What I did today 2012-2014

[Uber-Uncool]

Got up to let barking PIA dog out 2 hours ago and haven't been able to go back to sleep again. Wouldn't mind so much but she continued barking even after she'd had a widdle in garden, when she had come back in.

The light mornings seem to be fooling her into thinking it's time for the household to get up. Might have to put a curtain up again at the back door.

Made a cup of tea and now want another but am loathe to go back down and disturb her now she has quieted. On the upside. Looks to be another glorious day!

[Loudbarker1]

Mrs Loudbarker bought a paddling pool for children - but it was actally a young swimming pool. How to ill in the middle of a hosepi[p ban? Yes - repeated trips with 2 watering cans, one in each hand. After pumping it up with a footpump. About 4 hours gardening taken out of this weekend.

But I still managed to:

take delivery of "plant halos", Please enable your cookies) (and used them with tomatos and cucumbers. Free butterfly netting came as well. Visited garden centre to spend birthday garden tokens and came away with bell cloche, bamboos and compost. I suppose I should have bought a plant really (a bay tree would have been a good idea).

plant out pumpkin (Jack O'Lantern - for Halloween) Put under bell cloche overnight
plant out last (yellow - gold rush) courgette
plant out 2 burpless tasty green cucumbers in grow bags and halos
plant out assorted tomatos (Stuplice, Tamino, Glacia and Sungold) in grow bags and halos. Not all that hopeful with these because they had been infested with aphids (now no more thanks to B*gg*r *ff which really worked)
plant out first lot of dwarf beans. Put under cloche overnight.
a little weeding. Within the veg beds weeds seem to be under control. Famous last words. But too much bind weed outside beds.
Planted a few sweet peas in spare grow bag space to climb bamboos. Am not sure this will work: I think they might prefer a net.
Erected anti cabbage white netting over brassicas (cauliflower, red cabbale, calebrase and savoy). Only just in time here - I squashed a few clusters of eggs. I need to do something similar with the carrots.
Watered soft fruit, lettuce, potatos in grow bags. It looks as if watering dutues will increase.
Noticed my broad beans will be ready very soon. No blackfly trouble (so far) this year. Lettcue coming nicely too.
Potted up a Victoria plum tree into a bigger pot. The aim is really just to keep it alive until we can plant it at our new house.

Nicked salad, carrots and broad beans from mother's garden while she was way. Unfortunately they had eaten their asparagus. Watered all her plants for her.
Noted PSB and swede are well germinated.

Next week: watering and weeding
Plant spring onions, lettuce, more beetroot, more carrots, more french beans and transplant rest of sweet peas if they are still alive. Mow lawn (postponed from this week because of swmimming pool)

I really need to find out how to prevent the neighbour's cat from getting into garden!

[dominic10]

I noticed my mange tout are growing at home - the seeds I planted at the lottie were eaten to the ground but the dwarf beans next to them untouched though noticed the leaves are scorched. I've never grown mange tout before and this is a tall variety. Lots of watering. Planted 3 courgettes and 3 squash on my old shared allotment and then spent 3 solid hours weeding this and my new plot wearing my new gel knee protectors and hoeing for England as well as digging or trying to dig all the thistles out. Have a bucket full of weeds I am going to drown to make another 'tea'. My OH has planted 5 rows of potatoes and I noticed every single one has come up. Enough spuds to feed an army. This is because he was advised to do so 'because it breaks the ground up'. No it doesn't 'we' break the ground up digging them out. I can't identify all the weeds yet. The half plot is only about 150 yards from my shared allotment and the weeds are quite different. OH on holiday next week and we will be making raised beds for asparagus and strawberry beds. Found out today I can buy 1000 litres of top soil for £36 from a supplier 5 miles away and the local supplier our allotment gets 20% discount from is having a sale of sharp sand so next week I will be mixing my asparagus bed. My asparagus is only 3 inches high at the moment.

[Florence Fennel]

Only managed a bit of watering, gherkins will have to wait until tomorrow. 5.30 this morning seems a long time ago....

[GardenFaery]

Mainly watering, watering and more watering - and checking for things to harvest. Elderflowers are ready so maybe elderflower fritters and cordial to make tomorrow. Radishes soon - end of week for some of them. Cut the tops of of some of the fuschia shrub ( thanks to RustyLady for the tip) to propogate them.

