What I did today - 2015

[Snadger]

A productive couple of hours on the plot today. Hoed over the area at the bottom of the cane wigwam where i originally sowed my climbing french beans in situ. Nothing came up apart from weeds. Planted out about a dozen second sowing of beans which wasn't much better as these were all i got from a full packet sown in modules. Pulled up a bit more comfrey until the bees protested too loudly so left it for yet another day.
Lifted my Autumn planted japanese onion sets. Half were the red type and half the normal type (Senshyu i think?) Put the reds inside to dry off but just heaped the normal ones on my park bench in the middle of the plot as i had no room. Weeded the bed and applied a granular fertiliser. Planted out Black kale covered by netting and more Leeks in the cleared bed. I know leeks are an allium but i never get anal about crop rotation as long as it is rotated now and again.

Ate a goodly amount of gooseberries,raspberries,blackcurrants and strawberries as i was working.

[kris1960]

2 hours watering, a few repairs to polytunnel, harvested about 4lbs of redcurrants( the birds had the rest), replaced some runner beans lost to slugs and another courgette and continued staking and tying in.

[1Bee]

Netted a raised bed to discourage the cat who's adopted it as his personal toilet, weeded, smiled a lot at so much productivity from a 30 years non-cultivated plot.

Love my plot.

[Snadger]

Had a sort out of my seeds and sowed yellow dwarf french beans, purple french beans and green french beans . All were old seed so we'll just have to wait and see what comes up! Lots of weeding and pulling up comfey whilst dodging the bees. Left the comfrey with the most flowres on it until the bees have worked them out.
Sowed pointy spring cabbage and will sow the ball head version (Spring Hero) a bit later.

Side shooted and took some of the bottom leaves off my tomatoes to allow air around them. This also allowed me to weed in between them.
Brought my Japanese onions indoors and stripped off some of the skin to tidy them up. I now have both the red and normal Japanese onions drying in the greenhouse.

[jayjaybee]

Picked blueberries and researched what to do with them, moved water from one butt to another in the hope of more rain. Harvested lots. Gloated over broccoli and cabbages under net and untouched by insects or pigeons, contemplated sowing more carrots. - oh and totally irrelevant - did the long overdue ironing

[kris1960]

Planted peas, weeded bed and planted kale and some more chard, picked icecream tub of raspberries, pulled up phacelia, more repairs to polytunnel, cleared some duckweed.
Avoided staking and tying tomatos in the greenhouse but MUST do tomorrow!

[Greenleaves]

Constructed a cage on a triangular bed that will be for my strawberries next year but will lend its self to a few brassica's until then, terrible picture but gives a rough idea. As you can see, I like my wood green

[Jay-ell]

Measured my kiwi - it's grown 4" since I planted it on Sunday. At this rate I'll be nipping out the tip on July 29th for it to start developing its horizontal cordons.


Planted some pennyroyal, creeping thyme and chamomile into the path - will jump up and down on it in a couple of weeks.


Jumped up and down on the other aromatic path. This seems to encourage the thyme, pennyroyal and chamomile to spread horizontally and form a mat. Strangely the thyme is out growing and smothering the mint.

[1Bee]

Grubbed up some more perennial weed roots. Am discovering that I actually really enjoy this task...

Harvested courgettes, stakes sorry-looking sunflowers, hoed and tidied ahead of four days away.

All looking good.

[Martin H]

Yesterday I finished protecting the sweet corn. The marauding flying rats won't get it this year!

[Guest]

put spade in ground, swatted, took spade out of ground, swatted, ran round the patch like a complete idiot and then repeated process until it became to much. So I hoed the fastest I have ever done in my entire life and typically still got bitten by horseflies. Grrr!

[skeggijon]

Yesterday I finished protecting the sweet corn. The marauding flying rats won't get it this year!

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Wish my outdoor sweetcorn looked as good as yours

[kris1960]

Still haven't started staking greenhouse tomatos- it is at the bottom of the allotment and I have to walk past loads of other jobs that need doing before I get to it.
Yesterday I couldn't stand looking at the mixed veg and flower border that runs the full length of allotment- It had become very overgrown and weedy! By the time I had made a dent in that the greenhouse was too hot!
Loads of watering, more pond maintenance.
Emergency clear of thistles in asparagus bed, not sure why I haven't noticed before. I really hope roots are not damaged- not sure how delicate asparagus is.
I will go and do the tomatos NOW! Straight to it without looking right or left! I think there are over 50 to do- it would have been much easier 2 weeks ago.

[kris1960]

Its done- why have I been avoiding it, it was very satisfying and pleasant! Did it with string, took off a lot of bottom leaves and armpitted. Only had 30 after all. Gave a good drink with homemade comfrey. All have flowers and some have small fruit.
Rewarded myself with half an hour by pond- saw a froglet catch a fly from water margin and a pair of azure damsel flies dancing around each other. The male has been there all morning, was thrilled to see female but no sign of mating before I left.

[Martin H]

Today I pulled out the bolting PSB plants, leaving more room for the non-bolting ones. The bed looks a lot better now, although I forgot to take a photo.

I got all the weeds out of a bed that I had harvested overwintering onions from earlier in the week and planted out 48 sweet williams to bulk up before they get moved back home in the autumn. It's brilliant having the space to do this, I've got some wallflowers that I'll take there at the weekend.

Then I layered the tallest sweet pea cordons, did lots of watering and gave away a ripe cabbage (Golden Acre) to a grateful plot neighbour.