What I Did Today Archive 2009

[maytreefrannie]

Today I
tapped - tomatoes, as advised on another thread,
fingered - garlic, to see if anything's doing and loosen the soil around them and
furtled - potatoes, no joy, could only feel one marble-sized one.

Also, I bought a little tray of 9 parsnip plants in modules. I thought parsnips should be sown in situ, but the man at the country market said they could be transplanted no bother. So naturally, I bought them. I'd do anything for a parsnip, me.

I've tried so many times this year and can't get parsnips to germinate, these are my final try.

[sewer rat]

Watered polytunnel, up to posh walled garden, planted puit some more leeks and last of the courgette and squash plants. Checked on various veg plants - not really thriving as I woud have expected - spoke to the sous chef about the garden - has NEVER had anything other than home made compost or leaf mould added (for at least seven years)- well this winter it's gonna get a six inch layer of Ross-shire's finest FYM. Gooseberry bushes laden with berries but rapidly being exfoliated by sawfly
Back to my own place - box time - this weeks boxes will contain some or all of the following depending on value of box of course. - potatoes, carrots, onions, cucumber, lettuce, radish, chard, spinach, ballhead cabbage, rocket, rhubarb.
Collected Iona from Highland Dancing rehearsal - she is dancing in public for the first time on Saturday, and again on Tuesday at the opening of the Gala Week. Took Iona to swimming, came home, painted wall in bedroom, updated computer records for box scheme, and now I'm here. Going back out to tunnel shortly to soak everything overnight.

[NewbieGardenerRow]

weeding weeding and more weeding..again but this time the front garden borders which are totally empty. I'd love to plant more veggies out there but they would no doubt get pinched!
I planted some more runner beans and then spotted blackfly on the ones that are already flowering so they got sprayed. Then I spotted holes in some of the leaves and found tiny caterpillars so they got sprayed then I spotted white speckles on my tatties, tomato and bean leaves so after that I mostly panicked!

[sewer rat]

Got back from the tunnel about twenty minutes ago - was only going out to water everything but my cukes needed tying up AGAIN - that's the third time in the last six days - they are fairly romping away - in fact if I stand still long enough I swear I can hear them growing. So out came the twine and I ended up tying up and pinching out my 70 odd cuke plants and also sideshooting my tomatoes as well as watering everything - oh and sent about a dozen slugs to slug heaven just for good measure.

[gojiberry]

Had a thunderstorm last night, (after I had watered the garden) though the rain wasn't as heavy as I had hoped. Got up this morning and is still raining so am celebrating for the rest of the day. We so needed the rain as stuff was starting to suffer on the lottie.

Ian

[sewer rat]

Today I weeded more of my onions, levelled the road into the fiels and gravelled the gateway, collected a load of shelving units from a small plant nursery that has closed down 9 miles from me, sprayed all my potatoes both at the field and at both walled gardens against blight (two full smith period warnings in last two days), fed my cukes, toms and chillies and watered the tunnel. I'm just about to leave for the field to pick veg and fresh herbs for the Farmers Market later this morning.

[sewer rat]

Tied up cukes and pinched out side shoots - did this on Sunday morning but some of the plants must have grown between 9" - 12" since then . I reckon I should be able to get a decent first picking ( about 40 or so is a good picking) from the Passandra plants before the weekend is out.

Darn, I didn't make 40 - only managed to get 39 cukes

[Weavie]

Amongst other things, today I collected a trailer full (and not a small trailer either) of strawberry plants - one year old, in the professional strawberry growbags, straight off a table top system. After making myself sick eating all the remaining ripe strawberries, I took them back to my place - gonna try and get some suspended tabletop set up erected (hanging from the crop bars) over the next few days in the tunnel.
There are probably 200 plants in all, but I reckon there at least 500 fresh air runners ready for bringing on in yooghurt pots of water before transplanting into 3" pots to root properly.

Hi Sewer Rat,
Have just been squizzing through some old posts and saw the strawberry one. Am really interested in how you propagate your strawberry runners in yoghurt pots with water? I'm thinking perhaps that you snip them from the mother plant and put them in water or do you dangle them in in situ. Sorry to be thick but would love to know as you do sooo many it must be a really efficient way of doing it. I usually put pots in the ground, fill with soil and pin a runner down. This takes up lots of room and is fiddly - think your way would be preferable if you can actually start off in water in g/h or windowsill. BTW - great posts!

