What I did today 2020

[self-contained]

Potted up the primroses I bought a while back. I couldn't fit many per pot (my biggest containers are reserved for veg) so have ended up with several small containers, each with one or two primroses and then a fair bit of empty space. I'll try and add some smaller plants in with them, but not sure what to go for. In future, some snowdrops and narcissi might be nice, but I suspect it's a bit late for that this year.

I've checked in on my wormery and filled the top tray with loosely torn up paper. I've recently started feeding into a new tray, and the worms haven't really moved up there yet so there's quite a bit of uneaten food. I'll hold off feeding any more for a couple of weeks, and the tray full of paper helps guard against odours and fruit flies. It's a bit early for fruit flies, but it's horrid when they get into an indoor wormery and I'm keen to stop them getting in if I can.

I've also watered my indoor sowing station plants. Several of my summer lettuce mix seeds have sprouted, as well as all my cress, peashoots (mark 2), and radishes (for microgreens). The potting compost I sowed the cress into is behaving a bit oddly though. It seems to have formed a thin crust that the cress seedlings have lifted up like a roof, rather than growing through. I tried watering to see if that would help, but I suspect I may need to wait until it dries again then pick it off.

[Can the Man]

Went to the cinema with my eldest grandson, went to see Birds of Prey from DC comics, brilliant film.

[PyreneesPlot]

Turned 2 compost heaps & spread the usable stuff on this year's brassica bed after forking out vole & mole runs. Put the rest in 2 daleks as the wooden bins need repairing. Cursed my decision to put chopped rose prunings in the heap.

[Small pumpkin]

Potted on some chillies. Filled up more pots for potting on more tomorrow. Refilled fresh compost into heated propagator. ready for more seed sowing tomorrow.

[Can the Man]

Went to A&E with my ingrown toenail and got an appointment for Saturday to have it removed.

[keat63]

Sowed about 30 x Snowball Cauliflower indoors, with a view to doing some more in maybe a months time.

[annie8]

I would cover the Mara des Bois with something, I grow mine in a greenhouse up here, they are tender this far north.

Hadn't thought of that. I always think of strawberries as really robust to cold. Will cover with some fleece. Biggest challenge will be stopping it blowing away at the moment

[self-contained]

Made a special trip to Asda as the nearby Lidl don't have Ecover washing detergent. My first time in an Asda superstore (apart from a trip to top up my electricity) in many, many years. I managed to resist the seed section, but have picked up some flat leaf parsley, thyme and rosemary plants that were packed just in brown paper. They look really easy to pot up - just have to get round to it before they get too sad. Will try to motivate myself to do it this evening.

[Jay-ell]

Due to work, weather, kidneys and other stuff fist time this year down at the plot.

FINALLY got round to planting the garlic, just at the end of the planting window. The heads have been sitting in the bottom of the fridge since August and some were starting to grow in there. I had just the right amount to fill the bed (208 cloves - hopefully I'll get something this year) Varieties are Elephant Garlic, Early Purple, Extra Early, Provence, Red Duke, Mikulov, Iberian to see if any of these do better tan the rest

[ESBkevin]

Ordered 4 x 2.4M 100x100mm fence posts to replace the broken one and update the other 3 on the wind break we built behind the espalier fruit trees. Other than that I left Carol to start the chillies and peppers in the heated propogator.

[burnie]

Planted out 10 mara de bois strawberry plants and half a dozen bare root raspberry canes - Joan J. As recommended by you lovely people.

I would cover the Mara des Bois with something, I grow mine in a greenhouse up here, they are tender this far north.

[Baldy]

Bought 3*50 litre bags of miracle grow compost for £10 - the local GC used to do 6*40 litres of generic stuff for £10 - last year it was 5 bags and this year 4 - so I lose out on 10 litres of compost but according to the bumf on the side of the miracle grow I'm almost certain to get 60% bigger plants (or summat)

I've got quite a lot of stuff going on in my daleks, so I'm hoping that I won't need to buy anymore compost.

Also managed to persuade the water butts to supply water to the cistern in the polygreentunnelhouse - though I've clogged up the proper connection with silicon so will need to sort that so that I can rely on the ballcock to keep my plants in bounteous supply of mildly warm water from an internal store...

[Chestnut]

Shovelled and barrowed some more stone chips to patch up the potholes in the communal path, bought some seed potatoes and set them to chit.

[ameno]

Dug out one blackcurrant bush and half of my loganberry plant (that was a difficult one to split. Had to use a saw in the end), and also lifted a small, superfluous section of path, to make room for for two new apricot trees.
Planted said apricot trees.
Took the blackcurrant and half loganberry I dug out up to the allotment, and gave them a new home there.

[ameno]

Cut down and dug out my old, unproductive apricot tree. Dug out about 1 metre square of soil to a 30cm depth and replaced it with fresh soil from the vegetable patch, along with plenty of garden compost.
Will plant my new apricot tree there as soon as I can.