What I Did Today Archive 2008

[Salina]

started assembling greenhouse.
sowed lettuce & spinach seeds.
planted out a little tree, some rooted hedging and some honeysuckle plants.

[robD]

Planted potatoes, some peas and got sunburnt. Oh the top of my head...

[Snadger]

Yesterday, I planted my second early potatoes Kestrel. They are supposed to be slug resistant (Oohhhh just had a de-ja-vous, applologies if I've already told you about these!) I used a bulb planter but didn't think the holes were deep enough as these were LARGE seed tatties and were too close to the surface. Finished up having to trowel out the holes to get a bit of depth. Barely covered the spuds with earth leaving little depressions which I'll level up once they show above ground. Memo to myself,I must get to the local farmer for some bales of straw to mulch them with once they show above ground!
Took a couple of newly germinated cukes to the greenhouse. Gave away my remaining tomato seedlind that I had left after pricking mine out to another allotmenteer. Also donated some red ham onion seedlings to a different allotmenteer. Pointless hanging on to seedlings and I'm glad they've found a new home.
Pulled a few of the winter brassicas out that had bolted and left some for next doors chooks, the rest, a sizeable amount, went on the compost heap.

One project that I would like to initiate soon is planting all my comfey into one bed close to the compost bins which will help to disguise them and make it easy to add to the compost heap!

[heebiejeebie]

Looked at the bean & pea seedlings i planted yesterday (just a peek under the fleece tent) and oh my how they've grown in 24h!

Planted out lettuce seedlings in the old bath (too stony and clay-ey for carrots like I planned).

Did direct sowing of broad beans "longpod", pea "meteor" and borlotti beans. Made another fleece tent for those.

Weeded around the Arran Pilots.
Earthed up the tub of anyas.

updated blog

[Lavenderblue]

Storm and I have had a fantastic weekend on the lotttie. We prepared two beds, he planted assorted spinach, nips and all sorts of goodies, I planted 50 strawberry plants. The twitch, couch grass and nettles are back with a vengeance so we are going to rotivate the unplanted portions of the plot again one evening, mark out beds and cover with fleece. That is assuming we get a nice evening!

Oh I keep forgetting things! Most of the fruit bushes seem to be thriving, just pulled out a couple of dead sticks that may have been dead already or not actually fruit bushes at all. The few existing bushes are doing fantastically - i can already see tiny goosgogs and tiny misc. currents forming on the bushes. I must put the construction of bird scarers on the list of stuffs to do.

We are both cream crackered, a bit sun burnt and have fallen in love with the lottie all over again. On the downside, we found a dead rat on the plot. *shudder*

[Demeter]

Took a bunch of seedlings out to the mini greenhouse. It was lovely and warm in there when I undid the zip! (Left it open a bit in case it carried on being sunny while we were out, which it did)

At the allotment, we put up bamboo canes ready for planting out beans and peas once they are ready. Allotment mate planted out broad beans (too many, I think she expects most of them to get eaten by slugs or something! Not my problem, I don't even like broad beans...)

Started clearing the last of the six beds on our plot.

Bought some pellets and stuff at West Midland Farmers for our new chickens which will be ready to come to the plot this week, yay! Got some raspberry canes that were going cheap while I was there (one of them was broken, possibly a goner, but the other 4 looked fine, and there is a nice space I have in mind to put them!)

[zazen999]

Finished planting up my first root bed; carrots, onions, and coriander; with a leek / onion /shallot 'moat' around the outside [using up some onions and shallots that were started here over the winter. I have piled soil in the middle on a raised bit to give the soil extra depth for longer carrots and sown straight into that.

OH dug over and planted out the main crop potatoes. I had a bag of Ulster Scepter that were extra from the potato order, so hadn't figured them in the calcs; so he had to put 3 rows in. Mucks up my symmetry but never mind.

Put out my first courgette into the canalside plot; have put it under cover of an upside down clear storage box; for about 10 days until the potential for frost is over.

Having said all that; I'm shattered - not sure whether I am going down with something or just too much work at the lottie; so taking it easy for a day or 2. OH is at the footie tomorrow, and at tennis tues - so good opportunity to chill out and recover.

[wellie]

Knock Me Over With A Feather....

No - honestly, I'm stunned.....

Wanting to sell your cottage (as ya do) I have just made coffee and showed a lovely couple round, chatted, and as time went on, offered them a glass of wine, and such for the last THREE HOURS, because they drove by and had no appointment to view, and liked the cottage SO much, and wanted to 'get a feel' for the place (but to be honest, we did that when WE were looking, travelling down from Buckinghamshire each and every time to view? (and they had travelled that far too? so fair's fair.....) only to find that they had previously 'discounted' Holly Cottage when they looked at it on T'Internet earlier because of, wait for it: The Potager Garden and the fact that it looked like 'An Allotment'. Well, HOW VERY DARE YOU......!