[maytreefrannie]

I'd love to know about 'bringing on' the strawberry runners in yoghurt pots too.

Today I potted four Tumbling Toms into bigger-sized pots - these ones were drying out too quickly and looking down-in-the-mouth. The others, in a good-sized pot are looking OK.

In the mini greenhouse, the first tiny tomatoes are forming on the cordon toms.

I went looking for pots to re-pot sweet and chilli peppers but I'm not sure what size and don't have any spare pots, so that still remains to be done.

[Snadger]

Had a major weeding session today. Got stung by a bee whilst cutting Comfrey! Planted out some tall curly kale and red torpedo onions in clumps of three (couldn't be bothered to seperate them). Watered my peppers again with soapy water to rid them of green/white fly.

Planted out various climbing beans into final positions.

Went to put the broody coop I made a while ago into the pen I've just recently made. Ooops!!! It wouldn't fit through the door so I had to wrestle it over the top of the 6 foot surround.
I used to have a small table with my egg sellers box on top so requisitioned the table to stand my broody coop on. It's all ready now to take the single chook I have at home to the allotment tomorrow.
The egg honesty box now resides on a a butchers block support i just happened to have lying around. I knew I'd find a use for it one day.

As its been a muggy sunless day today I didn't need to water the stuff in the greenhouses which I usually do before I leave, so that saved a bit of time!

[butter fingers]

re potted basil plant from tesco"s, sowed some more beans, peas,(might get a crop from them) re- potted my toms and peppers but have run out of pots so still have 6/7 to go.had a casualty one tom rolled of the table and snapped, it just died right there in my hands .the weather has been scorchio all day so just finished watering everything. tommorow down to the allotment i think.

[Professor Peabody]

Put together the last raised bed and planted out the last of the brassicas. Harvested more spuds, beetroot and radishes. Sowed more carrot beetroot and radishes. Planted out last of the sweetcorn and picked some blueberries.

[Two_Sheds]

- planted out Asda black turtle beans
- soaked some Golden Teepee & Tendergreen dwarf Frenchies for direct sowing
- planted out Mild Black chillies
- planted out 7 Ponca butternuts
- planted out 3 Crown Prince squash & one yellow Taxi courgette
- made some "swales" : holes filled with wet cardboard & newspapers to conserve moisture below ground
- sowed Cavolo Nero kale
- murdered a dozen lily beetle larvae

[Herbie]

Gave the tomatoes a feed and water everything else. Went to lottie, plot is starting to come along nicely. It has been raked, and cultivated. We cleared 3/4 of the bank and ditch and managed to get a job lot of carpet offcuts so its been covered.

The weed membrane has been laid for the path and we got a lorry load of barkchip for free which has been delivered to the site, we started to do the edging boards for the path but really need longer strips of wood, so we are going to get some big pallets to build this.

We have dug about 20 ft by 10ft and removed all the roots, we have layed off cuts of rubber underlay in sections along the 20ft so I have about 5 beds so far, eventually I am hoping to build raised beds but need to source some more free wood first.

OH has collected some blue pipe to make frames to go over the cabbages ready for later on, managed to source some free new curtains. So far I have forked out for the cultivator and a new shed.

My daughter has made my plot number. This week we are going to try and get some slabs. I have everyone on recyling for the lottie at the moment. Its been hard graft but worth it

[Snadger]

Took Dork to her new home at the lottie today! Dork is a six week old Dorking chick who is now weaned and ready to join the others at the allotment. She has her own coop and run as she wouldn't stand a chance with the others. I miss her as she would watch me on the puter. The dog misses her and wonders where she's went?
I'll be back first thing to make sure she's survived her first night in the great outdoors.

I dug over a bed and finally got the last of my potbound Long Red Florence onions planted. They were already starting to bulb up in the pot so I'll just have to se if they put on any growth in there new home. A bit of weeding, tying up and sideshooting just about took up the rest of the afternoon (Walked dog, gathered elderflowers and made elderflower cordial in the morning)
Finished off the day by blasting the chook run with a high power hose (chooks just need to se me pick the hose up now and they go scampering into the coop!)