What I Did Today Archive 2008

[armadillo]

Well done Flummery - you always seem to have good advice and you surely deserve it.
Like the carrots, Frana!
Today it was annoyingly hot and stuffy so I only managed to remove closed pollinated flowers from the new courgettes and do a little more cucumber stringing. O, and picked a couple of pods of peas for immediate consumption, yum!

[KellsSimon]

I've been eating salad leaves and radish and herbs i've grown, along with some mackrel that I cought off of the big pier... Tasty! Also done some weeding, and chopping down of the flowering bits of my roquet.
(well done Flum')

[pigletwillie]

Lots of picking soft fruits today, plus courgettes and onions and a raft of other bits so tommorow may well see a major jam and chutney making sesion.

Today we took our trophy for having the third best lottie in Leicestershire back to our site chairman as somebody else will be awarded it this year. However, later in the year we will collect the one for having the second best lottie in Leicestershire so we are still improving which is nice to know.

Later in the day I will be sowing winter brassicas and lettuce. The lettuce dont like hot temperatures when germinating so they will be kept on a cool windowsill till big enough to prick out.

[Mrs Dobby]

Well done Flum!

Well done Pigletwillie, and good luck Sarzwix!!

Today I will be mostly harvesting and weeding, not been able to get to the plot for the last few days, but toms are beginning to ripen now, and Mr D took the disappointing spud harvest up on Thursday (total 55lb from 40 tubers) after noticing the first signs of blight!

[Flummery]

The last few days I've been in Gran mode, looking after grand-daughter number 1 while Grand-daughter number 2 was born. Exciting times! While she was here we picked gooseberries for pies, and some rhubarb, which has gone in the freezer in pie-loads. The day before, she had seen the manure pile on my allotment and much explanation ensued. I then tried to tell her the joke that ends, "We put custard on ours" but it was like herding cats, "why?" every 2 seconds. Maybe a bit much for a not-quite 4 year-old. However, when we picked the rhubarb next day she gave me a huge grin and said "We like custard on ours, Gran!" Ahh!

Yesterday I picked masses of broad beans from the allotment. More to come.

Today I've been back in my garden - and will be again later. Potted up some of my expreimental toms, sowed Spring cabbage MUST DO WEEDING.

[MaureenHall]

Yesterday picked a basket full of veggies from my garden for Number 2 daughter. Broad beans, peas, baby turnip, cauliflower, lettuce, baby carrots.
Today was down the lottie at 9 (before it got too hot for working), hoed out a few more weed seedlings, then crawled on hands and knees to hand pick weeds from between the leeks (don't know if I could have hoed there, but best safe than sorry). Hand picked a few weed seedling from my carrot row that's just germinating - was VERY careful there. Planted 3 more lettuces where I found an empty space at the end of a row of broccoli, sowed some turnips, watered the pumpkins and courgettes, and had a good talk with the tomato plants, told them they were looking really beautiful and gorgeous and please hurry up and set some fruit!!!
All in all, an enjoyable time. Now I'm going to talk to my chooks and ask them why they've stopped laying this week! Is it too hot???? Are they starting to moult???? (How can you tell with ex-batts?) Did the dog who visited last weekend put them off??

And I'm going to put my feet up and do nothing well until I get bored with that, then I'll find something else to do

[Comfreyfan]

Congratulations all round Flummery - aren't grandchildren precious! Took my grandson, then 4, with me to harvest Pink Fir Apple spuds, seeing them coming out of the ground he was convinced I was growing sausages!

This morning - before it was too hot, I took up the pea row - I always love finding the last few pods - feels like a bonus! But I needed the support to hold back the asparagus fern which is now approaching 6' and threatening the brassica bed.

Also took time to watch the sudden onslaught of cabbage whites battering against the brassica netting - hah!

[MaureenHall]

Hmmmmmmmmm "And I'm going to put my feet up and do nothing well until I get bored with that, then I'll find something else to do".

That didn't last long There I was, chatting to the chooks and noticed that the back lawn was looking a bit sorry for itself, but it's boiling hot in the back garden (except for the shade under the hedge that the chooks have taken over) so I decided to tackle the front garden instead - either that or do the ironing No contest really is it? Anyway, cut the front lawn, trimmed the edges, weeded a bit of border, dead-headed some flowers, planted out some white foxglove seedlings and physallis seedlings (don't know if it's the right time to do that, but they'll either survive or shrivel). Came in after that lot and made some delicious meatballs with onion, garlic, parsley and sage all out of my garden dead chuffed I am The sauce is made from some frozen passata that I made last year from my glut of tomatoes. Shame it's the last in the freezer, just hope this years toms are as good. Now I really WILL put my feet up ........................................ well for the next ten minutes anyway

[Newbie]

Weeded, weeded & weeded again. Have been putting off weeding the large patio down the garden since we moved it (just over a year ago now ) so it was well & truely over due - 3 large trug fulls later & it looks a million times better! Also edged all around it, weeded the front drive & gave it a good sweep & moxed the lawn in a joint effort with OH.

Am absolutley boiled now so staying indoors to cool down & will tinker in the greenhouse & do the watering later on.

[Mrs Dobby]

Got to the plot and it was boiling hot, really not pleasant to work in, so had a play with my new toy (camera) and took some piccies of the allotment and various flowers n plots for the council liason (she asked me to take some and email her, to use on the website if any are good enough!)

