What I did today 2012-2014

[Two_Sheds]

- continued sawing reed out of the overgrown pond. Very hard work, it'll take me weeks
- cut all the alfalfa (about to flower) and left it on the soil as a mulch
- continued hardening off dozens of trays of beans & stuff. Forecast is very low for a further week, so no planting out until 6th May at the earliest
- dug out isolated patches of couch grass at the lotty (it comes in from next door)
- planted one patch of it up with turnip seed, to see if it really does repel it
- despaired at my small propagators. Nothing comes up in them. Don't know if it's the props, the seed, or the compost
- moved seedlings from packed windowsill into packed greenhouse. Please will winter end

[VirginVegGrower]

I'd be interested to know if the turnips work. If so, I'll be sowing a wall of them

Just been up the Lotty and I have parsnips BINLEY I COULD KISS YOU

[wizzbang]

I cleared out the Small greenhouse, a mammoth task. It had dead bubble wrap on every window anchored in with those little green things. Loads of plastic chairs, lumps of wood, bags of spent soil and sand, two massive radiator covers, those big white ones with sort of peg board fronts. There was also a fabulous bit of staging. I should imagine it was a bit pricy to buy so I've given it a good clean and its all ready for me to use next week. There were two wooden kitchen chairs in there and a pine dining table about 4 foot by 3.5 feet so I've cleaned that out and that's going to be for putting and tools on and gloves and probably all and sundry. I've thrown the most rubbish chair and kept the other to sit on when I'm puffed out!
It is all swept out dusted down and ready for use.
I cant figure out how the mechanism for the windows work.. they are sort of sideways. Very odd. I have two compost squares there that were boxed in with really tatty rotted wood. I've removed all that and put the compost (new stuff and spent soil from old plant pots) on a plastic sheet ready to start my new compost when I have built the new bins tomorrow.
Im going to use pallets. I swept out the poly tunnel, Gosh it was dusty. It was like sweeping the sahara desert.
I helped to clean out the summer house which was unbelievably festooned with spider webbing. The roof goes into a kind of reversed cone and the whole of that cone was very thick cobweb. All the windows were the same. I have never seen anything like it. BB will vouch for it. It is now full of bags of pinecones and plastic chairs, just incase I ever get any visitors! No BB, I haven't thrown the Mole Traps away!
I didn't put any of my seedling out to harden off because it was very cold here today a lot of the time with a biting wind. Hopefully they can go out tomorrow.
I did loads more stuff but I don't want to be boring.
Finally I picked some of the Rhubarb, cooked it and ate it with Ice Cream. It was so yummy that I am going to make myself another dishfull. Naughty girl! I forgot to eat properly again today so I think a treat wont hurt too much!
I had a LOVELY day.
Lynne x

[marcofez]

Sun & Showers today!
Managed to sow 3 rows of "Flakkee" carrots.
During showers sowed:
"Waltham" butternut squash x4
"Red Kuri" Winter squash x4
"Carosello Spureddo" bianco di Lecce. A cucamelon type plant.
Also sowed 2 old packets of seeds. Sow by date June 2009. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say!
"Marketmore" cues and "Neopolitan" Basil.
Went back to lottie around 8pm and covered everything tender with fleece in the polytunnel as frost tonight!!!

[Scarlet]

Long day today.
Several trips to the recycle yard - sorry everyone, I can't use it all.
Bagged up loads of leaf mould that has been left in piles and spread where I thought best.
Weeded out the last of my spud patch - I haven't got them in yet!
Fed chickens all weeds. They had a great day!
Emptied a few compost bins and topped up my raised beds.
Got the OH to mow the lawn ( mower at last!!!) and dump the grass on the weedy patch to suppress the weeds..... And the horses ate it!

[Tripmeup]

Moved manure
Got ground ready for my main potato planting..
Sarpo Mira in, Maris Piper and British Queens to go in tomorrow...

[VirginVegGrower]

Long day today.
Several trips to the recycle yard - sorry everyone, I can't use it all.
Bagged up loads of leaf mould that has been left in piles and spread where I thought best.
Weeded out the last of my spud patch - I haven't got them in yet!
Fed chickens all weeds. They had a great day!
Emptied a few compost bins and topped up my raised beds.
Got the OH to mow the lawn ( mower at last!!!) and dump the grass on the weedy patch to suppress the weeds..... And the horses ate it!

Loving that pic

[Scarlet]

Ha! I though it was lovely too - OH wasn't amused cos they nicked his grass that was supposed to stop the weedy patch....

[Martin H]

Went down the allotment and helped Mrs H pile one final load of rubbish into the car for her to take to the tip.
Put plastic hoops over bed 4 and tried to stretch reclaimed netting over it ready for the brassicas - failed cos the netting wasn't wide enough.
Started digging bed 5, then went home and ordered some 3m wide debris netting. Also found the cheapest place to buy blue water pipe is our local Scr€wf1x, so Mrs H will go down there in the week.
Sorted out an allotment shed for next weekend!
Potted on various herbaceous perennial seedlings in the coldframe.
Took a pic of the back garden from the kitchen door - wallflowers looking great this week!

[susieq100]

Spent most of yesterday cleaning and cooking - guests for supper last night! But in the afternoon spent a happy hour planting beans - runner and french, sweetcorn, gherkins, tomatoes and iceberg lettuce in pots to stay in the nice, warm conservatory for a bit! It's quite cool (brrrrrrr) this morning - perhaps it will warm up in a bit so that I can get to the plot and prepare the bean bed.

[Bren In Pots]

All i managed to do was to wash plant pots ready for todays potting on session.

Got the OH to mow the lawn ( mower at last!!!) and dump the grass on the weedy patch to suppress the weeds..... And the horses ate it!

Pre-chewed grass

[Feral007]

Bad as daughter's horse getting in and eating the mulch over the green manure seed! And the ducks and chooks getting in and getting the seed! Bluddy B*ggers!

[sammy_roser]

Bought 18 paving slab bricks, 6 in three different colours, to play with do I can decide how wide/what pattern/how many bricks I need.

Also bought another decking plank to make into another miniature raised bed to expand on the space I have. This bed I wasn't sure if I was going to make or not as it will only get a couple of hours of sun between late spring and early autumn but reading up on it leafy plants such as kale, lettuce and chard will still grow there. For the grand price of £3.50 plus vegetable scraps, card board and some soil it's a risk worth taking if it will expand my growing space.

[sammy_roser]

Spent most of yesterday cleaning and cooking - guests for supper last night!

You cleaned and cooked your guests?!?!

[Snadger]

The big guy upstairs with the grey beard seems to be determined I won't get my spuds planted!

The other day I was just about to plant them when I was bombarded by hailstones the size of peas. Today I dibbered all the positions to make sure I had enough (three short) and went to dig trowel holes in dibbered position when the heavens opened again, with rain this time.
Decided to buck the idea of devine intervention on the premiss that my skin is waterproof. (Gave my hair a wash if nowt else!)
Managed to get the spuds dropped in the troweled holes, got a wheelbarrow load of manure and filled each hole with a spadeful of muck. Raked the lot then spread the bit hoss muck left in the barrow as a mulch.
Finally got round to planting my lillies in a pre prepared bed. I also have sweet peas, gladioli and dutch irises to go in the same bed. Not sure how deep to plant the irises so left them in the tray for the time being.
Rearanged and straightened some of the edges of the beds along with tidying dead weeds off paths.
Planted red onion plants out in little clumps of three or four ang gave them a bit fertiliser.
Headed for home with £160 of plotholders rents to give to the Treasurer on the way home.