What I did today 2012-2014

[The Masons]

Saw little shoots appearing through the soil of the baby sweet corn the little lad planted. Well chuffed!

[eirish]

Lots of weeding, and planted out three cucumbers. Not as much as I'd have liked to do, as usual!

[Likac66]

Went down to the allotment this afternoon and they had an open air theatre production on. Sat and watched it - it was a murder whodunnit set on an allotment site. Very good and also educational. I love our allotment site.

Went to my plot and spent an hour weeding one path. I got pretty much every blighter out though and then covered it with weed suppressing membrane doubled over. Still got another 4 or 5 paths to do though!

Planted more runner bean seeds outside and planted 2 cucumber plants and 2 baby plum tomato plants in the polytunnel.

Harvested some early peas and broad beans but was way too ambitious as when I opend the pods they were teeny-tiny!!

[binley100]

Planted out chard, sprouts, cabbage, beetroot.......
Did some weeding......
Watched the buzzards.........
Skimmed some weed off the pond ..........
Had a tidyup in home gh ......

[Loudbarker1]

Not a bad effort over the w/e considering.

Planted out 2 x cucumbers (burpless tasty green) in plant halos 10x dwarf french bean allegria (should have been 20 but half failed to germinate - investigated inside loo rolls and found they had died of cold poor things)
Weeded
Harvested last of overwintered lettuce - early spring sowing and cut and come again coming on very nicely so the timing is perfect. Put a layer of fleece over to discourage sparrows from eating it.
Thinned said cut and come again; also thinned turnips sowed between rows of parsnips. Not sure this was a good idea - they are vigorous and shading them over - but we have always had too may big parsnips so far, so smaller ones may not be a bad thing.
Watered toms, cucumbers, courgettes, soft fruit and dwarf beans. The dwarf beans look a bit yellow despite being under a cloche and fleece so added a litle bit of high K inorganic to boost.
Sowed another 30 dwarf french beans (allegria) and also runner beans: - 6x Scarlet Empire and 6x White Lady.
Harvested PSB - great success this year - we have had twice a week for the last 6 weeks or so from just 5 plants;
Harvested first broad beans (Aquadulce)
Harvested spring cabbage (??Hispi or similar conical cabbage)
Harvested last of current lot of raddish

Cauliflower planted last autumn looks beautiful and healthy - one's the size of a tennis ball and the other the size of a golf ball. I am sure they will taste nice! Same for calebrase.

Next weekend will be busy - I need to:
1) mow lawn;
2) put up bamboos for tomatos
3) Sow PSB and swede. Possibly spring cabbage as well
4) weed, including getting out the flame thrower for terrace and elsewhere
5) Water
6) Clear PSB, remains of cabbage, cauliflower etc
7) transplant 200 leeks and sow carrots in between
8) sow beetroot, carrots, raddish
9) Pick and eat broad beans
10) and salad
11) and pak choi
12) and maybe even turnips

And battle generally with the tidal wave of bindweed, nettles, brambles etc that are threating to engulf everything.

Help!

l

[VirginVegGrower]

Been to see the other half plot we have been allocated. Completely ridden in couch...groan. Here we go again.

[trolleydolly]

Second hand Greenhouse number one is finally up, and glazed!. It has taken a while, but it looks great! Planted out pumpkins, Butternut squash and courgettes. My peas and beans are a total failure, so will replant when back at the Lottie. Also gave the plot a good watering.

[Snadger]

Raked a previously dug bed and consolidated it for planting thousand head kale.

Planted 24 plants with a ring of dolomite limestone around each. It will hopefully reduce the acidity and may just prevent slugs travelling over it to eat the seedlings.

Was at a loss for something to support the bird netting. Finally utilised three metal table frames end to end, covered with mesh pegged down at the edges.
I think this should keep the pigeons off but if the rats fancy eating them, like they did my sprouts last year, they will easily find a way to get under the mesh.
It will be interesting to visit the allotment tomorrow to see if they have succumbed or not!

