What I did today - 2016

[1Bee]

Bliss! Bliss! Two hours solo on the plot at dusk turned everything from despairing to delightful.

Weeded the strawberry patch - I've never grown strawbs before, but it looks like some are developing.... now to find some straw to mulch them.

Weeded the two potato beds. A real bonus, as I wasn't expecting to get a chance to do that for a while. And since I weeded the onion beds the day before yesterday, that's the three big weeding jobs on top of.

Brought all the hardening off brassicas from the backyard to the plot. Covered them with fleece to keep the pesky flitterbys off until I can get the cage built. I have blue pipe in my dining room...

Planted out a courgette green bush and a courgette black forest in one of the raised beds that currently also houses the garlic. Gave the black forest support, and both fleece/cloche protection. Juggled fleece/cloche arrangements for the brassicas and the *cough* ten (so far) courgettes/squashes/pumpkins on plot.

Planted out a few flowers.

Cut back a pesky bit of hawthorn hedge and threw some cuttings into a pot, just in case. We have a gappy spot of the hedge that could do with gapping up.

Other misc weeding and sorting.

Sorry about your blowaway, Bex. :-(

[Bex2012]

Aww thank you all! It's probably salvageable, it's just been the fannying around, worrying and trying to rescue it. What cheesed me off more than anything was it upended my tray of beautiful broccoli and cauliflower that was going to go out this weekend. Every pot got emptied. I managed to put them back in the pots, but I now have no idea what is what!
Sunday is supposed to be hot and sunny, let's hope it dries it all out a bit.

[pol_bishop25]

Today I finally started work on my new trellis and I'm feeling exited. I've been postponing this project for quite some time.

[bario1]

This morning I watered everything in the polytunnel, as i'm away for the weekend and the weather forecast looks good - just hope the things in small pots don't fry.
Watered all the brassica seedlings in the cold frame. Also covered with debris netting, as a sun shade and butterfly retarder.
Watered all my spuds in bags and barrels.

[Lumpy]

Went to get some of my chinese cabbage and by the time I had removed all the dodgy leaves my idea of a big plateful for tea had vanished.

Pak choi has started to bolt..............in the weather we have had I am amazed.

My few surviving toms seem to be holding their own against the wind and rain. Phew!

Courgette under the bell cloche is still alive. Whoop whoop!

All 4 of the outdoor Q's that were planted as seeds have come up..........if it's warmer at the weekend I will separate them into their own planters.

More Paris Market Atlas put in.

Sang to my parsnips who (at least at the moment) seem to be thriving.

[Cadalot]

Made a Solvent Weld Pipe and Fitting climbing frame for my cucumbers

[Snadger]

Planted out some celeriac. I know its far too late but I also planted some shallots that i meant to plant in February.
On my new plot I watered pumpkins, courgettes,Butternut squash and chrysanthemums

Hoed up another four rows of spuds that had shown their heads above ground..

Fed the chooks, checked on my broody hen and collected the eggs she wasn't sitting on.

[Jay-ell]

Potted up my Couve Galega seedlings and a couple of calabrese.
Hoed and weeded a bit.
Popped my Yacon into the cold frame to start hardening it off.
Squished some bugs on my Daubertons Kale which otherwise s coming on nicely - as is the Taunton Dean (which looks as if it's starting to branch off) and the 9 star broccoli.

Took the bell cloches of the pumpkins and courgette and planted out 4 more pumpkins (so that’s 3 hundredweight and 3 Atlantic Giant) . Snadger came along to check out the competition for the sites pumpkin competition with a thought about the pampas stalks I mulched with "Didn't you spray the pampas - there could be some residue on the stalks that'll affect the pumpkins" well I had chopped before I sprayed so IF they are affected by weedkiller I know who to look for

Chopped down the second bit of comfrey and mashed it into my comfrey bucket. It's producing comfrey juice nicely now which is going straight into the water butt in the green house.

[Snadger]

Took the half glazed wooden door off my greenhouse on my old plot and fitted it to the summerhouse on my new plot!Old greenhouse has been left without door for the time being. Decided after todays sunshine that i do need an opening window in the summerhouse somewhere. Sourced another likely candidate from a nearby plotholder. Also sourced the floor for my chicken coop to be from another plotholder.
Had a bit of a tidy up of the patio area around the summerhouse. Did some weeding. Did some watering.

The 'to do' list for my summerhouse is to add some wooden noggins on the inside of the roof below joints that had to be made to use up existing materials.Roof to felt. Guttering to make and fit. Internals to sort out including small opening window in end.

And then I nned to make a start on the chicken coop and run..................

[Guest]

Spent the last two days playing with bees. Really chuffed, feel great having done the course - so much so I have just bought a hive

[jonny the plant pot]

Waterden up and chilled out with our reggie

[happyhumph]

Watered greenhouse, took a few things out to harden off, then left it all & went to the beach.....

[Martin H]

Potted on my pumpkins, will start hardening them off tomorrow.

Also mowed the lawn, dug up some spring bedding and planted out some Gladioli, Nasturtium, Mesembryanthemum and Begonia. (I know these aren't veg but there isn't a "what I did today" thread in the flower mill!)

[MissC]

Today I tried and failed miserably to prick out a pot of celeriac seedlings. They are just so flimsy and weak!! Even though they've got two sets of leaves! I'm not even sure if I want to attempt the other two pots tomorrow... Celeriac may have to be written off for 2016.

[Jay-ell]

Yesterday I had to rush into work to cover for someone so I didn't get to the plot at all.

Today I fixed a couple of arches, put one up and planted 3 climbing courgettes to grow up it. I then planted out 4 more courgettes, a patty pan and 6 winter squash/pumpkins.

All I've got left to plant are 4 more climbers, 5 regular courgettes, 6 squash and 2 giant pumpkins.

Of course there's also the 3 climbing trombones and 2 Patti pans that Miss made me buy.

Planted out a Lazarus fig tree into a sunken pot. it's actually a Brown Turkey but twice it's died on me only to come back to life again (and no it wasn't the winter)..

Also planted a couple of raspberries that were sitting neglected in pots since last year - as they hadn't died on me I figured the least I could do was to give them a proper place to live.

CHANGED THE BATTERIES IN MY WATER TIMER. Forgot to do that last time so the greenhouse may have skipped a watering or two.

Levelled an area to make an 8x4 square foot garden. Laid out the grid using a
venetian blind - after all with all the loos on my plot I need the blinds for privacy.

Watered - I need a longer hosepipe as mine doesn't reach the squash beds. oh shame, shame - the indignity of lugging the watering can back and forth.

Weeded and pottered on a bit. Moved some more of the pampas to use as a mulch - This time I had heavy leather gloves on. And short sleaves. Ouch. Now where did I put my suit of armour.

Gave my pennyroyal and chamomile a haircut so they grow short and bushy.

Looked at the wild flower bee mix I undersowing my fruit trees with and noticed a startling resemblance the leaves have to the ones I'm pulling out of the rest of the plot as weeds. I could have just left it.