The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[wellie]

I picked some french beans, some yellow pattypan summer squashes, and 'covered up' with their own leaves, some mini cauliflowers that I'm rather hoping might be ready for a show locally to us next weekend. The category I'm 'toying' with entering, is A DISPLAY HAMPER OF VEGETABLES. But don't 'hold me to it', just in cases I don't manage it, eh?

Thank you for listening,

[rustylady]

Grand-daughter stayed over last night - was warned she had to get up early this morning as we had lots to do. Bless her, she did! We picked 9 lb of Victoria plums from the tree in the garden, picked up lots of windfall cooking apples. Then we went to the lottie and picked beans (runner beans =2 carrier bags full) ( french beans 1 carrier bag full), 1 x marrow, 2 x courgettes, sweetcorn x 5 cobs. Went up and down our street on return dishing out goodie bags of veggies. One to my nextdoor neighbour who is a pain cos she loves them but will insist on giving something in return (I don't want anything)., One to J who used to have the lottie next to mine but has had to give it up because of his bad back, some to the girls in the next street, and some to my own kids (still got lots to freeze/preserve, and had totally fresh dinner tonight - sweetcorn was superb)

[Winged one]

On Sat, OH strimmered the plot, mainly dealing with the grass and weeds on the back half. (To be weedkillered in about 2 weeks time and then covered until we can dig over the winter).

He also managed a harvest while there - a handful of broccolli spears, a nice cabbage, a good handful of spring onions and the last of the lettuces. He also took up the garlic and half of the yellow onions, as the red ones are pretty much dried at home (only have enough space to dry half the yellow at a go, they are much bigger than the red ones, and there was no bolting, whereas the majority of the red ones are relatively small and there was about a third of them bolted). Now have a small net bag of reds in the shed for winter use, and am using the ones which suffered a bit now - yum!

Also admitted to OH that I had ordered a large selection of brassica plants and onion sets for delivery in the next few weeks....

I took out some more side shoots and growing tips on the tomatoes in the ground outdoors, to let those on the plants ripen better. Harvested enough french beans for myself and the toddler's dinner on Fri, and also managed to get a small handful of peas for the toddler - only a couple of pods left on the plant, but she discovered over the weekend how to pull them off herself!!

[HappyMouffe]

Dug, then slowly fished out roots - couch grass, horsetail, docks, ground elder.

[pigletwillie]

After working all over the bank holiday and missing the good weather I gnipped to the plots and picked some blue lake french beans, runners and yellow carrots to go with tea.

Our new plots need lots of work over the winter to get ship shape but the original plot is in not to bad a nick bar a very weedy fruit cage.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I have made good use of this weekend's good weather, and at the Hill:

• picked 3 bags of runner beans for distribution around the parish
• generous neighbour Reg-next-plot gave me 10 strawberry crowns for planting, so dug over suitable patch, manured, planted and watered
• generous neighbour Jody gave me a dozen spring cabbages and a dozen red cabbage which I planted out where the potatoes had been
• picked a freezer bag of climbing blue lake french beans, and froze them
  
  Also
• went to Dobbies garden centre in Hartshill - didn't see Nick the Grief, but didn't get any green manure which I wanted either.
• made JAM for the first time ever - will defo be doing this again!
• updated blog and tried to think of ways to be helpful to Wellie and Trousers in their Big Move to France....drawn a blank - all I can think of is that I can pack cases in due course, and I'd be very helpful in reducing the number of bottles of Pinot Grigio that would otherwise be taking up valuable Storage Space...

[scarey55]

Started Elderberry and Blackberry wine and used the pulp to make jam. Wellie and Trousers will have to resort to making their own home brew in France once Hazel has finished off the Pino Grigio - still, a good chance for them to experience grape growing in this fair country. I think Hazel at the hill has already done loads to help Wellie and Trousers - good friend that one.

[Salina]

*harvested some new potatoes, runner beans, some french beans, and some baby courgettes.
*we hired a petrol lawnmower so I was able to cut the really long grass.
*dug up a silver birch sapling and planted it in a pot.
*put baby strawberry plants grown from runners into bigger pots and clipped them of the ''parent'' plants.
*put tomato plants into bigger pots
*sowed some turnip seeds.
*dug up some escallonia hedging cuttings that I'd randomly stuck into the potato tub but they had rooted, and re-planted them in a window box so they'll grow in a mini hedge shape.
*dead-headed and watered a few plants and flowers.
*repaired a broken fence and gate if that counts as garden work lol.

[heebiejeebie]

Yesterday - more jungle clearing, blogged the before and after snaps. Found a "lost" euonymus under the brachyglottis.

Picked 2 caulis and one spear of PSB (all that was ready but there are more on the way) and made cauliflower cheese for dinner. Removed 2 cabbages that were damaged and slimy. Yuk.

Binned all the tomato plants - blight again and I probably won't bother with toms ever again because we always seem to get blight. Unless there are some genuinely resistant varieties!

[Flummery]

Made 12 jars of Victoria Plum Conserve thanks to Dave next door who handed over a huge carrier bag full - they still haven't eaten up those in their freezer from last year.
Must weed under brassica net before going on hols!

[moggssue]

Over the weekend burnt most of my tomato plants thanks to blight, cut the tops off my tatties ready to harvest later this week, picked french beans and a courgette for dinner, did a 'fingers crossed, maybe, hopefully' sowing of carrot and french bean. A friend went blackberrying so helped her to eat the resultant pie, and generally pottered about enjoying the sunshine.

[carlseawolf]

made a base for the new shed

planted garlic

[heebiejeebie]

Made the first planter for the side of the new path. It's a bit rough around the edges but at least it sits straight and square and fits the gap! I will photograph it tomorrow when it has been planted up. Then I'll make either two more the same (120cm x 33cm) or one twice as long.

Saw a pallet in a skip on my street so asked if I could have it. Another raised bed, I think!

[Farmer_Gyles]

finally blanched and froze the caulis - and made cauliflower cheese - our fave!
watered everything in the greenhouse - all coming on nicely

first thing in the morning gonna pick the remaining toms off the blighted plants

[MrsC]

spent some time tidying gardening and painting son's playhouse in between showers