What I did today - 2017

[1Bee]

Weds night:- At home, I did the final potting up of toms and cucs. A marmande, sungold and red pear into half growbags in the opened up growhouse, in company with potted up mini munch and cucino cucumbers. I had a marmande and a tigerella spare, so I've put them in a trough against the wall next to the growhouse. Tomatoes are always a gamble for me, fingers crossed....

This means all the sowing, potting on, taking down to the plot is pretty much done, so I've tidied away all that paraphenalia, and the poor, long-suffering husband can have his black and decker workmate back...

Thurs morning on the plot:- felt utterly awful initially. It was one of those dreadful mizzley summer days where it's too hot for a coat, but if you don't wear one you're soaked in minutes. And in any case you're still soaked because everything is wet and clinging and muddy and... UGH. I also had a headache and sore back so everything felt annoying and uncomfortable. I perservered, though, and weeded around the runners and peas, harvested a handful of pods, weeded the parsnips and planted a row of french marigolds between them and the onions. A few marigolds also went in around the runners, together with a couple of cosmos, to make the boys' bean teepee a bit brighter. I planted out five sunflowers, the last of the terribly sickly ones which have been languishing in pots far too small for them for far too long. I expect they'll pick up. I tied up some of the other sunflowers, spoke to the french bean that's performing better than all his cousins and thanked him for his efforts, and stopped to smell the first sweet pea.

Weeded the sweetcorn. Still not sure I'm going to get a crop, but we'll see. Checked the tatties for blight, and found none, which really pleases me as we've had two Hutton Periods in May...

Picked a couple of strawberries.

Used soapy water and sloshed and squished the blackfly on the broad beans. Hoping that's going to get the problem under control.

Planted two cucs, which will almost certainly stay 8 inches high for the rest of the season. Watered the 3 toms I've got in the raised bed near them... sweet n neat, gardener's delight and moneymaker. Watered the other raised bed.

Left feeling better, and satisfied with what I'd achieved.

[Jay-ell]

Hurrah - I've finally finished digging out the weed fabric and soil and dismantled the frame from the old bed in the New Territories. Partially constructed and filled a new bed 4x16 foot. Just need end woods to finish it.

Two beds down three to go.

In place of those two beds & paths I'll have 4 4x14 beds, one 4x16 and one 4x8.

Think I'll leave the other 3 for now (already removed the weed control fabric from one)

Stuff in the SFG has started to sprout (beets, chard, scorzonera) and so has the grass seed on the path.

Weeded the chard, coriander and basil in the bean bed now I can tell them apart from the weeds.

Chopped down the chive hedge and the scorzonera flowers as they're past their best. A bit of a haircut should see them refreshing their leaves.


Filled, up the compost bins withe trimmings, grass and cardboard. Gave them a good watering.

Planted out another new plant into a large pot to train to the top wire of the fruit hedge.

Picked more strawberries and more peas.

Tickled a couple of cucumber flowers.

[Chestnut]

Have reduced shed base to less than 2 feet wide. Getting tough now because this side of the concrete seems to be about 18 inches deep!

[burnie]

Not done much at all, tidying up in the greenhouse winding strings round tommies and doing their armpits, all my plants now have fruits growing, including chillies and peppers.

[Bren In Pots]

Potted up 6 basil plants that were pinched out from the tops of the original plants then left in water. Planted out more lettuce slugs ate the last lot

[bario1]

Last night - attacked the jungle of nettles, thistles, hogweed and bindweed at the front of my plot as it was starting to encroach on the main allotment path. Got about a sixth of it done in an hour and a half
Planted out my pathetic looking leeks.
This morning - weeded the roots bed, gave the polytunnel beds a soaking, misted the aubergines.

[damian1225]

Ordered another 5 litre container of roundup for my ongoing battle with bindweed at my house, killed 90% of it last month and now the final 10% is flowering and using up all its energy im going to finish it off!

Have tried for 8 years to get rid of it by removing it and it just laughs at me, so now im on chemical warfare against it, and will keep going at every appearance of the dreaded stuff its trying to strangle my privet hedge

[Chestnut]

It's taken most of the week, but I've finally got the old concrete shed base into the skip

[susieq100]

Friday at the hotment - weeding, watering and strimming. I have another row of peas sprouting in my guttering to be planted out when they are strong enough. Debating about whether to have a little furtle under the early potatoes!

Came home, mowed the lawns and did a lot of watering around the pots, tubs and in the greenhouse.
Yesterday, managed to give away another tomato and cucumber and the same will go on Tuesday. Then I should be down to manageable proportions! Just about to pop down the hotment now to water and pick broad beans for FiL's supper tonight.

[Jonny.D]

Bit of weeding, dead headed and squeezed Dahlias then a mate turned up with a pile of Mulch and I've been barrowing it round to the back garden. Compost bins are now full so rest will go in a ton bag in the corner.

[Chestnut]

Planted out some courgettes, pumpkins, butternut squash and second sowing french/runner beans, and dug over a bed which has been deprived of light for a few months to quell the weeds!

[veggiechicken]

Cleared Bed 21 of Montbretia and other weeds, leaving the flowering parsley, some tiny Fuchsia berry plants that are as small as when they were planted a year ago, a clump of day lilies and a large kale thing that could be a tree cabbage! Its been there a couple of years and is untouched by pests, apart from the dogs who chomp away at the lower leaves

I planted 10 perennial kale cuttings that I'd taken earlier this year - they've all rooted
Then scattered 8 out of date packets of parsley seeds under the flowering parsley, which I'm leaving to self seed. Hoping for a bed of crazy mixed up parsley but the seeds may be too geriatric to germinate.

Just need to throw some flower seeds around the kales and Bed 21 is complete.

[Bren In Pots]

Potted on a Black Cherry tom armpit now it's got some roots then weeded the GH border, fed toms, cucs and courgettes with comfrey tea.

[vixylix]

Lots done this weekend!

Potted on herbs and chillies - including several chillies delivered by the lovely Deano. Spent much time moving things around the garden to fit them all in.

Sowed lettuce, beetroot, radish, broccoli raab, peas, chives, spring onion, kohl rabi, mizuna and rocket into gaps.

Removed some struggling peas and replaced with some cucuamelon - I've never managed to get anything edible from these - they're so tiny and spindly they just seem to vanish!

Planted up some geraniums and begonias and some basil out into the bed

OH has managed (after many many weeks) to get almost all of the ivy into the brown bin - hurrah! He also did a bit more digging.

Doesnt seem like a lot when you read it back does it?!

Still lots to do - but it finally feels like I'm getting on top of it!

[Jay-ell]

Done stuff - lets see.

C

• ourgettes - planted a couple.
• Fed the cweetcord, brassicas and squash fome sulphate of ammonia.
• Fed the Raspberries Miracle-grow
• Watered the pots.
• Dug up some elephant garlic
• Harvested a carrier bag full of strawberries
• Installed beakbeaks amongst thr strawberries
• Harvested another carrier bag full on peapods
• Topped up the greenhouse irrigation
• Armpitted some toms.
• Checked on stuff - DRB have salmon, red, white and red/white flowers all over them. CRB are doing their thing with string. Broadies are flowering like crazy. SFG sowings are coming on nicely.
• My Cherries are RED

Off to bed now as ive been up since 4pm Sunday