's growing back.

[rustylady]

With the help of my middle daughter put in two new fence posts and fixed rigid netting between them for the sweet peas and some french beans, finished weeding the strawberry patch, planted out runner beans, sweet peas and Summer PSB.

Strimmed the rest of the path leading from the gate to my allotment.

[Bren In Pots]

Planted out my Kale and Sprouts in their new cage then some Kohlrabi under a net cloche.

[Nicos]

Just cooking the last of our parsnips and leeks! Not bad eh???

[Snadger]

Just about finished making another pantile raised bed when my back gave out!

[horticultural_hobbit]

..I read that as pants, Snadger....

Sank lots and lots of sunfloo'ers, probably shouldn't have; was very very windy out today.

Stuck the toms into the 4TB under a fleece. Again, probably shouldn't have.

Plugged in lots of peas, and found it rather mind numbing.

[Likac66]

Went to the allotment and covered courgettes with fleece.
Spent 20 mins weeding with youngest daughter.
Everything coming on nicely.

[VirginVegGrower]

..I read that as pants, Snadger....

Sank lots and lots of sunfloo'ers, probably shouldn't have; was very very windy out today.

Stuck the toms into the 4TB under a fleece. Again, probably shouldn't have.

Plugged in lots of peas, and found it rather mind numbing.

SEE It isn't just me wahoo - that's two of us who see Snadger with a load of panties

Anyhow - done no gardening as it's the boy's exam time and I am helping him with revision. It's a right royal pain in the ass and I REALLY want to get outside. I don't know how much more Triple Science I can take. Fast losing the will to live. Have folks got sweetcorn out yet in the Midlands or further North?

[arronb]

VVG

There are a couple of plots on our allotment who have sweetcorn planted out, I'd say around 12" high now. Mine are still growing in the greenhouse so it will be another fortnight till I get mine into the ground.

[darcyvuqua]

Planted two rows of spuds and a double half row of strawberry plants (12) and created a wild flower bed for the bees at my new half plot ready for sowing tomorrow

[Bren In Pots]

Potted on my sunflowers.