What I did today 2012-2014

[Niall]

First chance in a while to tackle the garden on my day off and the rain is pouring. So I went out anyway and got completely drenched... but I transplanted out 18 Sweetcorn plants that were my last batch to harvest in late summer/early autumn. Also weeded a little and tied back tomato plants to stop them collapsing (half of them now nearly 7 feet tall!). Created a new net thing as my set up to protect broccoli and cabbage had outlived its use as the plants were hitting the top of the net.

[VirginVegGrower]

Went to Lotty, lifted bolting beetroot, harvested last broad beans and cleared plants, weeded beets bed and legume bed. Cut off all blighted potato foliage. Harvested all earlies, mains left in ground to set skins before lifting. Weeded potato beds. Harvested a minimal fruit crop. Looked with dismay at the leek seedlings - lots of rust. Came home feeling defeated.

[binley100]

Cleaned up along the hedge by ripping out nettles , tucking in/ trimming brambles ( hopefully have a decent crop of blackberries ) .......gave comfrey tea to gh plants and anything else that looked like it might benefit....despatched some slugs .....did a bit of picking for tea.
At home sowed spring cabbage and more lemon basil (which this time will stay in the kitchen )

[bearded bloke]

Got wet making it,but the chooks seem to like the view out of the new run

[Tripmeup]

Transplanted my PSB out into bed where shallots were.
Put netting up over same bed.
Cleared away some broad bean plants

[Two_Sheds]

- chopped down lots of overgrown foliage in the Wildlife Garden
- deadheaded the magnificent coreopsis in the "dry" (lol) garden
- pulled out the bolting lettuce & the gone-over broadies
- sowed buckwheat green manure in each and every bit of bare soil

[Florence Fennel]

Bit of a tidy up in the stayput - found 6 big healthy courgette plants in small pots lurking in the corners so planted them in the failed parsnip bed to see how they do. Got startled by a little field mouse, didn't know they could jump so high!

[binley100]

Planted out yet more courgettes and cucs........planted out some armpits........trimmed hedges.....tidied up in the home gh........

[Acanthus]

Sowed some lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed salads and cabbage. Managed to harvest 1small cabbage, leaving 4 stumps. Amazed how many potatoes came out of a bag in the greenhouse, should have weighed them. Picked broadies to go with them for tea.

[Florence Fennel]

Picked out some snugs from the tray of garlic chive seedlings

[Loudbarker1]

Picked a second cauliflower, some secondary calebrase stems and cut the last of the current lot of little gem.

Gloated that in my garden I can harvest now all the above plus lettuce, redcurrents, tayberries, new potatos, beetroot, carrot, courgette and also a few cut flowers.

Planned lots of weekend work: mostly weeding and clearing :-( but some sowing/planting for autumn/winter/early spring :-)

[otorongo]

Put black rocks around my courgette to raise the temps.

[jdlondon]

Snipped off some courgette leaves - (huge leaves! had no idea they were like that) - since they were shading everything around them. Can't believe in only a handful of days, the tiny courgettes have turned inches long with one bigass yellow flower at the end of one. Amazing.

Used chilli and garlic spray on aphids. Beamed like mad when I saw I had my first ladybird, then instantly had a panic attack at the thought I might have inadvertantly killed it with my spraying. Fingers crossed.

Snipped off a lot of spinach which were draping all over the alpine strawberries - now in the sink in water, aphids like tiny grains washed off at the bottom, and I am slowly but surely getting over my fear of insects. I remember some of you saying that no insect was going to keep you from eating your hard-grown harvest, and you're absolutely right

I remembered last night in bed that I was supposed to have a cape gooseberry out there too, so this morning had a looksee and found it poking its head out desperately from under the rampant raspberry. Happy.

Not so happy at realising none of my wongbok seem to have made it, but it was near the courgette so I think it got swamped out.

I want to sow again, except I'm going away again for over a week, back for a week, and then off yet again for 3 weeks. How do you juggle wandering feet and a love of gardening? Not easily it seems. Going to read up on permaculture which apparently relies on plants looking after themselves. Might be difficult in container gardening but we'll see.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Chopped up home made onions and garlic for Aunty Tish to use in curried chick peas

[Florence Fennel]

I'm in the middle of cutting the grass around the beds and wigwams with long handled shears and now it's bladdy raining again Potted on some garlic chives and finally planted out the gherkins into tubs (keep your fingers crossed, this is the second try).