What I intend to do today or tomorrow number2

[Penellype]

Tuesday jobs
Check for lily beetle - done
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Remove raspberry suckers - done some
Cut allotment grass - done
Deadheading - done some
Mulch strawberries and blueberries - done
Watering - done
Harvest PSB, spinach, rhubarb - done except rhubarb, also the first 2 peas from the greenhouse.

Wednesday jobs
Check for lily beetle
Weeding and horsetail
Remove more raspberry suckers
Trim long grass edges
Deadheading
Start carrying water to allotment
Watering
Harvest spinach, rhubarb

[Penellype]

Wednesday jobs
Check for lily beetle - done
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Remove more raspberry suckers - no
Trim long grass edges - done some
Deadheading - done some
Start carrying water to allotment - done some
Watering - done
Harvest spinach, rhubarb - done spinach

No gardening time today, but I must do the photos (1st of month).

[Penellype]

Friday jobs
Not a great deal of time and the main job today is to try to make some sort of progress removing horsetail, which is rapidly engulfing the allotment.
Watering

[Andraste]

Best of luck Penellype *hugs* It's one thing we I'm really grateful we don't have on our plot but mum has an abundance in her garden. I think she's made some headway with persistently trying to get as much root out as possible & trying not to let it reach sporing stage but if you have any tips for beating it into submission that I could pass on I know she'd be grateful.

[Penellype]

Best of luck Penellype *hugs* It's one thing we I'm really grateful we don't have on our plot but mum has an abundance in her garden. I think she's made some headway with persistently trying to get as much root out as possible & trying not to let it reach sporing stage but if you have any tips for beating it into submission that I could pass on I know she'd be grateful.

I had almost defeated it by digging as much root out as I could and then removing as much as possible of anything that appeared above ground as soon as I could. That worked very well until the plot next door changed hands. The current owner is almost never there and has left the half of her plot next to mine to basically run to weeds, most of which is grass and horsetail. She strims it about twice a year (see photo in my allotment thread). It doesn't matter what I do, it simply invades underground and pops up everywhere. Last time she strimmed it was when the area was covered in fruiting bodies, so no doubt the air was filled with spores and they will add to the problem.

[Andraste]

That really must be so frustrating. Mum's out of the way where she lives so at least doesn't have a neighbour neglect issue (I think it originally came in with farmyard manure many, many years ago when my grandparents were still with us).

[Mark Rand]

We've had horsetail since we moved in 40 years ago.
If you don't mind the occasional use of chemicals, then Agri-gem Diamond or Progreen Kurtail Evo are both mixtures of 2-4-D (damages the 'leaf' surface of the horsetail) and Glyphosate (kills the rhizomes).

If you use them when the horsetail is about 6-8" tall, then you usually only have to do it once a year and it's possible to go around spot-spraying the horsetail in areas where it hasn't completely taken over. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be spot treating my garden and giving a broader spray over both of the neighbours' fronts. One block paving and the other graveled parking areas.

[Andraste]

Thanks Mark I'll pass that on

[Penellype]

We've had horsetail since we moved in 40 years ago.
If you don't mind the occasional use of chemicals, then Agri-gem Diamond or Progreen Kurtail Evo are both mixtures of 2-4-D (damages the 'leaf' surface of the horsetail) and Glyphosate (kills the rhizomes).

If you use them when the horsetail is about 6-8" tall, then you usually only have to do it once a year and it's possible to go around spot-spraying the horsetail in areas where it hasn't completely taken over. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be spot treating my garden and giving a broader spray over both of the neighbours' fronts. One block paving and the other graveled parking areas.

Thanks Mark - I don't use chemicals at the allotment, but it is useful to know what to go for if I get too desperate.

[Penellype]

Friday jobs
Not a great deal of time and the main job today is to try to make some sort of progress removing horsetail, which is rapidly engulfing the allotment. - done some
Watering - done

Also potted up 2 rooted tomato cuttings and fed the house tomatoes.

