What I did today 2021

[ameno]

Filled some bottomless tubs with top soil I collected yesterday, to make a load of mini raised beds.

[quanglewangle]

Got flowers on Gardener's Delight tomatoes so pruned off lower shoots.

Haven't done this previously so a bit of an experiment.

The surgical spirit fumes for dipping the blade in were a bit overpowering in a warm greenhouse.

[Bren In Pots]

I emptied the contents of a compost bin and shared it between what will be my brassica bed then pea beds this season.

[ameno]

Happy Easter, all.
I'm finishing filling one of my compost bins today. Having put screwed-up cardboard in the bottom to help air flow (one bit rather appropriately had "COMPOST" printed on it), I went out earlier and gathered loads of weeds from beside quiet roads. I will go out again this afternoon and gather more. There's more cardboard and other tough stuff mixed in to provide structure, and hopefully I'll get a hot composting going.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVdzPUF

The key to getting it to heat up is to have a good mix of materials (especially some nitrogen-rich ones), cut everything up as small as you can, and push everything down so that there are no large air gaps. Large air gaps are always bad; the ideal is to have lots and lots of tiny air gaps.

[StephenH]

Happy Easter, all.
I'm finishing filling one of my compost bins today. Having put screwed-up cardboard in the bottom to help air flow (one bit rather appropriately had "COMPOST" printed on it), I went out earlier and gathered loads of weeds from beside quiet roads. I will go out again this afternoon and gather more. There's more cardboard and other tough stuff mixed in to provide structure, and hopefully I'll get a hot composting going.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVdzPUF

[annie8]

Sowed crown Prince, notion squash, black beauty courgette and cavol Nero in pots/modules and starting them off inside. Hopefully one they have sprouted this cold overnight spell will have passed and I can grow them on in the gh. Also riddled the op later of soil on a couple of beds. The bulk compost I bought is good but a bit rough so wanted to remove some of the sticks and lumps before I planted things like carrots in it. Took the rough stuff and put it under some of the shrubs as a kind of mulch.

[Bren In Pots]

Potted on sunflowers.

[ameno]

Planted 6 oca tubers at the allotment. I'm trying out planting them direct this year, rather than start them in pots. All the ones from last year still left in the ground are all sprouting copiously, so I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Also dug over about half of one of the big beds.

[Chestnut]

Had a good couple of days. Put spuds in yesterday, and nearly built a new raised bed today -should get it finished tomorrow;-)

[Bren In Pots]

Potted on toms and sown more pre chitted parsnips.

[quanglewangle]

Washed the silver birch bark. No longer alge green birch. Fairy liquid and a soft brush.

Raked the zen gravel.

Jobs that just have to be done!

[ameno]

This evening I set up my new mini greenhouse on the patio (needed more space, as my conservatory is getting a bit full).

I also repotted (again) my peach seedlings, then put them in said mini greenhouse. Although they're more like saplings at this point. The tallest is now 2 feet tall. I last repotted them less than a month ago, and at the time they were only 8 inches. They're growing astonishingly fast.

[ESBkevin]

A bit of weeding up the plot, Carol planted out some Turnip seedlings and weeded the latest onion sets.
I weeded my front garden too, creeping buttercup mainly, then edged to the neighbours lawn.
My boys came round at 5.00 after work so we mixed up some cement and laid a few bricks to my garden wall. There is a brick pier at the end which I need to sit my 300Ltr water butt on and then I can mount the gutters on my 22x10Ft Shed and collect all those lovely April showers ready for the summer watering spree.
Ive waited months for this and it's finally happening. I could have done it myself but they insisted on helping the old man, since they are in the trade it seemed prudent to let them do it.

[Bren In Pots]

Sown more pre chitted parsnips.

[Purple Primrose]

Unexpectedly good weather today so I managed to get more of the turf removed from the front garden and a some comfrey (Bocking 14) roots put into pots to sprout.