What I did today 2012-2014

[horticultural_hobbit]

Aquadulce Claudia and Suttons dwarf broadbeans sown in paper pots.

[marcofez]

1st time back at lottie since the snow. Some early morning sunshine shining through. Bedfordshire onion seeds poking through inside polytunnel. Took apart a pallet to make a frame for a window opening on polytunnel. Cut up wood to size and painted ready to put together next time I go.

[kathycam]

Today and yesterday I got around 60 free paving slabs off freecycle and took to my allotment. Was about 4 trips in my poor little car. Was given some sort of pallet storage thing for melons, which I can make into a compost heap. Picked up the seeds from the virtual seed package and ordered a polytunnel.

[Prince of Durham]

Today, after the snow has gone, the allotment looks a bit dull. I got a couple of tonnes of wood chip from work just before the autumn and that has stopped my paths from turning into Flanders field. So it's not the trudging through the mud that is spoiling the plot today, I think that everything that was under the snow looked crisp and white, now has returned so absolutely back to the browns and greys of winter. My decision for brightening the mood is to start my planting year. I bought some rasps on the inter-web and they need to go in so that was first, mulched with a good layer of golden barley straw. Then peas, canoe is the variety and they are sown into a metre of guttering in the greenhouse.. After feeding the hens some sprout tops, it's definitely cup of tea time next to the stove in the shed. And here I am.

[Loudbarker1]

Cut down a tree over the weekend. If you want to be a hero to your little boy, cut down a tree with him!

[Two_Sheds]

- tidied up the school beds a bit: leaves into sacks, plastic rubbish out of daleks and into bin, Again ):
- cut down old stalks of scabious; the new leaves are 3" high now
- thinned out my boombam a bit: it put on loads of growth in last year's endless rain
- potted up chitted peas
- potted up chitted broad beans. Will keep both in unheated gh until March
- added a layer of coffee grounds to the dog poo composter
- watered the indoor pelargonium & fuchsia cuttings, which are putting on new growth
- spread coffee grounds & chopped seaweed onto the lotty beds

[marcofez]

Dug over bed ready for carrot sowing time. Pulled out last of Brussels plants and composted.
Sowed some chilli peppers, moneymaker & stripy egg plant seeds, chives, early cabbage. That's got me started.

[Marcher]

• Planted 3 Autumn Bliss raspberry canes
• Planted 3 Hinnonmaki Red Gooseberry bushes (the 3rd one looks a bit iffy, but the other 2 looks strong and healthy)
• Planted the Aldi mystery grape vine in the ground and put it up a wire by the shed. It's not going to be as pampred as my other grape vines since I don't know what it is, it may surprise me though. Already has leaves and looks well enough.
• Put the Rhubarb in a pot since I've nicked its space for the raspberries.
• Planted some potted French lavender with the French lavender that overwintered in the ground. The stuffin the ground did better despite only having an upturned flower pot for protecting during the worst of the weather.
• Planted Crocosmia lucifer in the front garden
• Raked the veg bed again
• Gave the neighbour a red hot poker root I had bought since I have no place for it. I really should start thinking about where I'm going to plant things before I go mad at the pound shop.

It's also dawned on me that I won't get nearly as much into the tiny veg patch as I'd hoped. So early potatoes, peas and a few runner beans on the patch, tomato plants out of growbags and against a wall, melons out of growbags and along the concrete where it'll be hot and nasturtiums and hops out of pots (I know how big the hop gets, but that all dies back in winter).
I have no idea where the strawberries will go, perhaps in grow bags but I'll get to that problem as it arises.

After the early potatoes I'll see what else I can put in their place, maybe carrots. I'll perhaps grow French beans next year unless I forget.

[Doive]

Planted up some walking stick cabbage seeds this evening, only five as a starter to see how we get on. No idea where they are going to go yet! Corners of the veggie patch perhaps. Did a quick check on the various seed locations to see how things were progressing.

Hatif peas starting to sprout, half a dozen showing.
All brussels seeds have germinated.
One long leek seedling showing it's head.
Garlic starting to grow.
Onions starting to grow.
Lettuce showing interest in growing.
One huauzonate thingy sprouted.
Potatoes doing fairly well, most have eyes sprouting now.
Millet seedlings about four inches tall now, soon ready for harvest!

[rabbit]

Weeded the rhubarb patch and sprinkled a bit of coffee and eggshell on the garlic in my raised beds as a cat deterrent.

Bought some seedtrays, seedling compost, chicken manure and raspberry canes from wilkos. Don't really know where the raspberries will go since there was a redcurrant patch but it was very bineweedy, I've cut the redcurrant out because I dont like them and apparently birds had them all anyway.

I have received a heated germinator and some fleece rolls for my birthday so the pepper seeds will go in to germinate next week.

Away this weekend but want to mulch the veg beds with some grass and chicken manure, rake a bit. Currently they're under black weed fabric.

[Bren In Pots]

Weeded around the Kales and leeks then sown spicy mix salad leaves and peas (for shoots) into my windowsill planter.

[Loudbarker1]

Snaffled a dalek composter left behind by a tenant and transported to it my garden. I have my eye on the little greehouse too.....if it stops raining for long enough for me to dismantle it. Soil inside is full of cat sh*t so removal will hazardous.

[Tripmeup]

Set my potatoes out to chit on a window sill...

King Edward, Orla, Casablanca, Red Duke, Setanta, Golden Winder & Homeguard

bunged them all on...

[bramble]

Sowed my tomato and chilli seeds today. Bought Westland multi purpose compost with added John Innes but its rubbish with all kind of bits of twigs and lumps in.
Seeds sowed anyway and now tucked up in my conservatory in the propagator.

[kathyd]

Put some Bunyards Exhibn broadies, and some Douce Provence peas, to soak so they germinate prior to planting - hoping to deter the mice and voles.
Put First Early tatties into egg boxes to chit in the porch - Arran Pilot.
Ordered a soil warming cable from the UK - setting up a giant propogator thingy in the porch so I've got somewhere to move my pepper and tomato seedlings to when they come out of the proper 'gator in the house, and before they go in the polytunnel - disaster last year when moved into the tunnel too early and the weather was cold - didn't start growing until about July!
Just about to wash the 2 existing propogators and get the grime off them ready for sowing seeds - which will be succession-sown this year to give a bit of a safety margin, I hope...