Weekend jobs

At my friend's
Weeding
Watering

At allotment
Take down peas and plant
Continue attacking horsetail
Weeding
Trim neighbouring plot hedge
Remove raspberry suckers
Watering
Harvest PSB, spinach, rhubarb

At home
Rearrange plants under lights
Sow PSB, romanesco, peas
Check tomatoes for sideshoots
Pot up peppers
Weeding
Deadheading
Watering
Harvest microgreens, lettuce, carrots

[Penellype]

Weekend jobs

At my friend's
Weeding - done some
Watering - done

At allotment
Take down peas and plant - done
Continue attacking horsetail - done some
Weeding - done some
Trim neighbouring plot hedge - done
Remove raspberry suckers - done some
Watering - done
Harvest PSB, spinach, rhubarb - done

Also trimmed some of the long grass edges.

At home
Rearrange plants under lights - done
Sow PSB, romanesco, peas - done
Check tomatoes for sideshoots - done
Pot up peppers - no
Weeding - done some
Deadheading - done some
Watering - done
Harvest microgreens, lettuce, carrots - done microgreens

Monday jobs
Collect any rain water
Move some water from IBC and put funnel on to catch rain
Rearrange greenhouse ready for tomatoes soon
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Pot up peppers, chitted peas
Trim allotment hedges
Trim long grass edges
Mow lawns
Watering
Harvest PSB, spinach, carrots

Plus check temperature and cover potatoes etc if it looks like frost this evening.

[Penellype]

Monday jobs
Collect any rain water - done (about a pint)
Move some water from IBC and put funnel on to catch rain - done
Rearrange greenhouse ready for tomatoes soon - no
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Pot up peppers, chitted peas - done some peas
Trim allotment hedges - done west hedge
Trim long grass edges - no
Mow lawns - done
Watering - done
Harvest PSB, spinach, carrots - done spinach

Plus check temperature and cover potatoes etc if it looks like frost this evening. - done

Also mulched the road side of the raspberry bed with partially rotted leaves. One of the neighbours offered me some sheets of polycarbonate, which I thought might be useful, but when they turned up they were white on one side, so not much use. I have stacked them behind the shed in case I find a use for them.

Tuesday jobs
Uncover potatoes
Rearrange indoor plants
Move biggest tomatoes, peas and summer leeks to greenhouse
Pot up more chitted peas, peppers
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Trim allotment roadside hedge
Trim long grass edges
Watering
Harvest carrots, spinach, leeks

[Penellype]

Tuesday jobs
Uncover potatoes - done
Rearrange indoor plants - done for now
Move biggest tomatoes, peas and summer leeks to greenhouse - done except tomatoes
Pot up more chitted peas, peppers - done some
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Trim allotment roadside hedge - no
Trim long grass edges - done front garden
Watering - done
Harvest carrots, spinach, leeks - done spinach, also lettuce and microgreens

Wednesday jobs
Pot up more peas
Sow cucumbers, courgettes, tomatoes, romanesco, PSB and flowers to cover for poor/no germination
Put climbing beans to soak
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Trim roadside hedge
Trim long grass edges
Watering
Harvest carrots, leeks, rhubarb and any edible PSB

[Penellype]

Wednesday jobs
Pot up more peas - done
Sow cucumbers, courgettes, tomatoes, romanesco, PSB and flowers - done romanesco, some tomatoes and lettuce
Put climbing beans to soak - done
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Trim roadside hedge - done
Trim long grass edges - no
Watering - done
Harvest carrots, leeks, rhubarb and any edible PSB - done carrots and leeks

Also went to the garden centre to get some alyssum in the hope of attracting hoverflies to eat the aphids that are starting to infest my cherry tree.

Thursday jobs
Check tomatoes and put any large sideshoots to root
Check plants under lights and rearrange if necessary
re-sow cucumbers, courgettes and tomatoes
Sow last bucket of carrots
Weeding and horsetail
Deadheading
Trim long grass edges
Watering
Harvest spinach, rhubarb and any edible PSB

[Penellype]

Thursday jobs
Check tomatoes and put any large sideshoots to root - done
Check plants under lights and rearrange if necessary - done
re-sow cucumbers, courgettes and tomatoes - done courgettes
Sow last bucket of carrots - no
Weeding and horsetail - done some
Deadheading - done some
Trim long grass edges - done some
Watering - done
Harvest spinach, rhubarb and any edible PSB - done except PSB, also a couple of pods of early peas (Half Pint from the hotbed)

No gardening time today apart from watering.