What I did today - 2015

[Nannysally99]

Batch cooking mince dishes for the freezer. My tomato glut, if it gets here, will be in my next lot of batch cooking I hope

[SusieG]

Just sitting in the shade with a cuppa. Been slogging away at my overgrown 'patch'. Three days ago discovered a very stagnant pond! Complete with a very small toad. An electrical supply feeding a pump beckoned to me, so with some trepidation, plugged it in and amazingly the pump started working!!!
So, quandary - do I tidy up said pond and lose the area for growing or do I dismantle it?? Hmmm, don't know a thing about ponds- maybe this'll be yet another project to get started ...

[CaroleL]

Apart from a bit of pottering and looking to see if there was any sign of the tomatoes going red, I just did some watering.
I also spent a pleasant hour looking at the online seed catalogues, and making lists of what varieties I fancy for next year

[Snadger]

Didn't get as much time down the lottie today as I first went to bandq on the hunt for bargain greenhouse but no - didn't find one.

Then popped into Al Dee to check out the fruit bushes for�1.79 - ended up with a goji berry, tayberry and two white grapes (wasn't going t get the grape vines but my mother went "ooh for that price we can get two" on the principal that at least one will die)

went to bandq on the hunt for bargain greenhouse but no - didn't find one.

That's not deja vu, ocd or wishful thinking - it was a different bandq.

So les time down the lottie than planned however did put the arch up and secured it so that it doesn't fall over when you open the gate (id call that a design flaw), planted a thornless evergreen blackberry either side and the two honeyberry plants - which is the main items I had planned. Didn't plant anything into the crazy paving path - which was an optional extra.

Spotted the Jay's Jungle sign near the gate and the arch when I went to the lottie later today! Lookin good! PS Thanks for the Aldi heads up........looks like I may have to pay them a visit!

[Snadger]

Did some DIY on the house then went fishing.(Caught a nice supper fish on a tiny midge fly!) Went to allotment where one of my poorly hens had passed away. Had to stoke up the woodburner and cremate her with full honours.
Because i couldn't leaver the woodburner burning at the allotment i lifted my spring planted onion sets. All good onions with only one or two affected by the onion white rot which i have been plagued with these last few seasons. By rotation and addition of plenty of organic matter i appear to be getting rid of it, along with clubroot also.

Weeded the bed in preparation for planting seaweed kale tomorrow. Don't need to dig the ground, just rake it level as the kale will relish the compacted soil.
Put the hose on and watered the whole plot. By that time the woodburner was finished doing its stuff and i could head for home.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

"Reccied" the "Gaff" Not as far forward as I was thinking! Was hoping to have this side"Block Paved"



No Rush! but hoping to put it to bed before winter!

But the "Brassica's" are doing well!





Bath n Curry time!

Get up n do it all again tomoz! But look forward to it!

[Jay-ell]

Didn't get as much time down the lottie today as I first went to bandq on the hunt for bargain greenhouse but no - didn't find one.

Then popped into Al Dee to check out the fruit bushes for�1.79 - ended up with a goji berry, tayberry and two white grapes (wasn't going t get the grape vines but my mother went "ooh for that price we can get two" on the principal that at least one will die)

went to bandq on the hunt for bargain greenhouse but no - didn't find one.

That's not deja vu, ocd or wishful thinking - it was a different bandq.

So les time down the lottie than planned however did put the arch up and secured it so that it doesn't fall over when you open the gate (id call that a design flaw), planted a thornless evergreen blackberry either side and the two honeyberry plants - which is the main items I had planned. Didn't plant anything into the crazy paving path - which was an optional extra.

[Penellype]

Taking things a little easier than usual today as I managed to tweak my ribs (which I broke badly a few years ago) lifting pots about yesterday.

Wandered around my friend's garden and pulled a few weeds. Removed some tomato side shoots and picked a cucumber for lunch.

Noticed that the onions there are about twice the size of mine - the difference between sun and horse muck vs shade and compost.

Came home and turned some of the onions I have drying in the garage - I dug them yesterday to make room for some broccoli that was threatening to die if I didn't do something drastic with it NOW.

Pollinated 4 cucumber flowers with a male brought from my friend's. All the flowers at home are female, most of the ones in her greenhouse are male. Found a small, sad looking flower on one of my large, sad looking melon plants. I think these are going to be a write-off this year as most of the leaves are goign brown.

