What I did today - 2015

[Martin H]

Today I did lots more weeding, sorted out my strawberry bed by cutting off unwanted runners and weighing down wanted ones with stones, pulled up all the bolted lettuces (still plenty left) and did the summer pruning on a Granny Smith apple and a Conference pear.

Also I noticed that my sweet corn is just a few days away from ripening...

[Penellype]

Noticed Aubergine plants had a bad attack of greenfly, so resorted to using my last resort organic pest spray on them, then noticed another bottle of organic pest spray - thats odd, I only bought the one. Looked again at the spray I had just used - AARRRRGGGHHH, it was an organic weedkiller I'd just picked up to try out from B&M's

Quickly got the hose out - even though it was pouring down and gave them a really good spraying from all angles. Now I just have to wait and hope that its a rubbish weedkiller

Checked Melon plants for anything resembling a Melon - three plants and nothing showing so far, though the plants are absolutely full of male and female flowers and I've got loads of pollinators going in and out of the greenhouse, so ended up hand pollinating a few.

Oops - hope your plants survive the experience.

My melon plants have only one sort of flowers - they are either all male or all female and no fruit is setting. As I've not grown melons before, I haven't a clue which they are.

[Jay-ell]

Didn't get down to the lottie today - I stayed at home to wrestle the anaconda


I've now got a pile of 10' blue hoops and a pile of 4" bits. I'll take them down next time I get the chance and put up the hoops and netting on my brassica beds - should give me a hoop house about 3.5 - 4 foot tall.


Went to Willis to see what was in their clearance - nothing took my fancy.

[kris1960]

Family stuff yesterday so didn't get to allotment until it was raining. Spent unexpectedly long time in greenhouse sorting tomatos - I can see the soil now- they had massively outgrown their initial tethering. Pleased with number of green tomatos so far.
I'm not a big heat fan but my vegetables are - it feels more like October than July today!

[Jay-ell]

Pouring down with rain today as I put up the hoops and netting over the brassicas.

P.s. kiwi now at 4' mark.

[ESBkevin]

Shouted at a few weeds again (are you sure this is working)? and pulled a few more up. I find it very therapeutic side-shooting the tomatoes, de leafing to the set truss and twisting them up the support string so I spent a while doing that. A bit of general harvesting as detailed in the other thread and just being in awe of how green and potent everything looks at the moment.

[skeggijon]

Checked the Aubergine plants I accidently sprayed with weedkiller the other day. Luckily my prompt action seems to have saved them. Phew

[kris1960]

Well caught Skeggi!
Rolled 100+ manure bags and packed for return so somewhat smelly yesterday.
Fed tomatos and cleared some blanket and duckweed from pond. It may be a coincidence but the nearby sickly looking mulberry sapling- often the recipient- has luscious healthy leaves now and seems really happy. Perhaps I should use it on other ailing plants.
Have embarked on path and bed by bed maintenance in between work on onion bed. Started on long flower/ veg boundary border- always more work when you look closely- weeded, cutback and tidied about 4 foot. Delphinium is flowering again!

[1Bee]

[Yesterday]

Weeded two small raised beds and thinned butterhead lettuce, red oak leaf, rocket and basil. Planted out last sowing of the dwarf french beans, to plug gaps in the second raised bed.

Weeded here and there, pulling thistles round the edges, bashing down the path edges etc.

Planted out a replacement sunflower to replace the one that snapped off in winds, when I'd been thinking "I must tied that up" for a week or two. Tied it up.

[Penellype]

Dodging the showers today which is getting frustrating as the lawn needs a trim and the hotbin needs grass to keep it hot. Electric mower + rain is not a good combination.

Cut down the tomato plants in my kitchen, which have been victims of red spider mite infestation but have managed to produce a few ripe fruit. Moved the pot of aubretia out of the way (under the potatoes) to make room for the strawberries that have finished fruiting so that I could make room under the net for some beetroot which has been hiding under the potatoes... Hopefully the net will keep the caterpillars off it long enough for it to grow some leaves, unlike what happened to the chard last year. Apart from 4 pot of PSB which are defying finding a place where they actually seem to like the conditions, I think most things have a home for now.

But...

It started to rain and I remembered I had a Wyevale voucher that expired tomorrow, so off I went. Came home with a bag of Charlotte seed potatoes, some violas to replace the dying bedding plants in the front garden, and 2 new types of lettuce seeds.

What was I saying about everything having a home? I need 2 empty buckets (got 0) to plant my potatoes in now. I should be able to cram the buckets in behind the courgettes, in place of the almost finished peas.

Been working on my plan for next year and discovered that the buckets fit better in the veg cage than the current square pots (and are easier to move about as they have handles). Maybe its time to order another 10 30 litre buckets. I thought 16 would be plenty, but clearly not!

Also picked 2 large courgettes and made some soup.

[maverick451]

I feel like an idiot

I was tidying up my outdoor cucumbers, taking off the side shoots at the base to let air in and I accidently snipped off the main stem! Ive tried to graft it back together but still gutted! ive put a sideshoot in water to root as plan B

[1Bee]

Lots of weed bashing today. I attacked the paths around the potato bed, hoping to improve the air circulation. This involves either hacking at them with an old hoe, or getting down on my knees and wrenching them out in handfuls... the latter hurts my back less and is more effective!

Set up some canes and string for floppy 'dwarf' french beans, scattered some slug pellets (the ferrous wotsit ones) and *sob* thinned some PSB. Watered courgettes, gave the ones under cloches an airing, and went round the whole plot pulling up thistles while the ground is soft.

Nice.

[Penellype]

I feel like an idiot

I was tidying up my outdoor cucumbers, taking off the side shoots at the base to let air in and I accidently snipped off the main stem! Ive tried to graft it back together but still gutted! ive put a sideshoot in water to root as plan B

Oh no! I hope your repair job works.

[Bigmallly]

I decided to make the most of Summer & changed from this:
To this:
Via this:

So thats 2 Polycages I have.............

[Snadger]

I decided to make the most of Summer & changed from this: [ATTACH=CONFIG]58009[/ATTACH]
To this: [ATTACH=CONFIG]58010[/ATTACH]
Via this: [ATTACH=CONFIG]58011[/ATTACH]

So thats 2 Polycages I have............. [ATTACH=CONFIG]58012[/ATTACH]

They must have been at it behind your back cos there's a baby in the middle back!