[stella]

Emptied out a large plant pot that had finished the spring bedding that was in it. Lots of dried dead roots in the bottom, gave it a good clean up refreshed the soil and put it all back together with some summer bedding. Gave it a nice water with nettle juice and got rid of all the slugs and snail that were in or around it. One done 6 to go.

[hamamelis]

Strimmed the paths, did a bit of weeding, made a bit more progress on digging out the final bed. Admired all the fruit that's coming along nicely- first strawberry should be ready tomorrow, it's already over half red, redcurrants are likewise almost ready. Had a furtle round the spuds, and accidently dug up a few, picked some broad beans to go with 'em.

Finally remembered to bring my camera down to the plot- you can admire the wall of waist-high grass that marks the boundary with the neighbour who's hopefully going...
I've got a good crop of black plastic coming along, haven't I? It was the only thing the slugs didn't eat last year

[VirginVegGrower]

Went and signed the agreement for the additional and new half plot.

[binley100]

The hedge at the lottie has been underplanted with cherry plum, blackthorn , honeysuckle , dog rose and raspberries............After clearing out nettles and cutting back brambles and trimming the hawthorn hedge (after checking for birds nests) everything that is meant to be there can have a fair crack at the whip .

[Rigel]

Thinned out carrots and parsnips.
Put two trial tomatoes outside in their big pots then checked forecast and decided to leave a few other tomatoes outside over night. Run out of compost though and lots of things need repotting.
Rearranged my tiny space to try and fit as much in as possible but it's starting to look quite cramped :-(
Noticed one pea has a flower-finally! but the only strawberry plant to have actual strawberries forming seems to have died off suddenly.

[JustPotteringAbout]

Monday
Slept in as up to stupid o'clock
Watered and humidified in greenhouse
Daytime stuff college, work.
Trimmed blackberries
Checked gooseberries periodically for gooseberry sawfly (Nematus ribesii ?) Bottom leaves are eaten, no sighting of sawfly at any stage of lifecycle
Checked root tips of tomatoes thay are now down through 300mm of the cardboard tube and into growbags beneath)
Cut holes in growbags poked funnels (plastic bottle) in
Watered in greenhouse
Litle tiny flies everywhere in greenhouse
Shopped for sample vials on internet to take pest samples into work to examine.
Tied up branches of apple trees (unknown vars) Will need to make up some formers.
Tied up peas, fava beans and chick peas
Emptied a couple
Repotted an ornamental plant of some description
Transplanted some onions (A. Cepa var Bedfordshire Champion)
Planted out a couple more perpetual spinach (B vulgaris)
Riddled out a bucket of soil nuggets and broken crockery
Poked a cable tie up the faucet on a water butt to clear blockage before realising there was no water because I had left the faucet on
Weeded nettles (Urtica dioica) and set aside to mash up for an emulsion
Weeded willowherb Chamerion angustifolium, chopped up and sat aside to dry.
Weeded Grounde/Ragwort (Senecio Spp) and chucked heads into the council compost bin
Watered
Tidied and swept
Took recycling to recycling centre across road
Paper bin at recycling centre was full of shredding so took some of that home for compost carbon.
Swept again as got shredding everywhere
Ate sauted kale flowers and spinach from the garden on a slightly toasted bagel while catching up on Beechgrove Garden and Gardener's World.

[VirginVegGrower]

Tomatoes are swelling considerably in the greenhouse. Watered, fed and misted those and cukes.
Next to the polytunnel, where I pulled my early sowings of carrots. Pulled the early spuds too. Pulled the remaining Broadies. All of those for dinner tonight and some for my mum. Lablabs and sweetcorn have gone in their places. Watered, fed and misted in there too. Planted two melon plants. Put in some trellis for the vine that's putting on huge growth.
Harvested lettuce for lunch to go with corned beef, cuke and toms.
I'm shattered and I still have the allotment.
It read 38°c in there - I was melting.