What I did today - 2016

[Cadalot]

I set the alarm and get ready really early for a meeting on site and schedule of conditions today and the other surveyor emails me to advise he has not been able to arrange access. So my plans changed completely and thus I wrangled an hour on plot 23B after dropping my good lady to her sisters.

The plan was to fabricate some raised beds, the batteries on the portable drill had different ideas and they were both knackered. I'm sure they were both fully charged a week or two ago, Ho Hum.

So in preparation for the wood chip man the green corex was lifted and weed membrane and slabs were laid for the central path between beds 3&4.

The weeds along the edge of bed 4 on the path edge were dug out and the gray plastic dpm was pulled over to cover the ground.

The grey dpm that was over the path between beds 4 and what will be 6 was lifted and weed membrane laid in it's place.

Next visit the plan is to*fabricate the raised beds from the timber that is already on site drill batteries permitting.

[sparrow100]

Emptied the greenhouse of aubergines, peppers and all bar 2 of the tomatoes. Installed the chillies and other tender things in the space freed up. Filled up the compost bin with the greenery and hoiked out grass from the path between plots. That's never a fun job, but the allotment cat came charging over at the end for a prolonged head scratch while the sun set.

[happyhumph]

Shifted 5 barrows of manure down the veg plot & put a few more turks turban in gh to mature. Pulled out some spent courgettes & the dfb. Still lots more poo to move - hoping for turbo veg next year! Poo trailer has leaked poo juice onto the drive so hoping for rain after bringing laundry in.

[bario1]

First time down the plot for a while, and it's looking awful - started digging out the biggest of the docks and dandelions. I really need to make a couple of pallet compost bins!

[Jay-ell]

A little while ago I sowed some Elefant Leeks in small quarter seed trays with the intent of planting them out in the GH once the toms were out to have as baby leeks through the winter. Today, along with some other alliums, I started planting. 300 little holes were dibbled and 300 little leeks were popped into their new homes,. As I'll start harvesting when they get to the size that I would normally start thinking about planting them out I've planted them only an inch or so apart so that I can harbest every other one at first giving the survivors more space to grow..

After what seemed like an eternity bent over kneeling on the green house floor with a pile of leeklets in one hand and a dibbler in the other, as the sun dipped over the horizon and a veil of grey descended over the plot I finally popped the last leeklet in the tray into it's little hole. Astute readers may have noticed the change from plural at the opening remark to singular in the last sentence - yes I still have one tray of leeklets to go.

[Bigmallly]

I had an old cast iron water pump surplus to requirements so I sited it on the island, ran some hose through it et voila:

[Lumpy]

My hanging basket toms are now in the compost - sob sob.

Mind you they really have out done themselves this year and the freezer is full.

[bramble]

That looks really good Bigmally. Whrn we were kids we had one of those in the village and the water from it was so fresh.

[Jay-ell]

I had an old cast iron water pump surplus to requirements so I sited it on the island, ran some hose through it et voila:

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Very nice.

OK, so the urn in held onto the vertical pole and fills with water until its heavy enough to drop onto the white beam, catapulting the frog into the air where it does a triple back summersault with a half nelson and Full Monty, bounces off the urn upsetting it in the process and emptying it out. The frog then lands back on white beam catapulting the now empty and lighter urn back up onto the fixing attached to the pole where it starts filling up again.

With all these water features do you still have any room for crops?

[Bigmallly]

You're so close Jay...................you missed the bit where the frog lands in the urn, drinks the water then spits it back into the pond................

[elleme]

I am giving up my plot as I haven't visited there as much as I should, either to harvest or to sow and I realised I pay a lot more attention to what's outside my back door in my small garden so I'm going to concentrate on shifting over to a few more edibles. Today I did some cutting of my mixed hedge, lowering the height a bit to make it more manageable/let more light.

I also checked to see what's going on with my leaf veg.

Chard in large pots are nice and healthy. My ongoing self-seeding veg experiment is, as usual, very corn salad heavy with loads of seedlings come up now. Land cress from last year which was also left to seed is putting out new growth (is it perennial?) Wild rocket doing fine but I wish I had more. Winter lettuce hasn't self sown yet as far as I can tell which is a pity. Phacelia I sowed a month ago now has tons of seedlings in a spot where I moved out a rather straggly plant. I may put raspberries in there early next year after the phacelia is dug in. Or not.

[Bigmallly]

Spent a few hours at the pond messing about with the Cast Iron Pump, tried a couple of different ideas but I was not happy with them, then I fell into the pond, that was the last stroke to an already tiresome day. I came in had a change of clothes then went back down as it wasn't gonna beat me. Anyhows, I decided on this & that's how it's gonna stay.............

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Plus, just for Kevin...................https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dihT...ature=youtu.be

[SusieG]

Cleared out remaining cucumber plants from GH and also one chilli plant (shame, it looked very healthy but no more flowers/chillis on it) so compost heap ate it...!

Cut down borage, spent sunflowers and sweetcorn .... makes me feel a little bit sad.....

Topped up bed D with spent tomato compost and sowed some Phalecia green manure seeds ......

Pulled last of the 'mighty' spring onions, a few chillis and some surprise turnips..!!

It was a lovely morning, and could have spent longer out there, but I had to pack up as we were meeting the out-laws for a late afternoon meal...!

[Jay-ell]

Planted out another 300 itsty bitsy leeklets into the GH at 1" spacings - also planted some chives. Transplanted some penny royal and chamomile out of one path over into another path. Harvested raspberries, strawberries, Pheasant Berries (nice but not enough), a habanero, and four of my pumpkins.

Then I saw that some thieving ££*(&%^$£**) (&"$(£( £("* £)("*) £(")( ) £"*()(£)"*(&&&%(£"£()"*&£!))&%" had came into my plot and picked my apple. Wired up the gate and padlocked the other. next week I'll have to get a chain and lock on the gate and wire up the fence.

[veggiechicken]

Continued clearing the tomatoes out of GH No 1. Lots of whitefly in there and there's a limit to how much flying dandruff I can put up with
Still plenty of Black Icicle, Yellow Pear, Gardener's Delight and Lizzano to harvest
Messed around in the garden, weeding here, weeding there, here a weed, there a weed, everywhere a weed, weed!
Cleared a patch where there are some self-seeded leeks. Think I'll plant some more leeklings there and turn it into a perennial leek-pulling bed (I know what I mean).
All in all, a good day, not too cold or windy. October, keep it up, I'm starting to like you!