But having sat back down and thought about their comments after they've gone...
I can see their point. I am SO passionate about what I do, I am SO passionate about where our salad and fruit and vegetables comes from, and I'm just thinking that A Very Nice Moderator on GYO will hopefully come along now and move my complete and utter RANT from 'What I Did Today' to some other site more appropriate ( I was going to go on Sunday Night Chat, then thought better of it, so you should all be very thankful!) and whilst they just completely adore the cottage, AND may buy it....I'm left feeling : 'Is It Me?'


I'm SO sorry. I went 'off' on one there.... Trousers and I recovered 'quite well' this morning after our BBQ last night with our new Lottie Friends, Bless you all, we had THE most gigglesome time, and yes, I'll let you have the recipe for my Burger/Banger Relish, no problem, and I'm looking forward to you both 'registering' on here.

Today. I sowed just SO many more seeds, because, hey, if you can't help someone new, just who can you help in life?.....
X

[Winged one]

Yesterday I
Planted the last of the original beetroot modules into the garden (they don't really look like they stand a chance).
Sowed 2 seeds per station at 3 points along the fence of sweetcorn minipop
Potted on my tomatoes Rio Grande (5 seedlings)
Moved lots of toms and leeks out of minigreenhouse to feel some real sun and a slight breeze.
Sowed some herbs - 2 modules each parsley, chervil and coriander, and 1 of chives.
Sowed my large tub (usually used for peas, but OH wanted sunflowers this year!) with sunflowers from seed saved last summer - to give some height to a spot in the garden.
ETA - I forgot that I also sowed some more mixed cos lettuce in 3 modules too.

Sorted my seeds (again) to take out what I need to sow on the plot this week. Parships, carrots, lettuces, spring onions, peas, mange tout.
And what I need to sow into pots at home - pumpkins (2 types), butternut squash, dwarf french beans, climbing french and borlotti beans, possibly a couple of parsnips, and some lupins.

Ate the first of our spring cabbages from the plot on Sat night with some yummy bacon - we ate the whole thing between the 2 of us which is unheard of!!

[Flummery]

Had a wonderful weekend of sowing and pricking out. Lots more flowers for the cutting border pricked into individual modules, some Lollo Rosso lettuce pricked out. Kew Blue, Bird's Egg, Ruth Bible, Cherokee Trail of Tears, Goldfield and Borlotti climbing beans all sown in big pots or root trainers. Some bigger plants put out into the cutting border - it's starting to look like a garden not a battlefield! Started to harden off the Red Epicure broadies (the ones with the red seeds, oh how little things excite me!).

Yesterday morning being Rogation Sunday and our village being a farming community, we 'beat the bounds' (well, a mile or so of them) before a service on the these of Trees. Altogether got me in the mood for more sowing.

In the afternoon, Himself started on some anti-pigeon cages for the brassicas - red cabbage nearly ready to go out.

PS - I would LEAP, nay BOUND at a cottage with an allotment, let alone a potager, Wellie! (Specially with a glass of wine thrown in!)

[allotmentlady]

Its raining and I dont care , going up to allotment to potter around, play in greenhouse and have a brew in peace and quiet!

[sonic]

A friend and i have just taken over a full allotment and because of its very poor state we had mechanical help.(we would never have planted this year otherwise) We now have a completely blank canvass to play with and are really excited and enthused. We plan to try a bit of everything this year and see what comes up! Look forward to meeting you all on the Web.
Sonic

[guinness]

i've been really busy!

what we planted over the weekend were.......................

• Potatoes - amandine, Mona Lisa and Desiree
  Strawberries - because someone gave us a load of them!
  Onion and shallot seeds
  Aubergine seeds
  Carrot
  Spinach
  Lettuce - 3 types
  Brussels
  sunflowers

We also made some raised beds, rotovated the lot before we started (It's about 15 metres x 15 metres)

Hard work but looking forward to reaping the rewards

It looks like it may snow tonight so everything fragile has been covered for a few days!

[Flummery]

Today (previous post was about the weekend!) I sowed butter beans and negritos dwarf beans - all in pots and modules. I pricked out 24 larkspur, 24 ammi majus, 12 scabious 'ebony and ivory' and 12 rudbeckia 'green eyes' for the cutting bed.
Put my crimson flowered broad beans out in the sun - beginning of the hardening off process. They are destined for the flower border to brevent them crossing with the Red Epicure and Violetta - so I can save the Crimson's seeds.
Came in and watched GW on the I-Player (missed it at weekend as we were out at some friends'.)

[jackie j]

I made plans to go to the Lottie come rain or shine but son no 2 had other ideas he rang me up and asked me to take him to various places looking for plants for his vivariums we ended going to 3 places including the orchid house and he bought a lovely orchid for �20
to put in with his frogs that he will be getting. He has loads of snakes reptiles and other stuff. It poured with rain everytime we got out of the car.
Unfortunatley he cant drive as he has been diagnosed with epilepsy.