The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[sewer rat]

Had Iona as my assistant today. We planted out a load of 3" pots of chives and garlic chives that were becoming potbound. Then we went for a walk round the field so Iona could inspect everything and check on its progres since her last visit over a month ago - I forgot just how easily impressed 6 year old kids are. Crops that I look upon as near if not total disasters, she was enthusing about. Then just as we sat down to have a father / daughter moment and eat our lunch, the hordes of customers that Iona had been waiting on descended and all we did was pick veg all afternoon. I'm gonna go to bed shortly as that's me just in from helping set up the grounds and ring for tomorrows Highland Gathering and I'm up at 4am to go pick my veg so it's as fresh as can be for the stall.

[bramble]

Rat, you deserve every success you work so hard. Enjoy your highland games.

[Madasafish]

Finally caught Mrs Mouse yesterday - and full of lots of little mouses:-). Trap empty this am.. 5 caught to date in this run.
Picked lots of tomatoes, last of rasps, and started on beetroot.

Turkeys now run towards me whenever they see me - expecting lettuce as a treat. Will not be like that at Christmas:-)

Collecting quails eggs for incubator.
Hoed all weeds in borders and weedkillered paths.
Cows in field beside us look healthy.. no F&M I trust.

[heebiejeebie]

Been mowing and tidying and sitting looking at the garden Not many people pass my front garden but I've noticed that they look when they do! (Could be thinking OMG what a mess rather than oh what a wonderful riot of colour, though). Found a place that recycles timber e.g. out of old bed frames so I'll measure up and go back there and get some timber to treat then edge the flowerbeds and keep the barkchips off the paths.

Used lottie produce to feed a couple of dozen hungry runners (people, not beans!) used up many potatoes that I thought might not store because of blight and made £141.05 for my chosen charities

[Farmer_Gyles]

lovely day today
watered stuff in greenhouse, planted out more lettuce and last cauliflower, potted on more lettuce and celery (running out of baby veg now!)
picked another dozen cherry toms
good news for the day - bigger cauliflowers coming on nicely, first time i've seen the white bits inside them
everything else coming on well
weeded and mulched shrub bed - looks nice again

[sewer rat]

Got up at 3:30 am and started picking veg by 4 am. Picked full van load, set up stall at the Glenmorangie Highland Gathering and watched the punters flood the stall - unbelievable interest - with most heard comment of the day being, "buying local more important than organic", though I was s quick to point out that although not certified, I growas organically as poss.
Came home with only4 salad bowl lettuces suffering from heat exhaustion, a dozen onions, same number of turnips and two cucumbers. Sold everything else. Peas in Pods and Broad Beans seemed to be particular favourites went like a bomb.
And got orders for another seven weekly boxes and a lot of enquiries about farm gate sales
I am what you may call a "Happy Chappie"

[momol]

This morning, I have harvested some 2 courgettes , 3 korean summer squash, several patio tomatoes, 1 big marketmore cucumber,water cresses, nasturtium flowers,chrysanthemun flower, brassica's flower, pot marigold flower, corn flower, salsola,ijsplant,mizuna and some herbs ( coriander,italian basil, mix basil, fennel & mint ). I have deep freezed the courgettes and the korean summer squash.The rest going to the mix herbs, flowers,and iceplant salad... yumm .

Momol

[Sebbster]

Got up at 3:30 am and started picking veg by 4 am. Picked full van load, set up stall at the Glenmorangie Highland Gathering and watched the punters flood the stall - unbelievable interest - with most heard comment of the day being, "buying local more important than organic", though I was s quick to point out that although not certified, I growas organically as poss.
Came home with only4 salad bowl lettuces suffering from heat exhaustion, a dozen onions, same number of turnips and two cucumbers. Sold everything else. Peas in Pods and Broad Beans seemed to be particular favourites went like a bomb.
And got orders for another seven weekly boxes and a lot of enquiries about farm gate sales
I am what you may call a "Happy Chappie"

Pleased for you rat, hopefully it will bring lots of business your way.

[heebiejeebie]

Yesterday: Trimmed hedges down one side of garden, spread out & mowed up the clippings to add to the compost. I'll do the other side next time the grass needs cut - by then the compost should have sunk down a bit!

Today: Hoed and weeded and watered and weeded. Removed bolting Ice King lettuces. Shook head at Cos lettuces in a "why did I bother" kind of way. Ate a few wild strawberries. Picked 4 courgettes. Prepared two seedbeds - sowed 16 florence fennel in the hope of a late harvest and 50 japanese onions for next year.

