The 'What I Did Today' Archive - 2007

[scarey55]

TRUDGED through a blizzard

Allright, drove through a bit of snow to Cleremont Ferrand to collect our noo composteur. Was pleasantly surprised to find that it also came with a collecting bin so the old Jacobs crackers plastic box can be consigned to the rubbish.
Too cold at the moment to put it up but can't wait - the old VERY home made one is about due for replacement.

[pigletwillie]

Now that a few frosts have blackened the dahlias in our garden, twas time to cut them off at the ground and apply a mulch.

Off to the lottie tomorrow.

[rustylady]

First proper frost last night - finished off my dahlias, so I've cut them off. Lifted the tuber of the one I wasn't too impressed with and it was MASSIVE! Swept up more leaves and put in another black bag. Having spent the day in the house garden, I now find out it's supposed to rain tomorrow - should have gone to the lottie today. Never mind.

[seasprout]

Spent most of the day cutting down blackened herbaceous plants, mulching, and collecting seeds. Ground is worryingly dry.

[pigletwillie]

On the plots today. Filled a 1 metre square compost bin with leaves but have enough to fill two more so will build new bins around them to save lugging them about. Also the new half plot was ploughed which then allowed me to start planting my cordon apples and pears, three down, twelve more to go. In the planting hole went a handful of tulip bulbs, planted really deep so they keep flowering each year.

Garlic was also planted, Lautrec this time from France and big fat cloves they were as well. Finally it was a quick harvest of seasonal veg for dinner tomorrow inc fennel, swede, parsnip, finger carrots, celeriac, celery and some pot grown spuds.

All in all a very productive day.

[Flummery]

Planted out a dozen greenhouse raised broadbeans (the Sutton) - the rest will go in in Spring - and a pack of Bedfordshire grown French eschalion shallots bought in ASDA and intended for eating - but you never know!
Had another session on the flower-border-to-be. Only one more root ball to tackle. Some jobs you wonder if you should have started!

[rustylady]

Spent most of the day cutting down blackened herbaceous plants, mulching, and collecting seeds. Ground is worryingly dry.

Where I've been clearing the borders the ground is worryingly wet!! And East Anglia is supposed to be the driest and sunniest part of the country.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Had a fab day at the Hill today:

• sang happy birthday to the plot as we have been responsible (haha!) for it for 12 months yesterday
• constructed a compost bin from pallets. Feel like proper allotmenteer now
• removed runner/french beans and poles. Added bean debris to bin, took remaining pods home
• dug over plot A (legumes as was)
• cropped sp onions, carrot-fly beset carrots, leeks and a cabbage home

physical age now ninety after digging etc - hope to adjust this on imminent departure to 'slug and lettuce' equivelant in Lichfield which sells Nice Beer, and plenty of it. Hurrah!

[Percy T]

Today I finish another bed ready for spring, dug over, weeded and a covering of manure, not really a big deal as bed is only 3m by 1m but thats the third on done this week.

They were the last of the untouched bit of the plot so the rest should be easier.

[Lizzy]

What I did today

Today, I cut some celery (in the pouring rain) and made some yummy celery and blue cheese soup. The rain has been torrential here all day, yes I know we needed it, but it doesnt know when to stop. I still have to get some manure, hopefully will soon.

[middlefield]

Today I took delivery of a tractor-trailer full of manure that our neighbour (who owns a farm) delivered.

He said he could tell that I'm a keen allotmenteer by the sheer fact that I was so excited about a pile of, well you can imagine the name he called it.

Lovely stuff from the back of his pile, two year old pig and cow muck, a nice dark brown colour full of fat worms.

My joy was short as I discovered someone has stolen the planks I use as walkways - this on top of someone breaking-in last month and stealing the wheel off my wheelbarrow

ho hum

[pigletwillie]

Went to the plots after work last night and dropped off some pallets for compost bin construction, all was very frosty so it was a quick flit home for a kip.

[rustylady]

Very cold today, so minimal gardening. Checked the greenhouse, watered the houseplants. Made a floor for daughter's new rabbit (guinea pig) hutch.

[happyplanter]

me and my wife went to look at a new allotment today

[Hazel at the Hill]

A pretty brief trip for me to the Hill today wot with the weather being so vile

• Belinda Scarecrow looking pretty rubbish, and in danger of losing her head so put her in the car to bring home for dealing with tomorrow
• pulled up the sunflowers at the front of the plot - amazed at how dry to soil was at the roots as the exposed soil is all sticky clods at the moment
• Dug up parsnip, swede, salsify and beetroot
• cut a cauliflower and a cabbage
• dug a couple of leeks and half a dozen sp bunions
• picked the first of the kale in the week - thank you for the seed, Alice

Came home and baked some choc chip cookies (and added some cherries just to be different. Won't bother doing that again). Half way through cooking comfort food fish pie for dinner.