Then spent an hour and a half harvesting rasps (another 2lb), courgettes (14 of them! ), a lovely big cabbage, mange tout (another 1 1/2lb), the first of the runner beans (enough for tea), french beans (about 1lb), the first proper tomato and some more peas (about 1/2lb)!

Next watered, starting in the greenhouses, then everywhere else, which took a good couple of hours, and as by this time I was hot n sweaty decided it was time to come home, the weeding will be first priority tomorrow, honest guv!

[Snadger]

Momentous occasion today as I took delivery of 10 chooks.

It's a long story but basically everything I had planned to do today was put on hold until I sorted out the chicken coop as I already had the chooks in the run, waiting for there new home to be finished.

Borrowed some layers pellets off a neighbour and made sure chooks were all happy about going indoors before I left for home.

Watered all indoor stuff and went home on my bike!

[zazen999]

Drove back from Paris - phew.

Watered everything - luckily only a few toms and 2 peppers wilting - everything else was fine. I had drenched them before we left and it has paid off.

Harvested courgettes and beans from the garden. Harvested loads of peas, potatoes carrots and my first lottie [from seed] red onion.

[sallyw]

went to lottie first thing as its been so hot and watered everything as much as possible, everything in greenhouse looking good have now got baby aubergines growing all purple and shiney!! plenty of toms both in and out of greenhouse but still green, picked another lot of french beans and a good few runners which we had for tea (scrummy )with potatoes (mashed this time and very good) dont need to ventilate greenhouse as yet as there are a couple of panes of glass missing in the roof!! sunflowers are stretching their little necks out of it to peer up at the sun!! have finished with first crop of peas and now picking second lot but as yet dont seem as good, not as tall or prolific even though came out of the same packet, watered the first ones constantly as we didnt have much else in at the time and so they were well nurtured!! going back tomorrow with OH to finish off compost bin, picked up the rest of the pallets today.

[Snadger]

Another nice day today! After taking my dog for an hours walk I went to the allotment with the landrover. Bought 20Kg of layers pellets and 20Kg of Mixed grain at Jolleys on the way.
First thing was to do a head count on my chooks........all present and correct I'm pleased to say.
Took off the board that covered the second window in there new home to allow in a bit of light in as the sun rises!
They actually greeted me and i gave them a couple of handfuls of mixed grain whilst I shut the pop hole and tidied there house. I filled about 10 Kilo of layers pellets into their dispenser as they'd eaten the stuff I put in yesterday. Made a bit more secure hanger for the feeder while I was there.
Filled there three water receptacles and had a bit of a sit in the run with my camera to try and get a few before and after piccies. Got a few strange looks and comments off the other allotment holders but I was quite happy sitting on a box watching them pecking at a cabbage I had suspended in the run for them. Must get a large branch to add a bit of interest for them.

After mucking generously with well rotted horse muck I planted some purple Sprouting broccoli in the area the garlic had vacated.
Did quite a bit of weeding but i could feel the sun burning my shoulders so once more I retired to the chicken run.
Dug some early spuds, cut two caulis and filled a carrier bag with broad beans before heading for home with the half empty chook feed which I intend keeping at home so I am not plagued with rats at the lottie!

[Winged one]

Boiling hot yesterday, so only managed 90 minutes on plot (between heat and needing to get home to mind toddler so OH could go out). Mainly weeded, in anticipation of them going mad while we are on hols from next weekend. Covered all that I could with nets for their own safety from the birds, and laid out a decent amount of slug pellets (also for their own safety!!). Pulled a couple of calabrese plants that have given their all and dumped all the brassica stems (including the winter ons I hadn't yet moved) onto a composting area (slight change in destination from the communal composting "ditch" to the nettle-infested ground at the back of our plot that is not officially ours but just runs to fence so I aim to reclaim it over the winter - only about 6 feet, but that's an extra couple of beds for me!!).

Weeded the lettuce bed, where 5 lettuces (of 15) have survived, but are looking good, as are the beetroot and spinach I planted out (both about 4 weeks ago now). Now that all the japanese onions are harvested from the bed, I sowed some dwarf french beans (Purple Teepee) in most of teh remaining space and hope to put some more lettuce seedlings there either later this week or on return from hols (they are happy in modules in the garden at the mo and will be watered there but not on plot).

Also weeded the 07 winter brassica bed (now pumpkins & squashes, sweetcorn, 3 tomatoes, double row of peas, and french beans). Made it from the beans as far as corn when I ran out of time, but the squashes end is not too bad and may get tehre for a lunchtime later this week.

Gave this year's brassica bed, the winter one above, the tomato bed up the back, and the peas/beans at the front, all a bit of a feed (a veggie feed in granular form) as the soil isn't great and they all need a bit of a boost.

Finally, harvested just a few shoots of calabrese (left any that were not in danger of bolting for next weekend to have really fresh to start the hols!!), one japanese onion that had been missed, the last 2 baby caulis, a handful of french beans (the first of the season!!) and 3 peapods.

Last night, I watered the back garden crops, harvested lettuce for my lunch, and pulled a few more weeds. Oh, and we think we found the culprit for our squash disappearance - we have a mouse in the garden whose antics running around the patio entertained OH and I for a half hour late on Saturday night for entertainment for eating my squash and it's plant!!