Pulled some carrots and cut another huge courgette for yet more soup. Also harvested tomatoes, an orange pepper, lettuce and calendula flowers for lunch, but stupidly forgot about the baby leaf thinnings I was intending to eat from the fruit cage. Never mind, I'll eat them tomorrow.

Took a photo of my cauliflower disaster for the virtual show - having spent the last 12 months growing at about a rate of half an inch a month, the middle part has finally given up the ghost and gone brown. It did better than its 11 seed tray companions, which lasted only a couple of weeks before deciding that life was far too much like hard work.

[Lumpy]

Put my solitary aubergine plant out into a new and as yet unoccupied raised bed. Yes I know but the plant was got from Asdo's for 10p and I don't like them anyway so I thought to myself.....what would BM do? Try a new approach was the answer.....

Potter around both front and back (which don't take long) wondering where my 36 new perennials are going to go - nope, no idea as of yet!

Tripped over the dog bed whilst having a hand full of mixed leaf seeds - now going to start looking for leaves in amongst the patio, pond and rhubarb tyres!

Wondered how we were going to turn 12 2x3ft panels into a chicken escape proof run - nope, no idea as of yet although cable ties do seem the way to go....

Re-checker the savoys for pilla's and eggs. Thankfully none found so my en mass squishing did the trick yesterday.

Looked in resignation at the sweetcorn in a front flower bed - nope no corn from them this year as I think they have to be more than 4in high.

[Jay-ell]

Potted up half a dozen bamboo into big pots and tubs.

Dug over the entrance path and started laying out a crazy paving path. This will have pennyroyal, chamomile and creeping thyme planted in the gaps.

Shovelled more of the manure pile - I'm sure someone keeps adding to it as it never seems to go down no matter how many beds I fill with it.

Have managed to hit the paving slabs underneath in one corner of the pile and dug up a selection of slabs - only one of which is whole. Even managed to clear some of the plastic sheeting under the slabs.

May extend the crazy paving and swap the knackered stuff for some of the whole slabs for use elsewhere.

Dug over the cleared area and added some of the manure from the pile. There's quite a bit of glass in this area - I've been pulling out as much as I can but I'll be planting fruit bushes in this section so I won't risk serious lacerations each year digging it over.

Plan for tomorrow - build a rose arch, plant a blackberry to grow over it and plant out some honeyberry plants. I may even plant up some of the aromatic path plants.

[kris1960]

Weeded the exblackberry area before it reverts, cleared around pond and the brussel sprout bed. Watered the new seedbeds and tomatos. Scavenged some cable cotton reel thingies from a building site - useful for putting my tea or feet on while gazing around the allotment and planning the next job.

[Snadger]

Ventured into the jungle in my polytunnel. Was in search of a tribe of pygnies but had to hack may way through pumpkin foliage as i went. No pygmies, but i found another pumpkin loitering under the foliage. Weeded my red onions and had some fun flicking peas from my Telephone pea pods at the chooks and watching them fight over them.

[1Bee]

Hoed between the leeks and generally weed bashed.

Lifted the cardboard on a corner of a fallow bed and dug a hole, threw in some chicken manure and BFB, then transplanted one of my overcrowded PSBs. Firmed in, staked, watered, and re-mulched with fresh cardboard.

Went over the PSB and swedes for caterpillars, found a few littlies. We're next to a hedge, and I honestly think the birds are helping me out with this job, as I've seen hardly any caterpillars and plenty of butterflies...

Sowed some turnips. Just for fun.

Watered and fed and gave everything a pep talk ahead of my abandoning it for a week while we're on holiday.

[CaroleL]

Yesterday - watered, weeded and tidied up the courgettes and squashes. A couple of the courgettes were mildewed at the ends, so they were carefully removed and the rest inspected. Hopefully that isn't going to be a problem with the rest of them, although I can't complain if I lose the plants now as I've had a great harvest off them.

Only one of the squash plants has an actual squash on it. Just tennis ball size at the moment. Hope we get enough summer for it to grow a bit more.

[kris1960]

Yesterday- weeded beans,sweetcorn and gourds and did paths around them. The slugs hit me hard in those beds but I have at least 2 of each variety of gourd and half of the beans - only one of cosse violette though. Picked loads of flowers and my first courgette di milano(delicious).