[Mrs Dobby]

Been mega busy at work recently, and working hard at the plot, so hence the lack of updates, but thought I'd try and get up to date!

Maincrop spuds have been blighted, from 2 4' by 14' beds we got a total of about 1/2 a barrow full of tatties, and half of them had been attacked by the slugs, so a bit of a disaster, which is quite disheartening after the great earlies we had, ah well, there's still next year!

Toms are now producing lots of fruits, harvested over 250 cherry toms in the last week and still loads more coming along, but the larger beef toms and normal sized ones havent done well at all so far!

Lots of peppers and aubergines in the greenhouse, had a lovely large black aubergine in a moussaka last night, very tasty indeed! Lots of chillies too, some of which are ripening! We've now had 19 large cucumbers from the one plant in the greenhouse, and the outdoor ones look like they are going to be producing fruit soon too! Outdoor gherkins are now producing fruit too!

Sweetcorn is now producing cobs, tassles are turning brown so looks like we will get some crops from the corn this year afterall, fartichokes are now at 10' tall, cant wait to see what sort of a crop we get later in the year!

Cabbages, broccolli and cauli's are all doing well, we've had some lovely meals from them and more still to come! French beans are producing lots of lovely beans, mange tout are still producing a couple of lb a week and the peas are providing a tasty harvest almost daily!

Pumpkins are coming along nicely, we've only got about 1 per plant, but butternuts dont seem to be doing anything much yet, courgettes still producing plenty of courgettes, we are just about keeping up with them!

Early strawbs were good, late strawbs are just starting to produce fruit, early rasps have now finished, bumper crops, late rasps are just starting! Blackberries are producing bumper crops, as did the blackcurrants on plot 2, and cooking apples are looking excellent!

Still struggling to keep on top of the weeding, and the wabbits, but overall we're both happy with most of our crops, not too many disasters, which is good considering how poor a year its been for growing generally!

Failures, main crop spuds, pickling onions, outdoor toms, asparagus, early carrots (carrot fly and wabbits) and some of the parsnips (carrot fly), not too bad considering the weather we've had!

[bubblewrap]

Went blackberrying with Madderbat this morning. Picked over 10lbs in under an hour.

Have to get on with the wine making now

[Jaxom]

Dug up central flower bed and laid turf. Now I can concentrate more on my veg instead of weeding flowerbeds. Still have some beds round the edges of garden. Tomorrow I intend to remove a further bed and simplify the rest.

[heebiejeebie]

Began redevelopment of bottom of garden behind pond. Today - emptied compost bin 1, spread the useful stuff over the ex-maincrop tattie plot and put the stuff that has failed to break down in 2 years into the brown bin. I know when I'm beaten. Moved compost bin closer to its new position (side of house but that area is project number 2!) and pulled up some ivy from around its old spot. I think pulling out ivy is going to feature heavily over the next week or so (see attached pic)! Watched as the neighbourhood robins visited for the ant-fest caused by digging out the compost.

Discovered that "thorn resistant" on the label of a pair of gloves is about as meaningful as "85% fat free" on a packet of biscuits.

[rustylady]

Tidying the garden at home, dealing with a very old forsythia tree, (YES, TREE). Picking up windfall apples, watering and feeding in the greenhouse - tomatoes pathetic, but ripening slowly, chillies looking good. Working early shift tomorrow, so hoping to get to the lottie after work.

[Madasafish]

Cut out old raps, tied in new ones, shredded old stems. Cut down dead mountain ash. (in afteroon.. very hot.. needed a lager and sleep after:-).

Greenhouse tomatoes doing fine especially yellow Sun? type - very sweet:-)
Outdoord tomatoes a waste of time. The mice eat them.
Trap in greenhouse sprung yesterday.. no mouse or bait. rebaited yesterday. Nothing happened yet.
Pears stating to look encouraging. Apples starting to fall.. yum.

Quails laying slowly: 15 eggs for incubation starting tomorrow.
Turkeys growing visibly... and noisliy. They love cucumber/lettuce and cabbage plus tomato... should improve the ultimate flavour. Made 3 more moveable fencing panels Ran out of wire mesh.
Cut grass which is growing strongly due to moist ground and heat.

Exhausted.. Time for gin&tonic.