[VirginVegGrower]

Finished the second half of the polytunnel. Sowed courgettes and squash direct. Moved all tomatoes out of my house - yeay! Fed and watered all tomatoes (lots) and cukes. Runner beans planted on allotment.

[StephenH]

Just got back from the lotty. I took my fork and hoe, to do some watering, weeding and compost-turning. I gave each of the eight deep-beds inside the polytunnel two gallons (one watering-canful) of water. The cabbages and Brussels sprouts are coming along really well, benefitting from the polytunnel, which gets pretty darn hot inside, even with no doors. The French and runner beans, tomatoes, and pumpkins are also coming along well at last, now that we've got decent weather, and the toms have got flower buds on them! Hooray! At last! The pumpkins too are ramping away, sending out long shoots, and also have flower buds. I turned the compost inside the pt. It's rotting well, but won't be ready for some time. The free-standing heap outside, constructed last autumn, is just about ready.
Outside, the tunnel, the spuds are coming along nicely. I earthed them up a week or so ago. The Swiss chard (a white-ribbed variety) has appeared above ground, which makes weeding between the rows easier. No sign of the beetroot in its bed round the side yet, but no doubt it'll arrive soon.

[sjk1985]

[QUOTE=Loudbarker1;998268]Mrs Loudbarker bought a paddling pool for children - but it was actally a young swimming pool. How to ill in the middle of a hosepi[p ban? Yes - repeated trips with 2 watering cans, one in each hand. After pumping it up with a footpump. About 4 hours gardening taken out of this weekend.

Have you double checked that there is still a hosepipe ban with your water supplier's website, I thought there was one here but after seeing a few neighbours wash their cars I checked and Essex and Suffolk water have lifted the ban here for May after all the rain in April, it may be worth checking....

[Thelma Sanders]

I planted the excess tomatoes either side of a small bed and planted out 5 oca plants down the middle.

[BarleySugar]

I finally planted my climbing peas, after their spot was taken up by a plastic greenhouse! I had to re-dig the area alongside of the GH, put in the canes, and put the netting up before planting the peas I'd put to soak yesterday. Hopefully that will give them a head start.
I also planted some chitted Moonlight runner beans as not all of the first sowing germinated, and I had spare canes

[Snadger]

Another busy day today, but thankfully a bit cooler. I keep bumping my head on my greenhouse roof so decided to lift the paving slab path, sink it down about nine inches and reinstate it with paving flags ten inch boards along the edge.
Worked a treat and while i was at it I sank the huge pot I have my peach tree in, up to its rim at the end of my greenhouse.
Planted up one side with Cedrico toms and the other side with a mixture of tom varieties.
Surprised at how muxh soil I excavated but was utilised in a raised bed outdoors.
Started hardening off my french beans and cleared two other greenhouses ready for planting. Need to add some brackets for shelves to hold miniature peppers at about 6 foot high on 9 foot high back of greenhouse.
Let my three flocks of chooks out in three different areas but Sid the cockerel jumped the fence and started a cock fight with one of tuthers. I had to seperate them with a broomshank then they ganged up on me!!!!!

[Currysniffa]

Planted out my French clambers yesterday. Today I planted out my courgettes, squashes & half my sweetcorn plants. 48 degrees c in the greenhouse this afternoon. Going back to the lottie shortly to water.

[susieq100]

Watered! And then watered some more. Come on rain. Please.

[VirginVegGrower]

Planted my dwarf French beans into the polytunnel. Got the runners into the allotment. Weeded an onion bed. Watered again. Need to do lots more tomorrow!

[binley100]

Yesterday planted stuff in the centenary garden .......8 different coloured toms, celebration runners, climbing zebra beans, purple podded peas and goldensweet mangetout.....
Today, planted out some swede, romanescu cauli, fildekraut cabbage, some more toms, mangetout, and some primulas (rescued from being binned) drowned some asparagus beetles, sunk some bottles in the gh .....came home and put into final pots 6 black beauty aubs , swapped 4 tom plants for some gazanias ( with my dad) watered , tried to work out where the rest of the toms are going to go .....